Outside the Beltway

Some striking data to illustrate the role slavery played in the economy of the South.

Rather than asking whether it was “worth it,” the important historical question regarding the Civil War is whether it could have been avoided.

A new blog, Rejection Letters of the Philosophers, “imagin[es] what the greats of history might have been faced with, had they been forced to publish or perish.”

Your latest Outrage Of The Day.

Yes, it ended slavery. But at a huge cost.

Why did House Republicans vote overwhelmingly for a bill that their own theories would find to be unconstitutional?

President Obama delivered another powerful speech on race.

Conor Friedersdorf contends “The U.S. Already Had a Conversation About Guns—and the Pro Side Won.”

Vilifying Thomas Jefferson is as much as mistake as placing him on a pedestal.

In a NYT op-ed titled “The Monster of Monticello” Paul Finkelman expresses his befuddlement that people play down Thomas Jefferson’s legacy as a slave owner.

An ode to one-term Congressman Allen West.

Equating opposition to the President with racism is absurd.

Seriously, how did this guy ever get elected to Congress?

Mitt Romney is a deeply flawed candidate, but that doesn’t mean the President is any better.

Today is the anniversary of a significant turning point in the Civil War.

John Cole takes exception to my recent summary of recent Obama campaign highlight.

We have met the enemy, and it’s most likely us.

Dan Balz summarizes what has been “A most poisonous campaign” and is likely to get much worse before it gets over.

Both campaigns seem to be focusing on an argument that the voters don’t want to hear.

The fact that someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they’re evil

Opponents of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United continue to miss the point of what the case was really about.

Were the Colonists wrong to toss aside the British Empire so casually?

Two centuries ago, a war that makes less and less sense with the passage of time began.

White babies now constitute slightly less than half of American births.

A blog post lampooning black studies dissertations got a writer fired, setting off a controversy over the limits of free speech.

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

The problem with Europe may not be the Euro, but the fact that there really aren’t any Europeans.

The Operation Jumbo Drop Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

How many more electoral cycles will we have to endure this ritual?

Newt Gingrich gets his Civil War history very wrong.

Yesterday’s encounter between Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich was less than it could have been.

Some information on Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Mitt Romney is still being dogged by charges of changed positions. Now, he’s trying to spin that as a good thing.

Like clockwork, the arguments for creation of a third party are popping up again.

Where do we stand after 224 years?

Is America’s political system to blame for our current problems?

Michele Bachmann’s view of history is based in a world view that would be foreign to most Americans.

Do people who take advantage of tax breaks get a “government benefit”?