Q: Does a United States senator receive his full pay upon retiring?
A: No. A member of Congress can’t receive more than 80 percent of his or her final salary upon retirement, and the average is much less.
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The Obamas’ Chicago Home
Q: Does Obama have a real estate problem?
A: A political patron from whom he bought a strip of land is under federal indictment, but there’s no evidence Obama did anything improper.
Comparing Health Care in Canada to the U.S.
Q: Is health care better in Canada?
A: Wait times are longer in Canada, but health and doctor quality don’t seem to suffer.
Supreme Court to Define ‘Well Regulated Militia’?
Q: Is the Supreme Court going to define “well regulated militia”?
A: Perhaps so. It is considering a gun-control case in which it might choose to rule on what the Second Amendment means.
Presidents Who Owned Slaves
Q: Who was the last U.S. president to own slaves?
A: Zachary Taylor owned slaves while in office. U.S. Grant owned a slave he freed in 1859, long before becoming president.
Members of Congress Pay Social Security Taxes
Q: Do members of Congress pay Social Security taxes?
A: Yes, ever since 1984.
Defining Enemy Combatant
Q: What is an enemy combatant?
A: “Enemy combatant” is shorthand for people who are fighting unlawfully. But no one is quite sure exactly what that means.
Bush: The Constitution a ‘Goddamned Piece of Paper’?
Q: Did President Bush call the Constitution a “goddamned piece of paper”?
A: Extremely unlikely. The Web site that reported those words has a history of quoting phony sources and retracting bogus stories.
The Right to Lobby
Q: Are lobbyists justified in a democracy?
A: The Constitution guarantees the right to petition government.
Ben & Jerry’s Misleading Spending Chart
Q: What about Ben & Jerry’s chart saying 50% of federal spending is military?
A: Not true. The real figure is 19.4%.