Outside the Beltway

More than any recent President, Donald Trump displays a tremendous amount ignorance about the world. Even worse is the fact that he seems proud of it.

Eugene Volokh asks, I provide my answer.

AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV and TimeWarner is forcing price hikes that are driving customers away at a rapid clip.

They’ve gotten better at solving CAPTCHAs than we are.

Despite overwhelming calls for his resignation, Ralph Northam is refusing to step down as Governor of Virginia.

“You Know Nothing” Edition.

The American withdrawal from the I.N.F. Treaty gives Vladimir Putin exactly what he wants.

Bret Stephens on Howard Schultz

…there is only one plausible pathway to get there.

National and Virginia Democratic officials are calling on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign over racist photos in his 1984 medical school yearbook.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned the President against using a national emergency to fund his border wall.

There’s not really a good explanation for this, Governor Northam.

As threatened late last year, the Trump Administration has withdrawn from the Intermediate=Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This is a mistake.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is the latest entrant into the race for the 2020 Democratic Nomination.

Despite the government shutdown, employment growth in January was far above expectations.

Welcome to Friday!

A new study reveals that the Republican tax cut package passed at the end of 2017 has not had the economic impact the GOP claimed it would.

Two more defections from the stable of writers at RedState provide further proof of the extent to which conservative media has become a pro-Trump echo chamber.

Gender bias in student evaluations of college professors diminishes considerably by changing the scale.

His critique is rather telling.

A new poll shows that most Americans would oppose a second government shutdown over the border wall.

While much of the attention in the race for the Democratic nomination to date has been on the left, there is a path forward for a more centrist candidate.

The President is an ignoramus and a blowhard and a petulant child but he’s operating within the Constitutional limits of his office.

Is benefitting politically from romantic liaisons different than other relationships?

The way we elect Presidents make it unlikely that a third-party candidate like Howard Schultz could ever actually win the the Presidency.

Jeff Flake says he won’t be running against President Trump in 2020, but there may be others.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has managed to become a media star, but she has a lot to learn about politics.

Pensions and health care costs for the elderly are crowding out other vital spending.

The White House isn’t ruling out the idea of a second government shutdown, but Senate Republicans have other ideas.

A WaPo data analyst gives it a shot.

As public opinion of the President continues to slide his pandering to his far-right base increases.

The economic impact from the just-concluded government shutdown was apparently quite substantial.

Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz is considering an independent run for the Presidency. This would likely be good news for President Trump.

Having two presidents sounds like a terrible sitcom idea. In reality, the situation is just plain terrible.

The economy took quite a hit from the President’s pointless shutdown over a border wall that will never be built.

Bernie Sanders is likely to run for the Democratic nomination, but it won’t be like 2016.

After an essentially pointless 35 day shutdown, some members of the House and Senate are proposing bills that would make government shutdowns impossible.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is preparing a second run at the White House, but this race won’t be anything like 2016.

Looking ahead, the political landscape does not look well for the President.

Is the settlement of the government shutdown just delaying the inevitable?

Regardless of whether or not you think Nancy Pelosi won the government shutdown, Donald Trump clearly lost.

The Speaker was dealt a winning hand and played it with the skill of a seasoned pro. But the outcome was all but inevitable.

In a deal that can only be described as a cave by the President, the government shutdown is on course to be ended by the end of the day today.

Many people are wondering how CNN knew to be at Roger Stone’s house in Florida this morning. It turns out that it was good old-fashioned reporting.

The Trump Administration either doesn’t realize the impact the shutdown is having on Federal workers who haven’t been paid in a month, or it doesn’t care.

As the shutdown enters day thirty-five, there are some signs of movement in Washington but no real progress.

Roger Stone, who worked with the Trump campaign in an official and unofficial capacity throughout the campaign, has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Wearing Donald Trump’s famous campaign symbol creates a presumption of ill intent. Is that fair?

Happy Friday!

The Senate rejected Republican and Democratic proposals as expected but there are some signs of movement forward.