The Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, S.223, was all set for quick passage with approval out of committee and bipartisan support, until yesterday when a secret hold was placed on the bill. Senator Feinstein has commented; "This is exactly the type of good-government law that the Senate could adopt as a stand alone measure." And yet Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) requested the block on behalf of an unidentified Republican senator. The bill in question would require electronic filing of financial disclosure reports by Senate campaigns.

The American Prospect has posted an excellent article on the IRS privatization program- particularly all the shady and suspicious political donations that seem -but have not been proven- to be the driving force behind the program. Also, the article sheds some light on one of the mysteries of the privatization program- that it's found a staunch supporter in Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) (emph. mine).

Author Rick Perlstein has an excellent opinion piece on TomPaine.com. He argues conservative values, specifically the idea of limited government, are responsible for the dwindling ability of the FDA to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply. Perlstein argues that budget cuts are responsible for the FDA's inability to preempt contaminated food crises. When the FDA does act it is often too late, as it was with the recent peanut butter incident:

Supplemental Debate: War of Words In the weeks since the House and href="/article/blogs/entry/3076/2" target="_blank">Senate each narrowly passed emergency supplemental appropriations bills, the president and congressional Democrats have engaged in a rhetorical battle over additional items above the president's record request, as well as language that would call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Bush has issued almost daily attacks against the bills since they