Outside the Beltway

Too many conservatives forget Ronald Reagan’s dictum that “somebody who agrees with you 80% of the time is an 80% friend not a 20% enemy.”

Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today.

How do President Obama’s accomplishments stack up from a liberal standpoint?

Should outrageous people like Pamela Gellar be invited to spread their message on national television?

Topics include the state of the social contract, the terrorist attack by an al Qaeda affiliate in Uganda, claims al Qaeda is racist, and the new Black Panther Party.

Matt Yglesias argues that “Northern Europe is Egalitarian Because of High Taxes.” I would argue that he has his causality backwards.

Oakland’s police chief, miffed at recent budget cuts, has listed 44 crimes that his officers will no longer respond to.

Journalists have been following Maxwell Scott’s advice since long before “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” was made.

News headlines are increasingly divorced from the article content, with serious connotations for a nation of skimmers.

Before we raise taxes on the rich, let’s first stop the flood of tax money that’s subsidizing their lifestyle.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court says cops can’t arrest people sleeping in parking lots for drunk driving. Cops and DAs are annoyed.

One can be an elite and not be elitist and vice versa.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner reacted to his star player’s departure with a scathing open letter. Was it fair?

Those with million dollar plus mortgages are defaulting at almost twice the rate on those smaller loans. Are the rich more ruthless?

Yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional is likely to collapse on appeal.

San Francisco is considering banning the sale of pets in the city limits.

Many of us who have philosophical objections to public radio nonetheless like the results.

Topics include the continuing dismal state of the economy, including the lack of jobs and business investment. On the lighter side: Afghanistan.

What do you do when you’ve reached Twitter Terminal Velocity?

We’re all unpaid employees of Facebook.

Teaching college is a lot more work than outsiders think — although probably not as much work as professors think.

Parenting is hard work and kids are a giant pain. Is it worth it?

The top 100 sites on the Internet get more than the next 900 combined.

Thomas Jefferson took great pains to hide the word he originally used for “citizens” in the Declaration of Independence.

A few long-awaited tweaks to the site design are now in place.

A survey of historians ranks Obama as the 15th best president ever, ahead of Ronald Reagan and behind Bill Clinton.

America’s energy habit is getting people killed! What should we do about it?

Arlen Specter is struggling with a reason not to vote against Elena Kagan.

Topics include the Kagan hearings, the Dave Weigel brouhaha, and Russian spies.

Honest pollsters should deposit their raw data with the Roper Center to improve transparency.

Elena Kagan is not telling the truth when she says her politics are “completely separate” from her judging.

California’s idea to have flashing ads on license plates may have some down side.

Google is getting serious about launching a Facebook competitor. Is it too late?

The late Senator Robert Byrd’s legacy as the master of pork barrel spending is secure.

Is the blog bubble bursting? Only if you’re innumerate.

How effective is Kevin Costner’s oil separator? It depends who you ask.

Joe Biden got a free custard and some unsolicited political advice.

CNN is launching a debate program featuring one host from the Left and another from the Right. Why not call it “Crossfire”?

A roundup of some of the more intelligent commentary on the Big Picture issues in the brouhaha of the day.

Ezra Klein is shuttering JournoList.

An article attempting to illustrate the obsolescence of newspapers inadvertently does the opposite.

Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling and media mogul Conrad Black got new life today from the Supreme Court, who ruled the use of the “honest services” doctrine against them unconstitutionally vague.

While praise for the military often goes overboard, the reaction to the McChrystal flap shows our armed forces at their finest.

Both President Obama and General McChrystal handled a bad situation incredibly well.

Here’s a great ad campaign idea: A series of funny spots by retired General Stanley McChrystal touting his favorite beer.

President Obama has relieved General Stanley Chrystal of command of ISAF.

The extra effort it takes to go from modestly informed to well-informed is tremendous and, for 99% of the public, a ridiculous waste of time.

General Stanley McChrystal has “offered to resign” in the wake of the controversy of the day. We’ll see whether this is accepted or the president decides that McChyrystal must be fired instead.

Law schools are artificially raising student grades, sometimes retroactively, to make them more competitive on the job market.