Subject: U.S. Congressional News

• A Real Heist

  July 12, 2007

• Daily Briefs: Midwifery, Erotic City and Your Prostate's Credit Score

  January 21, 2008

• Slattery on Kennedy

  June 26, 2008

• FDA about to get "smack-down" power

  After the peanut recall, the spinach recall and the swine flu, it looks as if members of Congress are finally serious about overhauling the FDA. The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, introduced by powerful Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Dingell, would fix many of the problems that have plagued the agency for the past eight years. Among other things, the bill would give the FDA more quarantine power to prevent food from traveling across geographic areas, a problem in the peanut butter salm

  June 1, 2009

• Doctors' Orders?

  John Ashcroft says he pushed for "the real" patients' bill of rights. But who's the real John Ashcroft?

  August 31, 2000

• 35 Kansas Republicans to determine fate of JoCo 17

  By JUSTIN KENDALL The Kansas Republican Party stripped 17 Johnson County precinct committee people of their voting rights for contributing to Democratic candidates. The Kansas City Star quoted state GOP executive director Christian Morgan saying the Kansas GOP's executive committee will determine whether the precinct committee people will get their voting rights back. Morgan said some would. Some wouldn't. But who gets to decide? The Kansas Republican Party's Web site offers the following lis

  November 19, 2008

• Stealing Time: Johnny Rowlands helicopter stalks "stolen" white truck

  I swear Johnny Rowlands was helicopter stalking a white truck this morning. In the 1994 flashback (see Simpson, O.J.), Rowlands in NewsChopper 9 hovered above the truck as it made "unusual turns," and Rowlands wondered whether he should call the cops. Let's see, Johnny. You think the truck is stolen. You're in a helicopter chasing it. I don't know. Seriously, WTF? Guess Rowlands is no super sleuth. All I remember is him saying, "Thought we had a scoop," and KMBC's morning anchors cracking on him

  December 2, 2008

• Stealing Time: Elizabeth Alex knows you're not getting laid

  DayPortPlayer.newPlayer({articleID:"427559",bannerAdObjectID:"5",videoAdObjectID:"4",videoAdConDefID:"2",playerInstanceID:"24FAD9E0-DC70-2532-414F-7E6F051C4C2F",domain:"kshb.dayport.com",rootCategory:"null",categoryID:"4295",accPos:"CCTVI.NEWS.LOCAL",accSite:"KSHB"}); Elizabeth Alex knows you're not getting laid. Her words, not mine. Lucky for us you, NBC Action News reporter Amy Hawley shares some unsexy sex tips for getting your ungrateful wife lady in the mood. Blah, blah, blah help with cho

  December 10, 2008

• Kansas City Strip

  November 2, 2000

• Kansas City Strip

  November 30, 2000

• The Great Derangement: We're in it

  One of our favorite writers is Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, whose 2008 book The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics & Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire, is due out in paperback next week.The book's subtitle doesn't lie -- Taibbi leads a truly terrifying expedition through Congress, the 9/11 Truth movement and the sad God seekers at Pastor John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in Texas. Although Taibbi's book is set before the November 2008 election, its main a

  January 7, 2009

• Best Remnant of Kansas City's Glory Days

  October 18, 2001

• Baby Blunt's unpopularity hurting daddy

  The National Review Online wonders if the unpopularity of now-former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt will sink big daddy Roy Blunt's chances of taking Kit Bond's Senate seat. Yes, it's early, but this poll says daddy's going to need help if he's going to beat Robin Carnahan. -- Justin Kendall

  January 14, 2009

• Stealing Time: Midtown Miscreant grounds expectations for Obama's presidency

  Midtown Miscreant tries to temper expectations for Barack Obama's pending presidency. Otherwise, Obama will be the next Jimmy Carter. A great post from one of Kansas City's best bloggers.

  January 19, 2009

• Best Performance by a Dead Man

  October 18, 2001

• Sheer Negligence

  January 17, 2002

• Best Use of Anti-Goth funds

  October 17, 2002

• Daily Briefs: HAHA, your job.

