Outside the Beltway

The writer of the infamous “Fonzie Jumps The Shark” episode of Happy Days breaks his silence.

The first ad of the 2012 presidential cycle has aired, by some dentist touting Hillary Clinton. She’s not running. Could she?

How long will we stop annual commemorations on the anniversary of that horrible day?

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas’ new book, AMERICAN TALIBAN: HOW WAR, SEX, SIN, AND POWER BIND JIHADISTS AND THE RADICAL RIGHT, continues a long tradition in political polemics.

NY Post is apparently out to embarrass non-public figure Maria McCormack with its story “Dodge Charger owner upset vehicle crushed by suicidal fall.”

Discovery channel gunman James Lee was shot at 4:48 p.m., because even the SWAT team doesn’t want to fight rush hour traffic

Tonight’s topics: President Obama’s speech, Tony Blair’s book, Glenn Beck’s rally, and the GOP’s steady rise in the polls.

32 Democratic incumbents are running even or behind their Republican challengers in one or more public or private polls. At this point in 2006, when Republicans lost control of Congress, only 11 GOP incumbents were running even or behind.

The president has declared an end to combat operations in Iraq. But soldiers assigned there still draw combat pay.

Four news items and articles about China that have caught my eye.

The airline industry turned a record profit for the 2nd quarter. Don’t expect it to last.

Capitalizing on the buzz from his weekend rally, talk host Glenn Beck launched a new online magazine called The Blaze overnight.

The Fed chair, seemingly oblivious to the fact things are pretty bad already, promises to do something if the economy falters. But he’s about out of arrows in his quiver.

Tonight’s topics: Anything but that damned mosque. Possibilities include: Tuesday’s primaries, the continued economic malaise, and the flooding in Pakistan.

Americans who earn a lot of money disproportionately live in a tiny number of states and are married to other high-earners.

Critics of WikiLeaks have no affirmative proof that the release of tens of thousands of classified documents has gotten anyone killed. The truth is that we’ll likely never know.

Should FOX News, which is obviously pro-Republican, have a front row seat in the White House press room? Of course.

Your Tweets, Facebook wall posts, and FourSquare announcements obviously provide a lot of insights into your life. But so does what you’re not posting.

No, the discipline isn’t having a George Constanza situation. Rather, a job market that has been dismal for decades has gotten worse.

Most people who record television shows skip the commercials. Despite that, TV remains by far the most effective form of advertising.

Financially strapped schools are passing an increasing amount of ordinary costs on to parents.

The United States has promised $150 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. Should we have?

The webmaster of a local Republican chapter linked a YouTube video that implies Democratic women are ugly.

Manned flight is more than a century old. Why are the airlines still so clueless?

Should universities be able to force students to buy meal plans for the cafeteria? Alabama students are suing to end the practice.

Strippers didn’t attack us on 9/11. Then again, neither did American Muslims.

Tonight’s topics: the Blagojevich verdict, whether lying about military awards should be protected speech, the politics of the Cordoba House project, the coherence or lack thereof of the Obama administration, and whether the United States should be more like Germany.

When professors blog, they send signals to their students about their attitudes. Where do we draw the line between free expression and unprofessional conduct?

Should black people quit using the N-word to set an example for white folk?

Wired proclaims, “The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet.” It’s great linkbait but completely wrongheaded.

The title says it all.

Either Obama’s Defense Secretary and commanding general are conspiring to undermine his July 11 deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan or that they’re carrying out his intent.

An essay claiming that the TED talks are “the new Harvard” is gaining some traction from a lot of people who ought know better.

We’ve moved OTB to a new server. Let me know if you see anything unusual.

Steve Slater, the JetBlue sky waiter whose recent meltdown became a viral sensation, wants his old job back.

Unemployment is not equally distributed in America.

Senior staffers are already leaving the Obama administration due to burn-out. But are 18-hour days really necessary for running the White House?

Former Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson is making a zealous case for same-sex marriage. Why are people surprised?

A staggering 8 percent of all babies born in the United States in 2008 were offspring of illegal aliens. What are the public policy implications?

Tonight’s topics: Yesterday’s primary elections, the cost of hiring workers in the public and private sectors, anti-Muslim sentiment, and the move to repeal birthright citizenship.

Of the U.S. military’s 10 combatant commands, only three are held by Army or Marine generals.

Jenny, the hottie who quit her job in style using a dry erase board and became an Internet sensation, is actually an actress named Elyse Porterfield.

A special tax rate for millionaires wouldn’t raise much additional revenue but it would make journalists feel better.

Pat Leahy suggests allowing retired SCOTUS Justices fill in when a sitting member recuses himself. A great idea on paper, it won’t work in practice.

Last night’s preseason opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals was the worst sports broadcast I’ve ever seen, barring any recent Olympics.

Are government imposed mandates making it impossible for businesses to justify hiring new workers?