Outside the Beltway

Up to 13 people are dead and as many 20 injured after another mass shooting on a college campus.

The Taliban dealt a major defeat to a numerically superior Afghan Army force, raising questions about just how well Afghanistan can defend itself on its own.

At a town hall last night in New Hampshire, it became clear just what kind of supporters Donald Trump’s demagoguery is attracting.

Scott Walker used to have a commanding lead in Iowa, now he’s in 7th place. That’s just another sign of the troubles facing his campaign.

A reporter and cameraman for a local television station were killed, and a third person wounded, live on the air this morning.

Thanks in part to a slow summer news cycle, the speculation about Vice-President Biden entering the race for President seems to be reaching a fever pitch.

Rick Perry’s campaign is already showing signs that it may not last long.

The fallout from Donald Trump’s debate performance, and his comments afterward, continues, and it’s leading some to wonder if we may finally be at the end of this ridiculous charade.

The low-polling candidates met in an early debate. It was about what you’d expect.

The people who continue to claim that the Confederate Flag is about anything other than hatred, racism, and a nation that celebrated slavery are lying to you and to themselves.

Matthew Dickinson takes a stab at explaining “Why So Many Republicans Are Running in 2016.”

The nine-year-old ‘Army Strong’ ad campaign is ended.

Surely it’s time to put a woman on American currency again, but why go after Alexander Hamilton?

The head of the Spokane NAACP has apparently been lying about her racial background, and that’s led to a whole other argument.

Turkey’s governing party suffered big setbacks at the ballot box yesterday.

An Air Force general is bragging about a targeting technique being used against ISIS.

The former Olympian has made a transition.

The Supreme Court has narrowed the means by which Federal prosecutors can prosecute someone for making statements online that could be perceived as threats.

Voters in Ireland have overwhelmingly approved a referendum legalizing same-sex marriage.

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

There’s a better way to finance news than hiding it behind paywalls.

Fresh off an election victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to propose a series of new measures to crackdown on extremism that raise serious civil liberties concerns.

Seymour Hersh is out with a conspiracy theory about the death of Osama bin Laden that just doesn’t make sense.

The just-concluded British General Election was also a clash between two former top advisers to President Obama.

Some people in the media can’t seem to get it through their heads that speech they consider hateful is entitled to as much protection as speech that they support.

Just over a week after a death at the hands of police that remains incredibly suspicious, Baltimore is the sight of violent riots.

To the surprise of few, Hillary Clinton is running for President

Another case of teenagers ‘sexting,’ another dumb overreaction by law enforcement.

Freedom of speech means freedom for all speech, even when it is racially offensive.

Jon Stewart is stepping down as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” after sixteen years.

Conservatives finally seem to be waking up to the truth about Sarah Palin.

The Tea Party may be the most vocal wing of the GOP but most Republicans seems to favor candidates that aren’t quite so right wing.

The terrorism wave that began with the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo offices has not ended with the killing of the perpetrators. A follow-on attack has occurred in Germany and there are reports of “sleeper cells” being activated in France.

NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot dead while sitting in their patrol car In Brooklyn. And those suggesting that anyone other than the killer has “blood on their hands” are being absurd.

A hostage crisis has been unfolding overnight at a cafe in Sydney, Australia that has apparent links to international terrorism.

Clearly, the Romney campaign didn’t get the point of social media.

Public Relations 101: When you have a job in public relations, don’t say stupid things.

Next week, the Supreme Court will be asked to determine the line between free speech online and criminal threats

Our supposed Syrian allies seem to have a different idea of who the enemy in Syria actually is.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

The results of the 2014 midterms should teach us some lessons about how to handle and evaluate polling.

Early numbers seem to suggest that it depends on which state you’re looking at.

A Federal Judge has dismissed lawsuits filed by Tea Party groups over the IRS targeting scandal.

Have digital books rendered the publishing houses obsolete?

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.