  GOOD NEWS! The unemployment rate has not yet hit two digits. On the other, smellier hand, U.S. employers unfriended 651,000 workers in February and the unemployment rate now stands at 8.1 percent. Former Pitch sports writer Chris Rasmussen said today's numbers were going to be bad, and he was right. He knows about a lot of stuff, and obviously, his uncanny and Nate Silver-ish sportsvoyant progsportstications make him pretty good to have along if you're unemployed and out at the riverboats plac

  March 6, 2009

• Judging Tippers

  August 4, 2005

• Kraske's big scoop declines to name names

  Could Rod Jetton be known as 'lawmaker' to Star readers?Basketball players pound their chest after a powerful dunk. The daily newspaper equivalent of the pec slap is the copyright symbol. "©" made an appearance on the front page of Sunday's Kansas City Star. The Steve Kraske-written story said the FBI is investigating Missouri lawmakers for trading favors for campaign donations.Kraske's sources are solid. Three lawmakers told The Star's chief political writer they had spoken with agents.But Kr

  March 31, 2009

• Hate-watch group tried to bump Kris Kobach from congressional testimony

  Kris KobachLast year, officials from the Missouri State Highway Patrol received training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that gave them the authority to conduct immigration investigations and detain undocumented migrants. Where do local cops get off executing immigration law? Well, in 1996 Congress passed a law with a provision called 287(g) that opened the door for county and state officials to take a class, sign an agreement and essentially become a local arm of ICE. That progra

  April 7, 2009

• Kansas Sen. Jim Barnett -- a good Republican -- announces run for U.S. House

  Kansas Sen. Jim Barnett at his day job.The Wichita Eagle reported yestserday that Kansas Sen. Jim Barnett, a Republican from Emporia, will run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Although competition will likely be fierce for the seat currently held by Jerry Moran, Barnett's entry into the race is good news for Kansas. Barnett is moderate, smart and respectful -- Washington badly needs Republicans like him.I got to know Barnett while working on an April story about Kathleen Sebelius' efforts

  June 3, 2009

• Arguing about the stimulus, pork-producing hometown Republicans have made a ridiculous stand for austerity

  February 26, 2009

• Justice Still Needed

  February 19, 2009

• Lovetown

  February 12, 2009

• Liberated Legacy

  October 30, 2008

• Kansas State Senate candidate Kelly Kultala fears a political hit man

  October 30, 2008

• Unhappy Endings

  Readers speak out on the demise of a drug dealer — and our last lines about him.

  January 24, 2008

• Capitol Bully

  March 29, 2007

• Opus Sam

  May 18, 2006

• Big Matt Attack

  Anti-cloning crusader Matt Bartle makes some very powerful Republicans squirm.

  March 10, 2005

• Goon Squad

  U.S. Rep. Sam Graves and his lackeys never miss an opportunity to rough up a local political race.

  May 13, 2004

• Black Tuesday

  Rich Nadler tries to divide and conquer the African-American vote.

  December 12, 2002

• Mary Quite Contrary

  In the battle over school funding, moderate Johnson County Republicans say Mary Pilcher Cook is their worst teachers' pest.

  July 18, 2002

• A Shock to the System

  Mel Carnahan's death leaves Missouri Democrats stumped.

  October 26, 2000

• John Danforth has tried to save the GOP from itself. Now, by endorsing Roy Blunt, he’s sold his soul.

  June 25, 2009

• Insurance agents want Brownback as governor

  As a U.S. Senator, Kansas Republican Sam Brownback insists the nation's health-care crisis can be cured with private-sector solutions. Now, those private-sector industries are writing checks to boost Brownback to the Governor's mansion in 2010. U.S. Senator Sam BrownbackLast month, when Brownback visited Cleveland Chiropractic Clinic in Overland Park, the Senator made clear he doesn't favor the public insurance option Democrats are pushing in Congress. He doesn't want the government meddling in

  July 17, 2009

• Newt shoots Brian Yates a thumbs-up

  Center for Health TransformationGingrich​Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House and the rare conservative who likes to promote new ideas, was in St. Louis today to commend state Rep. Brian Yates (R-Lee's Summit) and two other Missouri lawmakers for a bill that targets Medicare and Medicaid fraud.One of Gingrich's gigs these days is the Center for Health Transformation, a for-profit association of health care providers. The association believes that fraud and waste account for $100 bil

  July 28, 2009

• Brownback lies about cap-and-trade

  ​U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback is spouting nonsense in an effort to denigrate a bill intended to halt climate change.In a taped address to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Brownback recently warned that cap-and-trade legislation in Congress would slap a family of four with a $1,500 annual increase in energy costs.But as Media Matters points out, Brownback's $1,500 increase seems to have been pulled from thin air.

  August 5, 2009

• Santorum is all over Todd Tiahrt

  Rick Santorum​I expected something a lot dirtier when I saw the name "Santorum" linked to Congressman Todd Tiahrt. Alas, the e-mail was about the man, not the "frothy mix."Rick Santorum -- the former Republican senator from Pennsylvania who believes there's no constitutional right to privacy in your bedroom and compared gay sex to incest, polygamy and beastiality -- is lending his seal of approval to Tiahrt.The press release from Tiahrt's office quotes Santorum saying:"Courage is in short supp

  October 23, 2009