Congress expended a lot of energy debating how to solve the energy crisis before running off for summer recess for five weeks. It ended up accomplishing nothing. Now Congress is back and seemingly ready for more of the same. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will present an energy bill next week that would expand offshore drilling. But Republicans rejected the legislation on the basis of the outlines Pelosi released Tuesday. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will hold hearings today with an eye to bringing energy bills to a vote sometime next week. But don't expect anything to happen. ...more

September 15, 2008

Florida Democrats received assurances Wednesday from their leaders in the House that an election-year energy package would not include expansion of oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. ...more

September 11, 2008

Nothing stokes our anger better than a convenient villain who probably drives a cool car. So it was that, through much of this summer's understandable angst over gasoline prices, flailing politicians tried to help the rest of us - hey, it's an election year - point the blame gun. ...more

September 10, 2008

Democrats have made it a priority to lure more evangelical and Catholic voters from the Republican camp into their own, but the likelihood of success is becoming more problematic given pronouncements by two Catholic archbishops and a decision by the editor of an evangelical Christian magazine. ...more

August 29, 2008

In an example of Florida's high-profile role at the Democratic National convention, a parade of six Floridians including Tampa's freshman Rep. Kathy Castor grabbed national exposure with podium speeches Wednesday. ...more

August 28, 2008

Perverse monetary policy was the greatest cause of the Great Depression. But non-monetary missteps were important in making the Depression great, and the same missteps damaged the global economy as well. While many are thinking about the Depression, few seem concerned about replicating these mistakes today. Among them: ...more

August 24, 2008

and this is one of them - when I think I could write a column simply extolling the virtues of Little Bo Peep, recipients of the Medal of Honor and the essence of our precious bodily fluids, and some of you beloved readers would still seize the moment to rant like Old Yeller toward the end about Republicans versus Democrats. ...more

August 24, 2008

Dropping her opposition to a vote on coastal oil exploration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday that the House would consider expanded offshore drilling as part of broad energy legislation when Congress returns next month. ...more

August 17, 2008

Max Risner of Hudson says United States should tap carbon fuel resources to break dependence on Middle Eastern sources. ...more

August 13, 2008

President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute between the two political branches. ...more

August 1, 2008