By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
The Senate Intelligence Committee has voted to extend a wide-ranging surveillance law targeting foreigners overseas to mid-2015, but Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon says he will block the measure unless the public is told more about the law's impact on people living in the United States.
The White House on Wednesday said it is reasonable to claim future savings from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that already were winding down, saying that President Obama should get credit for "policy decisions" to end those conflicts.
The same people who brought you the global warming and Y2K scares have dreamed up a scheme to assert greater federal control over the Internet in the name of cybersecurity. According to Reuters news agency, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, intends to pass legislation on the subject authored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent, and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat. The forthcoming effort will trade the freedom of an important communications medium for the illusion of safety.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she is committed to holding a vote this year on extending middle-class tax cuts, though declined to say whether she would do so before the Nov. 2 midterm elections.
Does Lady Gaga run the U.S. Senate?
President Obama returned to political campaign mode Monday with sharp words for Republicans and a proposal to spend at least $50 billion on the country's transportation infrastructure - another bid to revive the lagging U.S. economy before the November elections.
The Republican National Committee chairman rebuked top Democratic spokesmen for personal attacks that go beyond the pale, including suggestions that Senate candidate Sharron Angle wants her political opponents to die and that he roots for U.S. defeat in Afghanistan.
