Outside the Beltway

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

Since 9/11 there has been a steady trickle of stories about jihadists hooking up with Latin American drug cartels and the like. Here is a guide of story points that can help you identify when such a story is almost certainly bogus.

The Department of the Interior has, unwisely and unnecessarily, reimposed the ban on deep water offshore drilling.

If Jon Kyl’s recent comments are any indication, Republicans haven’t learned their lesson just yet.

Much like his pledge to close Guantanamo within a year, President Obama’s promised deadline to implement a “scientific integrity” program has come and gone.

Having a computer in the home does not have a significant impact on academic achievement, according to several new studies.

News headlines are increasingly divorced from the article content, with serious connotations for a nation of skimmers.

Reporters should start posting transcripts of their interviews with newsmakers on the Web.

There is an al Qaeda link to yesterday’s terrorist attack in Uganda.

For those readers who haven’t warmed up to the magazine layout of the front page, something more akin to the standard blog layout is one click away.

Switzerland will not extradite scumbag Roman Polanski.

The White House is making some very odd political choices in its response to the Arizona immigration law.

Before we raise taxes on the rich, let’s first stop the flood of tax money that’s subsidizing their lifestyle.

The evidence that humans are irrational continues to mount. What does this mean for self-governance?

Sarah Palin’s Political Action Committee is starting to look more and more like the beginnings of a run for the White House.

Not only is Hezbollah taking up with the cartels, they appear to have a massive new geography-bending technology. As such, we are all doomed.

Revisiting the application of the Declaration.

Attorney General Eric Holder said today that the Federal Government retains the option of suing Arizona a second time if the state’s new immigration law is enforced in a discriminatory manner.

Is it really too much to ask that when people try to make arguments based on our country’s founding documents that they at least understand the passages that they are quoting?

Pennsylvania Supreme Court says cops can’t arrest people sleeping in parking lots for drunk driving. Cops and DAs are annoyed.

Half a century later, Atticus Finch remains a touchstone for what an American lawyer is supposed to be.

American cops increasingly think they can harass innocents in the name of keeping us safe.

There are further signs that the economy will remain anemic through the end of 2010, if not longer.

Some people are saying that David Petraeus deserves promotion to a rank last held by Omar Bradley.

The Fox News headline “University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs” is grossly misleading.

A Russian spy may be stripped of a degree he earned at the Kennedy school under a stolen identity.

Despite new breakthroughs, an HIV vaccine is still some ways off. But, my, we’ve come a long way.

A Princeton economist has devised a formula for a classic sitcom paradox.

A new poll shows that Americans have some odd ideas about the Constitution, and how to change it.

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

Starting in November, we’ll get a look inside the mind of one of America’s most fascinating writers.

Did LeBron James pick Miami because of income taxes ? Probably not.

Where did Alvin Greene get the $ 10,000 for his Senate filing fee ? He got from you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer !

Another new poll brings bad news for Democrats and the President.

One can be an elite and not be elitist and vice versa.

The Taliban have a new secret weapon: Monkey terrorist soldiers.