Anthony Chiappone Charged with Campaign Finance Misconduct

New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone and his wife were charged with campaign finance misconduct by funneling state-issued paychecks for legislative aide into Chiappone's 2005 Assembly campaign account. State Attorney General Anne Milgram said Chiappone issued $7,532...

GET POLITICAL W/ VIC LIVINGSTON - Obama Demands 'Forced Labor' for Admission ...

• Pledge of volunteer work for a "community credential" • Violation of campaign finance regulations? A scan of the political blogs reveals the lengths to which the mainstream media will go to protect Barack Obama from himself. Turns out that to get "preferred...

I am data; politicians micro-target me to get elected

"To our presidential candidates, I am not Denny Wilkins, an individual human being: I am a set of data points, one of about 168 million sets of data points collected by both the Democratic and Republican national committees. They are interested in me only because I am an...

The Saudi arms sale + campaign cash = profit?

"Controversy continues to emerge about the United States' intent to develop a proposed $20 billion, 10-year arms sales package for Saudi Arabia. Brighter minds than this one can dissect Israel's concern about point-point, laser-guided weapons parked next door, whether...

Presidential candidates raise big cash fast — but from whom? And why?

"A magician who seeks to retain the illusion for the audience uses sleight of hand and misdirection. In the modern political era beginning in earnest with the 1994 mid-term elections, a Republican majority in Congress mastered that art using the textbooks authored by Newt...

Sen. Vitter, take 2: Is the media missing the real story?

"Sen. Vitter had been a representative in Congress since 1998 before succeeding John Breaux in the Senate. If he wants better hurricane and flood protection for the Gulf Coast now, why haven't reporters reviewed his House voting record on funding for same before Katrina?...

Forget Sen. Vitter's penis: Follow his money

"So Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) paid for sex. Big deal. All this "sex sells" coverage may drive ratings, but it detracts readers and viewers from far more important issues. Politicians would rather have the press focused on their sexual peccadilloes than on their...

Is Barack Obama too likable to be President?

"...Bush and Obama are two very different kinds of likable. Bush's likability is typically described as "the guy you can have a beer with," even though this guy was born into the privileged elite of one of Connecticut's richest families and basically spent...

Bush's patronage appointments to ambassador exceed father's, Clinton's

"During the presidency of George W. Bush, nearly four out of every 10 of his nominees for ambassador have been "non-career appointees" — or what many would consider "political" appointees. Neither his father nor President Clinton had such a high...

Lawyers aren't alone in coughing up lots of campaign cash

"A few weeks ago I pointed out that lawyers and law firms gave the largest slice of the $150 million pie of campaign contributions collected by our current crop of presidential candidates in the first three months of this year..."