Outside the Beltway

A renowned sports economist argues that black quarterbacks are treated differently than their white counterparts.

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Comments sections on larger blogs seem inevitably to turn into cesspools. Is it worth trying to stop it happening?

Both the Constitution and the Federalist Papers, impressive as they are, must be understood in terms of not just applied political philosophy, but practical politics as well.

Is our Federal system a mere political compromise? Or were the Founding Fathers visionaries with a plan?

The world’s smartest scientist says there is no god. Or, at least, no need for one.

Civilian control of the military means, oddly, that civilians control the military. And it means precisely that the military does not get to decide which civilians run the country.

If Republicans stick to their current (apparent) game plan and just run on not being Democrats, they will have neither a mandate to repeal Obamacare, et al, nor the will.

Sarah Palin has done pretty well at helping Republicans win primaries this year, but her own political popularity isn’t any better than it was after she left office last year.

Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally raises, yet again, the tiresome fight over crowd estimates and their political significance.

The Army and its officer corps are becoming increasingly Southern and rural. Is this a bad thing? If so, what can we do about it?

Why would returning to the system of allowing state legislatures to choose Senators improve representation?

The only reasons Michael Kinsley can conjure for opposing the Park51 project are bigotry and political opportunism. Unless you’re a really smart columnist.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

Yes, when you blame one group of people for the actions of other, especially irrationally so, that qualifies as scapegoating.

The competition for 25 Greatest Americans was steep. Only 3/4 of Mount Rushmore made the cut.

What do the critics mean when they say that the United States should be more like Germany?

Free parking is a very inefficient use of land resources that wouldn’t exist without government mandates and subsidies. Is it time to end the practice?

The GOP is playing a dangerous game with the anti-Islamic rhetoric that it seems to be courting these days.

If you think Jimmy Carter is the Worst Figure in American History, you really need to read more.

A helpful guide to the pleasures of navigating our nation’s capital by car, bike, or foot.

Every new report out of Iran seems to bring us closer to the moment when Israel has decided it’s heard enough. What happens if that day actually happens ?

The average federal government employee earns twice as much as the average private sector worker. An outrage? Not so much.

Greg Gutfeld claims to be working to build a gay bar next door to the controversial Cordoba House Muslim cultural center a few blocks from Ground Zero.

Protests against mosques aren’t just limited to Manhattan. And that’s a problem.

Should we abandon the notion of civil marriage? Would doing so end the clash over homosexual unions?

Americans get apoplectic at stories of police officers shooting people’s pets but seem unphased when they shoot innocent human beings.

Senate Republicans want to rethink the 14th Amendment’s automatic citizenship for people born in the U.S.

A growing number of conservatives are in dismay about the state of their movement.

American Conservatism has changed significantly since the days of William F. Buckley Jr. One former National Review editor says that it’s changed for the worse.

The first in a multi-part series on the Electoral College.

Can a public university expel a student for a religiously-motivated aversion to homosexuality?

The concentration of policy wonks in the Washington-New York-Boston corridor produces skewed analysis.

Should we just accept that people are going to be on their iPhones and BlackBerries and redefine rudeness?

“I don’t condone leaking secrets. But nor do I condone a policy that can only work in secret.” – Bernard Finel

The Internet has given us many good things, but it’s also led to a decline in political discourse that we’d do well to reverse before it’s too late.

The world would undoubtedly be a better place if Islamic fundamentalism reached even 19^th century Western notions of individualism and gender equality. But cultures evolve over decades, and bans on their practices are not useful means of promoting positive change within them.

Contrary to what you read on bumper stickers, retired Lt. Col William Astore argues that not every soldier is a hero. He’s right.

Jim Webb argues that we should stop measuring diversity by race alone.

Conservatives have long complained about liberal media bias. But conservative media seems to be much worse.

Rural whites are outperformed by Jews and Asians and passed over by blacks and Hispanics in the name of “diversity” by elite universities.

It’s a myth that the problem with Social Security is that people are living much longer after retirement than they used to. The reality is that a whole lot more people are living long enough to draw benefits.

Yet another “hidden” provision of ObamaCare is revealed to hold nasty surprises for America’s small business owners.

Inception has imposed itself as the film to beat for Best Picture and, I would guess, will become the lodestone for “mind movies” for a generation. Don’t miss it.

Most academic journal articles are unreadable dreck. So, why are we demanding that more of them be produced?

The evidence that humans are irrational continues to mount. What does this mean for self-governance?

A district court judge has issued a ruling that could have wide ramifications for the question of same-sex marriage.

San Francisco’s ban on sugary drinks is the latest example of nanny state reductio creep.

A lot of Americans don’t know that the US gained its independence from Great Britain. How can this be? Is it a liberal conspiracy?

Not surprisingly, American’s partisan views on the Supreme Court are pretty much wrong.