So Linda Bean steps in it and all hell breaks loose

Linda Bean, of the L.L. Bean family, ran afoul of the Federal Elections Commission by donating too much money to a pro-Trump PAC. Here’s where things get tricky: Bean, the granddaughter of L.L. Bean founder Leon Leonwood Bean, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. She is a member of the retailer’s board and …

More in the good news/bad news realm of thinking

The new Congress is pretty much the same as the old Congress when it comes to religion, and when it comes to gender. According to that last link at Vox: The 115th Congress, which was officially sworn in on Tuesday, will be the most racially diverse Congress in history. Gender diversity, though, is another story. While 14 non-incumbent women …

Christians rule! (Congress edition)

This Washington Post article says that Congress is getting more diverse — but people who claim Christianity as their religion far outnumber any one else (at 91 percent, while just 71 percent of Americans claim Christianity as their religion). Here’s more on the topic, from Esquire.

What’s it called when only rich(er) people run for office?

America. From Juhem Navarro-Rivera at Demos: …analyses looking at the type of people who are elected to office at the federal and state levels often find that most elected officials come from the upper economic stratum of American society. The reason for the socioeconomic biases among those elected to office is related to the barriers that people …

Why aren’t there more women in Congress?

Vox seeks to answer the question here. Just click on the link. It’s an awesome graphic.

Here’s how much less Congresspeople work than you do

They’re on a break right now, from their 133-day work schedule. Compare that to your 240 days, give or take.

Congress’s polarization over the last 60 years

You can read more here, from Vox.

What’s it like to be a woman on Capitol Hill?

Leftover sends this nifty graphic from the National Journal, which includes: And then do check out this related link, “Why Some Male Members of Congress Won’t Be Alone With Female Staffers.”  

If something sounds too good to be true…

…then run — don’t walk — the other way. The recent Congressional budget agreement promises to do all kinds of magical things, but mostly? From Robert Greenstein, founder and president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the agreement, if approved: would eviscerate substantial parts of the federal government — including parts that have …

When Congress looks at SNAP this year:

Every last one of them should go to this map, at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The map shows how much communities took advantage of the low-to-no-cost breakfast and lunch programs at schools. The Community Eligibility Provision allows schools that serve predominantly poor students the opportunity to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all …