Outside the Beltway

The only reasons Michael Kinsley can conjure for opposing the Park51 project are bigotry and political opportunism. Unless you’re a really smart columnist.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

Rick Lazio is running for Governor of New York and he’s found an issue in the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” but it doesn’t seem to be helping him in the polls.

Yes, when you blame one group of people for the actions of other, especially irrationally so, that qualifies as scapegoating.

Steve Emerson has reportedly found 13 hours of tape of Cordoba Initiative chairman Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and found him to be a “radical extremist cleric who cloaks himself in sheep’s clothing.” Does it matter?

A small slice of what people at the epicenter of the Park51 controversy have to say.

The Associated Press tells its reports to stop using the phrase “Ground Zero Mosque.” That’s a good thing.

Twenty percent of Americans still believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. Not only is it wrong, it says something rather disturbing about our country.

If the response to Cordoba House isn’t basically being anti-Muslim, what is it?

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

Some Republicans are start to wonder if it’s such a good idea for their party to be so closely associated with the heated rhetoric surrounding the future of this former Burlington Coat Factory.

Given public opinion on the proposed Islamic community center that is currently cominating the news, we would expect that opposition to the project would be strongest in Manhattan itself.

How did the future of this former Burlington Coat Factory turn into a national political issue ? Well, it’s a rather interesting story.

President Obama waded into the “Ground Zero” mosque controversy at a Ramadan dinner last night.

The average federal government employee earns twice as much as the average private sector worker. An outrage? Not so much.

Holland became the first NATO member to pull out of Afghanistan. How long before the rest follow?

A number of disturbing incidents point towards increased anti-Islam hostility in the United States.

The United States Congress is starting to resemble a grade-school playground.

The Anti-Defamation League has taken an unfortunate stand on a issue involving religious tolerance and bigotry.

Why I wasn’t fooled by Barack Obama’s campaign promises to curb presidential power.

The Lt. Governor of Tennessee suggested recently that religious freedom possibly shouldn’t apply to Muslims, but he’s only part of the problem.

Contrary to what you read on bumper stickers, retired Lt. Col William Astore argues that not every soldier is a hero. He’s right.

Sarah Palin tweeted, and took the wrong side in a story that doesn’t even deserve to be a controversy.

Since 9/11 there has been a steady trickle of stories about jihadists hooking up with Latin American drug cartels and the like. Here is a guide of story points that can help you identify when such a story is almost certainly bogus.

Once again, the knives are out for Michael Steele after his recent Afghanistan gaffe.

Did the American media cover up torture by the Bush Administration?

Press can assert all he wants that his call to suppress Beck’s rights “has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” but that’s transparent hokum.

Americans on both sides of the aisle throw around words like “tyranny” and “fascism” about our system. But there are constant small reminders we are under the rule of law.