Today on Slate, John Dickerson theorizes that one of the reasons lobbyists thrive in Washington is because of the laziness of members of Congress and their staffers. It’s a point not as obvious as greed for campaign contributions and free golfing, which makes it a bit more interesting to discuss. In an interview with a

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While most lawmakers are frantically trying to distance themselves from the Jack Abramoff scandal by returning money linked to the disgraced lobbyist, some refuse to give it up with one well-known senator offering a most interesting reason. “Abramoff was a Republican operative and this is a Republican scandal.” A top aide to Nevada Senator Harry

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In an astoundingly disappointing action, President Bush yesterday appointed the inexperienced Julie L. Myers to be the head of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This recess appointment means she will only work for the next 11 months before the Senate gets to decide whether or not to confirm her. Sadly this seems to

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While the Jack Abramoff scandal is huge and clearly involves both political parties, media coverage would lead anyone to (erroneously) think that only Republicans had ties to the disgraced lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud. From an Associated Press story published nationwide, to a New York Times editorial questioning

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Violence between Mexican activists and anti-illegal immigration advocates broke out in the small Southern California city of Costa Mesa over a new law that makes it the nation’s first city to authorize its police department to enforce federal immigration laws. Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said he proposed the law, which passed by a vote

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The anxiety level in Washington must be at an all-time high in the wake of lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s guilty pleas to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud. The plea was part of an agreement that the renowned Republican lobbyist made to cooperate with the government in its massive investigation of influence peddling

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The City of Los Angeles constantly brags about how great and safe its drinking water is, but apparently it’s not good enough for city officials who spend thousands of dollars in public money to purchase bottled water from private firms. The city has even spent $1 million to mail out reports that assure residents that

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The Small Business Administration’s inspector general has released a damaging report that says most of the businesses receiving money from a loan program created to help victims of the September 11 attacks were not financially hurt by the event. They include a South Dakota radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop and a dog boutique

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In the process of creating the impression that she has shifted to the center, Hillary Clinton is alienating her liberal supporters and even some of her buddies in the media, who criticized her for cosponsoring a bill to make flag burning a crime. One columnist called it one step too far on her journey to

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In an effort to pressure Latin America to battle corruption, the United States created a policy of denying tourist visas to the region’s corrupt government officials. In fact, the U.S. has recently revoked the visas of at least three former Central American presidents?Nicaragua’s Arnoldo Aleman, Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo and Panama’s Ernesto Perez. But the recent

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