Outside the Beltway

The first popularly elected African-American Senator, and the first African-American Senator to serve since the end of Reconstruction ended, has passed away.

Two potential candidates for the Republican nomination in 2016 traded barbs this week over the President’s new policy toward Cuba.

The resumption of diplomatic relations between U.S. and Cuba, and expansion of some commercial trade ties, is historic but it’s only the first step toward the goal of ending an outdated embargo.

Sony is warning the press not to publish material leaked by hackers, but it doesn’t have much of a legal leg to stand on.

The Supreme Court is set to decide if the state can deny a license plate with the Confederate flag design because it is “offensive.”

Today is a day for turkey and football, not a day for politics.

A surprising change at the top of the military’s civilian chain of command.

Former Senator Jim Webb is the first Democrat to kinda, sorta, throw his hat into the ring for 2016.

Another round of election losses is leading Democrats to contemplate the direction they should take going forward.

The latest ISIS video is horrible and barbaric but we should not take the bait they are offering before considering the consequences of our actions going forward.

Some people didn’t like the song selection at last night’s Washington, D.C. concert for Veterans Day.

Mission creep.

The Navy Special Warfare community is angry at SEALs exploiting their part in the bin Laden raid.

The passing of a true legend in American journalism.

The U.S. embargo of Cuba, and our lack of diplomatic recognition of the government in Havana, is an outdated relic of the Cold War. It’s time to end it.

A new report from the New York Times confirms the adage that, in war, the first casualty is the truth.

Combining politics, an incessantly sensationalist news cycle, and a virus that scares a lot of people can’t end well.

Newly released documents reveal that Henry Kissinger wanted to attack Cuba in the mid-1970s.

The former Virginia Senator is talking about running for President.

After success in Scotland, it may be time to consider allowing at least some teenagers to vote.

If the President is going to increase American involvement in the Middle East, he needs to address some fundamental questions first.

Congress seems ready to avoid having to vote on expanded attacks against the Islamic State

Some have argued that there is an historical bias against political parties holding on to the White House for more than two terms. As with most commonly held ideas, that simply isn’t true.

We should not tolerate them acting otherwise.

A man who brought joy and laughter to millions has ended his own life because he was too depressed to go on.

Even with the passage of time, Watergate remains a singularly important event in American history

Once something that generally benefited Republicans, social issues are now becoming a wedge issue for Democrats.

Viet Xuan Luong pins on a brigadier general’s star today, becoming the first Vietnamese-American officer to achieve that rank.

Some surveys suggest that younger Americans are less patriotic than older generations.

Native American names are everywhere.

The evidence is clear. When it comes to the ability to handle foreign crises, the President has lost the public’s confidence.

My latest for The Hill, “Why all VA executives are above average,” has posted.

Stephanie Kwolek was looking for a way to improve tires. She invented a life-saving material.

Some questions for the Republicans who would be President about the actions of the last Republican President.

Recent events in Iraq have opened up old domestic political arguments in the United States.

Iraq is falling apart for reasons that have nothing to do with President Obama or his policies.

Twenty-five years after his seminal “End of History” article, Francis Fukuyama reflects on its legacy.

For the fourth time in 30 years, an American President spoke at Normandy to honor a day of sacrifice and triumph.

Not every soldier is a hero. Not even every POW.

It’s good that Bowe Bergdahl is free, but questions remain about how he went missing that need to be answered.

The Obama White House rejected Republican criticism of the deal that led to the release of the only American Prisoner Of War from the Afghanistan War.

Yet another autiobiography invites public discussion about her accomplishments.

Eric Shinseki resigned as Secretary of Veterans Affairs this morning, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.

The very idea of a “war on religion” in the United States is absurd.