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For starters, here are 11 questions | Cranberg wants a serious probe of why the press failed in its pre-war reporting ASK THIS Veteran Iowa editor wants outsiders, not people in the news industry, to examine why the press is reluctant to challenge authority at times when the country most needs a vigorous, questioning fourth estate. 
Permanent privatization | Will Democrats rescue Medicare? Will reporters even pay attention? ASK THIS Republicans under Gingrich began crippling Medicare, and Bill Clinton went along with it. Things have gotten a lot worse under Bush.
The border | Getting it exactly backwards on immigration ASK THIS When it comes to immigration, Princeton University professor Douglas Massey writes that most of what is accepted as true and self-evident by the public and the press about it is patently wrong -- and as a result, policies implemented to control immigration, especially from Mexico, have not only failed, they have backfired.
Test it yourself | Is racial discrimination a thing of the past? ASK THIS A Princeton sociologist does an experiment -- and finds that being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one’s chances of finding a job. (Journalists can test this out themselves, just like WCCO-TV in Minneapolis did.)
The VNR issue | What are TV stations doing about 'fake news?' ASK THIS TV newscasts sometimes include sponsored videos that mimic independent reports, without providing disclosure to viewers. Here are questions about this shady practice for the TV stations in your area.
Boon or bane? | The untested theories behind No Child Left Behind ASK THIS President Bush’s signature education bill is up for renewal. Two Boston College education professors suggest that all this testing may be doing more harm than good.
The war in Iraq | The importance of questioning Bush – and his motives ASK THIS Is it so far-fetched to wonder if the president’s goal isn’t just to delay defeat until after he leaves office? A historian sees a precedent in Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger’s pursuit of a "decent-interval" exit strategy from Vietnam so they could blame the fall of Saigon on others.
Saving billions and, perhaps, lives | Will Congress create a new 'Truman Committee?' ASK THIS In December, Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would dig into what she called staggering, breathtaking corruption in Iraq War contracting. Now they’re in position to do it. Will they, and if they do, what are chances they’ll have anywhere near the success of the World War II era Truman Committee?
Oversight recommendations | GAO list could be a guide for reporters ASK THIS Immigration, transportation security, status of nuclear weaponry and proliferation are among issues the press, as well as Congress, should be investigating. (Second in a series)
Hearing on Dec. 5 | Is Gates fit to serve? Are the senators? ASK THIS The Defense Department is possibly the worst managed agency in government, unable to even begin accounting for what it does with its $500 billion annual budget. While Iraq is the military’s most pressing and painful issue, the Senate Armed Services Committee may learn more about Robert Gates’s qualifications to be Secretary of Defense by asking basic bread and butter questions. (Last of three parts)
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