September 2009

The federal government is spending stimulus dollars slightly faster than originally expected, according to a government report issued Wednesday, but some programs have been hampered or delayed by confusion over some of the law's requirements. The government has already paid out around $48 billion of the $49 billion that was expected to go to states and localities in the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30, putting the rate of spending slightly ahead of schedule, according to the report, which was issued by the Government Accountability Office. The vast majority of the money spent so far — 84 percent — was provided in the form of extra Medicaid and education money to keep states afloat during the downturn; about 4 percent of it was for highway construction. When direct federal spending to contractors and other parties, as well as tax relief, are included in the tally, more than $150 billion worth of stimulus money has been pumped into the economy so far.

For decades, investigators have known that if they enter a suspect's home with a search warrant to look for illegal guns and find sacks of cocaine lying on the coffee table, they can seize the drugs even though the warrant only gave them permission to look for the guns. That is because courts have said authorities can act on evidence of a second crime that was in their "plain view." But how does the concept of plain view apply to the modern technology of a computer, which might have thousands of files that are easily scrolled, or a cellphone, which can contain all manner of incriminating pictures? A recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed this question, and the decision could reshape what government investigators can -- and can't -- do when searching digital devices for evidence of crime.

The number of Americans who say they are hearing too much about President Obama has not increased since mid-summer, despite the president's high media visibility. Still, 37% say they are hearing too much about Obama. Since Labor Day, Obama has addressed a joint session of Congress about health care legislation, spoken to the nation's school children and appeared on five Sunday news talk shows in one day. According to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted Sept. 18-21 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, a plurality (47%) say they are hearing the right amount about Obama and another 12% say they are hearing too little. In the survey, which was in the field as Obama appeared on the Sunday talk shows on Sept. 20, Americans continue to say they are highly interested in the health care debate: 36% say it was the story they followed most closely last week, more than double the percentage for any other major story. But despite that interest, relatively few (19%) say they heard a lot last week about Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus unveiling details of his health care proposal. The debate over health care reform got more media coverage than any other story, taking up 17% of the newshole analyzed by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. That was down from 32% of coverage the previous week when Obama delivered his address to Congress. The president also continued to be the top newsmaker as measured by PEJ.

Former-Congressman Jim Leach is now chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Watching the changing of the guard at the NEH, conservative analysts raise just one concern. "One of the unstated victories of the Bush administration is that they took the politics and hot-button nature out of the NEH," says Michael Franc, the Heritage Foundation's vice president for government relations. "Since then, they seemed to be promoting great poems, great literature. There is a challenge for Mr. Leach . . . not to let the agency become politicized." Leach has a concern, too, and it cuts across liberal-moderate-conservative fault lines. In this era of Internet blasts and ornery town-hall meetings, Leach wants to buck what he considers one of the 21st century's most insidious trends: the end of civility. It's something he's been harping on since the mid-1990s. "I am appalled by the notion of cultural wars. We used to address ourselves as a melting pot, and diversity is a wonderful thing, but common objectives are also good," he says. For an advocate of tempered talk, the summer's brawls at the town halls on health care were unfortunate. "A little vibrancy of debate is reasonable," says Leach. "But I am amazed at how little attention is brought to words. We have a president who has been called a socialist, a communist, a fascist. And then I've heard the word 'secession.' "