Outside the Beltway

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak responded to mass unrest by cutting off his people from the outside world. Do we really want an American President to have the same power?

Was the 2011 SOTU a blatant rip-off of past speeches? Or simply banal?

Does Russia really spend more on roads than we do?

The Republican Study Committee has come up with some significant budget cuts.

Despite a bad week and a half, there are still signs that Sarah Palin is at least looking at a run for the White House in 2012. Which may be why some Republicans seem to be getting worried about her.

President Obama is supporting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Is this the end of America?

The incoming House Republicans aren’t making a good first impression.

The latest Wikileaks leak is a list of foreign infrastructure sites deemed vital to U. S. security.

While the University of Oregon’s athletic programs are flourishing in a seas of green, its academic programs are woefully underfunded.

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

Sarah Palin has taken to her Facebook page to raise “Serious Questions about the Obama Administration’s Incompetence in the WikiLeaks Fiasco.” They’re more interesting than I’d expected.

Thomas Ricks laments that the combination of the all-volunteer military and lower top marginal rates mean that the wealthy have “checked out of America and moved into physical and mental gated communities.” To solve this problem, he proposed bringing back the draft.

Airport security is less intrusive in Communist China and war torn Afghanistan than in the USA. Have we finally had enough?

Okahoma’s James Inhofe has a message for the Tea Party movement — don’t be fooled by the “War On Earmarks.”

Unless eliminating earmarks coincides with a radical reconception of how our government operates, it may be a step in the wrong direction.

Peggy Noonan argues that Tuesday’s elections shows that Americans want to be led by accomplished grown-ups and will reject people who seem empty or crazy.

Fast Internet access is becoming a necessity for modern life. Should we subsidize it by eliminating the Postal Service?

Sarah Palin is causing headaches among fellow Republicans regarding her 2010 endorsement activities.

Jonah Goldberg observes, “It took 410 days to build the Empire State Building; four years to erect the Golden Gate Bridge. The Pentagon took two years; the Alaska Highway just nine months. These days it takes longer to build an overpass.”

Harry Reid think it’s his Constitutional duty spend other people’s money and bring it home to Nevada. His constituents seem to have other ideas this year.

New Jersey’s governor has killed a vital infrastructure project because of huge cost overruns. It’s penny wise and pound foolish.

The State Department’s terrorism threat warning for Europe is probably meaningless. If it isn’t, it’ll be perceived that way.

If the Obama Administration gets it’s way, your secure Internet communications won’t really be all that secure.

Paul Krugman says there’s zero evidence for structural causes for unemployment. It’s just a demand problem. How do we spark demand, then?

For the moment, the Tea Party movement is helping pull the GOP out of a slump that seemed like it would continue for a long time. Will it last, or will the movement end up doing for Republicans what the left has done for Democrats ?

Bryan Caplan argues that the fact so many kids in the developing world don’t go to school proves that education isn’t very valuable.

According to Paul Krugman’s latest column, the massive destruction of World War Two was actually good for the U.S. economy. Sadly, there are people who consider him an expert.

A new insurance industry survey confirms what anyone who’s spent an afternoon driving in metropolitan Washington, D.C. should already know in their heart.

Fareed Zakaria argues that the fact al Qaeda has not launched a major attack on U.S. soil since 9/11 proves we overreacted to those attacks. I beg to differ.

Sarah Palin’s decision to back a long-shot candidate in the GOP Senate primary in Alaska didn’t exactly work out as planned.

An essay claiming that the TED talks are “the new Harvard” is gaining some traction from a lot of people who ought know better.

A helpful guide to the pleasures of navigating our nation’s capital by car, bike, or foot.

Wherein only one of the various consequences of altering the current status of birthright citizenship is considered: more paperwork for us all.

Congress has been wrestling with the net neutrality issue for years. Two major players may force a decision soon.

Three different ways they’re viewing the leaked “war logs” across the Pond.

The median duration of unemployment is at levels not seen in decades. What do we do about it?

Oakland marijuana growers worry that regulation will turn their product from a niche specialty to a mass market commodity.

President Obama was shocked –SHOCKED! — to learn that bureaucracy and contracting hassles delay construction projects.