Outside the Beltway

For a year that started out with regaining long-lost territory in Ukraine, 2014 is not ending so well for Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

A desperation move by NBC News?

The “open and free” Internet is an ideal type, not a myth.

The C.I.A. has admitted spying on Senate investigators.

In a new survey, Americans cite politics and the news as the biggest sources of stress in their lives.

In the end, the separatists in eastern Ukraine have always been expendable as far as Vladimir Putin is concerned.

There aren’t nearly as many “meta” lessons in Eric Cantor’s loss as pundits have been claiming.

Mostly because of politics, the hopes of some and fears of others will never be realized.

When everything’s an outrage, is anything outrageous?

Blogging has changed much over the last decade, and not all for the good.

A bunch of people talking on cellphones during a plane flight would annoy the heck out of me, but the government shouldn’t be involved in deciding if it should be allowed.

Another conflict between the Obama Administration and a news media that is frustrated about the extent they are being controlled by being refused access.

It wasn’t a Thermonuclear move, more like something the size of Hiroshima, but today the Senate took an historic move nonetheless.

Ken Cuccinelli still hasn’t called to congratulate Terry McAuliffe. Why does this odd custom continue?

Republicans aren’t happy with their leadership. The reason why is also the reason why Republicans are in trouble politically.

Certain aspects of Egyptian civic life have improved rapidly in the wake of the military coup, raising at least some questions about the events leading up to it.

The Supreme Court’s handling of standing in the two same-sex marriage cases likely seems contradictory to many outside observers.

A new round of documents from the IRS, that aren’t really new, doesn’t really change the basic narrative on the IRS “targeting” story.

A major Constitutional ruling from the Supreme Court.

A new Congressional Budget Office report finds real economic benefits from immigration reform.

Thanks to the Supreme Court, your DNA cannot be patented.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?

The NSA’s data mining project is about more than just subpoenas for cell phone records.

Marco Rubio is threatening to withdraw support for the immigration plan he helped draft, but I would suggest not reading too much into that threat.

The Obama Administration’s aggressive pursuit of leaks is threatening freedom of the press.

Homicide rates are on pace to be lower than they were at the start of the 20th Century.

The world oil markets aren’t too far away from being hit by the shock of massively increased demand from China. Somehow, we’ll have to adapt.

There’s a very simple reason why gun control is stalling in Congress despite its popularity in the polls.

There’s an innocent explanation for giving a huge bonus to a financial exec going into government. And it still stinks.

A theory on why Benghazi will not die as a political issue.

For the moment, Republicans appear to be blocking Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense but they don’t seem to know why they’re doing it.

Once again, the filibuster survives. Nobody should be surprised.

Minting a Platinum Coin would be a really bad idea.

Kevin Drum argues that, “We Don’t Have a Spending Problem. We Have an Aging Problem.”

Our politicians have averted an artificial crisis of their own making. The next one’s in two months.

For the New Year, how about challenging your ideas just a little bit?

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has a good idea.

Without question, Barack Obama won the foreign policy debate in the 2012 campaign.

Once again, a natural disaster has caused a common economic fallacy re resurface.

Iran’s currency has collapsed and there are riot police in the streets of Teheran. It appears the sanctions may just be working after all.