Outside the Beltway

Establishing a no-fly zone in Libya won’t stop the Civil War, and it’s likely to draw the United States further into a conflict that it needs to stay out of.

It’s institutions of government – not its size – that matter when it comes to how good a job the government does.

As gas and oil prices rise, the pressure is increasing to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s a dumb idea.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is being treated worse than a Prisoner Of War, and he hasn’t been convicted of a crime yet.

Two new polls reflect the extent to which public attitudes on same-sex marriage have changed dramatically over the past twenty years, and it’s only a matter of time before that’s reflected in the law.

Judge Roger Vinson stayed his own ruling in the Florida ObamaCare lawsuit today and acted to speed up the appellate process, but not by much.

Intervening to “help” the Libyan revolt is very tempting, but it’s a temptation we ought to resist.

The most likely cuts in federal spending are likely to actually increase the deficit over time.

Opposition to marriage equality is no longer the wedge issue it used to be.

President Obama’s decision to decline to defend Section Three of the Defense Of Marriage Act on appeal was a proper and appropriate exercise of his authority as President Of The United States.

Judge Gladys Kessler upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, but she did so by essentially ruling that the Interstate Commerce Clause means whatever Congress wants it to mean.

Huge news in the marriage equality debate today as the Obama Administration has decided not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court anymore.

Calls are coming from both sides of the aisle for the U.S. to do “something” about the situation in Libya. It would be better if we didn’t get involved.

Is Jon Stewart a useful idiot?

The American right has become infected with the notion that Barack Obama isn’t just wrong, but evil. That won’t be healthy in the long run.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell says he won’t comply with any of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but his decision seems to rest of precarious legal ground.

The White House Press Office produces a blog, YouTube channel, Flickr photo stream, Facebook and Twitter profiles, and daily video programming.

We need to remember who actually sets the budget and, further, who is ultimtately responsible for the behavior of politicians.

Shirley Sherrod’s lawsuit against Andrew Brietbart promises to be an interesting test of the boundaries of defamation law in the political blogosphere.

Ezra Klein dubs the Federal government “an insurance conglomerate protected by a large, standing army.”

The Obama Justice Department says it can look at phone records without warrants or judicial oversight.

The Obama administration’s investigation into Toyota safety problems has found no electronic flaws to account for reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration and other safety problems.

Hosni Mubarak may hang on to some semblance of power longer than many expected in the middle of last weeks chaos, mostly because there are few other alternatives right now.

Sarah Palin said something about the crisis in Egypt, but it’s not at all clear what she meant.

The end game in Egypt may be beginning.

Breaking news from CNN.

The United States is facing a serious public relations problem among the Egyptian people.

The Obama administration’s slow and cautious response to Egypt’s protest was frustrating. And correct.

Anti-government protests raged in Egypt for a second day, and nobody seems to know where they’re headed.

Demanding that the new GOP House hold the line at the current number is satisfying rhetorically, but all-but-impossible politically.

Time for midterms.

Inevitably, the Nazis made an appearance during yesterday’s debate over health care reform in the House. It’s time for it to stop, or at least time for the rest of us to stop taking seriously anyone who resorts to such arguments.

The Stuxnet virus that has set back the Iranian nuclear weapons program by several years at least appears to have originated as a joint project between the United States and Israel.