U.S. Congress

Gun Controversy: Missouri House Source Tries Accessing Confidential Data to Prove a Point?

One of the most hotly debated issues at the Missouri legislature this session is the question of whether the state is violating the privacy of residents with concealed-carry permits by way of some sort of "gun registry" conspiracy. The concern is that -- in the context of gun control -- officials in ... More >>

Gun Docket: Proposal to Revamp Firearms Prosecution in St. Louis Advances in Senate

It has been a particularly heated week for gun debates. In Missouri, a Republican outcry about gun owner privacy in Missouri sparked a major policy change and a high-profile resignation. Nationally, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a background check proposal, angering even some longtime NRA members. ... More >>

"Stan Span" Plan Nearly Law: Musial Bridge Tribute Gets Unanimous Support in U.S. Senate

U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, and Roy Blunt, a Republican, don't usually agree on much of anything -- but they can come together for Stan the Man. And thus the rare press release yesterday quoting both Missouri senators, who are championing the unanimous passage this week in the U.S. ... More >>

Violence Against Women Act: Why Is Senator Roy Blunt Still Opposing? LGBT Protections?

One of the more heated battles in D.C. this year so far centers around the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a measure that provides protection for victims of domestic violence. Congress failed to extend it last year, but it's now under consideration at the House -- after it passed ... More >>

RIP Betty Anne McCaskill, Missouri Politician and Advocate for Women

Betty Anne McCaskill, who is now most famous as one of the chief campaigners for her daughter Claire but who had a long career of her own in Missouri politics, died yesterday at home in St. Louis after a long illness. She was 84. Claire McCaskill, who had last week suspended her campaign for re-ele ... More >>

Akin: Evolution is "Not Even A Matter of Science"

Todd Akin, Missouri's Republican Senate candidate, trained engineer, member of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space and Technology and self-appointed expert on female reproductive issues has taken upon himself another role: Challenger of the dubious theory of evolution! At ... More >>

Someone Still Loves You, Todd Akin

You'd think that after "legitimate rape" and "unladylike" (and the fact that the two terms have become so infamous, we don't even have to explain them), plus the new thing about how companies should be "free" to pay women less than men for equal work (watch for "freedom" to join the Akin buzzword li ... More >>

Guns Blazin' n' Insults Flyin', GOP Candidates Wrap Up "Victory Tour" in STL County

We didn't find Abby Wambach amid the stacks of GOP yard signs, but 300 or so STL-area Republicans were on hand to celebrate their slate and revel in partisan glory... however premature.

Primary Results: Akin to Face McCaskill, Clay Trounces Carnahan, Jones Wins City Treasurer

Yesterday's Missouri primary resulted in a few surprises. The biggest, perhaps, was Congressman Lacy Clay's stunning victory over Congressman Russ Carnahan for Missouri's First Congressional District that includes all of St. Louis and much of the county. Clay garnered 63.2 percent of the vote to Car ... More >>

Odds Stacked Against Black Candidates, According to Some Operatives

If black candidates do not win these elections, where the odds are stacked against them, St. Louis, a city that is roughly 50 percent African American, will have no black representatives in Congress, the Missouri Senate or in the state House.

Missouri Has Two of the Seven Most Anti-LGBT Legislators; Can You Name Them?

ThinkProgress.org has issued a ranking of the most anti-LGBT legislators in the Republican party (House of Representatives division), and while Kansas Representative Tim Huelskamp claimed the top spot, Missouri is the only state to place two members of Congress on the list. You'd think the deep Sout ... More >>

If You Like Guns, Ted Nugent, Mitt Romney & More Guns, the NRA's Got a Deal for You!

Next weekend, more than 60,000 people are flocking to downtown St. Louis for the 2012 National Rifle Association Annual Meetings and Exhibits! This is a huge deal because, first of all, I will have a tougher time finding a parking spot. Secondly, an important national figure will be present: Ted Nug ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Donde esta donkey show?

