The Daily Muck

Nancy Nord, the acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the nation’s top official for consumer product safety) is asking lawmakers to reject legislative efforts to increase the agency’s authority, budget or staff. Nord also opposes tougher penalties for safety violations, policies to facilitate public reports of faulty products, and protections for industry whistle-blowers. Did we mention that Nord has criticized legislation that bans lead from all toys because it is not practical? (New York Times)

The Director of National Intelligence, Mike “Debate kills America” McConnell, is set to disclose today that the national intelligence activities have run a tab this year of $40 billion, kicking the annual total spending on spying up to $50 billion. For comparison, that’s about double the cost from 1998, and up slightly from 2005’s $44 billion estimate. Guess you can put a price on safety (sometimes, you can even declassify it). (Washington Post)

The White House made a few changes to its Center for Disease Control report on global climate change prior to the testimony of Director Gerberding last week. To put the phrase “small changes” in context, the White House report basically cut the initial version in half. Thankfully, DeSmog Blog has the original with all the White House markups. Take a look. (DeSmog Blog)

Rudolph Giuliani is creating a “lawyer’s nightmare” by maintaining his lucrative day job at Giuliani Partners. Though Giuliani had promised to step down many months ago, he continues to draw a salary, run the risk of a Federal Elections Commission violation, and create the impression that the firm’s clients would benefit from a Giuliani presidency. (Washington Post)

The National Security Archive is adding to the pressure against the White House’s obsession with keeping emails private. It has filed a motion seeking expedited discovery of some of those internal messages from the Executive Office of the President. Get in line. (Think Progress)

CREW doesn’t want you to forget about Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). That’s why they’ve compiled a list of reasons why the Minority Leader made their recent list of the 22 most corrupt politicians. Check it out here. (CREW)

October 25, 2007 was a big day for the energy giant BP Amoco (now BP P.L.C.). BP may have set a record that Thursday when it earned six citations for federal contractor misconduct in a single day. The firm “racked up over $380 million in criminal and civil fines and restitution in five separate instances involving federal regulators and prosecutors. In the sixth instance, a federal grand jury indicted four former employees.” (Project on Government Oversight)

Squeaky clean Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) might not be for long. The credibility attacks have not yet picked up against the bass-playing minister, but that will change as he moves up in Iowa. US News starts by taking a look at a curious (and tragic) pardon of a convicted rapist, as well as the physical destruction of 100 computers on the way out of office (those are state property, you know). (US News)