Outside the Beltway

With the nomination pretty much inevitable, it’s time to start thinking about Romney’s running mate.

Does Joe Biden think he can succeed his boss?

Janelle Nanos investigates her relationship with her iPhone.

A discussion in the comments thread of my “Time Running Out For GOP?” post led me to a post from four-plus years ago by frequent commenter and erstwhile blogger* Michael Reynolds titled “Money, Bombs and Jesus.”

Have Americans divided themselves into what are becoming increasingly different cultures?

So, how did we get to the point where a fat, condescending, serial adulterer who left office in disgrace twelve years ago is the latest challenger for the conservative mantle?

Why does wine get so much more written treatment than beer?

“It’s Time to Switch to Whiskey” by Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans

What do this people want? Can’t you read the signs?

Foie gras will soon be illegal in California, so some are indulging as much as possible now.

Measuring our progress a decade after the 9/11 attacks

If you haven’t experienced the joys of peddling around Germany with 15 of your closest friends while enjoying several liters of Munich’s finest, you’re too late.

The more education you have, the more you’re likely to spend on booze.

Tim Pawlenty is rethinking his campaign strategy.

Netflix will charge $7.99 for streaming video; it’s now a $2 add-on.

British professor Julian Lindley-French offers a tongue-in-cheek essay for the 4th of July: “American Independence: Time to End the Experiment.”

James Arness, best known as the iconic Marshal Dillon on Gunsmoke, has died at 88.

Elias Isquith proclaims my Atlantic essay “How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology” to be “a total disaster.”

Breaking News.

Facebook limits accounts to those who say that they are at least 13 years old. Shockingly, some kids lie to get on the popular social network.

It’s a Republican meme that President Obama has “apologized” for America repeatedly. The one problem with the meme is that there aren’t any facts to support it.

I drink more coffee a month than the average person does a year. Indeed, I easily go through more than the 12 kilograms that represents the top end of the scale.

The success of Christian conservatives in blocking efforts to legalize Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia demonstrates why concentrating solely on national politics is a mistake.

They’re from the government, and they’re here to take that tasty snack out of your hands.

The federal government’s newest dietary guidelines have finally stated that which has long been between the lines: Americans eat too damn much food.

The Presidency has lost the aura of mystique that used to surround it, and that’s a good thing.

Sarah Deming has a longish column “Against Mixology,” decrying both the use of that title by barkeeps and, more importantly, the snootiness which often attends those who do.

While the amount of wealth controlled by the top 1% is at record highs, real inequality is smaller than ever.

Some DC based hipsters want to know why America doesn’t have good pubs like in London. It turns out, they’re everywhere.

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

Are the American people finally waking up to the absurdity of TSA security theater? One can only hope they are.

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

American troops in Afghanistan are overindulging in the fast food fare brought in to raise their morale.

This November, California could become the first state in the nation to completely legalize the possession and sale of marijuana. And the battle over the ballot initiative is having an impact on other statewide races.

If there’s an area where our attitudes and behaviors have changed more radically in my lifetime than gender equality, I can’t think of it.