WAPO reports a non-profit community newspaper is threatened - not for the first time - by D.C. Council Member Tommy Thomas. The free advertiser published a story about Thomas not sufficiently adulatory for the politician.

This reports important knowledge, application of which could save many lives. The publication and the scientist it reports upon have no ties to law enforcement agencies or weapons manufacturers.

This is a look at the controversy surrounding use of conducted energy weapons, Taser being the most common brand. Amnesty International has tracked almost 400 deaths following use of Tasers but the manufacturer has been successful at defending most wrongful death suits. Their defense involves a syndrome not universally accepted. This article examines the issues with good balance.

Robert Parry illustrates how a corrupt media enabled the Bush Administration and the GOP to follow the hidden agenda authored by their authoritarian masters. They knew that the mainstream press lacked courage to call them out on their lies. “Perception management” became all important. Truth was the victim.

It is not quality journalism. Instead, it is juvenile nonsense by a Republican apologist. She writes the "brilliant, hardworking" Jindal gave both a "good, substantive speech" "that should have been celebrated" and an "underwhelming enunciation" of fundamental principles. Uh, which was it? She laments that Jindal faced "an unfair playing field after the president’s speech." Yes, it really is unfair when the opposition is articulate, expressive and inspiring. Of course, other than the opening and closing paragraphs, the article was about GOP stalwarts Santelli, Palin and Romney.

This is a comfortable topic for a long time practitioner of anti-science rhetoric. He reports lay opinions from the popular press of 4 decades ago and says some of those were wrong. In a giant and intellectually dishonest leap, he concludes therefore real scientists cannot be trusted today. He boldly claims that global sea ice levels equal those of 1979 but Will's information source already has disclaimed his numbers. George, go back to writing about baseball. There, you can do no harm.

Hamsher demonstrates that Beltway journalists are applying wishful thinking or flawed analysis when reporting that Republican obstructionism is a successful strategy in the first month of Obama's administration. In fact, polling indicates approval ratings declined for the Republican leadership while the Democratic rating improved.

A very concise description of economic regulation, this tears away instinctual definitions and redefines arguments for or against public supervision of private affairs. This is an intellectual challenge to both liberals and conservatives. Neither likely understands regulation issues as well as they think they do.

Applebaum lacks knowledge or chooses to ignore a broader definition of protectionism. She warns about new tariffs - even rumors of new tariffs - being put in place in a few nations but ignores endemic protectionism in the USA. Laws, for example, that allow the recording industry to punish a teenager for sharing a piece of music with a friend or enables drug companies to withhold medicine from the free market. Or, deals like the softwood lumber agreement that limits Canadian imports and ensures American lumber consumers pay 25% more than they would otherwise do. Anne Applebaum complains about protectionism of America's neighbors but ignores the homegrown sort.

Sirota states what most thoughtful people know to be true. The thing most dangerous about cannabis is its illegality. Because tens of millions use the weed, outrage involving Olympic hero Michael Phelps can only be fake. Countless other examples show how media is fascinated by the meaningless. They deliver the stories but readers and viewers are the real hypocrites.

An opinion piece by a person qualified to speak. This urges a comprehensive approach to Iran and notes that many American opinions about the country are simplistic and wrong.

Compare this piece to the one by New York Times referenced by Horton. NYT is satisfied to say that questions remain. Horton talks about some of those questions and their significance. We learn here that the Bush/Cheney Justice Department negotiated the settlement despite the fact that Cheney was CEO of Halliburton during the time of the Nigerian bribes. How did NYT miss that detail?

This reports that Halliburton and KBR agreed to pay $579 million in penalties for bribing Nigerian public officials. The NYT reminds that many unanswered questions remain about the companies' practices in Iraq. The newspaper pays rather too little attention to what the answers might be.

Gives background to a quiet but important issue. They tie in Judd Gregg's withdrawal to the issue of census management but the connection is not proven. The article uses questionable sources. Hannity and Huffington are hardly the places that TIME should be doing research.

