Outside the Beltway

Should it matter if a teacher has an accent?

More pay for play at the White House?

With the economy at the forefront of the public’s mind, the GOP needs to be careful in its response to President Obama’s new jobs bill.

Whether it’s a “Ponzi Scheme” or not, Social Security has serious systemic problems that must be addressed.

Governor, that analogy does not mean what you think it means.

Mitt Romney’s jobs plan is detailed, but it doesn’t seem to be impressing anyone.

Sarah Palin’s much-anticipated Tea Party speech in Iowa was, in the end, much ado about nothing.

Environmentalists are upset by President Obama’s decision to abandon stringent new smog regulations, but he made the right decision.

Obama’s economic policies are failing because he’s listening to conservatives – not small businesses.

Jon Huntsman is out with a tax and jobs plan that deserves a lot more attention than it’s likely to get.

Ensuring the integrity of the voting process is a worthy goal, not evidence of discrimination.

As Hurricane Irene makes its way up the East Coast, Ron Paul says disaster relief isn’t a job for the Federal Government.

In the book he released last year , Rick Perry advocated far reaching changes to the Constitution.

Taking an initial look into the Texas economy.

Rick Perry will need to get past Michele Bachmann before he takes on Mitt Romney. But, really, how hard could it be?

Today is Cost of Government Day, at least for those who can’t do math.

If we cannot adequately diagnose our problems it will be even harder to fix them.

Lost in the hubbub of S&P downgrading the US bond rating is news that the Italian government has the ratings agencies under criminal investigation.

A question about borrowing.

A Federal Appeals Court says the full body image scanners showing up in airports are Constitutional.

While unemployment remains stubbornly high, Washington is spending its time fighting over the budget deficit

Judging by the June jobs report, there’s no economic recovery coming in the near future.

Not surprisingly, people still order that big juicy cheeseburger even after being told it contains over 1,000 calories.

The so-called “14th Amendment option” to fix the debt ceiling crisis is really just a prescription for an even more powerful Presidency.

President Obama wants a million hybrid cars on the road by 2015. That’s easier said than done.

The first Appeals Court decision on the Affordable Care Act was a victory for the government.

A setback for Planned Parenthood opponents.

Contrary to what Senator McCain, seeking realism in military policy does not make one an isolationist.

What was that, a joke about shovel ready jobs not being so shovel ready. Yeah unemployment a topic ripe for great comedy.

Charging soldiers $200 for an extra bag on their way home for war? Really Delta?

Tim Pawlenty’s new fiscal plan isn’t very grounded in reality.

Is Peter Diamond qualified to be a Fed governor?

Science fiction writers have envisioned men flying around in their own personal jetpacks for decades. It may finally be a reality.

While President Obama has had some amusing gaffes on his trip to London, including getting the year wrong in the guest book and an awkward toast to the Queen, his speech to Parliament today hit all the right notes.

Stephen Colbert has been running an ongoing shtick in which he’s trying to start a political action committee, gets letters from his Viacom bosses poo-pooing the idea, and then inviting his lawyer on to explain ways to get around these concerns.

Mitt Romney began his effort to confront what is likely to be his biggest political liability in the 2012 campaign.

The Pew Center is out with a new political typology.

Congress is coming back to Washington and gas prices continue to rise. Expect a lot of demagoguery, but very little in the way of solutions.

Terry Jones may sue the City of Dearborn for its prior restraint actions against him. And he should.

More on that freeloader problem (today with less snark).

Is our current economic situation the result of massive government intervention? The Randians certainly think so.