Outside the Beltway

The Occupy Wall Street protests look more like a temper tantrum than a substantive protest movement.

The health care battle is formally joined in the Supreme Court.

Should it matter if a teacher has an accent?

During last night’s debate, Mitt Romney repeated a charge that has become part of the conservative zeitgeist. But is it true?

President Obama explained his position on the Palestinian statehood resolution today, but one wonders if anyone listened.

Workers account for 80% of the Postal Service budget vs. 53% at UPS and 32% at FedEx.

Arthur C. Clarke predicts the future on a 1964 BBC Horizon program.

Rick Perry isn’t as radical as some on the left are saying, but that doesn’t mean he’s any good.

Madison went to Philadelphia wanting to increase the power of the central government over the states (quite a bit, in fact).

Examining the impact of current events requires stepping back from them just a little bit.

Michele Bachmann’s view of history is based in a world view that would be foreign to most Americans.

International options with respect to Syria are limited and likely to have little impact on the governments treatment of civilians.

Will the trial of Hosni Mubarak actually change anything?

Some thoughts on the American experiment at 235 years and counting.

As with most of the other issues facing us, our political conversation about climate change and what to do about it basically just involves yelling at each other.

Are you better off than you were four years ago?

If there’s anything all sides should be able to agree on after several days of back-and-forth is that most of us didn’t really know the story.

A system designed to protect the innocent has instead become a menagerie to imprison them. A legal code designed to proscribe specific behavior has instead become a vast, vague, and unpredictable invitation to selective enforcement.

The real story of Paul Revere’s ride has little to do with Sarah Palin’s odd tale, no matter what her defenders say.

Overfishing may mean a near term future in which there are no more fish in the sea.

Palin has some odd things to say about US history.

Remember Egypt?

Gil Scott-Heron, most famous “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” has died at 62.

A summary of the status of the “Arab Spring” uprisings with links to news coverage and commentary.

Jon Huntsman made his first stop in New Hampshire as he explores a presidential bid. So far, so good.

Why the United States has found itself in a seemingly endless series of wars over the past two decades.

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.

The U.S. seems to be on the verge of changing war strategies in Libya, even as it becomes clear that these rebels aren’t necessarily our friends.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is the latest Republican to reject the idea that America is a secular nation.

Did President Obama pull off a diplomatic masterstroke? Or is he muddling through?

We’re heading towards a future of higher food prices and more hunger.

In just over a decade, America has gone from a bipartisan consensus that torture and brutality are bad to a bipartisan consensus that they’re necessary.

An update on Tunisia.

A day after apologizing for an odd comment about the President’s upbringing, Mike Huckabee now feeds into the conservative myth that Barack Obama isn’t a real American.

The fight over Federal funding for Planned Parenthood seems to be about much more than whether taxpayer dollars should be going to Planned Parenthood.