Category «Government Documents»

Sales of US Constitution topped 1 million during Trump years

AP – “At the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia, they like to joke that what’s bad for the country is often good for the organization. “Web traffic is through the roof,” says the nonprofit’s CEO and president, Jeffrey Rosen. “We had more than 400,000 visitors to our site in the days following Jan. 6,” when …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

U.S. Secret Service: Threats to and Assaults on Presidents and Vice Presidents

CRS In Focus – U.S. Secret Service: Threats to and Assaults on Presidents and Vice Presidents, January 15, 2021: On January 6, 2021,Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the November 2020 presidential election electoral votes when a crowd breached the U.S. Capitol’s security. Due to these events, …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

Institute breaks record in 2020, making laws easy to access

Cornell Chronicle – “As Congress prepared to certify the results of the November presidential election on Jan. 6, the law governing the counting of electoral votes was a trending topic on Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute (LII), a pioneer in providing open access to U.S. legal information online. Those topics changed abruptly when a …

Subjects: Congress, Education, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Biden Political Appointee Tracker

Washington Post – We’re tracking hundreds of positions here – “Presidents are required to fill roughly 4,000 politically appointed positions in the executive branch, including more than 1,250 that require Senate confirmation. The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking nominees for roughly 800 of those 1,250 positions, including Cabinet secretaries, chief …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Gutted, ‘Unnerving’ State of the Agencies Supposed to Keep the U.S. Safe

Politico: “As the federal government girds against threatened riots in Washington this weekend and possible violence at the inauguration and state capitals across the country, it’s dealing with an unprecedented gap at the top: All of the nation’s top Cabinet departments overseeing the nation’s security are run by acting officials who have been in the …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents

National Archives – Presidential Elections & Inaugurations

“Every four years, on the first Tuesday (after the first Monday) of November, we cast our votes for President of the United States. The National Archives and Records Administration has a unique role in the election process: NARA’s Office of the Federal Register administers the Electoral College. On the following January 20, the President of …

Subjects: Congress, Education, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Capitol Rioters Weren’t ‘Low Class’

The Atlantic – The business owners, real-estate brokers, and service members who rioted acted not out of economic desperation, but out of their belief in their inviolable right to rule: “They were business owners, CEOs, state legislators, police officers, active and retired service members, real-estate brokers [one of whom arrived in DC via private jet], …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Social Media

Coronavirus deaths climbing while country deals with political unrest

Axios: “Coronavirus deaths continue to reach tragic heights while the country grapples with a vaccine rollout, an impeachment and ongoing civil unrest. The state of play: States with the top-five death rates per 100,000 residents as of Thursday January 14, 2021 include… New Jersey, with 227 people dead per 100,000 residents Massachusetts — 196 Rhode Island — …

Subjects: Government Documents, Health Care

When FOIA Goes to Court: 20 Years of Freedom of Information Act Litigation by News Organizations and Reporters

“In 2020, news organizations and individual reporters filed 122 different Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to compel disclosure of federal government records—more than any year on record according to federal court data back to 2001 analyzed by the FOIA Project. In fact, the media alone have filed a total of 386 FOIA cases during …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 1)

“The Pentagon’s timeline of its response to the January 6, 2021 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol features multiple discrepancies with the public record, while the first federal indictment of mob participants details the specific legal charges that likely will be brought against others, according to the documents in the National Security Archive’s first “January …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research