Politics
The Obama Administration and the Press
U.S. President Barack Obama came into office pledging open government, but he has fallen short of his promise, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists story. Journalists and transparency advocates say the White House curbs routine disclosure of information and deploys its own media to evade scrutiny by the press. Aggressive prosecution of leakers of…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Faking the grade, mug shots online, pharma payments and the politics of mental health care
How Sunrise police make millions selling drugs | Sun Sentinel“Police in this suburban town best known for its sprawling outlet mall have hit upon a surefire way to make millions. They sell cocaine.” How safe are Indiana day cares? | Indianapolis Star“Indiana spends about $2.5 million inspecting and licensing more than 4,000 day cares that…
Read MoreThere was time to help Paul Schmidt, but county politics got in the way
“At the time, Paul Schmidt — PJ, as he was known then — was 5, an easygoing tow-headed boy who lived less than a mile from the land where the new hospital would be built. In the years to come, he would climb apple trees and play “Ghosts in the Graveyard” there with the kids…
Read MoreCongressional budget crisis was months in the planning
“The stand by conservatives that led to the current crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort, waged by a galaxy of well-funded groups, to undo President Obama’s health care law,” the New York Times reports. Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General…
Read MoreMinneapolis mayor’s race lags in disclosing campaign contributions
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: “If candidates for mayor of Minneapolis were running in Boston, they would file a report online of their campaign contributions every two weeks for six months before the election. If they were running in Seattle? Once a week. And in a range of other cities with a mayoral election this fall, they…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: informants allowed to commit crimes, programs covered up, travel rules bent at UCLA
UCLA officials bend travel rules with first-class flights, luxury hotels | The Center for Investigative ReportingOver the past several years, six of 17 academic deans at the Westwood campus routinely have submitted doctors’ notes stating they have a medical need to fly in a class other than economy, costing the university $234,000 more than it…
Read MorePolitically active ‘social welfare’ nonprofits get IRS approval with cash, connections
The Sunlight Foundation reports that in the wake of Citizens United, tax-exempt social welfare groups, 501(c)4 organizations, have becoming increasingly popular as conduits for big, anonymous campaign donations. A survey by the Sunlight Foundation found dozens of groups in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia that appear to benefit Republican and Democratic politicians, despite being set…
Read MoreThe huge drone that could not be grounded
“A major defense contractor used campaign donations and insider access on Capitol Hill to defy the Air Force and keep a troubled drone aloft at a cost to taxpayers of billions of dollars,” according to a Center for Public Integrity report.
Read MoreOregon Employment Department shake-up casts spotlight on accusations of nepotism
An ongoing investigation by The Oregonian into the Employment Department shake-up shows that familial relationships figured prominently as the agency’s top tier unraveled. The director is retiring after a state probe, the deputy abruptly departed for a lower-paying state job, and the No. 3 was fired as Gov. John Kitzhaber’s administration cleaned house.
Read MoreNearly One in Five Members of Congress Gets Paid Twice
About 90 members from both chambers collected a government pension atop their taxpayer-financed $174,000 salary in 2012, National Journal found in an examination of recent financial records. The practice is called “double-dipping.”
Read More