Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: April 25, 2017

GPO releases digital Congressional Record from 1961-1970

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1961-1970 on GPO’s govinfo (www.govinfo.gov). This release covers debates and proceedings of the 87th thru the 91st Congresses. Spanning approximately 380,000 Congressional Record pages, this era covers historical topics such as:

  • The Administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the first two years of the Administration of President Richard M. Nixon
  • The Civil Rights Era
  • The Vietnam War
  • The Space Program and Moon Landing
  • Legislation of the Great Society and the War on Poverty, including:

Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Fair Housing Act of 1968
Medicare and Medicaid
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
Immigration Act of 1965
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
Endangered Species Act of 1966
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967

“This latest digital release of the Congressional Record now gives the public easy access to the historic debates of Congress from the 1960s via smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers,” said GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks. “GPO is honored to partner with the Library of Congress to continue to meet the needs of Congress and the American people.”

CRS – Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Background and Summary

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Background and Summary. Baird Webel, Coordinator, Specialist in Financial Economics. April 21, 2017. [via FAS] Beginning in 2007, U.S. financial conditions deteriorated, leading to the near-collapse of the U.S. financial system in September 2008. Major commercial banks, insurers, government-sponsored enterprises, and investment banks either failed or… Continue Reading

States Investing the Most and Least in Children

Wall St 24/7: “Most Americans agree that it is important to provide children with ample opportunities for success, regardless of where they live. To this end, state and local government budgets include provisions for children’s basic education, health care, social services, and other support programs. Still, children receive widely varying amounts of resources depending largely… Continue Reading

Gallup – Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace After Trump Election

Ella Washington and Frank Newport, April 25, 2017: “The election of Donald Trump resulted in highly visible expressions of concern and tensions among a number of specific groups of the U.S. population, leading to questions about the possible impact on issues of worry and inclusion in the workplace. To help answer these questions, we asked… Continue Reading

Can Facebook counter its own creation – a massive ecosystem of fake news

Farhad Manjoo, New York Times Magazine, April 25, 2017: Can Facebook Fix Its Own Worst Bug? “After studying how people shared 1.25 million stories during the campaign, a team of researchers at M.I.T. and Harvard implicated Facebook and Twitter in the larger failure of media in 2016. The researchers found that social media created a… Continue Reading

DOJ defends USDA take-down of massive animal abuse database

Follow up to previous postings – Animal welfare information wiped from USDA website and Some animal welfare data removed from USDA site is restored – via Josh Gerstein – Politico – “The Justice Department is mounting a legal defense of one of the most-publicized counter-transparency moves of the new Trump administration: the Agriculture Department’s decision… Continue Reading

Pew – With Budget Debate Looming, Growing Share of Public Prefers Bigger Government

Most back more spending for veterans, education, infrastructure. “As Congress faces an April 28 deadline to fund government operations, the public is now split in their general preferences on the size and scope of government: 48% say they would rather have a bigger government providing more services, while 45% prefer a smaller government providing fewer… Continue Reading

Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Sanctuary Cities Order

FindLaw via Reuters  – “Like many federal judges before him, United States District Judge William H. Orrick of California’s Northern District has enjoined the federal government from enforcing one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Trump’s Executive Order 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” has suffered the same fate as… Continue Reading

Wikipedia combats fake news with a new kind of news platform

“Wikitribune is a news platform that brings journalists and a community 
of volunteers together. We want to make sure that you read fact-based articles that have a real impact in both local and global events. And that stories can be easily verified and improved. Why? The news is broken and we can fix it. The… Continue Reading