This is a puff piece for GOP Whip Eric Cantor and his claimed mentor, Newt Gingrich. It hails "solid Republican resistance" and fails to note the hypocrisy of the party claiming desire to reach out to Obama while acting diligently to obstruct . Nagourney passes along uncritically Cantor's gratuitous insults of Democratic leadership. This is lazy, unhelpful journalism that ignores the major issues of the day.

Sanger no doubt has sources for his statements but readers are left to wonder who they are. Some of his points are unworthy of NYT's White House correspondent. For example, he say Obama's promise to use diplomacy before force may collide with defense of American interests. Sanger may believe that blunt force should be the first act but Obama clearly does not. The reporter speaks for Europeans but his comments range from absurd (voting expectations) to doubtful (CIA and SF actions against Pakistan).

Greenwald offends MSM regularly by holding their feet to the fire with great specificity. He sees Beltway journalists as integral members of the Washington establishment, incapable of finding serious fault with a system they reflexively defend. Greenwald always illustrates his claims with examples and even those who hate being targeted by him admit that he does so with consistent principles.

Krugman speaks with clarity about the choices he prefers in the federal government's response to economic woes. He draws parallels to Japan in the 1990s where a too modest effort helped but failed to stimulate full recovery. Krugman complains that Republicans, under pressure from supporters like the Cato Institute, remain loyal to failed policies that emphasize ever more tax cuts. The economist complains too about the uncertain bank support program that he believes is key. As expected in an Op-Ed opinion, Krugman does not support his analysis by reference to other economic experts.

Sudden death following use of conducted energy weapons is a concern to human rights groups, including Amnesty International. In Canada, a high profile homicide was video taped by a witness. It involved 4 RCMPolice applying Taser strikes 5 times to an unarmed man then preventing immediate emergency treatment. The man died within moments and the video tape went viral. That and more than 20 other deaths led RCMP to revise Taser guidelines to limit use of the weapons. This article gives background to the controversy.

I would have preferred more diligent investigation. With one exception, it is an article that could have been written from a desk with a phone. If there was cheating on parking, printing and research, you can bet it goes beyond. The writer should dig more deeply. Perhaps the NYT is indifferent to political fraud that doesn't involve a hint of sex scandal.

Krugman is one of the most respected academic economists and has a solid record of accurate forecasting and analysis. This is an opinion piece so he doesn't examine alternate views. Nevertheless, his record suggests that attention should be paid.

Deals fairly concisely with a confusing subject. Perhaps a touch too flip though.

There is a disconnect within the article. It starts by stating some banks wonder if they should give the money back. By the third paragraph it notes return would be difficult in this tough environment. Difficult? Maybe, impossible? The lead paragraph seems out of place, maybe inserted by an editor. The piece skims across important issues and quotes only finance industry insiders. David Viniar's silliness should be balanced by experts like Dean Baker or Paul Krugman.

This examines the opinions about stimulus legislation held by many economists, including those who advise Republicans and those aligned with Democratic politicians. The article is a fair survey of opinion from the most qualified professionals.

This gives divergent views and needed analysis. I think it is fair to all sides yet helps intelligent readers draw their own conclusions.

The title headline is misleading in that charges were dropped with the right to refile them. Susan Crawford's action was forced by a military judge's refusal to follow direction of the POTUS. The article covers most elements fairly but offers a 21st century Bush Administration definition of waterboarding. This "coercive technique" was less politely defined by American officials when they were prosecuting war criminals after WWII. Why does the author accommodate revisionism?

Gillman examines political partisanship in Washington and evaluates Obama's efforts to initiate programs with bi-partisan support. The article is balanced and notes points of view from both Democratic and Republican supporters and reports on early public reaction measured in a CNN poll.

Ricks writes a puff piece for General Odierno who is apparently dissatisfied with others sharing credit for implementing recent military strategies. Ricks has at least convinced himself that this officer was smarter than his superiors. The primary sources for the article are General Odierno and associates.

No highly reliable statistics are available publicly about Iraq's war casualties. Numerous organization have tried to quantify the toll but the results remain arguable. What cannot be argued however is that the cost in human terms is substantial. John Tirman examines the damages and calls on America to accept responsibility and facilitate repair.