Outside the Beltway

Just one day into the new Congress, the first confrontation is already set.

There’s not a whole lot the United States can do to respond effectively and proportionally to North Korea’s hacking attack against Sony.

President Obama believes the North Korean attack on Sony was “an act of cyber vandalism” rather than “an act of war.”

The U.S. Government has formally charged North Korea with responsibility for the hacking attack on Sony. How to respond to that attack is a more complicated question.

Sony is warning the press not to publish material leaked by hackers, but it doesn’t have much of a legal leg to stand on.

The budget bill Congress set to pass Congress would effectively reverse the will of the voters of Washington, D.C., who just voted to legalize marijuana.

Russia’s own government is projecting that its economy will slip into recession next year. How that will impact Putin’s current belligerence remains to be seen.

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

For better or worse, Marion Barry was a fixture in D.C. politics for much of the 40 year period of home rule that began in 1975.

Adapting a relic of the 20th Century to the 21st Century.

All the warnings of violence in the wake of an expected imminent announcement from the Grand Jury in the Michael brown case could become self-fulfilling prophecy.

Quietly, oil prices have been falling for months now. That’s potentially a very big deal.

The first person to be quarantined under the new policy announced by New York and New Jersey is raising concerns about the way she was treated, and whether the policy is even the right idea.

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

The U.S. Air Campaign Against ISIS Is Much Bigger Than You Think

As we head into a new conflict, perhaps we ought to give more thought to fiscal issues than the President is to overall strategy.

Jess Zimmerman offers “An ingenious way to save the comments section,” if she does say so herself.

Self-described socialist Bernie Sanders is contemplating an independent run for the presidency.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Just about two years ago, we dodged a bullet. We might not be so lucky next time.

The next phase of Israel’s attack on Hamas has begun.

An effort yesterday to bring about a cease fire in Gaza came to naught when Hamas rejected the proposal.

Iraq continues to fall apart.

The US intelligence community is gambling that it can be more efficient through a public-private partnership than going it alone.

Trying to make sense of a very complicated issue.

Things look to be going from bad to worse in Gaza.

Emil Henry makes “The Case for Mitt Romney in 2016.”

Recent events in Iraq have opened up old domestic political arguments in the United States.

More problems for the planned 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

If conservatives actually believed what they said they do, they would be much more open to immigrants, and immigration reform.

Crony capitalism in The Sooner State.

Refusing to raise the debt ceiling does nothing at all to control spending.

A big setback for the UAW.

Ten months ago, a group of people attacked a power substation in California. Who they were and why they did it remains a mystery.

Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett explains “Why the South Fell Apart in the Snow.”

Iran has promised to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Nearly six months later, it’s hard to find any good in the July military coup in Egypt.

A bunch of people talking on cellphones during a plane flight would annoy the heck out of me, but the government shouldn’t be involved in deciding if it should be allowed.

Hey Uncle, you’re fired.

Some signs from Silicon Valley seem to indicate that the heady days of the 90s Tech Bubble are returning.