Miller’s Anti-Earmark Stance

Joe Miller, now officially Alaska’s Republican candidate for Senate, is another insurgent who fits into a pattern Jesse has identified of politicians shirking earmarks in the run-up to November’s election.

It’s a particularly surprising stance to take in Alaska, where the late Sen. Ted Stevens unabashedly brought home dollars More…

Why Aren’t Americans More Prepared for Disasters?

Part of FEMA’s business is to make sure that Americans are prepared to respond to disasters, and in September — National Preparedness Month — the agency tries to hammer home the message, recommending a three step plan: get a kit, make a plan, be informed.

It’s a message the More…

A Flood of Money Slow to Fix New Orleans Schools

This week, The Washington Independent is featuring a series of investigative stories on the rebuilding of New Orleans, five years after Hurricane Katrina. Find all of them here.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the federal government began the most expensive long-term rebuilding project in American history. The More…

Coast Guard Needs More Money, Not Fewer Missions

You know it’s August when The Washington Post recycles news almost a decade old on its front page. This morning’s story on the Coast Guard leads with the well-worn worry that the Coast Guard’s homeland security responsibilities — inspecting cargo, patrolling near critical resources, ensuring port security — are More…

BP Opens Escrow Fund, But Claims Process Is Confusing

BP is one step closer to settling up its bill for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, the company and the Department of Justice completed negotiations over the $20 billion escrow fund to compensate the spill’s victims for their losses, and BP made an initial More…

Chris Oynes and the Louisiana MMS Office

The New York Times published a mammoth story yesterday on the Minerals Management Service office in Louisiana, its leader, Chris Oynes, and the state’s dependence on the oil industry. Oynes, who left the agency in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill, had not spoken publicly before now. More…

Lowrey Talks Small Business Bill on MSNBC

If you were on your way out of town Friday evening, you might have missed TWI economy reporter Annie Lowrey on MSNBC, discussing Republican obstruction of a Senate bill that would help small businesses. Not to worry: we have the clip for you, below the jump.

Lowrey Discusses Unemployed Netroots on MSNBC

Last night, TWI’s Annie Lowrey talked to Chris Hayes, guest host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, about the burgeoning political consciousness of unemployed Americans — what she’s termed the “unemployed netroots.”

Bracing for Budget Season and Earmark Agonizing

In the House, the appropriations committee is marking up spending bills, which means that rhetoric about earmarks is about to ramp up. Yesterday, the House passed a bill defunding more than $700 million in aging earmarks, and in the Senate, a measure that would create an earmark database More…