WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Bob Ney was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a congressional bribery scandal. The Justice Department had asked for a term of 27 months in prison. Ney, the only congressman charged in the case to date, pleaded guilty to trading official favors for golf trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney admitted that he traded official actions for expensive trips, sports tickets, meals and campaign donations from the former lobbyist, who is already in prison. […] Prior to the sentencing, nine letters from citizens, most […]

It remains to be seen whether or not the provision in question will still be in the Lobbying Reform bill by the time it hits the Senate floor for a vote — ideas this blatantly unconstitutional and vampiric tend to crumble under the first light of judicial review — but this is the latest bit of nastiness ringing the blogosphere’s Orwellian alarm bell: In what sounds like a comedy sketch from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, but isn’t, the U. S. Senate would impose criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress. Section 220 of S. […]

BY GLENN GREENWALD This is what I have learned so far: All of the Senators are very “concerned” and sometimes even “disturbed” about many things, almost all of them different for each Senator. Gonzales definitely shares their concerns about everything, and assures them he takes it very seriously and he is happy to sit down with them and explore ways to fix/improve/think about it. For any information the Senators want, Gonzales does not have it, but he will definitely endeavor to get it for them. When pointed out that he has made the same promises many times before and told […]

For seven years, conventional wisdom has said that the state’s pivotal independent voters would line up behind maverick Sen. John McCain, as they did so famously in the 2000 GOP primary. But new polling data, to be released later this week, will suggest that might no longer be the case. Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group finds that McCain’s popularity among New Hampshire’s independent voters has collapsed. “John McCain is tanking,” says ARG president Dick Bennett. “That’s the big thing [we’re finding]. In New Hampshire a year ago he got 49 percent among independent voters. That number’s way down, to 29 […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration policy, said Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority to monitor the government’s controversial domestic spying program. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this authority has been given to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and that it already has approved one request for monitoring the communications of a person believed to be linked to al-Qaida or an associated terror group. The court orders approving collection of international communications _ whether it originates in the United States or […]

“I believe that we have put Pennsylvania firmly on the road to enduring progress. But today is not the time to rest on our laurels. There is much yet to be done,” said Rendell, bracing against a stiff January wind and wearing only a navy-blue suit.[…] Rendell said he would try to build on the achievements of his first term, highlighting his efforts to reduce government spending while investing in education and economic-development programs. His 10-minute speech was interrupted by applause about a dozen times by a smaller-than-expected crowd of about 1,500 people, including federal and state lawmakers and well-wishers.The […]

Noticing our nation is stuck in an unwinnable war (or two), we wondered if America hasn’t stumbled off the meritocratic path. More specifically, since political pundits like David Brooks play such a central role in our national decision-making process, maybe something is amiss in the world of punditry. Are the incentives well-aligned? Surely those who warned us not to invade Iraq have been recognized and rewarded, and those who pushed for this disaster face tattered credibility and waning career prospects. Could it be any other way in America? So we selected the four pundits who were in our judgment the […]

January 14, 2007 — E. HOWARD Hunt – the shadowy former CIA man who organized the Watergate break-in and was once eyed in the assassination of President Kennedy – bizarrely says that Lyndon Johnson could be seen as a prime suspect in the rubout. […] On Watergate, Hunt says he saved G. Gordon Liddy from gagging on urine-tainted booze as they got ready to break into Democratic National Committee headquarters, telling him, “I know you like your scotch, but don’t order it . . . Last night when we were hiding in the closet, I had to take a leak […]