Category «Government Documents»

Report – The Problem with Partisan Primaries

Via Unite America –  a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and independents working to bridge the growing partisan divide and foster a more representative and functional government. Report – “Despite a record turnout in the 2020 general election, only 10% of eligible Americans nationwide cast ballots in primary elections that effectively decided the winners in a …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

Visualizing Congressional Votes on the Coronavirus Relief Package

Visualizing Congressional Votes on the Coronavirus Relief Package – “The Washington Post has created a series of visualizations that show how sharply polarized Congressional votes on the coronavirus relief package were. Even though most Americans support the bill, one visualization shows that there were only three votes in Congress that were not Democrats voting to pass …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

CRS – Executive Orders: An Introduction

Executive Orders: An Introduction March 29, 2021: “Executive orders are written instruments through which a President can issue directives toshape policy. Although the U.S. Constitution does not address executive orders and no statute grants the President the general power to issue them, authority to issue such orders is accepted as an inherent aspect of presidential …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

CRS – Congressional Oversight Manual

Congressional Oversight ManualUpdated March 29, 2021: “Today’s lawmakers and congressional aides, as well as commentators and scholars, recognize that Congress’s lawmaking role does not end when it passes legislation. Oversight is considered fundamental to making sure that laws work and are being administered in an effective, efficient, and economical manner. This function is seen as …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Biden administration will investigate Trump-era attacks on science

The New York Times – “The Biden administration will investigate Trump-era political interference in science across the government, the first step in what White House officials described as a sweeping effort to rebuild a demoralized federal work force and prevent future abuses. In a letter to the leaders of all federal agencies, the White House …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 27, 2021

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 27, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

Using FOIA logs to develop news stories

MuckRock – Strategies for delving into government filing cabinets by Yilun Cheng / Edited by Michael Morisy. “In the fiscal year 2020, federal agencies received a total of 790,772 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. There are also tens of thousands of state and local agencies taking in and processing public record requests on a …

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

Location data is the new growth market

TechDirt: “Location data is the new growth market. Data harvested from apps is sold to data brokers who, in turn, sell this to whoever’s buying. Lately, the buyers have been a number of government agencies, including the CBP, ICE, DEA, Secret Service, IRS, and — a bit more worryingly — the Defense Department. The mileage …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Economy, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media, Transportation

FTC – Ignore bogus COVID vaccine survey

Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC – “Scammers are using a new trick to steal your money and personal information: a bogus COVID vaccine survey. People across the country are reporting getting emails and texts out of the blue, asking them to complete a limited-time survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. (And …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Government, Economy, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Legal Research

Digital Justice in 2058: Trusting Our Survival to AI, Quantum and the Rule of Law

Ritter, Jeffrey, Digital Justice in 2058: Trusting Our Survival to AI, Quantum and the Rule of Law (December 22, 2020). 8 J. INT’L & COMPARATIVE LAW __ (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3778678 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3778678 “As legal scholarship on the interactions among artificial intelligence (AI) and the rule of law advances, quantum computing is rapidly moving …

Subjects: AI, Courts, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Proposals to Modify Supreme Court Justices’ Tenure: Legal Considerations

CRS – Proposals to Modify Supreme Court Justices’ Tenure: Legal Considerations, March 24, 2021: “To insulate the federal judiciary from political influence, the Constitution specifies that Supreme Court Justices “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.” While the Constitution does not define “good Behaviour,” the prevailing interpretation is that Congress cannot remove Supreme Court Justices …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Hearing on “Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation”

Hearing on “Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” 117th Congress Communications and Technology (117th Congress) Consumer Protection and Commerce (117th Congress) The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a joint hearing on Thursday, March 25, …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media