Mass Backwards

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), after changing his mind and demanding to be sworn in yesterday, took the oath of office shortly after 5 p.m. His first official act as a federal lawmaker was to hold a press conference.

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Brennan: All Transferred Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism Were Released by Bush, No Recidivism for Those Released by Obama

"I want to underscore the fact that all of these cases relate to detainees released during the previous administration and under the prior detainee review process," Brennan writes.

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Theory Based Abstinence-only programs might work, study says

"The results of this trial should not be taken to mean that all abstinence-only interventions are efficacious.

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Exclusive: Obama stimulus reduced our pain, experts say

President Obama's stimulus package saved jobs — but the government still needs to do more to breathe life into the economy, according to USA TODAY's quarterly survey of 50 economists. Unemployment would have hit 10.8% — higher than December's 10% rate — without Obama's $78 …

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The American Right's Gift to Al Qaeda

After the failed Christmas terrorist plot, Republicans and conservative detractors of the administration worked quickly to characterize the unsuccessful attack as a "success" -- a word both Brit Hume and Bill Kristol used soon after the decidedly unsuccessful incident.

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Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely

A Justice Department-led task force has concluded that nearly 50 of the 196 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be held indefinitely without trial under the laws of war, according to Obama administration officials...

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Transparency and Sausage Making

Jonathan Cohn writes that "compared to George W. Bush's administration, President Obama has made significant gains in legislative transparency" (Kaiser Health News).

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Revisionaries: How a group of Texas conservatives is rewriting your kids' textbooks

Texas Conservatives are seeking to force text books to revise history towards one that supports their personal political and ideological views.

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Feds probing Congress' ties to disgraced banker Stanford

Just hours after federal agents charged banker Allen Stanford with fleecing investors of $7 billion, the disgraced financier received a message from one of Congress' most powerful members, Pete Sessions.

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FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts

Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time.

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Rumors in an Age of Unreason

The phenomenon known variously as the "birther movement," the "birther conspiracy," and the "birther nut-job fantasy" is now roughly two years old. Its adherents hold that Barack Obama, owing to his birthplace (wherever that may be), is ineligible to be President.

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The "Government Run" Myth

The claim that the House bill would amount to "government-run health care" suffered a blow last week, when the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the so-called "public plan" in the revised bill wouldn't offer much in the way of competition to private insurers.

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Smoking Bans Reduce the Risk of Heart Attacks Associated With Secondhand Smoke

Smoking bans are effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks and heart disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

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Premature Births Are Fueling Higher Rates of Infant Mortality in U.S., Report Says

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Stewart annihilates Fox News' purported opinion-news division: "It's a perpetual revulsion machine"

Jon Stewart examines Fox "News" Claims of a clear division between news and opinion, and finds it lacking to say the least.

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The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been linked to risks for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease; therefore, a compelling case can be made for the need for reduced consumption of these beverages.

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Texas Governor Stops Hearing of Forensic Science Commision Into Execution

Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman and two members of the state's Forensic Science Commission, two days before the commission was to hear evidence that Texas executed an innocent man.

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Ring Wing Blogger Jon Henke vs. Right Wing World News Daily

The dispute involves Henke pointing out the problems with WNDs claims

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Fear Mongering Abounds in Critics of Health Reform

Many prominent objections to reform involve fear mongering.

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How big is $9 trillion?

There's been some hysteria about the administration's new estimate that the cumulative deficit will be $9 trillion over the next decade. Don't get me wrong: this is bad. But it's being treated as an inconceivable sum, far beyond anything that could possibly be handled.

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Health Care 'Death Panels' a Myth

"Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, called this 'downright evil,' and asserted the elderly would have to stand in front of a 'death panel so [President Obama's] bureaucrats can decide ... whether they are worthy of health care.'

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Those Who Cannot Win A Debate Try To Shut The Debate Down

When one side of a debate considers open, honest discussion to be the enemy, it says quite a bit about the integrity of their argument.

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"Who's going vote for torture?"

It's almost comical. Bush created a torture policy; Obama ended the torture policy. So, naturally, Limbaugh tells his audience that Obama supporters "voted for torture."

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Palin Throws Alaska Under the Bus

There's no doubt that Alaska's state government has been paralyzed since Palin's return, with anger and frustration emanating from both the governor's office and the state legislature. All of Palin's major bills failed to pass this year's first 90-day session.

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