Of Interest
[Click on the link to go to that section]
ANALYSES/COMMENTARIES
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRESS
NEWS
REPORTS
RESOURCES
OTHER
REPORT: Balancing the Pendulum of Freedom
[Strategy Research Project, 4.29.08]
REPORT: DOD Computer Network Operations: Time to Hit the Send Button
[Strategy Research Project, 4.29.08]
REPORT: Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege:
History, Law, Practice and Recent Developments
[Congressional Research Service, 4.29.08]
NEWS: Watchdog group sues FDA for information on inspection force
[Congress Daily via GovernmentExecutive.com, 4.29.08]
ANNOUNCEMENTS: "Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government"
[Senate Judiciary Committee, 4.29.08]
ANALYSES/COMMENTARIES: Killing in Secret: Death by Lethal Injection
[The Rutherford Institute, 4.29.08]
Senate Judiciary Begins Mark Up Webcasts
[National Journal, 4.28.08]
REPORT: Data Mining and Homeland Security:
An Overview
[Congressional Research Service, 4.28.08]
Where Did Your Federal Dollars Go in 2006?
[US Census Bureau, 4.28.08; See also Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Fiscal Year 2006 and Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 2006]
REPORT: Data Governance -- Managing Information As
An Enterprise Asset
[NASCIO, 4.28.08]
Long Range Plan for Information Technology
in the Federal Judiciary
[US Courts.gov, 4.28.08]
Parsing Paulson
[The New Yorker, 4.28.08]
Message Force Multipliers Put on Hiatus
[TPM Muckraker, 4.28.08]
NARA and Federal Agencies Must Overcome Record Confusion Law Professors Blast EPA Libraries Plan Federal Records: Agencies Face Challenges in Managing E-Mail Data Mining and Homeland Security: An Overview Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives Media's refusal to address the NYT's "military analyst" story continues Getting to the Bottom of Coconut Road Again, EPA Asserts Executive Privilege against Embarrassment The Means and Methods to your Mind GSA FACA Database and Reform CONGRESS: Record-Keeping Bill Is Criticized As 'Anemic' By Watchdog NEWS: Court considers limits on duplicative FOIA requests CONGRESS: Dingell examining closure of Hopkins health database CONGRESS: Panel would reform records storage NEWS: Dick Cheney need not testify in wrongful arrest lawsuit ANALYSIS: Nieman Reports: 21st Century Muckrakers NEWS: AIPAC Defendants Say Testimony from ISOO's Leonard Crucial REPORT: Record Chaos: New CREW Report Finds Federal Government Electronic Record Keeping Practices Abysmal CONGRESS: DOJ OIG Testimony on FBI's Use of National Security Letters and Section 215 Orders for Business Records RESOURCE: NORAD/USNORTHCOM Tapes from 9/11 NEWS: Federal appeals court hears challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley oversight board CONGRESS: Cornyn Introduces Bill To Boost Taxpayer Access to Federal Spending Records and Earmark Information ANALYSIS: Legislative Sunlight Catching On RESOURCE: Open Government: A Journal on Freedom of Information (Vol. 4, No. 1) REPORT: FOIA: Agencies Are Making Progress in Reducing Backlog, but Additional Guidance Is Needed CONGRESS: Senate Mulls Changes in Intelligence Oversight COMMENTARY: How to Judge a Would-Be Justice OTHER: Zimbabwe court orders election recount delayed until presidential results disclosed NEWS: Leak Inquiry Said to Focus on Calls With Times NEWS: OMB to agencies: Don't bother submitting 2010 budget requests NEWS: OMB issues records management guidance (may be worthless) ANALYSIS: U.S. Reconnaissance Satellites: Domestic Targets CONGRESS: House lawyers slam White House executive privilege claims as broadest 'since Watergate' ANALYSIS: A Flurry of Subpoenas COMMENTARY: Expecting more from your e-government NEWS: US House committee issues subpoena for EPA-White House communications COMMENTARY: The Way To War REPORT: Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries NEWS: NARA will not record a snapshot of Executive Branch websites at the end of Presidential administration REPORT: DOD's Risk Analysis of Its Critical Infrastructure Omits Highly Sensitive Assets RESOURCE: Chemical Weapons Convention Archive CONGRESS: House Staffers Livid Over Web Site NEWS: FBI Data Transfers Via Telecoms Questioned NEWS: FBI taped lawmaker calls ANNOUNCEMENT: IRS Releases Draft Instructions for 2008 Form 990, Seeks Public Comment COMMENTARY: Domestic surveillance oversight necessary to prevent FBI abuse ANALYSIS: The Surprisingly Stronger Case for the Legality of the NSA Surveillance Program: The FDR Precedent COMMENTARY: Losing the War for Reality RESOURCE: C-SPAN's Channel on YouTube
