Outside the Beltway

It makes voting harder.

A George Mason economist has an intriguing idea but maybe he has it backwards.

The media became the story but the President was the news.

We tend to focus on the wrong qualities in our early assessments.

The downfall of Andrew Cuomo shines a light on toxic workplaces and governance styles.

“Big Yawn”

Our current forms of collective action on guns have failed us.

While progressives in the party are often frustrated with the West Virginia Senator, he is demonstrating yet again that he’s no Republican.

His stale jokes about eating dog have drawn fire for years.

Multiple indicators point to a decline in the representativeness of the American system.

Appoint more Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Or else!

What at first blush appears a case of hypocrisy and cancel culture is a violation of professional ethics.

Here we go again.

An interesting proposal to improve tax collection.

The seemingly unremarkable event hadn’t happened in four decades.

We’re about to spend a whole lot more money.

Nonhierarchical parties strike again.

The U.S. Senators and a U.S. Representative beg to differ.

Let’s not get overly dramatic about special elections.

Balancing practical considerations and religious observances.

The lack of common understandings and shared assumptions makes political conversations challenging.

Immigration policy is harder than it looks.

Empowering authoritarians.

A mass shooting in Atlanta draws attention to a problem of which I was only tangentially aware.

Credulous reports notwithstanding, there’s more to the story.

Pandemic-induced recession? What pandemic-induced recession?

“Evening Fire”

Our insistence on relying on an 18th Century understanding of electoral systems is our ongoing bane (if one values representative government).

Any “fair” drawing of districts will yield a GOP advantage over time.

Those expecting Bernie Sanders’ agenda are sorely disappointed.

An interesting blast from the past.

The evidence is too clear to ignore at this point.

Major is a good boy who hardly ever bites anybody.

There are legitimate ethical and liberty questions but they’re outweighed by the benefits.

Deal-making in Washington is next to impossible.

Yes, partisanship is real. And it influences more than just voting behavior.

The case of Katie Porter’s committee assignments.

Israel is taking an aggressive approach to inoculation.

An explanation to a question you likely weren’t asking.