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Sitting in Congress is a bill sponsored by 8th District Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Appleton) that would allow the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians to sell its fee lands without further approval from the federal government (see related story), but if you think you're entitled to any documents Kagen might have about the bill - including any correspondence between his office and the tribe - think again. The American people don't have the right to see any of it. That's because, as a sovereign nation, the tribe is not subject to federal or state open records statutes....

“Here’s what we know,” President George W. Bush began in response to a question about the latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran. “We know that they’re still trying to learn how to enrich uranium. We know that enriching uranium is an important step in a country who wants to develop a weapon. We know they had a program. We know the program is halted.” If the intelligence is right this time, then this last piece of information is good news. But there’s more to the story, as National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley explained a day earlier. “The intelligence community...

Kagen: Nothing to apologize for in White House visit By Tim Ryan, Leader Reporter U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen said Friday he is sorry the controversy surrounding his comments about a White House visit last year has created what he called a distraction, but said he has done nothing for which he feels the need to apologize. “I haven’t acted in a way that requires an apology,” Kagen told a Leader reporter during a visit here Friday. The brouhaha that has blown up in recent weeks surrounds comments Kagen made Dec. 19 to a group of peace activists that were reported...

(AP) WASHINGTON -- Freshman Congressman Steve Kagen has apologized to constituents for mishandling reports of his behavior at a reception where he taunted White House adviser Karl Rove. "You have probably heard more about my appearance at last year's White House reception for new lawmakers than you have about the issues my colleagues and I are grappling with today on your behalf," the Democrat wrote in an op-ed piece that ran in several Wisconsin newspapers Sunday. "And that's a shame because you deserve better. "I apologize for handling this situation as I did. I allowed this distraction to get out...

Washington - Federal health officials have warned freshman Rep. Steve Kagen that his Wisconsin allergy practice is in apparent violation of federal law for manufacturing and selling allergy shots without a valid license. Advertisement Buy a link hereAccording to a letter sent to Kagen by the Food and Drug Administration, Kagen manufactured a variety of ragweed and grass allergen vaccines from commercially distributed pollen and sold the shots to patients at his clinic and in at least 24 other states. The FDA letter, which was dated Dec. 18 but wasn't posted online until Thursday, said that Kagen, an Appleton Democrat,...

You can take the man out of CNN - and stick him in Congress - but you can't take the CNN out of the man. As per this Robert Novak column, Steven Kagen, a Democrat elected in November to represent a Wisconsin district in Congress, recently bragged of having insulted First Lady Laura Bush, President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and Karl Rove at a White House function for new members. The details of Kagen's insults, set forth below, boggle the mind. What kind of person would do something like this? The kind of person that CNN would hire to be a...

Federal health officials have warned freshman Wisconsin Congressman Steve Kagen that his allergy practice is in apparent violation of federal law for manufacturing and selling allergy shots without a valid license. The Democratic congressman is a physician from Appleton and was sworn in earlier this month. The Food and Drug Administration says in a letter that Kagen manufactured a variety of ragweed and grass allergen vaccines from commercially distributed pollen and sold the shots to patients at his clinic and in at least 24 other states. It says Kagen did not have a valid license required for introducing a biological...

While meeting last month with a group of area peace activists, then Congressman-elect Steve Kagen told a story of his first visit to the White House that shows a feisty and humorous side to our new man in Congress. He told the group one of the first lessons he learned in Washington is to never pass up a rest room because you don’t know when you’ll see one again. He’d already had a long day of freshman orientation when he and his wife, Gail, were expected at the White House. Upon arrival, he asks a Marine where he can find...

Controversy over the comment is tricking down to statewide races. Both 8th Congressional District candidates weighed in before Kerry's apology. Steve Kagen said he didn't think Kerry needed to apologize. He responded to a reporter's question, "You'd have to ask Senator Kerry what he's thinking. You want to ask what Steve Kagen thinks, I can tell you what I think." Kagen, a Democrat, said he thinks Kerry's comment was more about education costs than anything else, and not a slander to the troops. Campaigning Wednesday in Gard's home territory of Lena, Coleman, and Pound, Kagen said he supports the troops...

Are Rush Limbaugh and Daryn Kagan on the rocks? It was almost two years ago that Lowdown exclusively revealed the surprising romance between the right-wing talk-radio star and the publicly apolitical CNN anchor. That was when the two showed up together at a small private dinner at Patsy's for Vice President Cheney during the Republican Convention. The rest of the media jumped on the story, and there was even speculation that Limbaugh, who was separated from third wife Marta, would be getting married to Kagan once his divorce came through. But Kagan's colleagues at CNN have been buzzing about the...