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Justice Commission | After a three-decade-long social experiment in incarceration, what do we have to show for it?
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The U.S. now has a larger share of its population behind bars than any other country in the world. Two researchers pose questions about what that's accomplished -– besides costing all of us a lot of money.

From Abramoff to Siegelman | A few questions for Karl Rove on his book tour
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Bush’s brain shouldn’t mind answering a few questions as he goes around the South and Midwest selling his book. Just might enliven the events, and end up selling more copies. So here are a few, prepared by Andrew Kreig.

Revisit the Citizens United case | Pin Kagan down, accept no platitudes
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The Judiciary Committee is duty-bound to ask whether Kagan regards corporations as people and if she feels they should be allowed unlimited spending in election campaigns. Tough questions, please, no ‘peculiar ritual dance’ for her.

Be very afraid | A history of fear-based governance, from the war on crime to the war on terror
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Politicians and the media alike have experienced great success by stoking fear, writes law professor Jonathan Simon. But policies based on fear -- whether it's fear of crime or fear of terrorism -- often lead to citizens and taxpayers giving up too much, and getting too little in return.

Obama's deficit gang | Has Obama created a Social Security 'death panel'?
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If the press doesn't ask tough questions and stand up for the little guy, the powerful interests stacking President Obama’s deficit commission will use it to cut the social programs that most help the middle class and the vulnerable.

| When Looking at Mexico’s Drug Violence, Don’t Forget Guatemala’s Silent Mafia
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On May 5, the FBI and DEA together told Congress that more cocaine is being shipped through Guatemala than ever before. And among the suspected drug lords today are the same military intelligence officers who engineered massacres in Guatemala more than a quarter century ago.

Blind devotion to a failed idea | Why is it so hard for the press to ask such an easy question?
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Republicans are clear and consistent in their economic policies. The problem is, they are the policies that led to the worst crisis in 70 years, and, to the comfort of the very rich, the largest shift of wealth in American history. So why won’t reporters ask what it is exactly that the Republicans want and expect if they are successful? (And yes, ask the same question to the many Democrats who have gone along for the ride.)

| Tax cuts are expenditures. Got that, reporters?
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Tax cuts are expenditures that increase the deficit. That’s a simple fact but, writes Martin Lobel, it appears to have eluded many Republicans, and most in the news media, as well.

‘A suspect fraud footprint’ | FDA, VA approve drug despite its link to soldiers’ deaths
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Seroquel is a widely-prescribed medication, with almost $5 billion in sales last year. But survivors of dead servicemen, torn and angry, question its use as part of a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Doctrine check | Top five questions to ask the Pentagon
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How about a 'town hall' meeting on runaway defense budgets? William Astore writes that it's time for the laity to question the high priests of permanent war.


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