I'm looking for a good book that will help me learn more about how the American government actually works. Specifically, how lobbyists influence Congress, how House committees work, etc. Now that a new administration (that I'm really happy about) is coming in, I want to really understand what's happening in Washington (or at least how its worked in the past).
posted by minicloud on Nov 22, 2008 - 15 answers

Can you recommend a good historical atlas of the United States? [more inside]
posted by BradNelson on Nov 3, 2008 - 1 answer

Immigration Law! Help me get my bagged Aussie into the U.S. and A. [more inside]
posted by metalheart on Oct 26, 2008 - 14 answers

How does projecting the winner of the US presidential election work? And what is the earliest time at which the election may be called? [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Oct 15, 2008 - 23 answers

What kind of influence do US network anchors have on the news selection and editing process? [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Aug 1, 2008 - 7 answers

US-election filter: are felons allowed to vote? [more inside]
posted by krautland on Jul 5, 2008 - 13 answers

Ok, so I'm traveling to the States from the UK for the first time and I realise that you guys tip pretty much everyone. So I need to know when to tip, who to tip and how much to tip? [more inside]
posted by stackhaus23 on Apr 29, 2008 - 34 answers

Anyone have any suggestions for insightful, well-written books on the history of U.S. foreign relations?
posted by Malad on Dec 8, 2006 - 5 answers

Some "Threat Level" questions: do countries have a similar system? Are other countries planning to implement such a system? Also, is the American system based on an existing model? I'm not so interested in the threat aspect of it as much as I'm interested in learning where the color-coded system originated and if it's being borrowed. This version, I'm certain, was a later iteration.
posted by josephtate on Feb 1, 2005 - 5 answers

What interest rate does the U.S. pay on the national debt, and is that number likely to change as the debt increases?
posted by gsteff on Nov 4, 2004 - 3 answers

On the radio yesterday there was talk of forming a Spy Czar to oversee the 15 different intelligence agencies. I can name maybe 7 different intelligence agencies. What are all 15?
posted by drezdn on Jul 21, 2004 - 8 answers