Outside the Beltway

Ronald Reagan would have turned 100 today. Here are some thoughts on his legacy.

While most Americans consider themselves “conservatives,” some conservatives exclude most Americans from the definition.

Al Jazeera English is kicking the butts of the American news networks on the Egypt story. Why?

Time for midterms.

A new study suggests college students aren’t learning the critical thinking skills they’re supposed to learn, but that isn’t necessary the fault of the university they’re attending.

The relationships between inflammatory rhetoric and political violence is complicated.

Palin’s infamous “target” poster recycles a theme used by both parties over the years.

Is the filibuster essential for the Senate to function as designed?

The American military personnel system works against keeping the best and brightest officers in the service.

President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts are calling for bipartisanship in the New Year.

With just over a week to go before the 112th Congress convenes, battle lines are already being drawn in battle over the defense budget.

The Presidency has lost the aura of mystique that used to surround it, and that’s a good thing.

The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a sign that the political ground is shifting. Will the GOP take notice?

Do graduates of elite colleges earn more because of where they went to school? Or because of the traits that got them selected?

The battle over the individual mandate is really just nothing more than the latest round in a batter that has been ongoing for 221 years.

Does that degree you get at the end of your four years of college really mean anything anymore, and is it worth the money you paid for it?

In her new book, Sarah Palin puts forward a view of the role of religion in politics that is in direct contrast with America’s own traditions.

Mike Bloomberg says we’re electing people to Congress who “can’t read” and “don’t have passports.”

Economist Bryan Caplan argues that our educational system does not prepare our children for the modern economy.

It appears that full body scanners, operated by leering yahoos under the cover of government authority, may finally be rousing the sheep who have meekly submitted to the absurd delays and indignities that have been piled on since 9/11 and sundry botched attempts.

With Democrats set to maintain their majority in the Senate, some on the left are pushing for filibuster reform. However, it seems unlikely that Harry Reid has the votes to change a long-standing Senate rule.

While Matt Yglesias is right that talk about “Realignment” after a single election is ridiculous, there have indeed been realigning elections in U.S. history.

The growing number of cell-phone-only households gives Democrats hope that the polls are undercounting them.

We’ve been talking about the 2010 elections since, oh, the day after the 2008 elections.   Now, it’s time for final predictions.

Yes, I think that Palin is running in 2012.

Charles Murray argues that the Tea Party is right to complain about out-of-touch elites.

The Tea Party movement doesn’t seem to have a coherent view on foreign policy. Which means that a Tea Party victory will just mean more of the same Republican neo-conservatism.

While the displacement of poor blacks from their neighborhoods by affluent whites may be lamentable, it’s better than the alternatives.

Will Digital Video Recorders kill the campaign commercial? Unfortunately, no.

High earners are going to have to pay more than our fair share of the costs of government to make things work. But how we frame the debate matters.

“Those who doubt that the failings of higher education in America have political consequences need only reflect on the quality of progressive commentary on the tea party movement.”

The “Ronald Reagan” that many of today’s conservatives wish today’s Republicans were more like didn’t actually exist.

Lots of jobs that existed in recent memory — secretaries, travel agents, gas station attendants, cashiers — have been replaced by technology. The middle class may be disappearing with them.

Changing economic realities led to a role reversal: television is where you turn for smart entertainment, whereas the movies have become lowbrow.

The most congested part of DC was shut down at the most inconvenient time possible last evening so that President Obama could attend a partisan political event. It’s a routine outrage.

Greg Mankiw argues that, the more of his money the government takes, the less incentive he has to earn more. That’s debatable.

Experts say 80% of all alcohol sales go to people with drinking problems. The mathematics of that are staggering.

If the Republicans win back Congress in November, it will be largely unearned. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no incentive for change in American politics.

Mohandas Ghandi pioneered the idea of non-violent resistance, but there are times and places where non-violence is little more than a ticket to a death camp.

Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?

Has modern life robbed America’s youth of their ability to think? Or simply caused them to think in different ways about different things?

Support for the Tea Party is at record levels but that movement does not have a coherent policy platform. Can the energy be harnessed to good use?

A third of the Forbes 50 were born billionaires. Does that mean the game is fixed?

Do those who succeed in our economy benefit unequally from the benefits of government?

Most voters want their representatives to take a stand.

Can OTB build a better $500 computer than PC World? Let’s find out…

The super rich have a lot larger share of total income than they did a generation ago. Are they taking it from the rest of us?

Yes, the Tea Party is popular compared to the Democrats and Republicans.

I was never particularly hopeful that the GOP would retake the Senate, but even if it turns out that O’Donnell’s nomination prevents it from happening, I can’t bring myself to care all that much.

Is our problem that the very rich have too much money? Or that the rest of us don’t have enough?