Outside the Beltway

Yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional is likely to collapse on appeal.

San Francisco is considering banning the sale of pets in the city limits.

Many of us who have philosophical objections to public radio nonetheless like the results.

Topics include the continuing dismal state of the economy, including the lack of jobs and business investment. On the lighter side: Afghanistan.

What do you do when you’ve reached Twitter Terminal Velocity?

We’re all unpaid employees of Facebook.

Teaching college is a lot more work than outsiders think — although probably not as much work as professors think.

Parenting is hard work and kids are a giant pain. Is it worth it?

The top 100 sites on the Internet get more than the next 900 combined.

Thomas Jefferson took great pains to hide the word he originally used for “citizens” in the Declaration of Independence.

A few long-awaited tweaks to the site design are now in place.

A survey of historians ranks Obama as the 15th best president ever, ahead of Ronald Reagan and behind Bill Clinton.

America’s energy habit is getting people killed! What should we do about it?

Arlen Specter is struggling with a reason not to vote against Elena Kagan.

Topics include the Kagan hearings, the Dave Weigel brouhaha, and Russian spies.

Honest pollsters should deposit their raw data with the Roper Center to improve transparency.

Elena Kagan is not telling the truth when she says her politics are “completely separate” from her judging.

California’s idea to have flashing ads on license plates may have some down side.

Google is getting serious about launching a Facebook competitor. Is it too late?

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

Is the blog bubble bursting? Only if you’re innumerate.

How effective is Kevin Costner’s oil separator? It depends who you ask.

Joe Biden got a free custard and some unsolicited political advice.

CNN is launching a debate program featuring one host from the Left and another from the Right. Why not call it “Crossfire”?

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

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

Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling and media mogul Conrad Black got new life today from the Supreme Court, who ruled the use of the “honest services” doctrine against them unconstitutionally vague.

While praise for the military often goes overboard, the reaction to the McChrystal flap shows our armed forces at their finest.

Both President Obama and General McChrystal handled a bad situation incredibly well.

Here’s a great ad campaign idea: A series of funny spots by retired General Stanley McChrystal touting his favorite beer.

President Obama has relieved General Stanley Chrystal of command of ISAF.

The extra effort it takes to go from modestly informed to well-informed is tremendous and, for 99% of the public, a ridiculous waste of time.

General Stanley McChrystal has “offered to resign” in the wake of the controversy of the day. We’ll see whether this is accepted or the president decides that McChyrystal must be fired instead.

Law schools are artificially raising student grades, sometimes retroactively, to make them more competitive on the job market.

President Obama is following the example of his predecessors in abusing his power to enact his preferred policies. Has he gone too far?

Fatherhood.gov, the website Obama launched to some criticism yesterday, actually has its roots in the Bush Administration and has a predecessor dating to 2000.

In conjunction with Father’s Day, the Obama administration unveiled Fatherhood.gov, a website offering advice to men on raising kids. Why is this a job for the federal government?

Do we care about lithium reserves in Afghanistan?