Below The Beltway

Unhappy with legislative failure in Richmond, the leaders of the City of Alexandria, Virginia have turned to a new, rather unique, tool in their effort to force local businesses to ban smoking:
Frustrated that the state legislature failed to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, Alexandria officials have come up with a maverick plan of their [...]

And John McCain makes a startling announcement:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. John McCain said on Wednesday that he will be a candidate for president in 2008 and plans a formal announcement in April.
The Arizona Republican made the announcement during an interview on CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” which was taped for broadcast late on Wednesday.
“I [...]

This website let’s you test to see if your website is blocked by the Chinese government’s internet firewall.
Apparently, the Chinese don’t consider me a threat because Below The Beltway is not blocked.
Obviously, I’m not denouncing the murdering Communist Chinese leadership enough.
Update: This blog may not be considered subservice subversive in Beijing, but The Liberty Papers [...]

What would happen if you took the logic of the 9/11 conspiracy theorists and applied it to the destruction of the Death Star at the end of Star Wars IV: A New Hope ?
Actually, the results are pretty funny:
1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station [...]

At least through Friday:
The multi-state Mega Millions lottery game had a top prize of $216 million up for grabs in last night’s drawing.
But no one managed to buy a ticket with all six winning numbers. As a result, the jackpot for Friday’s game has risen to $267 million.
         

After much speculation, Paramount has made it official:
Trekkers can look forward to a very merry Christmas in 2008.
Paramount announced Tuesday it will release J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek XI” on Christmas Day next year, resurrecting the cult franchise after a six-year hiatus.
Newest installment, a prequel focusing on a young Captain Kirk and Mr. [...]

Angelina Jolie writes in The Washington Post this morning on the Darfur crisis:
It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring peace without justice. History shows that there will be another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally exists. It will be as [...]

Ron Paul was on the Lou Dobbs show last night and The Liberty Papers has the video.
         

George Orwell?s 1984 is available in full online.
         

As Congress debates, the latest poll results make it clear; the American public favors a pullout from Iraq:
With Congress preparing for renewed debate over President Bush’s Iraq policies, a majority of Americans now support setting a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from the war-torn nation and support putting new conditions on the military that could [...]