House Transportation Bill Would Gut Metro Funding

​The US House of Representatives is scheduled to discuss today its version of the 2012 transportation bill -- a bill that could have major ramifications for the City and the counties.If passed, the bill, HR 7, states that mass transit would no longer automatically receive one-fifth of the fuel tax ... More >>

Net Worth of Missouri Congressional Delegation Tops $47.9 Million

​The Center for Responsive Politics recently released its report on the nation's wealthiest U.S. representatives and senators. No one from Missouri makes its Top 10 list, but that doesn't mean we don't have some worthy contenders. Turns out we actually have some of the richest -- and poorest -- po ... More >>

Village Voice Media asks for your support of Senate Bill 596

America's Got Talent Winner Runs for Missouri Office: Eight Musicians He Should Learn From

Neal Boyd's American dream includes serving in Missouri House of Representatives.​Neal E. Boyd of Sikeston has already won lots of American votes. Enough to win the 2008 season of America's Got Talent, when he wowed audiences with his pop opera skills. Before finding reality-show fame, Boyd ... More >>

Federal Funding Cuts Could Hurt St. Louis' China Hub Project

Did our China hub just get grounded?​The House of Representatives today passed an FAA Reauthorization bill that could thwart efforts to create a trade hub with China at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The bill includes funding for the Airport Improvement Program that currently allocates $ ... More >>

Effort Underway to Shrink Missouri House From 163 Reps to 103

Missouri voters would be asked to trim the fat. ​If you work in the private sector in Missouri, chances are pretty good that your business experienced some downsizing (a.k.a. layoffs) over the last few years. That's not the case, though, for those public sector employees who happen to work on the ... More >>

Ask a Mexican! Why do Mexicans like to write in ALL CAPS?

Amendment to Defund Planned Parenthood Passes in the House

Imperiled.​After a heated, three-hour debate last night, the U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon passed an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood by a vote of 240 to 185. The Senate, which retains a slim Democratic majority, is expected to vote on the measure in the coming weeks.The Pence ... More >>

English-Only Driver's License Tests in Missouri? House Committee Says Yes

Image via​A committee of the Missouri House of Representatives has approved a bill requiring that driver's license testing be conducted in English -- and only in English -- sending the measure on to the full House for its vote.The House Transportation Committee yesterday voted 8-3 for the bill, fo ... More >>

ClaireMcCaskill.com Officially Worth $4,000

How much would you pay for this web domain?​From the Department of Why the Hell Didn't We Think of That?: The Post-Dispatch reports that a Columbia-based web designer named Brennan Hobart noticed that Senator Claire McCaskill's website was called claireonline.com. Hobart suspected that the do ... More >>

Fox News, Robin Carnahan Settle Lawsuit

An excerpt from the advertisement in question.​Three months after the election and nearly five months after it was filed, Fox News and its anchor Chris Wallace have settled a suit against former U.S. Senate contender Robin Carnahan. The network filed the lawsuit in response to a Carnahan' campaign ... More >>

Ed Martin Announces Candidacy for U.S. Senate

Well, Ed Martin didn't tease us for very long. A week after making a non-announcement announcement about his bid for U.S. Senate, Ed Martin today made it official. He's in.

Return to Sender: What would comprehensive immigration reform look like if the feds got moving?

Child Nutrition Bill Passes House of Reps, Headed to President

Despite being blocked by an unrelated amendment on Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Child Nutrition Bill yesterday. The AP gives the details of the final bill, and explains that the added amendment, pertaining to background checks for child care workers, was passed in a separate bi ... More >>

Food Safety Bill Passes Senate

Image via​Legislation to overhaul the nation's oversight of food safety passed the Senate this morning by a vote of 73 to 25. The bill greatly increases the FDA's authority over food producers.Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) voted in favor of the bill; retiring Senator Kit Bond (R) abstained ... More >>

School Nutrition Bill Gets Post-Election Boost

Post-election, the outlook for the stalled school nutrition bill was pretty bleak. But it's looking better, thanks to Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts opting to back the bill. According to the Associated Press, the upcoming changes in the House of Represe ... More >>

Attention Missouri Marijuana Smokers: Your Candidate Has Arrived

Behold: The campaign commercial for Libertarian candidate Jonathan Dine for U.S. Senate. Given his past prison sentence for marijuana possession (not to mention charges of stealing and identity theft) it's no wonder Dine wants the government off your back -- and his.H/T: Plog

Politicians Want to Text Us, Ruin Last Spam-Free Area of Our Over-Mediated Lives

flickr.com/photos/kiwanja​Show us a campaign e-mail, and we'll show you spam. Call us on our landline, and -- oops, we don't have one. But send us a text, and Sweet Bejeezus we will drop the choking child we're trying to resuscitate and text you right back. JK! (It's true.)  Politicians hav ... More >>

Happy Fiscal New Year!!

image via​...3......2......1...HAPPY FISCAL NEW YEAR!!Today, October 1, marks the first day of the fiscal year, or, as the kids in the hood call it, FY'11. Thanks to the U.S. Congress, the government didn't completely shut down at midnight. A miracle!In a late-night vote (12:15 a.m. EST) Wednesday ... More >>

Slate Debunks the Fox News Lawsuit Against Robin Carnahan

To be blunt, Fox is full of it.​From being represented by a law firm with ties to Republican Roy Blunt to using copyright law for the purpose of political censorship, earlier today Slate published a thorough take-down of Fox News and their "bogus" lawsuit against Robin Carnahan, Missouri's Democra ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Oh, Snap: What's a good comeback to anti-Mexican sentiments?

