Outside the Beltway

American businesses are sitting on a big pile of cash, and giving no indication that they have any intention of spending it any time soon.

The Senate’s stonewalling of unemployment benefits extension makes no sense.

The President likely has some very bad poll numbers on his mind this morning.

Journalists have been following Maxwell Scott’s advice since long before “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” was made.

Let’s revisit the question of crime levels in Arizona.

Two widely-hyped reports have Wall Street firms donating less money to Democrats as payback for financial reform efforts. But a closer look reveals no such thing.

No, the founding fathers of the United States were not “very afraid of a central government.” Indeed, such an assertion makes no sense.

Michael Gerson argues that the source of our polarization isn’t the Democrats and the Republicans but the Ugly Party and the Grown-Up Party.

The testiest exchange during today’s hearings in the Senate came when Jeff Sessions tried to confront Elena Kagan over military recruiting at Harvard Law School, and failed miserably.

The late Senator Robert Byrd’s legacy as the master of pork barrel spending is secure.

Dave Weigel lands on his feet as a contributor for MSNBC.

Magazines routinely run great pieces by highly biased writers. Why can’t newspapers do the same?

Does it matter if the controversial McChrystal comments were “off the record” ? No, it doesn’t.

A roundup of some of the more intelligent commentary on the Big Picture issues in the brouhaha of the day.

Do journalists have any expectation of privacy in their emails?

You know who would be a good replacement for him at the Right Now blog? David Petraeus.

An article attempting to illustrate the obsolescence of newspapers inadvertently does the opposite.

The odds that David Petraeus will be able to pull off a miracle in Afghanistan like he did in Iraq are very slim.

Sharing your unvarnished thoughts on a listserv is just asking for trouble, as Dave Weigel is the latest to discover.

Stanley McChrystal is being called to face Obama’s national security team this morning. They should take the opportunity to come up with coherent Afghanistan policy.

General Stanley McChrystal is opening his mouth again and, this time, it could cost him his job.

Christian Bleuer provides a 10-step solution for victory over the Taliban.

The White House and Rahm Emanuel were quick to deny the reports that he has a plan to leave the White House.