We all deserve better | The press nods as absurdity, lies prevail in the budget debate
COMMENTARY
Would more accurate news coverage prompt Tea Party and Republican leaders to pay more attention to facts in their assertions about the economy? Maybe yes, maybe no. But, suggests Henry Banta, if the coverage continues at its present dismal level, we’ll never find out.

Reporting the endgame | Needed: More American reporters in Afghanistan COMMENTARY Striking reports by the New York Times and other news organizations after the shoot-down of a helicopter with 30 American troops and eight Afghans aboard show how important it is to have reporters on the scene in Afghanistan, or as close to the scene as they can get.

Reporting the endgame | The war without end is a war with hardly any news coverage COMMENTARY The American print press is almost totally absent from Afghanistan, leaving the reporting to a handful of news organizations. TV coverage averages 21 seconds per newscast for NBC and not much more for ABC and CBS. One critic says the lack of sustained American TV reporting of Afghanistan is 'the most irresponsible behavior in all of the annals of war journalism.'

Fact and fiction | What's real and what's not about the 'debt crisis'
COMMENTARY
Mark Weisbrot separates fact from fiction regarding the extent of the debt, the origin of the deficit, and the chances that the U.S. would actually default.

Prison watch | How one state dramatically reduced solitary confinement
COMMENTARY
There's a growing recognition of how casually prison inmates are thrown into virtually total isolation and kept there indefinitely. One state, Maine, has sharply reduced prisoners in solitary without a rise in violence. Is this the way out of the supermax morass?

See the AAPOR code of ethics | Financial Times, Lazard hide the ball on green energy poll
COMMENTARY
Standards for describing how polls are conducted have been around a long time and reporters and editors know not to trust pollsters who won’t release basic information. Thus, asks Remapping Debate, why should they trust the Financial Times and Lazard, since neither will answer routine questions to help the public assess their report?

Reporting the endgame | Coulda, woulda, shoulda coverage of antiwar protests COMMENTARY Looking back, the Washington Post editor in charge of covering demonstrations says newsworthy stories have been left uncovered. He needn't feel lonely; The Post has lots of company in ignoring stories of dissent. The New York Times, for one, has its own spotty record.

Reporting the endgame | At least 1,400 arrests for antiwar dissent, but who’s counting? Not the press.
COMMENTARY
The national news media almost totally ignore homefront protests of the Afghanistan war, killer drones, torture, and more, regardless of their newsworthiness. By its lack of coverage, isn’t the press thus helping perpetuate an endless war?

| Washington is making the real Medicare problem worse
COMMENTARY
Increasing out of pocket health care costs already threaten to turn Medicare into a class-based health-care rationing system, writes a scholar at the Claude Pepper Foundation. Meanwhile, deficit-obsessed politicians, outside of public view, are arguing over further cuts to this cherished program.

No accountability | Is torture in our future as well as our past?
COMMENTARY
President Obama has made it clear that we don't torture now -- but he's done very little to ensure that we won't do it again in the future. What's missing is any sense of accountability.

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