Outside the Beltway

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.

Did the American media cover up torture by the Bush Administration?

Michael Gerson argues that the source of our polarization isn’t the Democrats and the Republicans but the Ugly Party and the Grown-Up Party.

Markos Moulitsas gets a lesson in caveat emptor from his former pollster.

Contrary to popular belief, Adolf Hitler didn’t come to power by democratic means or because of his ability to whip the public into a frenzy.

The public is growing tired of America’s Longest War.

The Governator will not be missed, apparently.

Are the majority of illegal immigrants drug-runners? Arizona Governor Jan Brewer thinks so.

If the trend continues, 2010 will mark a record number of conservatives for the Gallup poll since it began asking the question in 1992.

The odds that David Petraeus will be able to pull off a miracle in Afghanistan like he did in Iraq are very slim.

Americans on both sides of the aisle throw around words like “tyranny” and “fascism” about our system. But there are constant small reminders we are under the rule of law.