Trips, Tickets And Golf For California Lawmakers Highlight Laxity Of Ethics Rules

Column: Dustups have government's role in common Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 12:52 am, Monday, May 20, 2013 Column: There's a common thread running through a series of controversies dogging President Barack Obama: the federal government, and conflicting interpretations of what it is. [] the subtleties are lost in debates over allegations of a political conspiracy in the Benghazi terrorist attack, the improper IRS targeting of conservative groups, and the Justice Department's secret seizure of journalists' phone records. [] the latest dustups could overflow into other debates, ones that have the same good-vs.-bad-government battle lines and that hit home personally for many Americans: the use of unmanned drones, sweeping immigration reform plans and fiscal policy. None of this bodes well for the Obama administration as the tea party looks to use the moment to inject the GOP with fresh energy and the president tries to maintain his credibility with a public innately skeptical of government. Government's scope and role has been debated fiercely and continuously since the country's birth, with the founding fathers struggling to balance a need for collective order with a deep hunger for individual rights. [] it is a key topic in Washington and in the states now that the Obama administration is in the thick of implementing the new health care law, a process Republicans and Democrats alike anticipate will be troubled at times. Are problems simply inevitable? Since Obama took office, he has argued that a vigorous government can be a force for good and can carry out complex new policies aimed at finding solutions to the nation's most serious problems and helping people who need it. They are mindful of this country's long history of rejecting a central government controlling everything, a mentality rooted in America's break from England and the decision to concentrate a chunk of power in the states. [] they don't dismiss individual initiative. [] both Democrats and Republicans called it government overreach, and tea party, civil liberties and press freedom groups cast it as about constitutional infringement.

GOP ponders how to capitalize on Obama's woes Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 12:33 am, Monday, May 20, 2013 Legislatively one of Obama's biggest second-term goals is to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, including a new pathway to citizenship for millions of people living here illegally. Republicans have been equally indignant in ongoing inquiries into the administration's role in last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four U.S. officials. The third controversy now dogging the White House — the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records in a security leak investigation — has thus far stirred less emotion and partisanship on Capitol Hill. Cole, however, said Boehner and other party leaders are keenly aware that Republicans can overdo their attacks, and even build sympathy for Obama, if their criticisms appear nakedly political or not supported by facts. Tea party groups — whose influence in 2012 waned compared to their muscular role in 2010 — are finding new political fuel, especially in the IRS scandal that largely centers on such conservative groups. Even if tea party activists boost GOP turnout in next year's nonpresidential elections, they could complicate the Republican Party's need to woo a wider audience to win presidential elections in 2016 and beyond. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said he hopes the scandals will increase public attention on Congress, enabling Republicans to highlight an agenda he thinks voters will embrace. Some of Congress' biggest actions lately — including the January "fiscal cliff" tax increase, and the March "sequestration" budget cuts — began as mutually unacceptable threats, designed to spur Democrats and Republicans to agree to better alternatives.

A big brother you can trust to keep you safe, give you a hand and do right by you? Or a big brother who snoops, lies and bullies you in all corners of your life?

More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits. The numbers underscore the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama.

The scandals dogging President Barack Obama are a political gift to Republicans, who could use some good luck after recent election losses. It's not clear, however, how Republicans can best capitalize on Democrats' woes, legislatively or politically.