Author archives

Bipartisan Compromise on Patriot Act

“Today, a bipartisan working group of former senior government officials with expertise in homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement, and civil liberties delivered a set of recommendations for reauthorization of the Patriot Act to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The bipartisan group, co-convened by John Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress, and Richard Falkenrath, former …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Legislation, Patriot Act

Yahoo! Search Subscriptions Beta

“Yahoo! Search Subscriptions beta is a new way to search the subscription content that’s important to you. By partnering with publishers, Yahoo! is providing the convenience of a single place to access and find all relevant content, whether it’s generally available web content or content from your personal subscriptions.” [FAQ] “You can search subscription content …

Subjects: Legal Research, Search Engines

FTC Settlement With BJ’s Over Compromised Personal Customer Data

FTC press release: “BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its failure to take appropriate security measures to protect the sensitive information of thousands of its customers was an unfair practice that violated federal law. According to the FTC, this information was used by an unauthorized person or persons …

Subjects: Government Documents, ID Theft

Blog from US Attorney in WD of Missouri

“Welcome to the media blog for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri. Consider this an online press briefing, sort of a virtual courthouse steps, where reporters and editors can find more information they need to make coverage decisions. This site doesn’t replace our existing “official” Web site, where we will continue …

Subjects: Blogs, E-Government, Legal Research

Questions About Costs of Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

The WSJ free content today includes this article, How Much Is It Really Costing To Comply With Sarbanes-Oxley?, that cites a range of reports, surveys and statistics offering contradictory estimates on actual corporate compliance costs. Related reference, from AEI-Brookings Joint Center, this 76 page report (PDF): Economic Consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Subjects: E-Records, Legal Research

DOT OIG Letter in Response to Congressional Inquiry on FAA Pre-9/11 Security Monograph

Letter to Congressmen Conyers, Oberstar, and Waxman regarding the classification and declassification of a 9/11 Commission report of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) pre-9/11 knowledge of aviation threats, June, 14 2005 (6 pages, PDF) Related reference: More Facts on National Security Issues Prior to 9/11 Released to Public

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Sanders Passes Critical Legislation to Amend Patriot Act and Protect Americans’ Reading Records

Press release this evening from Rep. Bernie Sanders: “Congressman Sanders today led a tri-partisan coalition in restoring Americans’ constitutionally guaranteed right to read and access information without governmental intrusion or monitoring. With 199 Democrats, 38 Republicans and one Independent (Sanders) voting in support, the House passed Congressman Sanders legislation to amend Section 215 of the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Legislation, Libraries, Privacy