The executive director of the Republican Governor's Association and the executive director of the Democratic Governor's Association announced today that they are getting together to sell their mutual political connections to the highest bidder.

If this New York Times website is to be believed, foreign governments have found the generous funding of U.S. policy institutes to be a handy way of covertly lobbying in Washington. But: Could multimillion-dollar donations, sometimes with explicit contractual stipulations, actually sway these great thinkers?

Nice dudes with nothing to hide, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and former Senator John Breaux (D-La.), filed an LD-1 disclosure form with both houses of Congress on the Friday before Labor Day, declaring themselves as lobbyists for Russia's Gazprombank regarding "sanctions." Sounds good.

Here is a fine example of our oligarchy at work: lobbyists and interest groups and their craven allies are making a concerted effort to financially benefit themselves at the cost of poor people who are literally starving.

In House of Cards, Kevin Spacey plays a duplicitous, self-serving networker who masterfully manipulates the political process for his own career gain. He is now playing this role in real life, as well.

Half-Supreme Court Justice Harriet Miers, whose brilliant legal mind was simply too supple to be confined to the nation's highest court, has gone onto a stellar career trying to influence Congress on behalf of foreign agents—including the ones that probably protected Osama bin Laden for a decade.

Wal-Mart, unsated by every last drop of Middle America's lifeblood, plans to break into the NYC market, whether we like it or not. Today, the company rolls out its all-powerful propaganda tool: a website! Bow before its persuasive powers!

Shouldn't major corporate lobbyists be approaching a crisis of conscience soon? Never! Here's the latest, greatest news for the common man: two of Washington's biggest lobbying firms have joined forces, casting a dark shadow of Evil across the Capitol.

Tragic news out of DC: with the passing of legendary Democratic Congressman John Murtha, an entire lobbying firm has gone out of business.

If John McCain and his campaign want to play the guilt by association card, the Dems just might have them beat. Sure, Barack Obama palled around with terrorists, but McCain is hiring Saddam Hussein's cronies! It's true! Investigative reporter Murray Waas reports that the guy hired to lead McCain's presidential…

The story we're about to bring you is sad on so many levels. Well, two levels. First, it illustrates the disappointing and kind of disgusting decline of a legendary civil rights institution, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), former home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Second, it shows what a farce half…

Should menthol cigarettes be banned? From a public health standpoint, shit yea. It would be best for all of us if the only cigarettes available were unattractively packaged, harsh-tasting, and unwieldy. As a Kool smoker, though, I have mixed feelings. You know who else does? Members of the Congressional Black Caucus…

As soon as you see an op-ed which begins, "As the owner of one of the 25th largest public relations agencies in the U.S.," you should immediately guess that it's an opus by none other than language-challenged sock puppeteer and unapologetically incompetent superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian, head of 5WPR. "Let's begin…