Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World is the hilarious story of what happens when the U.S. Government sends comedian Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to find out what makes the over 300 million Muslims in the region laugh.

In the days since former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to a series of criminal charges involving bribery of members and staff of the U.S House of Representatives, the Speaker and the Chairman of the House Rules Committee have pledged to review and strengthen the laws governing lobbyists.  But the Abramoff scandal is only one of a series of recent revelations about inappropriate and illegal conduct with respect to the manner in which the Congress is conducting public business.  Is the lobbying community at fault or are there more fundamental problems in how the Congress has organized itself and is approaching its responsibilities under the Constitution?

In order to defend the United States in an age of terrorists, extreme regimes, and weak and failing states, the Department of Defense must fundamentally overhaul its military doctrine and priorities.  The all-volunteer Army is reaching its breaking point, with U.S. ground forces stretched as never before and equipment shortages plaguing the military.  Furthermore, U.S. conventional and nuclear weapons systems are not matched to the threats our country faces.

Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline have developed two new vaccines that could drastically reduce or eliminate cervical cancer around the world. The vaccines target human papillomavirus (HPV), a common infectious disease whose most dangerous strains cause 70 percent of all cervical cancer. The development of these vaccines is only the first step, however, towards reducing cervical cancer. A number of political, policy, funding and logistical challenges must be overcome in order to ensure widespread access and effective use. For example, what are the political and social concerns that need to be addressed to introduce a new vaccine successfully? What are the best means of ensuring widespread access to the vaccines, particularly among those most at-risk of cervical cancer? How will parents respond to new vaccines for pre-teens? What problems are presented by distributing the vaccines internationally? Join the Center for American Progress and a panel of experts as we explore these and other issues that must be addressed in order to realize the promise of this major public health breakthrough.

The United States is a spectacularly rich country by any standard, but after nearly three decades of rising inequality, our wealth and income are more concentrated than at any time since the start of the Great Depression. Inequality here is also greater than in any of the world's other developed nations. These realities have profound implications for health, education, opportunity and democracy. Yet even progressive politicians often raise the issue of rising inequality only obliquely. Few policy prescriptions would tackle the challenge head on.
Why is that?