Congressional Info On Demand

You political junkies might enjoy a site called Know Thy Congressman. It's got an easy to install add-on that allows you to pull up any U.S. representative's or senator's biography and record in office.

Say you're reading an online article or webpage that mentions Representative Joe Schmoe and you'd like to know more about Schmoe's voting record. You simply highlight the name, click on the KTC tab that gets installed in your Bookmarks Toolbar, hit the search button that appears, and up pops a window with everything you ever wanted to know about Schmoe, from his place of birth to links to YouTube videos, to lists of his largest donors sorted by contributor groups and institutions.

There's a favorite word count, and there's even a Maverick O'Meter that measures unpredictability. (Claremont's congressman, David Dreier, gets a low 10.5% mark.) KTC also gives you your congressman's contact information and a handy earmark link.