Outside the Beltway

The United States has promised $150 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. Should we have?

The New York Times is reporting that the Obama Administration has convinced Israel that Iran is much further away from developing nuclear weapons than Tel Aviv fears, but there seems to be something else going on here.

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

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

Rand Paul’s initial mis-steps after winning the Republican primary seem to be largely behind him.

Ann Coulter has been dis-invited from a World Net Daily conference for her decision to speak at a convention sponsored by a gay conservative group.

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.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, appearing on San Francisco’s KCBS radio, called for an investigation in the efforts to stop the building of a Muslim cultural center at the hallowed Burlington Coat Factory location blocks from Ground Zero.

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.

Renowned author Ray Bradbury hates big government but wants it to fund the colonization of Mars. That a man of his intelligence and insight can hold such diametrically opposed thoughts is an amusing reminder of the limits of human rationality.

Either Obama’s Defense Secretary and commanding general are conspiring to undermine his July 11 deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan or that they’re carrying out his intent.

Ross Douthat’s latest New York Times column demonstrates an appalling misunderstanding of history in the context of immigration.

Free parking is a very inefficient use of land resources that wouldn’t exist without government mandates and subsidies. Is it time to end the practice?

The GOP is playing a dangerous game with the anti-Islamic rhetoric that it seems to be courting these days.

President Obama’s decision to speak out on the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” has turned what was a hot-button cable news item into a political issue that even his fellow Democrats don’t want to deal with.

Steve Slater, the JetBlue sky waiter whose recent meltdown became a viral sensation, wants his old job back.

A staggering 8 percent of all babies born in the United States in 2008 were offspring of illegal aliens. What are the public policy implications?

Jenny, the hottie who quit her job in style using a dry erase board and became an Internet sensation, is actually an actress named Elyse Porterfield.

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

Another round of primaries last night made the playing field for November just a little bit clearer to see.

A special tax rate for millionaires wouldn’t raise much additional revenue but it would make journalists feel better.

Are government imposed mandates making it impossible for businesses to justify hiring new workers?

Protests against mosques aren’t just limited to Manhattan. And that’s a problem.

There’s a war of words developing between the Pentagon and the information-sharing website Wikileaks.

That attitudes towards gay marriage varies by state won’t surprise you. The degree to which it does just might.

Some Democrats who support ending the Bush tax cuts for high earners want to exempt their own rich constituents.

How does the Electoral College influence policy and campaigning?

Twenty-five years after retiring as President Reagan’s Budget Director, David Stockman is back with a scathing indictment of Republican fiscal policies over the past four decades.

American Conservatism has changed significantly since the days of William F. Buckley Jr. One former National Review editor says that it’s changed for the worse.

General Motors, and Barack Obama, are betting the future on a car that may be nothing more than an electric lemon.

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

The Electoral College is the worst way to elect a President, except for all the others.

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.

Despite facing a thirteen-count ethics complaint, Charlie Rangel probably isn’t going anywhere.