Outside the Beltway

More whimsical than most of my selections but we could use that right about now.

Local and federal authorities are investigating a spree of explosions terrorizing Austin, Texas.

A contest with no serious challenger will make him the longest-serving Russian leader since Stalin.

He’s been in the music business in some form or the other since 1985. He has been, it’s fair to say, the opposite of an overnight success.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point is shuttering 13 majors, including English, history, political science and sociology while expanding more job-oriented programs.

Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration is backing away from gun regulations opposed by the N.R.A.

This is from the band Jack Levitt off their 2007 release “Conversations With A Chupacabra.”

A big win for gun control advocates in a deeply Republican state.

Two *really* different versions of an iconic song.

Several versions of a classic from the year I became a fan of rock and roll.

The actor best known for his run on M*A*S*H died Saturday after a battle with colon cancer.

New-to-me music lurks in the strangest places. This time, sports talk radio.

An artist you’ve almost certainly heard but probably never heard of.

I’m relaunching the old Late Night OTB music video series with a live version of a modern classic.

President Trump is pressing the idea of arming teachers to stop shootings in schools.

President Trump is calling on the Justice Department to ban bump stocks, but it seems clear that this is an area where Congress needs to be taking the lead.

Dodge is facing controversy this morning for using the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in a Super Bowl commercial, but they’re not the only party who may have some questions to answer.

The Trump Administration has acted in a manner to create the impression that there is “no daylight” between the United States and Israel. This is a myth, and pursuing such a goal poses real dangers for America’s national interests.

A government panel has mandated a 50% increase in the revenue share streaming services pay songwriters and music publishers.

Merry Christmas!

Jim Nabors, who became famous as Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle USMC, has died at the age of  87.

A huge loss for the world of Rock & Roll.

He had more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits through the 1950s and early ’60s, among them ”Blueberry Hill,” ”Ain’t It a Shame,” “I’m Walkin’,” “Blue Monday” and “Walkin’ to New Orleans.”

The Las Vegas shooting provides a good opportunity to enact a common sense gun control law that even Second Amendment advocates agree is called for.

Stephen Paddock’s crime was clearly terrorizing, and will impact the lives of survivors, families, first responders in many ways for a long time. Based on the currently available evidence, though, the Las Vegas shooting was not “terrorism.”

The band leader of the Heartbreakers and the Traveling Wilburys is gone.

A gunman opened fire on a crowd of over 20,000 people in Las Vegas, and the results have been predictably horrific.

Hugh Hefner, who became both a cultural icon and a catalyst and reflector of vast social changes, has died at the age of 91.

In less than a month, voters in the Catalan region of Spain will be voting whether to remain part of Spain or assert independence.

Donald Trump Jr. spoke yesterday with Senate investigators, and his answers raise more questions than they answer.

Democrats and “Never Trump”ers shouldn’t count their chickens before they’re hatched.

The dangers of the tyranny of the majority have only magnified.

The revelations about Donald Trump Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with someone represented as being a Russian government official just keep getting worse.

A report states that the meeting was set up on the predicate of information on the Clinton campaign.

Greg Gianforte assaulted a reporter. Now he’s going to Congress, but the outcome of the election really shouldn’t be a surprise.

When a prominent political scientist committed suicide yesterday, I was deeply struck by how much he was like not only me but most of the people in my professional circle.

A pioneer of Rock & Roll has passed away.

The first Jobs Report for the first full month of the Trump Presidency is out, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Members of Congress and the Senate are once again facing down angry constituents, but it’s unclear whether it will translate into anything substantial in 2018.

Norway is switching from FM Radio to digital broadcasting. A similar transition in the United States seems unlikely for the time being.

It seems as though 2016 has taken many more celebrities lives than past years.

Another music superstar has passed away.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!