Outside the Beltway

A document uncovered in a Freedom of Information Act request demonstrates the extent to which Federal law enforcement works outside the requirements of the Constitution.

Unemployment rose to 9.8% from 9.6% in November.

Iowa Republicans are targeting professor sabbaticals, thus demonstrating that they understand neither higher ed nor economics.

Despite recurring predictions that the Internet and mass communications would allow people to work from anywhere, talent continues to cluster in big cities.

WikiLeaks domain name service was terminated for violating terms of use.

Why would anyone buy Johnnie Walker Blue, when amazing single malts can be had for less?

If 33 states can muster support to kill a law, how would it have gotten enacted to begin with?

Are the interests of a given state different than the interests of the people living in that state?

Further thoughts on a rather radical proposed Amendment to the Constitution, prompted by a link from Instapundit.

Incoming House Speaker John Boehner plans a radical overhaul of how Congress spends our money.

Republican pollster Glen Bolger makes a bold promise: The GOP will retain House control in 2012 – Guaranteed.

Michael Yon provides a digital copy of PFC Bradley Manning’s Charge Sheet, dated 29 May. It makes for interesting reading.

Despite the Defense Department releasing its study showing that the effects of allowing gays to serve openly would be minimal, Senator John McCain isn’t convinced.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wants to fix the filibuster by making Senators actually filibuster. It’s a good idea.

Bridget Terry Long, a professor of education and economics at Harvard, argues that we should give prospective college students and their families better information on such matters as loan burdens, graduation rates, average class size, average aid package, salaries earned and positions held by recent graduates, and alumni satisfaction.

The Pentagon could have taken down WikiLeaks but decided not to. Out of kindness, I suppose.

Meghan McCain doesn’t know what a “blue blood” is but doesn’t want to be called one.

Tonight’s topics: The fallout from the latest WikiLeaks dump and the Pentagon’s report on gays in the military.

WikiLeaks has been dumped from Amazon’s servers.

The prospective Republican field for 2012 is dismal. Then again, it always is.

A top Saudi cleric says nothing in the Koran forbids women from driving cars.

Citibank is helping the US catch up to the rest of the world with free, easy wire transfers.

Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is speaking positively about an Amendment that would drastically alter the relationship between the Federal Government and the states, and a method of ratifying it that could do serious damage to the Constitution as a whole.

Mike Bloomberg says we’re electing people to Congress who “can’t read” and “don’t have passports.”

The US has always outspent our G7 brethren on healthcare but the divergence has skyrocketed over the last three decades.

Another Federal Judge dismisses a Constitutional challenge to the health care reform law, and demonstrates just how unlikely it is that any of the lawsuits against the law will be successful.

The Republican Party is united on the issues in a way it hasn’t been in a long time, but personalities threaten to tear the fragile coalition apart.

The latest wrong of documents from Wikileaks show that American diplomats are as worried about Pakistan as the rest of us, and not quite sure how to deal with the situation.

The Feds famously got notorious mobster Al Capone on tax evasion charges. Will WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be done in by sex crimes?

Is there really anyone who can credibly argue at this point that the policy regarding homosexuals openly serving in the armed services is anything other than basic discrimination?

The Pentagon has spoken. Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would not cause any real harm to the military, they have said. Now, the ball is in the court of the United States Senate.

Should blogs and other online forums ban anonymous comments?

Former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough wants the GOP to stop kowtowing to Sarah Palin and her acolytes. He’s right.