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House Republicans suffered an embarrassing setback Tuesday when they fell seven votes short of extending provisions of the Patriot Act, a vote that served as the first small uprising of the party's tea-party bloc.

The bill to reauthorize key parts of the counter-terrorism surveillance law, which expire at the end of the month, required a super-majority to pass under special rules reserved for non-controversial measures.

Daily News @ RevolutionNews.US ~ Last night the United States Senate voted to double the penalties for the nation’s newest existential threat: brownies made with marijuana!

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/07/30/senate-votes-to-double-fines...

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate requiring all airports to use full-body scanners lacks sufficient privacy safeguards, says a prominent watchdog group.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center says the bill, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), "contains particularly weak privacy provision[s] that ignore many of the problems with the devices already uncovered."

The House on Tuesday failed to extend the life of three surveillance tools that are key to the nation's post-Sept. 11 anti-terror law, a slipup for the new Republican leadership that miscalculated the level of opposition.

A bill now being considered for approval by the California State Senate could cost families and people who hire others to help around the house. Called the "Domestic Workers Bill of Rights", the point of the bill is to "extend basic, humane labor protections to thousands of nannies, caregivers, and housecleaners. This legislation helps us to bring a critical workforce out of the shadows and into the light of day."
[No word on the estimated amount of "tax revenue" would be collected.]

Wisconsin's peaceful protest against Senate anit-Union Bill thousands turn out, yet Bill looks like it will pass

The Republican-controlled Arkansas state Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that would exempt from public disclosure the names and zip codes of gun owners.

WASHINGTON – Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt.

On Monday evening, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill that would force corporations, unions, and shadowy nonprofits such as Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS to reveal the biggest donors behind their political ads. The vote was 51 to 44, leaving Democrats 9 votes short from being able to proceed to a full vote on the bill. The goal of the DISCLOSE Act of 2012, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), is simple: Shine light on the dark money in American elections.