Outside the Beltway

James Joyner has had a couple of interesting posts over the last week concerning blog comments, especially here at OTB. Here are some more thoughts.

At the apex of the last economic boom, we were spending far less as a percentage of our income on food, clothing, and transportation than our predecessors of half a century before, with the surplus going mostly to education and health care.

Far from being deterimental, there is a case to be made that SuperPACs have actually expended democracy during this election cycle.

Sometimes, art imitates life rather than the reverse. And sometimes reality seems stranger than fiction.

Most of us with iPhone 4’s use Siri, the voice-activated digital assistant–but for a very limited range of tasks.

You didn’t think it was over, did you?

Newspapers are still finding it hard to live in the Internet Age.

The GOP has sold its soul.

A discussion in the comments thread of my “Time Running Out For GOP?” post led me to a post from four-plus years ago by frequent commenter and erstwhile blogger* Michael Reynolds titled “Money, Bombs and Jesus.”

There’s an entire industry that profits from exploiting political controversy and division. Why do we let them get away with it?

An odd meme’s developing that Mitt Romney’s campaign is in financial trouble.

A new poll shows Santorum surging ahead of Mitt Romney nationally

Pepsi’s profits and revenues are up. Naturally, it’s time to fire 3 percent of its global workforce.

Was Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler ad a political message, or just a well done commercial?

Time to end a 41 year tradition?

Once again, the punditocracy is bemoaning the rise of so-called “negative campaigning.”

Mitt Romney seems poised for victory in Florida.

Censorship or sound business practice?

Why are all the candidates for president so awful?

Last night, South Carolina was Gingrich Country.

College football coaching salaries jumped 35 percent last year and 55 percent in the last six.

Some questions for opponents of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.

Wikipedia’s English language site will be offline for 24 hours tomorrow to protest two controversial online piracy bills.

Conservatives are rejecting Andrew Sullivan’s Newsweek essay out of hand, but they ought to pay attention to what he’s saying.

Regardless of what happens in South Carolina, Mitt Romney seems to be going for a final knockout punch in Florida.

A record number of Americans don’t consider themselves a member of either party.

Jon Huntsman has gambled everything on New Hampshire. It probably won’t pay off.

Heading into the last day of campaigning, the race in Iowa is too close to call.

Ron Paul doesn’t want to talk about his newsletters now, but he was pretty talkative 15 years ago.

Conservative groups are upset because a new reality show depicts Muslim-Americans as, well, normal Americans.

The Postal Service announced another round of service cutbacks today that are likely to just make the rapidity of its decline increase

Is technology making retail politics less important?

How did Republicans get in this mess?

Public opinion on the Occupy movement has turned increasingly sour.

A Federal Judge has blocked a new FDA rule that would have placed these labels on cigarette packaging.

My latest for The Atlantic: “For Europe, Some Fear a Conflict Between Union and Democracy”

Are America’s political parties become irrelevant?

Obama’s Justice Department continues its crackdown on medical marijuana, despite campaign promises to the contrary.

Rick Perry’s campaign isn’t dead by any means, but he needs to turn things around soon.

The British government has worked out a deal to block pornographic websites unless households specifically request them.

It’s time to start being concerned about Europe.

Is money the only thing that matters in post-Citizens United American politics?