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The Wall Street Journal picks up an extraordinary illustration of poverty and government assistance in America. At WalMart, before midnight on the 30th or 31st

Les Phillip, one of the Republicans who was already in the race against Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.) before he switched parties today, confirmed to TWI that

No shocker here. President George W. Bush announced today that he will release oil from the country’s emergency reserves in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.

Michele Bachmann became the first presidential candidate to sign a pledge by The Family Leader, an Iowa-based religious right group. The 14-point pledge ( PDF ) asks candidates to ban same-sex marriage, protect women and children from pornography and reject Islamic law. Signers also must promise to affirm that same-sex marriage is akin to polygamy and that having many children is good for America

One warrantless surveillance mystery solved. My friend Marcy Wheeler beat me to this: George W. Bush personally ordered White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and

Democratic leaders in the House are holding a press conference shortly on their sweeping $1.2 trillion proposal to revamp the nation’s health care system. As

State Rep.

When states debate medical marijuana laws, one of the issues sure to come up is whether legalizing marijuana for medical uses sends the wrong message to young people. Does legalizing medical marijuana create an atmosphere of permissiveness regarding marijuana? Does legalizing medical marijuana make it easier for kids to get their hands on dope

Litigation stemming from the massive Gulf oil spill will be consolidated in a federal court in New Orleans, a judicial panel decided today. The panel also

Sen.

Advocates for financial regulatory reform must be shaking their heads today after watching Rep. Melissa Bean’s (D-Ill.) efforts to weaken a comprehensive

Source: Jay Finneburgh, San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center A former Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq was critically injured in Tuesday night’s police crackdown on Occupy Wall Street protesters in Oakland, Calif. Scott Olsen, 24, who was originally from Wisconsin according to the Guardian newspaper, is currently in critical but stable condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland. The Huffington Post reports that he’s been sedated and is on a respirator.

Jane Norton, the former lieutenant governor of Colorado whose Republican campaign for Senate there has been going well, becomes the latest member of her party

The Senate Conservatives Fund, chaired by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) (and located squarely inside the Freedom Tent) has launched SpecterVsToomey.com, where people

According to Rasmussen Reports , a national telephone survey shows that 61 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that a child born in the United States to a woman who is here illegally should not automatically become an American citizen. # Rep. Steve King , R-Iowa, has sponsored the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act “to clarify those classes of individuals born in the United States who are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth.” # GOP representatives from Florida Sandy Adams, Jeff Miller, Richard Nugent, Bill Posey, Dennis Ross, Cliff Stearns and Allen West cosponsored the Act

I just spoke with Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), the progressive firebrand most known for his willingness to call out Republican obstructionism on health care

Taegan Goddard has the scoop: An early look at a new Public Policy Polling survey finds that among North Carolina Republicans, a stunning 47% think President

The Associated Press reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated Thursday that the Finance Committee’s vote on its $829 billion health

A bill (.pdf) that would give Homeland Security the authority to detain immigrants indefinitely, filed by U.S. Rep