Outside the Beltway

Taliban Edition

Tuberville claims he was taken “out of context.”

A true inspiration

The Pentagon’s Inspector General is “concerned” over the pace of rejections.

The notion of a kinder, gentler version has quickly been debunked.

The Lone Star State has enacted some peculiar new laws.

Speaking of xenophobia.

Two-thirds want social media platforms to ban harassment and racist, sexist, and other offensive speech.

Not surprisingly, John Bolton has some links to particularly shady people on the right.

Nine years later, at least one member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is admitting what seemed at the time a rather obvious fact.

Polling remains uncertain in the Alabama Senate race, but the odds favor Roy Moore.

Roy Moore wishes he was back in the days of cotton when families were close and African-Americans were enslaved.

Progress in Saudi Arabia, but there’s still a long way for this backward, discriminatory society to go.

The Pat Tina Sings The Blues Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The President gathered supporters around him, and blatantly lied to them, so as to increase support for his policies.

Ben Carson may be a non-entity in the Presidential race at this point, but that hasn’t stopped him from making controversial statements.

Meet Ted Cruz: Religious Bigot

The Atlantic has a fascinating cover story by Graeme Wood titled “What ISIS Really Wants.”

The same-sex marriage battle is on in Alabama

The Khorasan Group is, functionally, al Qaeda. Or is it?

Ahmed Abu Kattalah, the alleged ringleader of the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, has been arrested.

A supposed conservative calls for massive increases in taxes on alcohol.

The New York Times Benghazi report raises as many questions as it purports to answer.

More details.

Radical Islamists now dominate the Syrian opposition. And you’re arming them.

Turkey has had along and ongoing struggle with democratic consolidation.

I have for months taken it as a given that she went on five Sunday morning talk shows and lied about what happened there. Did she?

The Obama Administration’s response to the Benghazi attack is approaching critical mass. It’s not going away any time soon.

The talking points prepared in the immediate aftermath of the Benghazi attack were heavily edited at the request of the State Department.

Silly things members of Congress say (plus musings on authoritarianism).

An attempt to lay down some basic groundwork for discussing this story.

The White House’s theory of what happened in Benghazi is become less and less credible.

As its convention begins, one has to wonder what has happened to the Republican Party.

Once again, Chris Christie makes one wish there were more Republicans like him.

The phrase “American Taliban” is usually off the mark. However, sometimes it is closer to the mark than we might like.

My first piece for The New Republic, “Why the Obama Administration’s Drone War May Soon Reach a Tipping Point,” is up.

The Bactrian To The Future Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

While I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the degree that CPAC has embraced the worst elements of the conservative movement in recent years, it does appear that there is a line.

The Blinded By The Light Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Requiring a religious institution to comply with civilian laws is not a violation of religious liberty.

One year later, Egypt’s revolution remains unfinished.

Conservative groups are upset because a new reality show depicts Muslim-Americans as, well, normal Americans.