Outside the Beltway

A Pentagon Equal Opportunity training manual points out the obvious.

“If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it.” Well, not really.

Here’s our debate over shutting down the government over Obamacare in a nutshell.

It’s a party thing.

(And a Postscript on Recent Discussion of the South)

The real world impact of what’s happening in Washington is becoming apparent.

With key conservatives pushing for sanity, the grown-ups have a chance to take back the GOP.

Can differences in media coverage of two unrelated filibusters be explained solely by media bias?

It remains to be seen whether Congressional Republicans will force a government shutdown. What’s already clear is how counterproductive it would be.

History matters.

The communications chairman of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County wished a horrible death on the children of Ted Cruz’ speechwriter.

The world changed significantly twelve years ago today. Will it ever change back even a little bit?

Bombing Country B to “send a message” to Country A is not a valid argument for bombing Country B.

Discussion of privacy really ought to be focused on the legal regime, not technical capabilities.

The president’s public dithering on Syria is drawing jeers from friend and foe alike.

Humanitarian wars have their own grammar but not their own logic.

And Republicans wonder why they have problems with minority voters.

Some thoughts on reform.

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is the latest conservative to endorse the foolish idea of a Constitutional Convention.

Bradley Manning’s announcement that she wishes to begin living life as a woman poses some interesting legal questions.

With more than a little hyperbole, George Will declares “Obama’s unconstitutional steps worse than Nixon’s.”

Would conservatives learn a lesson if they got everything they wanted in 2016?

Unfortunately, our immigration debate is just plain dumb.

The Air Force is telling airmen to take common sense steps to “avoid becoming a victim” of sexual assault.

A negligible price hike of hamburgers might enable fast food outlets to pay their workers much better.

Ted Cruz is either being incredibly cynical as he deludes his fellow Republicans, or he’s living in a fantasy world.

Sequestration is even dumber than we thought.

We’ve still got a long way to go.

The high cost of raising children is making it difficult for many Americans to have multiple children.

President Obama has once again weighed in on the Trayvon Martin case in a personal manner.

Going back to the very beginning can be useful.

Evidence that George Zimmerman acted out of racial bias is completely lacking, which means the Federal Government should stay out of this case entirely.

Thoughts on the Zimmerman verdict (or, more accurately, to reactions to the verdict).

Shocking news out of California.

Despite yesterday’s tragic events in San Francisco, flying by plane remains the safest way to travel.

Edward Snowden has likely violated many laws, but, absent additional facts, treason is not one of them.

Yes, it ended slavery. But at a huge cost.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court narrowly decided a case on the right against self-incrimination that is likely to do great harm to individual rights.

A song written when Grover Cleveland was President is still protected by Copyright Law. That makes no sense at all.

If one is going to be in government, one ought to take governing seriously.

Meet Edward Snowden, the 29 year old CIA/NSA contractor who has confessed to leaking the details of the NSA’s data mining projects.

Not only do we not know the whole story of the NSA data mining operation, key details of what thought we knew are wrong.

At what point do science and magic converge? And what are the potential costs?

The government has your cell phone and credit card records. What can they do with that information?

Apparently, it’s not just reporters whose phone logs the Obama administration is tracking.

I have for months taken it as a given that she went on five Sunday morning talk shows and lied about what happened there. Did she?

Republicans have problems with the younger generation that they will need to fix if they’re going to succeed in the future.

The United States is as politically polarized as it was in 1865.

It’s time to take a look at the pre-trial issues in what is likely to be the trial of the Summer of 2013.

A case in Florida raises serious questions about the application of our sex offender laws.