Outside the Beltway

Leaked intelligence intercepts take us inside the Ukrainian war room.

Things finally got too weird for his benefactor.

Swedish right-wing provocation and Turkish short-sightedness.

The corrupt leader is back for a sixth term.

Is the President governing like he means it?

The attack at the Pelosi house should surprise no one.

Democratic backsliding appears to be spreading to another European country.

How long can the unsustainable be sustained?

The only way to save our freedom is to destroy it.

Strikes near the Polish border show the real possibility of escalation.

Vladimir Putin is banning commodity exports.

Putin is a monster, but he may also be just as irrational as the rest of us.

Deterring Russia is a matter of principle.

Putin’s forces are in Kyiv.

The much-anticipated escalation has happened. Now to see how the United States and its allies respond.

Items for your consideration.

A roundup of reflection on a somber anniversary.

For anyone who might be interested.

The right questions are: 1) why do some some on the right like him, and 2) should this concern us all?

Hungary is part of a broader global trend, but the real issue isn’t Hungary, it is the Americans who praise Hungary.

Some recent news items that add to concern about American democracy.

Orban has used Covid-19 to kill whatever vestiges of democracy remained.

Thirty years ago today, history took off in a brand new direction.

President Trump has reportedly pledged to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States would not speak out against Chinese actions in Hong Kong.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t very impressed by the proposals made by several liberal politicians lately to increase the size of the Supreme Court to counterbalance the conservative tilt created by the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmations.

The latest in the wars against liberalism.

Just a day before he is scheduled to arrive in the city for a State Visit, London’s Mayor is denouncing President Trump.

The cost of Trump’s trade policies are well beyond the cost of soy beans.

Surprising pollsters and political analysts down under, Australia’s ruling center-right coalition pulled off a big win in Saturday’s election.

Some context for ongoing discussions.

Free expression sometimes enables horrible crimes. How does a free society deal with that tension?

It’s been a rough two years under Trump, but America’s institutions are surviving.

One hundred years after the end of World War One, the forces that led to it are waking up from a long slumber.

Anti-Semitic violence has increased markedly over the past two years. So has the spread of far-right “anti-Globalist” conspiracy theories. This is not a coincidence.

Angela Merkel announced yesterday that she would step aside as Chancellor at the end of her current term. What that means for the short and long term future of Germany and Europe is unclear.

Even if all he gets out of the Helsinki Summit is a handshake and a photograph, Vladimir Putin has already won.

The right-wing government in Warsaw has purged more than one-third of the members of the Polish Supreme Court in a crackdown on political opponents.

Thanks to Donald Trump, the happiest man in the world right now is Vladimir Putin.

The actions of the Trump administration are helping Russian-EU relations (to the detriment of the US).

A woman who was fired after a photograph of her giving the middle finger to President Trump’s motorcade went viral is suing her former employer. She doesn’t have much of a case.

Thanks to a combination of sensationalism and outright lies, a fairly conventional story about an annual protest march in Mexico was turned into Fox News fodder that raised images of an invading army of illegal immigrants.

After a long wait, gays and lesbians in Australia have achieved marriage equality.

Ambassador Karlov is mostly likely not a modern day Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The situation in the Middle East just potentially became much more complicated.

One of the pioneers of the technology revolution of the past four decades has passed away.

Donald Trump’s plan to exclude Muslims from the United States is provoking condemnation, and confusion, around the world.

The news that at least some of the men who were involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris were among the refugees who have arrived in Europe since the summer is likely to complicate an already complicated situation.

The U.S. is set to ramp up its contribution to dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis, but there’s a lot more we can do.