Suggestion: Resources
I'm not sure if this is the place to post it, but I'd like to suggest a "resources" section - maybe under topics.
The section wouldn't be for discussion, it would be for the benefiet of people who wanted to write a letter to the editor, a paper for school, or simply wanted to gain a better understanding of an issue. It would not be for discussion, just a place for links - good articles, editorials, information resources etc.,
So, if you found a good article on gun control, health care, etc., you'd drop it (along with a except maybe) into the appropriate thread. Yes, there are good research tools online but this would be better - a Google search requires a lot of filtering (sorting the good from the crap / sorting out duplicate articles etc.,), There is Wikipedia but you can't exactly base a research paper on a Wikipedia entry.
Anyway... just a thought, for whatever it's worth.