Outside the Beltway

Volkswagen recently announced that it was ending production of one of its most famous and recognizable models. The last Beetle rolls off the assembly line tomorrow.

Joe Biden delivered his first major foreign policy address of the campaign. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than what we have right now.

The independent who upended the 1992 Presidential race has passed.

In memos to his superiors, the British Ambassador to the United States had an exceedingly frank, and negative, assessment of the current occupant of the White House.

Is it possible, or even appropriate, to express pride in a country that is being led by a President who stands against everything this country stands for?

One of America’s fist celebrity CEO’s has passed away at the age of 94.

The job laid out by the Framers in Article II of the Constitution has expanded a mite.

Not content with taking a wrecking ball to America’s trans-Atlantic alliances, the President is attacking our trans-Pacific allies as well.

Not surprisingly, the President’s opening speech of the 2020 campaign was filed with lies.

As we head toward a potential crisis in the Persian Gulf, the consequences of the President’s lies are coming home to roost.

An idea that’s both long overdue and problematic.

Donald Trump has betrayed the legacy and the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought their way onto the beaches of Normandy.

Thirty years ago, when the veterans of D-Day were still relatively young and still largely with us, President Reagan delivered one of the finest speeches of his Presidency.

The GOP Senators standing up against the President’s tariffs on Mexico are being called courageous. I’m wondering what took them so long to stand up.

Seventy-five years ago today, American soldiers and our allies undertook an invasion that helped change the world.

The last of the World War II code talkers from the Mohawk tribe has passed away at the age of 94

White House aides asked the Navy to keep the USS John McCain “out of sight” while the President visited a Navy base in Japan earlier this week.

Theresa May has announced she is stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party as of June 7th, starting a process that will have her out of Downing Street withing the next two months or so.

President Trump is reportedly planning to pardon several American servicemen convicted of war crimes, an action that would be an insult to everyone who has ever worn an American uniform.

Some 2020 Democratic hopefuls are turning to a surprising source for counsel.

Herman Wouk, best known for works such as The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance, has died at the age of 103.

The President’s trade policies stand to benefit a lot of other countries, just not the United States.

One of the last of the Navajo Code Talkers, who provided the U.S. military with an unbreakable code in the fight against Japan in World War Two, has died at the age of 97.

Legendary Comedian Tim Conway has died at the age of 85.

Que Sera, Sera

Emperor Akihito became the first Japanese Emperor to abdicate the throne in 200 years today.

He’s a national treasure who has been appropriately honored for a lifetime of service and sacrifice. But this seems different.

Scholars argue that the shifting media landscape is largely to blame for our political crisis.

The woman famous for losing the Georgia governor’s race is eyeing a bigger job.

It’s that time of year again, and once again people are asking if it isn’t time to drop the whole ritual of changing time every six months altogether.

The Senate yesterday confirmed a 37-year-old to a lifetime Court of Appeals seat.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee is running for the Democratic nomination for President on a platform primarily focused on climate change. Whether that helps distinguish him from a growing field of candidates remains to be seen.

Economic growth slowed significantly in the fourth quarter of 2018 from where it had been earlier in the year. And it’s likely to slow down even more.

It turns out, The Duke wasn’t all that woke.

President Trump will get his Space force, but it won’t exactly be what he wanted when he first proposed that idea.

Pope Francis defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after decades of allegations of abuse of young boys and seminarians.

There is a bit of a disjuncture between the terminology and the reality (but that does not excuse Trump’s current actions).

Lyndon LaRouche, an eight-time Presidential candidate who ran a cult-like organization that spread bizarre conspiracy theories, has died at 96.

The National Debt officially topped $22 trillion, marking a $2 trillion increase since President Trump took office.

The former Attorney General is seriously pondering a presidential bid. Seriously.

The arguments against withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan are becoming weaker and weaker.

The longest-serving member of Congress in American history has passed away at the age of 92.

The President’s second State of the Union began and ended with calls for unity. In between, it was filled with the divisive partisanship that has marked his Presidency.

The damage done for Mickey Mouse in the name of Sony Bono is finally coming to an end.

The Supreme Court appears reluctant to overturn a century of case law that established a significant exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause.

Though in poor health himself, Bob Dole made his way to the Capitol to pay his respects to his old friend and political rival.

The European Union has approved the final Brexit deal negotiated with Theresa May’s government, but the final chapter has yet to be written.

Rest in Peace and Excelsior, Stan Lee!