UK-Style Question Time Isn't What US Needs

Political rage is a national problem, not a partisan one

(NEWSER) - America's white-hot political rage is a national problem, not a partisan one—and if we're not careful, we'll all get burned. The Democrats are right to call attention to threats to lawmakers but they shouldn't treat this as a political opportunity, writes Peggy Noonan for the Wall Street Journal . "The truth is this sickness works both ways," she says. The country is in a dangerous place. More»

Detroit response shows partisanship trumps patriotism

(NEWSER) - The aftermath of the Detroit terror attempt has exposed some ugly truths about American politics, writes Chris Bowers. He lists several in Open Left.

• The GOP would have impeached Al Gore over 9/11. The "aggressive, partisan response" this failed terror attempt met shows they certainly wouldn't have been saying "United We Stand" if Gore had been president in 2001, Bowers argues.

PM had called for ministers to pony up

(NEWSER) - Gordon Brown has been sent a bill for £12,415 ($19,600) for questionable expense account claims, and the prime minister intends to pay up, 10 Downing St. announced today. The lion’s share of that money was used for housecleaning, with a bit going to gardening and decorating. Both Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg received nastygrams from an auditor, the Daily Telegraph reports. More»

Decades-long tensions come to the fore over latest scandal

(NEWSER) - Britain’s embattled politicians may have another revolution on their hands, but this time one that’s brewing on their own soil. Citizens are fuming over outrageous personal expenditures—including a miniature “duck house” and the clearing of a moat—by members of Parliament, but tensions have been simmering for well over 30 years, John Burns writes in the New York Times. More»

Freelancer's Freedom of Information Act query lifted lid on abuse of system

(NEWSER) - The scandal shaking Britain's Parliament to its core was set in motion by a simple request from a freelance American writer, the New York Times reports. Heather Brooke submitted a query about politicians' expenses under Britain's Freedom of Information Act after it came into effect, only to meet years of stonewalling before lawmakers agreed to release the info in July—and then to be scooped by the Daily Telegraph, which bought and published a leaked list of wildly inappropriate expense claims. More»