All DC Decoder
- Immigration reform 101: Should illegal immigrants be offered citizenship path?
As the immigration reform debate intensifies, some lawmakers propose a middle ground between deportation and citizenship for illegal immigrants. Critics say that will create a permanent underclass.
- Gun debate 101: Doesn't US already have laws against gun trafficking?
Congress is considering legislation to crack down on gun traffickers and so-called straw buyers. But the NRA says the Obama administration just needs to enforce laws already on the books. Here's what the record shows.
- Gun debate 101: Is the AR-15 as popular as the iPod?
The commando-style rifle, used in the Sandy Hook shootings, is now the most popular gun in America. Anticipating new gun-control measures, consumers are depleting stocks and driving up prices.
- Can drone strikes target US citizens? Critics say rules are vague.
Criticism of the leaked Justice Department document – which allows for drone strikes against top level terrorists who are US citizens – is piling up from both the right and left, with critics charging that its language is too permissive.
- Debt limit: Link any increase to spending cuts? Majority in poll says yes.
The results of the Monitor/TIPP poll – some 75 percent of respondents said the debt limit and spending should be linked – mesh with other surveys that cite rising concerns about deficits.
- Obama skeet shooting: NRA says it's a ploy to confiscate guns
That photo of President Obama firing a shotgun continues to generate comment and controversy just as he’s about to leave Washington to promote his ideas about improving gun safety.
- Politicians and guns: Why it's important that Obama shoots skeet
The White House has released a photo of President Obama firing a shotgun. In the US today, it seems important that politicians – especially men – know their way around guns. Why is that?
- January jobs report: Will 'OK' jobs market make politicians complacent?
Employers added 157,000 jobs in January, but the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent. Now, in a few weeks, sizable federal spending cuts could put an added damper on economic activity.
- US economic backsliding temporary? Maybe not if 'sequester' hits.
A dip in GDP during the fourth quarter of 2012 stemmed largely from a dive in federal defense spending. Some economists see a cautionary lesson for upcoming sequester talks in Congress.
- Pentagon's budget nightmare: How each branch would handle sequester cuts With the threat of a mandatory, across-the-board series of cuts known as sequestration looming over the Pentagon, each of the services has begun its worst-case-scenario planning. Here is where the cuts stand now:
- Gun control 101: Do Americans often use firearms in self-defense?
Good guys with guns are the best protection against armed criminals, gun rights groups say. But there is little data to corroborate that claim, and the data that does exist varies widely.
- Immigration reform: a bid to attract workers who will boost the economy
Immigration reform is foremost a social issue, but it has big economic implications. Exhibit A is a measure that, looking forward, aims to attract immigrants whose skills mesh with the US needs.
- Sarah Palin vows to fight on without Fox News gig
Sarah Palin has parted ways with Fox News, but says, 'we haven't begun to fight!' even though polls show declining support for the tea party movement. In particular, she promises to 'shake up the GOP machine.'
- Why Fox News dropped Sarah Palin
After John McCain picked Sarah Palin out of relative obscurity to be his vice presidential running mate, she became a political force of nature. Since then, however, her star has lost its luster within the GOP, and she’s parted ways with Fox News.
- Social Security and Medicare: Do you get back what you pay in?
People who pay into Social Security and Medicare their whole working lives are often told by politicians that they've 'earned' these retirement benefits. Here's why that's not necessarily so.