Obama Gun Proposal to Look Beyond Mass Shootings  —  A new federal assault weapons ban and background checks of all gun buyers, which President Obama is expected to propose on Wednesday, might have done little to prevent the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last month.

The NRA Opens Fire  —  In case you were waiting for the National Rifle Association's reasonable, constructive contribution to our current debate on how best to curb gun violence in America, your wait is over.  They are locked, loaded, and ready to bring the crazy.

Kathryn Bigelow addresses ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ torture criticism  —  ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ director Kathryn Bigelow answers criticism of the film's depiction of torture, which she says does not equal endorsement of the tactics.  —  Kathryn Bigelow.  —  For a long time, measuring more years …

These Are The People The Wall Street Journal Thinks We Should Have Sympathy For?  —  The Wall Street Journal had an article providing a fairly thorough breakdown of the new tax policies that will now be in effect due to the “fiscal cliff” agreement reached by congress.  The article itself wasn't too bad, really.

Congressman Radel on Possible Presidential Impeachment- “All Options Should be on the Table”  —  Congressman Steve Stockman from Texas has taken aim against President Obama's forthcoming executive orders that will further restrict gun rights by “eliminating funding for implementation …

Chamber, union leaders mull alliance to press for immigration reform  —  Washington's most powerful business lobby and prominent union leaders are discussing a joint push on immigration reform this year.  —  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is in discussions with the AFL-CIO …

Why debt limit must be used to force a balanced budget  —  This Monday, President Obama again asserted that the country would “default” if Congress did not raise the debt limit.  “The full and faith and credit of the United States is not a bargaining chip,” he said at a press conference.

Roe v. Wade at 40: Most Oppose Overturning Abortion Decision  —  Millennials Far Less Aware of Historic Ruling  —  As the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision approaches, the public remains opposed to completely overturning the historic ruling on abortion.

Why We're Raising the Signature Threshold for We the People  —  When we launched We the People, none of us knew how popular it would be, but it's exceeded our wildest expectations.  Through the past year, interest in We the People exploded and we're closing in on 10 million signatures.

How 19-year-old activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana's creationists  —  For Zack Kopplin, it all started back in 2008 with the passing of the Louisiana Science Education Act.  The bill made it considerably easier for teachers to introduce creationist textbooks into the classroom.

Lawmakers slam DOJ prosecution of Swartz as ‘ridiculous, absurd’  —  House lawmakers blasted federal prosecutors on Tuesday for pushing aggressive hacking charges against Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who killed himself on Friday.  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) says his Oversight panel …

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to leave cabinet position in March  —  WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family, his office has confirmed to The Denver Post.

Andrew's empty gun win  —  It's always about the polls  —  Albany has once more felt the heavy hand of Andrew Cuomo — to what useful purpose, it remains to be seen.  —  Politics, not policy, looks to have been the point of Cuomo's so-called SAFE Act of 2013, a gun-control bill marinated …

Obama runs afoul of Dem base  —  The nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to head the Pentagon disappointed liberals and women's groups hoping for the first female Defense secretary.  —  It was also a double blow, of sorts, as Obama picked a fight with Republicans over Hagel …

U.S.-China deficit may be lower than thought  —  Stephan Savoia/AP - In this 2012 file photo, a container is loaded onto a ship from China at Massport's Conley Terminal in the port of Boston.  In releasing the study on the U.S. trade deficit with China, the WTO and OECD highlighted how the data could influence the world trade agenda.

WB redrafting Reddit-borne time-travel pic  —  Brian Miller hired to write fresh take on ‘Rome, Sweet Rome’  —  Warner Bros. has tapped “Apollo 18” scribe Brian Miller to take a crack at “Rome, Sweet Rome,” a high-concept time travel story that originated from the website Reddit.com.