Boehner's battle for speaker  —  John Boehner won reelection to a second term as House speaker on Thursday, but it wasn't easy.  —  In an unusually suspenseful roll-call vote of the new House of Representatives, Boehner garnered 220 votes, but 12 Republican lawmakers either opposed him, voted present or abstained.

New Crazy GOP Plan: No Negotiations With Obama!  —  One common takeaway from the tax deal is that the Republican party rejected the “ideology” of its extreme right wing.  But there's little evidence of any real ideological split within the Republican Party — certainly not between figures …

With Millions Still Waiting For Sandy Relief, Republicans Reintroduce Obamacare Repeal  —  The 112th Congress gaveled to a close on Thursday afternoon without passing a relief package for victims of Hurricane Sandy or reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, but Rep. Michele Bachmann …

Crime Is at its Lowest Level in 50 Years.  A Simple Molecule May Be the Reason Why.  —  I've written several posts recently about the idea that America's great crime epidemic, which started in the 60s and peaked in the early 90s, was caused in large part by lead emissions from automobiles.