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MARION — If voters in Iowa Senate District 18 were hoping to hear anything new from the candidates, they were likely disappointed when Democrat Liz Mathis and Republican Cindy Golding provided a rare joint appearance at local school Wednesday night. The debate, organized and jointly hosted by KCRG-TV and The Gazette, was an opportunity for side-by-side comparisons of the candidates — something that hasn’t been freely available during this whirlwind special election to replace Democrat Swati Dandekar who vacated the seat in order to accept a gubernatorial appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board. Liz Mathis Mathis, a former TV news anchor who currently works with a nonprofit agency that advocates for child welfare and co-owns a business with her husband, pressed hard for education reforms, noting that quality education was a key to economic prosperity.

Republicans who support a massive and controversial elections bill have yet to present evidence of fraud to justify changes that advocacy groups have said would make it more difficult for people — especially young people — to vote. # Sen

The national oil spill commission managed to get through its meeting today without addressing the controversial reports its staff released last week, which

Bank Transfer Day comes tomorrow, Nov. 5, but calls for people to take their money out of big banks and deposit it in community banks and credit unions are already having an effect. The Credit Union National Association (known as CUNA) reports today that “at least 650,000 consumers across the nation have joined credit unions in the past four weeks, reflecting consumers’ reactions to rising fees at banks.” CUNA “ estimates that credit unions have added $4.5 billion in new savings accounts.

Kevin Drum sort of freaked out over Robert McNamara’s death and let a very human burst of empathy explode into an unnecessary spasm of self-loathing. As a

Sarah Palin is flying to Iowa to speak tonight at the Ronald Reagan Dinner, a big annual affair in Des Moines, and once again increasing speculation as to

Sure enough, the story I wrote about that appeared Monday in USA Today that said the stimulus bill would provide jobs for some 300,000 undocumented immigrants

What’s the difference between a Democrat and a Republican in Congress these days? In one key aspect, not a lot.

Among Roll Call ‘s list of the 50 richest members of Congress : Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota. With estimated assets of $77 million (and liabilities around $26 million), Buchanan lands at No.

Even as the numbers of illegal immigrants entering the United States plunges and the Obama administration steps up enforcement of the immigration laws,

Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast has lost thousands of dollars for teen sexual health programs servicing young people in Palm Beach County this year. About 200 fewer teens will be served in the region if the organization does not receive enough outside donations to recoup this year’s losses.

All day, we’re re-running our favorite blog posts of the last year. This post was originally published on Sept. 12, 2009. In a phone interview with TWI

New organization seeks to prevent Guantanamo detainees from facing trial in Northern Virginia.

Not very. Speaking to reporters today, newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner all but dismissed the idea outright: We have a financial system that

Here’s a look at some worthy articles from the right side of the blogosphere and journospheres in this, week one of the Obama presidency. 1.) James S.

In an interview with D.C. newspaper The Hill, Rick Santorum — a former Pennsylvania senator and possible contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination — says based on the reception he’s received on his numerous visits to Iowa, he believes he could surprise everyone with a win in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. The Hill depicts Santorum’s 2012 chances in Iowa’s caucuses as a dependent on which other socially conservative candidates enter the race, such as U.S.

Just a few weeks after the Army Corps of Engineers approved a controversial mountaintop mine in Kentucky without a peep from the Environmental Protection

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) had an exchange with Gen. Stanley McChrystal that underscores both the Republican Party’s predicament and the general’s unwillingness

The Nebraska legislature, meeting in a special session to deal specifically with the Keystone XL pipeline that would cross their state, may be on the verge of passing a bill that could give the governor control over the route that pipeline would take. On Wednesday, the Natural Resources Committee voted 7-1 to send a bill to the full legislature that would require all oil pipeline companies to have the routes of their pipelines certified by a state panel headed by the governor before starting construction.

A New Mexico district court judge ruled that the Martinez administration can continue its investigation into the residency of foreign nationals holding driver’s licenses, but must show “good cause” for doing so. Judge Sarah Singleton said the state cannot send out more letters to determine the residency of other foreign nationals who have driver’s licenses or follow up as to why some 4,200 did not respond to letters, but may continue investigations when there is “good cause” for fraud. She said that investigating solely on the basis of nationality violated the Equal Protection Clause for citizens and noncitizens alike.

From yesterday’s Twitter feed of Brad Dayspring, spokesman for the GOP whip’s office: Dayspring doesn’t mis-attribute the study to the New England