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From NCPR Blogs:

Obama on national security: too weak, too strong

One of the weird muddles complicating the scandals swirling around the Obama administration is that the accusations –broadly speaking — stem from two fundamentally different convictions about the White House and its stance on national...

Voters slap down four school budgets that bust prop tax cap

Voters in the North Country sent a clear message to school districts that tried to exceed the state property tax cap.  The answer was a resounding No. The vast majority of the region’s budgets came in under the cap and passed handily. But...

Was NPR’s portrayal of NY Sen. Gillibrand sexist?

  Ailsa Chang’s NPR profile of New York Senator — and former North Country congresswoman — Kirsten Gillibrand is getting panned on-line and apparently edited by NPR’s on-line crew. Chang’s report cast Sen....

Rent a ‘copter to prevent frost, and other good reads of the week

It was a newsy week in the world of agriculture, so here are seven good reads to keep you busy this weekend: The Farm Bill passed both the House and Senate Agriculture committees this week, and are likely to get hearings on the floors of their...

What are the Great American Scandals we ignore?

I’ve been as captivated as anyone by the sudden burgeoning of scandal in Washington. Until this month, the Obama administration seemed to skate almost effortlessly above the morass that eventually sucks up most White Houses, from Richard...

Politics

Stunned By Military Sex Scandals, Advocates Demand Changes

May 25, 2013 — As the nation prepares to mark Memorial Day, outrage has been building on Capitol Hill and beyond over the military's failure to repair a system that has placed service members in more danger of sexual assault than of battlefield injury.

Obama Forgets To Salute; Sparks Debate On Presidential Tradition

May 25, 2013 — The presidential salute actually breaks with military decorum and was started by Ronald Reagan in 1981.

IRS Hearings Highlight Ambiguity Of Nonprofits In Politics

May 25, 2013 — The congressional hearings about the IRS's handling of Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status raise the question of why and how tax-exempt groups engage in politics in the first place.

Obama Keeps Distance From Torture Debate, At Least For Now

May 25, 2013 — President Obama banned enhanced interrogation techniques, but he's largely avoided discussing whether the tactic ever produced valuable information. He might not be able to avoid it forever: The CIA is preparing an official response to a report that concluded the techniques were worthless.

Obama's Terrorism Fight Is Colored Gray, Not Black And White

May 24, 2013 — If President Obama's newly recalibrated counterterrorism strategy demonstrates anything, it is his penchant for nuance.

Voter Resources

Project Sunlight: Track lobbying activities, member item spending and other legislation in New York. An initiative of the NYS Office of the Attorney General.

League of Women Voters DemocracyNet: Great one-stop election resource.

NYS Board of Elections Campaign Finance Database: Enter the last name of any candidate in New York to find out where the money comes from and where it's going.

Open Secrets: Campaign finance information broken down by industry, region, etc., for mostly federal politicans. An excellent starting point for following
money in politics.

Special Reports

Audio Slideshow:
Adirondack teens talk democracy
Face of Democracy is a national program that gives students an inside view of the democratic process by sending out to polling places to interview and photograph voters and officials. Sue Halpern, project organizer, talks with Brian Mann

Cartoon Special:
Editorial cartoonist Mark Wilson Covers the NYS Party Conventions
Mark Wilson, aka Marquil, is a political cartoonist covering the 2006 New York State party conventions for NCPR. His sketches and caricatures bring the arcana of state politics to life.