When relatively unknown figures make big news, journalists rush to find out more about them, usually by trying to arrange interviews with them and their close associates. Reporters can also try to dig up paperwork on those individuals, using the Freedom of Information Act (Wikipedia) for federal documents, and similar open records requests at the state level. For example, the New York Times ran an article about Harriet Miers after reporters uncovered fawning letters from Miers to then-governor Bush in which she repeatedly calls him "cool." But what can those of us not blessed with the resources to comb through piles of government documents do?

Last month, the House Committee on Government Reform released a citizen's guide to using the Freedom of Information Act, which clears up some of the convoluted nature of the law. Nonetheless, such requests can take months to process, sometimes at considerable cost to the researcher. As a result, many bloggers and citizen journalists continue to turn to internet search engines to investigate the newsmakers.

While Googling someone certainly doesn't reveal everything, the process can yield some interesting results. Oddly, one of the places in which the press and the blogosphere are on equal footing is investigating campaign contributions, as most of these are widely available online. Bloggers were the first to figure out the surprising fact that Miers gave money to Al Gore's presidential campaign in 1988. (I'd source this, but it seems to have popped up everywhere at once.)

Sheep in wolf's clothing.

An intrepid Googler also helped to debunk the AP picture on the left by showing the man consistently contributed to the Democratic Party (Conservative Underground). And most recently, the Petrelis Files used an internet search to show that Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's lawyer, has also contributed to various Democratic campaigns.

While there are several sites that compile individual campaign contributions, the most popular appears to be Newsmeat, a slickly designed site that allows users to search easily through its extensive database for everyone from a relative to the president. It even divides up famous people into celebrities, billionaires, sports stars, etc., for easier searching. A quick scan tells me that Charles Barkley, the former NBA star long rumored to be a Republican, gave $2,000 to John Edwards's campaign during the Democratic primaries. I can also find that, before he died, Bob Hope donated almost $80,000 to Republican causes, and that Chuck Norris has given heavily to Republican campaigns.

Other fun ones:

Rafael Palmeiro, disgraced baseball star.

T Boone Pickens, oil billionaire.

Ray Nagin, New Orleans mayor.

Peyton Manning, Colts quarterback.

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