Outside the Beltway

The appointment of white supremacist to a State Department slot creates some thoughts.

The slur “Trump Derangement Syndrome” unintentionally captures something real about our world.

Tim Pawlenty said in a speech on Friday that America needs to “turn toward God.”

To the shock of no one, Mitt Romney announced his bid for the GOP presidential nomination today.

We need to stop talking as if the Medicare debate is a question of the Ryan Plan v. the Status Quo.

Sarah Palin has commissioned a film to bolster her reputation. This is very intriguing on a number of levels.

The selection process for the Joint Chiefs has been most odd.

Romney wants to make a federalism based argument for why his MA health care bill is good, while the PPACA is tyrannical. However, just saying that is not an argument.

How much of public opinion is about tribal political identification and how much is about the actual policies themselves?

Do people really understand the taxes we pay?

Did a deal between the U.S. and Pakistan during the infancy of the war against al Qaeda play a role in the raid against Osama bin Laden?

An attempt at explaining where I am coming from on in the health care discussion.

The myth that the U.S. armed and trained Osama bin Laden in the early 80’s is rearing its ugly head again.

Obama’s main politics are hardly as leftist as many make them out to be. Indeed, much of them could have fit well in the the GOP of 1990s and early 2000s.

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

For the first time, Donald Trump is leading a poll for the GOP 2012 nomination. That’s bad news for the GOP.

Will the Ryan Plan ever be voted out of the House?

The GOP seems to be telling President Obama that revenue increases are off the table. That’s a huge mistake.

Paul Krugman is disappointed with the President, but it’s really his own fault for being so naive.

Defense Secretary Gates hinted this week that the U.S. would stay in Iraq if the Iraqis wanted. It doesn’t seem like they do.

The Obama Administration has given up on the idea of trying the September 11th suspects in a civilian court. Considering how much that trial would have perverted the justice system, that’s a good thing.

If you believe Minnesota Vikings’ Running Back Adrian Peterson, the NFL is a modern-day plantation and he’s a slave.

Republican budget cuts to this point have been less than serious.

Was the GOP’s maneuver legit? And what’s next?

More evidence of what we already knew: the public isn’t especially interested in cutting entitlements.

Establishing a no-fly zone isn’t likely to be enough to remove the current Libyan regime from power.

Some conservatives are finally waking up and realizing what people like Glenn Beck are doing to the movement. It’s probably too late, though.

A new poll finds that Republican policies on immigration are chasing Latino voters straight into the arms of the Democratic Party.

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.

President Obama is telling business they have a social responsibility to invest in America. He’s wrong.

Sarah Palin spoke about Ronald Reagan last night, but seems to have forgotten the optimism that is part of The Gipper’s legacy.

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