Post-Dispatch Changes Coverage at City Hall; David Hunn Takes over for Jake Wagman

Wagman is now politically independent, so to speak.​Dagburnit! We thought we'd beat the Post-Dispatch to their own story -- but they just posted a quick item in front of us.Earlier today Daily RFT received an internal email for the paper outlying changes in the newsroom. Most noticeable among thos ... More >>

Ass Clowns of the Week: Pervert Priest James Grady and Emmitt "Hoggy" Gordon

​A priest who allegedly solicited sex with a 16-year-old and pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography? Or...A gang-banger who fired a bullet that traveled three blocks and struck a two-year-old boy in the face as the child sat on his grandfather's lap?Hmm...tough call. So tough a call tha ... More >>

Who is Ass Clown of the Week? March 26 - April 2

A full moon always brings out the Ass Clowns.​Did you notice it was a full moon earlier this week? How else to explain the bumper crop of Ass Clowns making headlines over the past seven days? You know the rules, vote for the newsmaker whose actions or admissions this week you find to be the most d ... More >>

Video: KKK Leader and U.S. Senate Hopeful from Mo. Talks "Inferior Races"

Heard about Missouri's U.S. Senate hopeful Glenn Miller? The Springfield man is a former leader of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan and has been airing bizarre radio advertisements throughout the state denouncing the white man for being cowardly and blaming Jews for all the country's problems. (Liste ... More >>

How They Voted on Health Care: Missouri and St. Louis Area Representatives

Todd Akin: Health care reform = fightin' words.​Updated 10:00 a.m. The health care reform bill passed the House of Representatives last night with a 219 to 212 vote. No Republicans supported the measure. Thirty four Democrats also voted no, including Missouri rep Ike Skelton.The bill now heads to ... More >>

Tea Party Goes Crazier: Burn Russ Carnahan in Effigy, Spit on Mo. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

St. Louis Tea Party lights it up for Carnahan.​This weekend's health care vote in the U.S. House brought out the radical, right-wing fringe (again). At a St. Louis Tea Party rally outside of Russ Carnahan's St. Louis office on Saturday, an angry mob threw shoes at a photo of the congressman before ... More >>

House To Vote on Health Care Bill on Sunday, All But One Mo. Congressman Toes Party Line

The legislative process seemed so simple as a child.​After months of protracted debate, the health care overhaul bill is up for another vote in the House of Representatives on Sunday. If passed, the legislation could return next week to the Senate where it would receive an up or down vote -- allow ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Radical Right-Wing Edition!

Which ass gets the hat?​Perhaps it was the presence in the Show-Me State this week of that good-fer-nothin', socialist Barack Obama, or maybe it was just that their haldol injections were wearing off. Whatever the case, Missouri's right-wing extremists were tripping over themselves this week for r ... More >>

Curt Smith of Tears for Fears is "Head Over Heels" for a Missouri Democrat

Curt Smith (left) in his younger days.​File under news of the weird: Jake Wagman of the Post-Dispatch reported yesterday that political upstart Tommy Sowers -- a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri's 8th Congressional District -- had a number of famous donors ... More >>

Claire "The Joker" McCaskill

Hours before the U.S. Senate vote on health care late last night, Heath Ledger-esque posters of Senator Claire McCaskill went up on telephone poles and lampposts across the metro region. Blogger GatewayPundit is curating sight'ems. www.gatewaypundit.firstthings.com​Similar caricatures of President ... More >>

Jeff Smith Resigns Missouri Senate, Pleads Guilty to Two Felonies

Jeff Smith​Jeff Smith pleaded guilty today to two counts of obstructing justice. The first stems from an initial investigation into his failed 2004 campaign for U.S. Congress. The second charge comes from a follow-up investigation into his 2004 campaign conducted this year. According to a breaking ... More >>

Make A Little List

Chasing shadows in film and life

Debate Fever

Get excited about the politics of yore

Series/Festivals

Week of April 24, 2002

Series/Festivals

Week of December 26, 2001