Outside the Beltway

The much-anticipated escalation has happened. Now to see how the United States and its allies respond.

A depressing magazine piece argues it is.

The Politician’s Syllogism rears its ugly head.

Hungary is part of a broader global trend, but the real issue isn’t Hungary, it is the Americans who praise Hungary.

Even the smartest designers can’t anticipate all the flaws with the rules they write.

Multiple indicators point to a decline in the representativeness of the American system.

Some reflections

The longtime public servant has died, aged 100.

Yet another grim milestone.

Seeking to have a US citizen investigated by a foreign government based on innuendo is a major problem.

Thirty years ago today, history took off in a brand new direction.

President Trump has reportedly pledged to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States would not speak out against Chinese actions in Hong Kong.

More information released last night confirmed the extent to which the United States was linking progress on its relationship with Ukraine to an investigation of Joe Biden and his son.

More of the wit and wisdom of the 45th President of the United States.

Evidence appears to clearly established that Russia used many of the same social media efforts it used in the United States in 2016 to interfere in the recent European Parliament elections.

Seventy-five years ago today, American soldiers and our allies undertook an invasion that helped change the world.

While the drumbeat for impeachment of the President continues on the left, political reality suggests caution.

The cost of Trump’s trade policies are well beyond the cost of soy beans.

Surprising pollsters and political analysts down under, Australia’s ruling center-right coalition pulled off a big win in Saturday’s election.

Free expression sometimes enables horrible crimes. How does a free society deal with that tension?

A filing in an unrelated case has apparently revealed the existence of a sealed indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

One hundred years after the end of World War One, the forces that led to it are waking up from a long slumber.

Angela Merkel announced yesterday that she would step aside as Chancellor at the end of her current term. What that means for the short and long term future of Germany and Europe is unclear.

The dispute over Ukraine between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Patriarch is widening and nearing the point of a complete break.

Last week, the Polish President floated the idea of a permanent U.S. military base in Poland. It’s a bad idea no matter how you look at it.

The NATO Summit is going about as well as can be expected.

On the eve of the NATO Summit, President Trump continues to engage in tactics that seem to serve no purpose other than to undermine America’s most important and successful alliance.

The right-wing government in Warsaw has purged more than one-third of the members of the Polish Supreme Court in a crackdown on political opponents.

The Polish Government has amended a controversial law that sought to punish people for discussing the role that some Poles played in the Holocaust.

The arguments in favor of a permanent U.S./NATO base in Poland are not very convincing.

Poland makes the U.S. and NATO an offer they might want to consider refusing.

The United States has joined Great Britain and much of Europe in retaliating against Russia for the attempted murder of a former Russian spy on British soil.

Poland’s new Holocaust legislation just keeps sounding worse and worse.

Despite what his own intelligence chiefs are saying, President Trump still does not believe that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Poland’s President has signed a controversial bill that purports to criminalize any effort to tie Poland to the Holocaust.

The Polish Government appears ready to approve a law that seeks to whitewash the truth about the role that many Poles played in the Holocaust.

Two Republicans spoke out today against the President’s war on the news media, but don’t expect their colleagues to follow suit.

After a long wait, gays and lesbians in Australia have achieved marriage equality.

Early on the morning of Sept. 26, 1983, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov helped to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war.

Another escalation on the Korean peninsula.

Reports are indicating that President Trump may cancel or delay his trip to the United Kingdom due to planned protests.

A legendary statesman has passed.

After 100 days in office, President Trump has very little to show for his work except to show that there’s no reason to trust his judgment going forward.

It’s been a bad week for U.S.-Russian relations.

Another attack in what has been a bloody 2016 for Europe.

The situation in the Middle East just potentially became much more complicated.

Donald Trump resurrects an old debate and desecrates the Constitution in the process.

Another great loss for music in what has been a difficult year.