Guest poster: Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation

Exit polls show that the 109th Congress severely misread the American voters and believed that passing lobbying and ethics reforms was unnecessary, despite the parade of FBI raids, criminal indictments, and jailed lawmakers and lobbyists. The leaders of the new Democratic majority have promised to enact the reforms the previous Congress shied away from.

The fate of Terry Lloyd has made headline news. But what of the reporter killed by Al-Qaeda who may have been an unwitting accomplice in the countdown to war in Iraq? Paul Rouse investigates.

Earlier this month, voters from the 50 U.S. states shaped the composition of the 110th Congress at the polls. Unable to join them were the 388,000 registered voters who call the District of Columbia home.