Outside the Beltway

As we head into Christmas, there doesn’t seem to be much peace on Earth or good will toward men among Ben Carson’s advisers.

A political cartoonist for The Washington Post crossed a line and, rightfully, got condemned for it.

Donald Trump has won Politifact’s ‘Lie Of The Year’ because, well, he’s told so many things that are utterly and provably false.

Last night, SpaceX successfully launched a rocket to the edge of space, deployed cargo, and returned to Earth. A huge and potentially revolutionary accomplishment.

We won’t have Lindsey Graham to kick around anymore.

You’ll be happy, Star Wars fans. And, don’t worry, no spoilers here.

People don’t much care whether information supporting their prejudices is true.

Every public school in Los Angeles, which covers over 600,000 students, plus teachers and staff, has been closed for the day in the wake of unspecified threats.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul got a break today when CNN included him in the prime time debate on Tuesday even though he fell short of meeting the criteria.

As longtime OTB readers may have noticed, I’m not writing much these days.

Ted Cruz surges to a lead in the latest Iowa poll, setting up a seemingly inevitable showdown between the Texas Senator and Donald Trump.

A new poll appears to show that a majority of Republicans support Donald Trump’s plan to bar Muslims from immigrating to the United States.

Donald Trump’s plan to exclude Muslims from the United States is provoking condemnation, and confusion, around the world.

Donald Trump’s plan to bar all Muslim immigration to the United States is being widely condemned by his fellow Republicans and others, but the proposal probably won’t hurt him politically in a Republican Party that is deeply bigoted against Muslims in general.

Donald J. Trump continues to turn the dial higher and higher on his fascist demagoguery.

Yesterday, cable news networks, and most especially MSNBC, showed their profession at its most pathetic.

A leaked memo from a top Republican adviser tries to tell vulnerable Senate candidates how to deal with the possibility that they’ll be stuck with Trump on the top of the ticket.

A Dallas man was kicked off a flight home from New York City because he had unknowingly cut off a flight crew member while going through a revolving door. This seems like a case of discretion gone way too far.

Polls are quite useful in the right circumstances, but knowledge, complexity, and timing all have to be taken into account in determining what they are telling us.

A gunman is holed up in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs after shooting multiple people, but it’s unclear what if any motive may be involved in the shooting.

Welcome To The Donald Trump Campaign. Where the facts are made up, and the truth doesn’t matter.

Tensions between Russia and Turkey remain high in the wake of yesterday’s incident, but there are some signs that things are starting to cool down.

A Chicago Police Officer has been charged with murder in the death of a 17 year old African-American male that, from the evidence that has been released, seems completely unjustifiable.

Democrat John Bel Edwards scored an easy victory over Senator David Vitter last night in Louisiana, and Vitter announced that he’d be leaving the Senate after his term is up.

The United States and Europe are giving everything the perpetrators of the Paris attacks hoped for.

Republicans insist that uttering the words “Radical Islamic Terrorism” is somehow important in the fight against ISIS and other terror networks, but it is entirely unclear what doing so would accomplish.

France launched its first attacks against ISIS even as the investigation into Friday’s attacks continues, but it’s not clear that the retaliation really accomplished anything.

France’s President blames ISIS, vows response, as death toll from Paris terror attacks stands at at least 127.

The racial saga at Mizzou has not been solved with the ouster of the president and chancellor.

Massive boycotts and protests likely spell the end of Tim Wolfe’s tenure as president.

Donald Trump was on Saturday Night Live last night. It wasn’t even remotely funny.

A much stronger than expected October Jobs Report suggests that the Federal Reserve is likely to move on interest rates, and raises questions about how economic issues will play out politically in 2016.

Forget about Congress, the real story going forward is likely to be Republican dominance of state legislatures nationwide.

Paul Ryan has never really wanted to be Speaker Of The House, but he’s take the job if House Republicans meet the conditions he’s set out.

Donald Trump is threatening to boycott the next Republican debate if there aren’t format changes. The GOP should call his bluff.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders may think otherwise, but many Americans do care about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while Secretary of State.

From now on, you’ll just have to read it for the articles.

Another political earthquake in Washington as Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race for Speaker, and the House GOP doesn’t seem to know which way to go.

The man who will likely be the next Speaker of the House accidentally acknowledged the real motivation behind the Select Committee investigating, yet again, the Benghazi attack.

The Club For Growth has released two ads criticizing Donald Trump, so of course Trump is threatening to sue them.

The Republican candidates for President took to the stage last night for a debate that seemed to last forever and accomplished nothing.

Scott Walker used to have a commanding lead in Iowa, now he’s in 7th place. That’s just another sign of the troubles facing his campaign.

The longer this race goes on, the hard it becomes to deny the truth about Donald Trump.

Ohio politicos are predictably unhappy about the decision to return Mount Denali to its rightful place.

A front page cover on yesterday’s murders in Virginia crosses the line from reporting to exploitation.