Jane Mayer has written a thorough and engaging piece about the Koch brothers for the latest issue of the New Yorker. While some have quipped that it falls short of penetrating the veil of secrecy that David and Charles prefer to operate behind, it is nonetheless required reading for anyone interested in the men behind Americans for Prosperity, a primary benefactor to the Tea Party movement and a group that plans to spend millions on behalf of Republican candidates in the upcoming election cycle.
While the …

After a former immigration detention guard was charged yesterday with sexually abusing female detainees, the ACLU is renewing calls for further reform of the immigration detention system.
The alleged abuse took place in the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, near Austin, Texas. The resident supervisor, Donald Dunn, 30, was charged Thursday with three counts of official oppression and two counts of unlawful restraint, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The facility is managed by Correction Corporation of America, a private detention and corrections contractor.

Controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio will face a Department of Justice lawsuit if he does not cooperate with a civil rights investigation, according to a letter obtained by the Arizona Republic. The Justice Department began an investigation into allegations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches and seizures last year. The sheriff’s office said at the time they would not cooperate with the investigation.
In the letter, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote the sheriff’s office must turn over documents by Aug. 17 to avoid …

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) said today he would support including a renewable energy standard in the energy bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to unveil tomorrow.
Brownback, who hails from a wind-rich state, is the first Republican to announce his support for such a proposal, bringing renewable energy advocates closer to the 60 votes necessary for passage. However, it remains unclear whether any renewable energy standard can reach that threshold, despite assertions this morning from former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle that …

Caucus night in Iowa is over 18 months away and no presidential candidates have officially declared, but it’s still something of a surprise to Iowa politicians how little attention from potential 2012 candidates the state has been getting.
National Republicans are slowly starting to trickle into the state for campaign appearances. Most politicians likely to be considering a 2012 bid have made or will make appearances in the state this year, with Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty the most active to date. …

Newsweek reports that Lt. Dan Choi, a highly visible figure in the debate over repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, has become a victim of that very law. Choi’s commander in the New York Army National Guard informed him this morning that he has been officially discharged.
From Newsweek:
“I got a call about five minutes ago, and my commander said he wanted me to hear it directly from him. He was very supportive and said, ‘I know this was something you …

Public Policy Polling today rolled out what appears to be a preview of yet another poll result that shows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) leading Republican opponent Sharron Angle. That in and of itself isn’t particularly surprising at this point — there have been a number of other recent polls to show Reid back in the lead. What this preview shows is that there appears to have been a marked shift among moderate voters back towards Reid.
From the PPP blog post:
Sharron Angle is …

Companies are back to profitability — in part because of the massive layoffs of the past two years. But they are not back to hiring yet, instead holding onto cash and waiting for a stronger recovery, Jia Lynn Yang writes in today’s Washington Post:

Nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, roughly one-quarter more than at the beginning of the recession. And as several major firms report impressive earnings this week, the money continues to flow into firms’ coffers.
Yet all the good news …

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued today a second deepwater drilling moratorium, based on new evidence about drilling safety following a recent court decision that found the administration’s original ban to be “capricious and arbitrary.”
The moratorium comes as the massive BP oil spill has been gushing thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico daily for more than 80 days.
According to an Interior Department press release, the moratorium, or “suspensions,” will last until Nov. 30,2010, “or until such earlier time that the …

Yesterday, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) told reporters he hopes to hold a special election to replace Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) in November, rather than waiting until 2012.
Manchin said he will ask state Attorney General Darrell McGraw (D) for a legal opinion on the issue. If McGraw finds an earlier election is allowable, Manchin will ask the legislature to change the state’s election law to allow for the earlier election when it reconvenes later this month. He said he …