Provisions of the much-disputed health care bill go into effect today, just as the Republicans unveil their new "Pledge to America," which includes a promise to repeal the law. But as the most popular bits are the ones that go into effect now, and, David Corn notes, health insurance companies aren't getting any more popular--will allying themselves with the big insurers help Republicans? Or will people realize that they like the regulations just as Republicans try to pull them back?

The war on drugs. We keep calling it that, it seems, because we like wars on abstract concepts. Like the war on terror, the war on drugs racks up one hell of a body count, and its victims are mostly innocent civilians with no more love for the corrupt regimes that rule them than we have.

14 years ago this week, Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law. DOMA, as it is known, allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and laid the foundation for marriage bans across the country. Charlene Strong has been fighting DOMA since the death of her wife, Kate Fleming, in a flood in their Washington State home.

"The first step is to stop apologizing," says Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. "We have ideas; we are often cowed by the ferociousness of the argument from conservatives." Indeed, in the wake of Larry Summers' departure from the Obama administration--and the news that the administration wants to head off criticism that it's been anti-business--as well as the failure of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal and the DREAM Act in the Senate, it often seems like conservatives are winning.

"The first step is to stop apologizing," says Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. "We have ideas; we are often cowed by the ferociousness of the argument from conservatives." Indeed, in the wake of Larry Summers' departure from the Obama administration--and the news that the administration wants to head off criticism that it's been anti-business--as well as the failure of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal and the DREAM Act in the Senate, it often seems like conservatives are winning.

The Internet was all a-Twitter yesterday when news broke that Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, will step down by the end of the year. Summers -- ring a bell? Maybe you remember his comments as president of Harvard that gender skewed admissions numbers might be explained by female frailty in the area of math and science. Or perhaps you remember his role, chasing away Brooksley Born, chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) in order to push through Clinton's deregulations—you know, the ones that helped lead to the current crash.

The FDA is holding public hearings this week on genetically modified "AquAdvantage" salmon, destined, if they make the cut, for your dinner plate. Meanwhile, congressional investigators are looking into an outbreak of salmonella that sickened over 1500 people. And nobody's talking about the superbug, MRSA, being found in pork. What's wrong with our food system?

Last fall, we spoke to a group of young hip-hop activists who were part of a groundbreaking trip to Palestine with Native American youth. The Narcicyst was one of those activists, and his new video is all about breaking borders. Created as a collaborative effort by 10 photographers from all over the world, the video shows the faces of people: DJs, MCs, poets, architects, teachers, doctors, parents and children.

The right wing is angry and mobilized this election season, with the Tea Party crowd energized after winning primaries and the left demoralized over the Obama administration's failings. Young people were a huge part of the movement that put Obama in the White House, but will they come out and vote again this year? And what will they be voting for?

The FDA is holding public hearings this week on genetically modified "AquAdvantage" salmon, destined, if they make the cut, for your dinner plate. Meanwhile, congressional investigators are looking into an outbreak of salmonella that sickened over 1500 people. And nobody's talking about the superbug, MRSA, being found in pork. What's wrong with our food system?