Author archives

Hitler’s Edifice Complex

The Atlantic Gift Article: “He wanted it big. He wanted lots of gold, lots of marble. He wanted visitors awestruck by his architectural expansion of the country’s symbolic seat of power. “They should sense the strength and grandeur of the German Reich as they walk from the entrance to the reception hall,” Adolf Hitler told …

Subjects: Education, Government Documents

New York City Bar Association Follow-Up Report Documents Escalating Constitutional Violations

“The New York City Bar Association (City Bar) has released an update to its December 2025 report on presidential abuse of power, documenting a sharp escalation of constitutional violations by President Donald J. Trump and his Administration since that report was issued, and calling on Congress to act immediately, including by considering impeachment, to hold the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

A New Look at Why Electricity Prices Have Gone Up in Your ZIP Code

“Electricity prices rose faster than overall inflation last year. Yet at the local level, it’s been difficult to know why. Is it data centers? Renewables? Aging infrastructure? Or something else more mysterious? Everyone in the political system — including senior Trump officials — wants to blame their favorite energy bugbear. But if we actually want …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law

World’s smallest QR code, smaller than bacteria, could store data for centuries

Science Daily: “Scientists have created a microscopic QR code so tiny it can only be seen with an electron microscope—smaller than most bacteria and now officially a world record. But this isn’t just about size; it’s about durability. By engraving data into ultra-stable ceramic materials, the team has opened the door to storing information that …

Subjects: Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Knowledge Management

Google is using old news reports and AI to predict flash floods

TechCrunch: “Flash floods are among the deadliest weather events in the world, killing more than 5,000 people each year. They’re also among the most difficult to predict. But Google thinks it has cracked that problem in an unlikely way — by reading the news. While humans have assembled a lot of weather data, flash floods …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Housing, Transportation

Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service

More Than Just Parks – “Late Tuesday afternoon [March 31, 2026], with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and the morality of a foreclosure notice, the Trump administration announced the most devastating attack on the U.S. Forest Service in the agency’s 121-year history. Not a budget cut. Not a policy shift. Not a “reorganization.” An execution. …

Subjects: Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump’s DOJ says he’s not required to turn over official records

“President Trump DOJ says he’s not required to turn over official records.” The Justice Department has concluded that a federal law requiring presidential records to be turned over to the government is unconstitutional, a senior White House official tells Axios. The finding is an indication Trump will be reluctant to give all of his official …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

The Right is Using AI Content Scanners to Try to Supercharge Book Banning

404 Media: “Conservative parents’ advocacy groups have been experimenting with using commercially available artificial intelligence tools to help them flag more books they’ve deemed pornographic to be removed from public schools and libraries. Even though LLMs are notoriously error-prone, and the books in question aren’t pornographic, these groups continue to explore use cases for AI …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Intellectual Property, Internet, Libraries

How long Americans work the same job

Flowing Data By Nathan Yau – “I recently attended a retirement party, and the retiree was calling it a day after 50 years. She graduated college, found a job she enjoyed, and stuck with it for a very long time. This is not common, right? The Current Population Survey asks people how many years they …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

Cool Cities Lab

Heatwave risk, down to your block: the new tool making it visible – “Cities around the world are increasingly exposed to extreme heat, which poses serious risks to public health, infrastructure and livability. However, many cities struggle to plan and implement effective cooling interventions due to limited access to relevant, localized data and a lack …

Subjects: Climate Change, E-Government, Environmental Law, Housing