It’s not true that the White House is planning to tax all credit card transactions. Muslims are not being exempted from the new health care law. President Obama did not order up a private jet for the family’s pet dog, Bo. Speaker Pelosi’s spending for liquor on congressional trips isn’t notably different than that of her predecessor. And Pelosi herself doesn’t even drink alcohol

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is not afraid of running a "hot bench" and routinely asks many questions of lawyers who come before the Supreme Court. That was certainly true in November when Carter G. Phillips represented the State of California a…

While the youngest generations are still significantly more likely to use social network sites, the fastest growth has come from internet users 74 and older: social network site usage for this oldest cohort has quadrupled since 2008, from 4% to 16% 

In a 1958 BBC Home Service broadcast, listeners hear Fleming and fellow ex-journalist and famed mystery author Raymond Chandler — pioneer of the modern private detective story and creator of protagonist Philip Marlowe, later played by Humphrey Bogart — discussing the ingredients which make up the perfect thriller.A 1995 Radio 4 Woman's Hour discussion considers the changing role of the Bond girl within the films.

Christmas at our house is nothing if not traditional. The decorations and timing of our Yuletide celebrations almost never vary, referred to as "the same old Christmas;" same, that is, except for those years when fate takes a hand.

We were looking for Eleanor Pritchard's blankets and pillows when we found Örling and Wu, a store in Vancouver, British Columbia. We found the blankets, throws (both Pritchard's as well as Klippan) and a lot more.

We consulted a longtime 'putterer', family repairperson and now serious handyman with a roster of regular clients for opinion and review of two additional Black&Decker Photo Guides: Home Improvement and Home Repair.

The Decorating Guide intersperses background information with clear instructions on such household projects as installing molding, replacing a towel bar, tiling a backsplash, hanging bifold doors, creating faux finishes, or reupholstering a chair. Outdoor Building projects include making patios, walkways, and decks; fences and walls; arbors, sheds, outbuildings, and porches; and — perfect for grandkids — treehouses and play structures

President Barack Obama's recent announcement to freeze the pay of federal civilian workers did little to ice the debate over whether federal workers are overpaid or underpaid. Republican leaders and conservative think tanks claim federal workers are overpaid. They say the average federal worker is paid twice as much as those in the private sector. The federal Office of Personnel Management and unions that represent federal workers say on average they are paid 24 percent less than those in the private sector. Both sides are armed with official government statistics, but neither side is right.

New ways to package wine continue to proliferate. In an effort to improve quality, lower costs and/or preserve the environment — and, perhaps, to boost sales — wine continues to turn up in different containers, from barrels and kegs at restaurants, to vending machines and huge tanks at supermarkets, to tiny 25-ml (1.7-oz.) bottles in mailboxes.

The Open Library (an Internet Archive initiative) has just launched a new version of their online ebook reader (aka BookReader) featuring a new user interface and other tools. BookReader allows users read/search more than two million digitized books

  • In 2009, there were an estimated 45.1 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with any mental illness in the past year. This represents 19.9 percent of all adults in this country. Among adults aged 18 or older in 2009, the percentage h…

Of the many non-fiction books on the subject which I have enjoyed reading over the past sixty-five years, I have seldom found one more interesting than Operation Mincemeat. It is a great gift idea for anyone on your list

"How objects are handed on is all about story-telling. I am giving you this because I love you. Or because it was given to me. Because I bought it somewhere special. Because you will care for it. Because it will complicate your life. Because it will make someone else envious. There is no easy story in legacy. What is remembered and what is forgotten? There can be a chain of forgetting, the rubbing away of previous ownership as much as the slow accretion of stories. What is being passed on to me with all these small Japanese objects?"

Who could not admire Elizabeth Edwards? Mother of a dead teenager, cancer patient and political spouse; each role a burden. But when word of her husband’s unfaithfulness hit the news, I wondered why thoughtful and intelligent Elizabeth Edwards would dign…

Last month, a group of Kansas school districts sued the state arguing that lawmakers had violated their constitutional obligation to adequately fund public education. More [lawsuits] are likely to be filed in the months ahead, as legislatures – confronted with yet another year of deep budget cuts – opt to scale back education spending

On December 1, the Senate approved the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (S. 987).On December 3, the Senate passed S. 3817, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Bill of Rights for Women Veterans Passes House

More than most men, Woodrow Wilson needed women. He needed their love, their support and their companionship. In the confines of his home, he surrounded himself with women. He had two wives (sequentially), one mistress, and three daughters. Theirs is a complex story of love and politics.

When I received my physical this year, my doctor hesitated during the breast exam, and then moved his hands back and forth between the right and left orbs comparing them, "I’m not sure if I’m just not remembering what your breast tissue feels like, or if I’m noticing a difference. Your mammogram will tell us if anything is there."

Considering the cost of gifts in today's economy and the number of people who are needle wielders and craftspeople, we thought that DIY kits seem like practical and welcome gifts.

In particular, we examine whether people use riskier strategies against attractive people, whether this affects performance, and whether men and women react to attractiveness in the same way.

An eBook just isn’t much fun. Where’s the tactile thrill in holding a plastic object or in fiddling with a screen? For me, only one plastic object could fit into the thrill category and it’s not a book of any kind. But, as Gilda Radner was wont to say “never mind,” this is about books, real books.

We once had a package sent from abroad to ourselves, assured by the packer that they took unusual care to protect their goods (a ceramic platter). We could hear the fractured pieces rattling as soon as it arrived — the one of a kind, made by a craft artist, totally destroyed.