"...the second rule of moral psychology is that morality is not just about how we treat each other (as most liberals think); it is also about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way. When Republicans say that Democrats "just don't get it," this is the "it" to which they refer."

"Silvia Galdi at the University of Padova, Italy, has found evidence that the final verdicts of undecided decision-makers are only weakly related to their conscious preferences and more strongly influenced by unconscious views and biases they aren't aware of. In many cases, when people claim that they are undecided, they have secretly made up our minds, unbeknownst even to themselves. "

A political spectrum (plural spectra) is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions.

He did not say that the mess he is in has as much to do with religion as with racism--and, indeed, religion is the reason why our political discourse in this country is so scandalously stupid. As Christopher Hitchens observed in Slate months ago, one glance at the website of the Trinity United Church of Christ should have convinced anyone that Obama's connection to Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. would be a problem at some point in this campaign. Why couldn't Obama just cut his ties to his church and move on?

Feeling cranky after a bad night's sleep? Now there could be an explanation. Brain activity associated with psychiatric illness has been observed in healthy people who missed a single night's sleep. As well as shedding light on why sleep deprivation makes us feel so bad, the study could change our thinking about mental illness.

In his new book, The Honest Broker, University of Colorado political scientist Roger A. Pielke, Jr. worries that the debate over The Skeptical Environmentalist is emblematic of a “pathological” politicization of science in public policy today. What was framed as a debate over “sound science” was really a proxy battle over environmental policy, with most participants “focused on the advantages or disadvantages the book putatively lent to opposing political perspectives.” For example, Scientific American published a series of broadsides against Lomborg under the heading “Science Defends Itself from The Skeptical Environmentalist”; that title would have been more accurate, Pielke observes, had it read “Our political perspective defends itself against the political agenda of The Skeptical Environmentalist”—but then “it would have carried with it far less authority than masking politics with the cloth of science.”

The media often tell us that Americans are fundamentally conservative. Democratic victories are dismissed as flukes, and we are told that this nation supports a strong military, a government that does not interfere with health care, and free trade. .The data show that Americans are becoming increasingly progressive on issues across the board.

Canadians love more than our high horses. Today, Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion -- elected leader of his party with a promise to clean up Canada's act -- made his proposal to restore our smugness public.A bit of wonky analysis, plus a bit of background for Canadian political neophytes, follows.

Barack Obama commands respect while Hillary Clinton overacts. Plus: John Edwards' disappearing act, Mary Shelley debunked, and Ann Coulter's gender weirdness.