Outside the Beltway

The Chairmen of the National Debt Commission have released a draft report for consideration. It’s got some very good ideas, but it’s most likely Dead On Arrival.

According to reports, the Obama Administration is set to abandon the July 2011 withdrawal deadline that was set earlier this year.

There’s a move afoot to postpone the election of the House Democratic leadership. Why should people who were defeated in the recent elections have a say? And, surely, those just elected should have a vote.

Joe Miller is suing to ensure that only write-in votes that correctly spell “Lisa Murkowski” count rather than allowing voting officials to guess at voter intent.

An incident at a school in England provides us with an object lesson in why the often derided concept of separation of church and state is an important part of protecting individual liberty.

Of the five countries that use the death penalty the most, only one is a democracy.

Rand Paul is taking some heat for remarks that may or may not indicate that he’s backtracking on his previous vow not to seek earmark spending for Kentucky. Yes folks, the phony war on earmarks is back.

The odds that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will be repealed anytime in the near future are fairly close to zero thanks to the results of last Tuesday’s elections.

The New York Times has joined the mostly muted chorus calling on Democrats to select someone other than Nancy Pelosi as their new Minority Leader. In all likelihood, their call will go unheeded.

Republicans are making some big promises to try to lure West Virginia Senator-elect Joe Manchin to cross the aisle.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb is the last of a dying breed of Democrats, but his party may need him if it wants to remain competitive anywhere outside of a Blue State.

A new Oklahoma law that bans Sharia law from being enforced in state courts may have some very unintended consequences.

With Democrats set to maintain their majority in the Senate, some on the left are pushing for filibuster reform. However, it seems unlikely that Harry Reid has the votes to change a long-standing Senate rule.

The two episode suspension of Keith Olbermann lends credence to the theory that the whole thing was a publicity stunt designed to support MSNBC’s assertion that its opinion shows are somehow more pure than the shows on FOX.

NYT columnist Nick Kristoff says America’s income inequality makes us a banana republic.

His career seemingly over after being trounced in an independent bid for the Senate, Florida Governor Charlie Crist is turning his attention to the pressing matter of three-decade-old conviction of a long dead pop singer.

When conservatives start attacking one of their own for pointing out the obvious, you really have to wonder if they want to win.

Keith Olbermann was reportedly suspended for failing to apologize for making political donations to Democratic candidates, but it really seems intended to serve to justify the illusion that MSNBC’s programming is not partisan.

They’ve won the elections, but Republicans still aren’t getting specific about exactly where they’d cut Federal spending.

While health experts warn Americans to cut the amount of fat in their diet, the Federal Government helps businesses like Domino’s and Taco Bell promote high-fat products to the public.

Those images on your Facebook page may come back to haunt you if you decide to run for office someday.

Taxpayer “watchdog” groups are urging House Republicans to cut Congressional pay as an act of symbolism. It’s symbolism all right, pointless symbolism.

As impressive as Republican gains in this week’s elections were at the national level, they were even more so in state legislative races. Which means Republicans are in position to consolidate and expand upon their recent gains.

Dana Milbank asks, “Would we be better off under a President Hillary Clinton?” His affirmative answer isn’t very convincing.

72 percent of black babies are born to unmarried mothers today, compared to 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans.

An imaginary letter from Mick Jagger to “the journalist Bill Wyman” in reference to Keith Richards’ new autobiography has been making the rounds. Oddly, everyone seems to think Jagger actually wrote the piece.