Outside the Beltway

A federal judge poses an interesting question in a case over Obama’s contraceptive mandate.

NYT Magazine asks “Can the Republicans be Saved From Obsolescence?”

Employers have to provide health coverage for those who work 30 hours a week. Guess what?

Pretending like the Bush administration never happened is a problem for the GOP.

The American tax code contains perverse incentives and barriers to getting out of poverty.

Tim Kane continues his campaign against the US military’s antiquated personnel system.

Some musing on guns: who uses them, how, and why.

Conservatives complaining about biased coverage from the liberal media should instead look in the mirror.

Andrew Bacevich bemoans the social impact of the all-volunteer force.

Is America’s focus on defense weakening the country?

Really, more evidence he should be ignored in general.

When someone kills himself after being bullied, we rightly condemn the bully. Should we condemn his victim, too?

I have over the years been both editor and edited; currently, I’m both, often in the same day. Some thoughts on the relationship.

Looking at the data? Not very.

Josh Marshall explains what it’s like to be a non-gun person in a very pro-gun culture.

Our politicians have averted an artificial crisis of their own making. The next one’s in two months.

One major factor in the skyrocketing cost of a college education in America is a huge increase in overhead costs.

Representative democracy is a process of delegation of power to agents who act on behalf of citizens. The process of delegation matters.

Would Liability Insurance Help Minimize Threats to Public Safety?

Sharing some thoughts and soliciting feedback on what the 2nd amendment means.

Alex Pareene’s annual hack list omits an obvious candidate: Alex Pareene.

The NRA’s response to the Sandy Hook shootings was bizarre to say the least.

Radical tax groups secured a Pyrrhic victory last night.

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

Obsessive media coverage makes us believe mass shootings are far more common than they actually are.

Will the massacre of twenty children in a Connecticut elementary school mark a turning point in America’s gun culture? Don’t count on it.

Democrats are approaching an “Electoral College lock.” Republicans are trying to pick it.

Pennsylvania Republicans want to do the right thing for the wrong reason.

Ross Douthat says American women should stop being decadent and have more babies, explaining that raising children is easier than it used to be, so there’s really no excuse for women to be so selfish.

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

Thinking can be an uncomfortable exercise.

An attempt to lay down some basic groundwork for discussing this story.

President Obama easily won re-election last night, carrying virtually all of the battleground states. Meanwhile, abortion, gay marriage, and recreational marijuana also won big.

Could Romney win Ohio by ginning up Republican turnout and tamping down Democratic votes?

OTB bloggers give their best guesses on the House and Senate races.

The OTB gang give their best guess at the outcome of the 2012 presidential contest.

How Obama can have a 75 percent chance of winning an election despite being essentially tied in the polls:

George Lucas has sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney, which has announced a new Star Wars movie for 2015.

If you thought the War On Terror might be over, think again.

Increasingly, the right of people to speak is being sacrificed in the name of “tolerance” and “security.”

Getting to the heart of the problem from my POV (plus historical numbers).

Because some things are worth reinforcing.

Whether Mitt Romney wins or loses, the GOP needs to evolve or be doomed to minority party status.

The 2012 campaign is revealing once again that many conservatives have a view of President Obama not shared by the public at large.

As the final stretch of the campaign begins in earnest, Mitt Romney faces a very difficult task.

The Obama campaign clearly does not want Americans to consider whether they are better off now than they were four years ago.

Lindsey Graham: “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”

Lance Armstrong joins a long line of the greatest athletes of his generation whose glory was fueled by performance enhancing drugs.

American politics has been reduced to a charade where all people do is yell at each other.