Voter fraud fears become the latest partisan issue
Amanda Zamora said: On Election Day, voters standing in line to cast their ballots in Harris County, Tex., will be treated to a cool drink courtesy of a group called "the lemonade brigade." But the group has another motive: curbing voter fraud. It is one of several Republican and tea-party-affiliated groups across the country that are taking their citizen activism to the polls this year to stop what they think will be rampant abuse of the nation's error-prone election system.
On Election Day, voters standing in line to cast their ballots in Harris County, Tex., will be treated to a cool drink courtesy of a group called "the lemonade brigade." But the group has another motive: curbing voter fraud. It is one of several Republican and tea-party-affiliated groups across the country that are taking their citizen activism to the polls this year to stop what they think will be rampant abuse of the nation's error-prone election system.
USDA Firing Stirs Debate Over Racism in Politics
A fuzzy video of a racially themed speech that prompted the ouster this week of an Agriculture Department official has opened a new front in the ongoing war between the left and right over which side is at fault for stoking persistent forces of racism in politics.
Hearings: BP representative overruled drillers, insisted on displacing mud with seawater
Amanda Zamora said: NoLa doing fine job of keeping up with MMS hearings.
The chief mechanic on the Deepwater Horizon testified Wednesday that he was at a planning meeting 11 hours before the rig exploded at which the BP company man overruled drillers from rig owner Transocean and insisted on displacing protective drilling mud from the riser that connected the rig to the oil well.
Murtha's FBI files detail a career of scrutiny
On Tuesday, the FBI released hundreds of pages about the late congressman who came under criminal investigation three decades ago and who died in February amid an ongoing criminal probe into alleged kickbacks involving defense contractors.
Ex-reps. to aid Comcast takeover bid - John Dunbar -- Investigative Reporting Workshop - POLITICO.com
Comcast Corp. has been snapping up ex-government officials to help win approval of its proposed takeover of NBC Universal Inc., including former congressmen and congressional staff members, ex-government antitrust lawyers and former aides to the Federal Communications Commission's most impassioned critics of media mergers.
Report finds interagency contracts rife with inefficiencies (5/25/10) -- GovExec.com
Billions of taxpayer dollars flow through interagency and enterprisewide contracts annually, but because of poor management and oversight, the federal government does not know for sure if those contracts are being implemented efficiently and effectively, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Derivatives-Spinoff Proposal 'Goes Too Far,' Says Frank - WSJ.com
A key House Democrat signaled Tuesday that a controversial derivatives provision in the Senate's financial-regulation bill could be stripped out during negotiations when the two chambers hammer out compromise legislation that could be signed into law by July 4.
Attorney: 'BP's Been Given Enough Chances'
As the BP oil spill devastates the Gulf Coast, analysts, legal experts and industry executives weigh the financial and human costs.
Probe Finds MMS Inspectors Got Free Peach Bowl Tickets, Looked At Porn | TPMMuckraker
An inspector general report on the Lake Charles, LA, office of the Minerals Management Service found that inspectors accepted a free trip to the 2005 Peach Bowl paid for by an oil company.
Gulf oil spill: Cleanup workers report illness - latimes.com
Reporting from Venice, La., and Los Angeles Some fishermen who have been hired by BP to clean up the gulf oil spill say they have become ill after working long hours near waters fouled with oil and dispersant, prompting a Louisiana lawmaker to call on the federal government to open mobile clinics in rural areas to treat them.
