We can feel that we “know” athletes, entertainers, politicians, and others that we’ve followed, rooted for, or whatnot over a period of time and feel a genuine sense of loss when they’re gone.

Unlike TV, real life medical examiners take weeks, even months, to establish a cause of death.

The MLA is pushing to guarantee adjunct professors $40,000 a year.

While I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the degree that CPAC has embraced the worst elements of the conservative movement in recent years, it does appear that there is a line. ThinkProgress (“EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Board Unanimously Condemned Gaffney’s ‘Reprehensible’ And ‘Unfounded’ Attacks“):  A year ago, anti-Sharia conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney leaned against a column in the basement of [...]

Whitney Houston, once one of the biggest stars in American popular culture, has died.

The Massachusetts Moderate has won the Conservative Political Action Conference poll for a fourth time.

The popular notion that the United States military is monolithically Republican is mistaken.

Contrary to myth, the USA is still a major manufacturing power. But the factory has changed radically.

French mothers do not have some magical formula for raising well behaved children.

Pepsi’s profits and revenues are up. Naturally, it’s time to fire 3 percent of its global workforce.

Most people forget most of what they learn in school. Should we call the whole thing off?

Should we just hand “marriage” over to churches and have civil unions for everyone else?

Mitt Romney has apparently realized that people don’t like him much, so he’s working to come across as less robotic.

Jonathan Chait begins a column titled “Why I’m So Mean” thusly: People often ask, “Why is Jonathan Chait so mean?” It is a fair question, one that has been raised by my close friends, colleagues, wife, and parents, and it merits a suitably thoughtful reply. The latest person to ask it is ubiquitous right-wing misinformation [...]

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti admits that the fight over the eurozone crisis is opening some old wounds.

The scam of the US News college rankings and the various ways in which colleges scam said scam rankings.

Rick Santorum swept three states that are off the media radar screen. Will it revive his campaign?

Scotch consumption is a leading economic indicator.

Sometimes there was no sugar or Splenda for coffee. On chicken wing night, wings were rationed at six per person.

David Frum begins a withering review for The Daily Beast, “Charles Murray’s Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 is an important book that will have large influence. It is unfortunately not a good book.”

Revisiting a lively debate from over the weekend.

The majority of all rapes in America take place in prison. Which means the majority of rape victims are likely men.

Romney continues to roll up decisive victories while Gingrich gets increasingly bitter and nasty.

One wonders why any Republican politician would want to be associated with this image.

The backlash against the backlash is baffling.

The last 14 coin flips in the Super Bowl have been won by the NFC.

Who will be the Democratic nominee in 2016? Shut up, that’s who.

Virtually everything Stephen Colbert is doing was legal before Citizens United.

A change in the law will radically increase retirement pay for generals and admirals.

Andrew Exum notes that most analysts who call for military intervention fail to specify the particulars.

When I first heard news that Heath Shuler was “retiring” from Congress at the end of this term last night, my reaction was to scoff at the notion of someone “retiring” after a mere five years in a job. No, that’s just quitting, I noted. But Josh Lederman’s piece for The Hill (“Rep. Shuler to [...]

Everything the critics say about the decision is right–and so is the decision.

Is the presumptive Republican nominee too handsome, too rich, and too pompous to win the hearts of ordinary Americans?

In the 1980s, Americans were bowling alone. Now, we’re living that way.

Wisconsin voters who signed the petition to recall Governor Scott Walker may be getting more publicity than they’d bargained for. CNN (“Wisconsin releases recall petition names amid safety concerns“): Wisconsin released the names of more than 1 million people who signed a recall petition against Gov. Scott Walker, state officials said, despite safety concerns among [...]

The DC government’s incompetence knows no bounds.

Soul Train’s Don Cornelius has been shot to death. He was 75. CNN (“Coroner: ‘Soul Train’ founder dead of gunshot wound“): Don Cornelius, the founder of “Soul Train,” has been found dead in Los Angeles, Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday. He died of a gunshot wound at a [...]

Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, has raised a little over a million dollars.

Employees of the US Federal Government earn substantially more in salary and benefits than their private sector comparables.

Lucy Kellaway figures the best thing we middle agers can do for the young is to get the hell out of their way.

NBC poll shows no bounce for Newt Gingrich is Rick Santorum quits the race

An epic collapse in Florida should spell the end of Newt Gingrich’s presidential run. It won’t.

Romney would rank among richest presidents ever

Tom Brokaw isn’t happy with Mitt Romney’s latest ad, which use of a 1997 NBC news report on Newt Gingrich’s ethics.

Barney Frank is marrying a dude, further proving just how gay he is.

The entire above-the-fold of Drudge Report is devoted to anti-Gingrich stories, which continue on scrolling.

My latest for The Atlantic explains, “Why We Should Be Glad the Haditha Massacre Marine Got No Jail Time.”

The speech did exactly what it was supposed to do: kick off Obama’s re-election campaign while disguised as a call for unity.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated whom Newt Gingrich is said to have asked for an “open marriage.” It was an ex-wife, not his current wife.

In a 24/7 media climate, there is no single presidential thought that isn’t endlessly aired and debated.