Senate conservatives “blocked legislation yesterday that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices.” Eighty-five percent of Americans support such negotiations.

“For six years, the Bush administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates. … On virtually every significant decision affecting election balloting since 2001, the division’s Voting Rights Section has come down on the side of Republicans.”

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) said “no, nope, no way, hell no” Tuesday to helping create the first national identifcation cards, signing into law a bill that blocks the state from complying with the REAL ID Act.

“Congressional Democratic leaders are moving to make their proposed timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq ‘advisory’ as they seek to reconcile two versions of war spending legislation into a single bill that they plan to pass next week, according to several House members.” expand post »

Terrorism strikes the poor in Iraq: “While Baghdad remains in shock over the massive bombings that targeted…the poorer areas of the city, and caused hundreds of casualties in crowded marketplaces and neighborhoods, Iraqi politicians who inhabit the safe, guarded quarters of the capital are busy in their attempts to fortify their positions in the political system.”

A senator has placed an “anonymous hold” on “legislation moving through the Senate that would require lawmakers’ campaign finance reports to be electronically filed, meaning quickly made public.”

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today in a “make-or-break appearance” about the Bush administration’s prosecutor purge. Four legal experts, including ousted U.S. attorney David Iglesias, pose questions they would ask Gonzales.
“Children in Sudan are press-ganged, coerced to join armed groups, raped and used as forced labor or sex slaves, according to a new report by humanitarian groups.”

And finally: Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) can’t get any of female congresswomen to join her morning walks on the National Mall. “They’re all guys,” she said of her companions. She likes to walk because, “I eat chocolate and I eat chocolate and I eat more chocolate. And I love it,” but quickly added, “Diet is part of it, too.” « collapse post