Outside the Beltway

Blogging has changed much over the last decade, and not all for the good.

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.

Another conflict between the Obama Administration and a news media that is frustrated about the extent they are being controlled by being refused access.

It wasn’t a Thermonuclear move, more like something the size of Hiroshima, but today the Senate took an historic move nonetheless.

Ken Cuccinelli still hasn’t called to congratulate Terry McAuliffe. Why does this odd custom continue?

Republicans aren’t happy with their leadership. The reason why is also the reason why Republicans are in trouble politically.

Certain aspects of Egyptian civic life have improved rapidly in the wake of the military coup, raising at least some questions about the events leading up to it.

The Supreme Court’s handling of standing in the two same-sex marriage cases likely seems contradictory to many outside observers.

A new round of documents from the IRS, that aren’t really new, doesn’t really change the basic narrative on the IRS “targeting” story.

A major Constitutional ruling from the Supreme Court.

A new Congressional Budget Office report finds real economic benefits from immigration reform.

Thanks to the Supreme Court, your DNA cannot be patented.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?

The NSA’s data mining project is about more than just subpoenas for cell phone records.

Marco Rubio is threatening to withdraw support for the immigration plan he helped draft, but I would suggest not reading too much into that threat.

The Obama Administration’s aggressive pursuit of leaks is threatening freedom of the press.

Homicide rates are on pace to be lower than they were at the start of the 20th Century.

The world oil markets aren’t too far away from being hit by the shock of massively increased demand from China. Somehow, we’ll have to adapt.

There’s a very simple reason why gun control is stalling in Congress despite its popularity in the polls.

There’s an innocent explanation for giving a huge bonus to a financial exec going into government. And it still stinks.

A theory on why Benghazi will not die as a political issue.

For the moment, Republicans appear to be blocking Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense but they don’t seem to know why they’re doing it.