- Newsmaker: Questions for Colin Powell - Retired Gen. Colin Powell appears today before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. His confirmation as secretary of state is considered the safest bet in Washington. David Corn of The Nation magazine has suggested some questions.
- Reporter's Notebook: Congressional Bill Aims to Ban "Spamming" - As online in-boxes become clogged with unwanted e-mail, Congress may take another shot at "spam." Is this unsolicited e-mail an important commercial tool protected by the First Amendment? Attorney Doug Isenberg is the founder of GigaLaw.com, a legal information website.
Campaign Finance Reform Redux
Each year, private interests put more and more money into campaigns for public office. This "soft money" has been called the single most corrupting money in politics for its use in winning access and influence. Now, reformers, notably John McCain, are introducing campaign finance reform legislation. Will big money block it? Will Congress gut it? We talk about soft money, paycheck protection, filibusters and amendments designed to weaken the bill with experts from the public sector and the White House.