John Bentley Clarkson, ex-convict and regular Confusion Road contributor, explains why we need to move beyond the past and look forward to the future.

Trying to soothe the nation's jangled nerves, President Barack Obama has launched a "national reassurance plan" aimed at restoring faith in the economy. The centerpiece of the plan is a series of comforting speeches that Obama will give twice a day for the duration of the crisis.

They can be surprising, amusing or downright terrifying, but they grab your attention with a tantalizing glimpse into the future. They're bogus trend stories, and more and more of them are appearing in the nation's newspapers, TV news shows and web sites.

A key index of U.S. stock market performance dropped sharply again yesterday, reaching its lowest level since the Norman Conquest a thousand years ago. Economists say they see no sign of the market hitting bottom, while President Barack Obama offered much-needed words of encouragement.

Sweeping generalizations commonly reported in the news media, on subjects ranging from science to health to politics, are usually misguided and can even be dangerous, a new study shows.