NEWS: Gov't: bar classification czar NEWS: Pork Barrel Remains Hidden in U.S. Budget RESOURCE: EMMA: Municipal Bond Documents Finally Being Made Accessible (EMMA) REPORT: Issues Related to the Independence and Balance of Advisory Committees; see the full report
[DotGovWatch, 4.28.08]
[Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, 4.28.08]
[Government Accountability Office, 4.24.2008]
[CRS via Federation of American Scientists, 4.23.08]
[CRS via Federation of American Scientists, 4.23.08]
[Salon.com,4.22.08]
[Sunlight Foundation: Paul Blumenthal's blog, 4.21.08]
[Talking Points Memo, 4.21.08]
[Gather.com, 4.21.08]
[Sunlight Foundation: John Wonderlich's blog, 4.17.08]
[Washington Post, 4.17.08]
[RCFP, 4.16.08; see amicus brief]
[Baltimore Sun, 4.16.08]
[Federal Computer Week, 4.16.08]
[Los Angeles Times, 4.16.08]
[Secrecy News, 4.16.08]
[Secrecy News, 4.16.08]
[CREW, 4.15.08; read the full report]
[Office of the Inspector General (DOJ), 4.15.08]
[governmentattic.org, 4.15.08]
[Jurist, 4.15.08]
[Senator Cornyn's press release, 4.14.08; see also S. 2852, the Federal Spending and Taxpayer Accessibility Act of 2008]
[Cox News Service, 4.13.08]
[OpenGovJournal.org, 4.13.08]
[GAO, 4.14.08]
[Secrecy News, 4.14.08]
[New York Times, 4.14.08]
[Jurist, 4.13.08]
[New York Times, 4.12.08]
[Government Executive.com, 4.11.08]
[Government Computer News, 4.11.08]
[National Security Archive, 4.11.08]
[Jurist, 4.10.08]
[American Journalism Review, April/May 2008, via RCFP]
[Politico, 4.10.08]
[Jurist, 4.9.08]
[The Constitution Project, 4.1.08]
[First Monday, July 2006]
[DotGovWatch, 4.8.08]
[GAO, 4.2.08; thanks to Secrecy News]
[FAS, via beSpacific; updated during conference, 4.7-18.08]
[Washington Post, 4.9.08; see also Legistorm]
[Washington Post, 4.8.08]
[The Hill, 4.8.08]
[IRS, 4.7.08]
[Jurist's Hotline, 4.7.08]
[Stanford Law Review, via SSRN]
[Consortium News, 4.8.08]
[JTA, 4.4.08 (thanks to Steve Aftergood)]
[New York Times, 4.7.08]
[Dirt Diggers Digest, 4.2.08]
[GAO, 4.2.08
NEWS: Agencies get ready to reduce Internet gateways
[Federal Computer Week, 4.2.08]
ANALYSIS: Agencies grapple with search and discovery
[Federal Computer Week, 4.2.08]
RESOURCE: FRA Train Accident Investigation Reports Now Publicly Available Online
[Department of Transportation, 4.1.08]
ANALYSIS: How the open net closed its doors
[BBC News, 3.25.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Declaration to Advance the Right of Access to Public Information Worldwide
[Carter Center, 3.26.08; read the full Atlanta Declaration and Plan of Action]
CONGRESS: No Iraq Intelligence Update For You!
[Washington Independent, 4.1.08]
OTHER: Inside the Black Budget
[New York Times, 4.1.08]
RESOURCE: New websites allow everyday citizens to become political media consultants
[The Hill, 3.31.08]
NEWS: Environmental Whistleblowers Fare Poorly Under Bush
[PEER, 3.25.08]
RESOURCE: OMB Watch Launches Regulatory Resource Center
[OMB Watch, 3.31.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Sunlight Foundation Announces New Project: PublicMarkup.org
[Sunlight Foundation, 3.31.08]
NEWS: EPA Libraries Reopening
[ABC News, 3.27.08; see also EPA National Library Network News: Update on EPA's Library Network (March 2008) and see the report]
NEWS: EPA To Re-Open Libraries By Fall - But They Won't Be The Same
[PEER, 3.28.08]
OTHER: Cheney Muses on Power of Future VPs
[AP, 3.25.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Document Freedom Day: March 26
[3.26.08]
REPORT: Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence Internal Controls Over the Department of Energy's Sensitive Compartmented Information Access Program
[U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General, Office of Inspections and Special Inquiries, March 2008]
RESOURCE: Follow the Oil Money
[Oil Change International]
ANALYSIS: The Transparent Contenders
[Cox News The Secrecy File, 3.20.08]
COMMENTARY: Debate worthy of presidential campaign
[Politico, 3.23.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Congressional Watchdog Site Launched (site: Change Congress)
[Government Computer News, 3.21.08]
ANALYSIS: Washington Lets In More Sunshine, But Halls of Power Are Still Too Dark
[Center for Responsive Politics, 3.20.08]
NEWS: Earmarks create a Web collapse
[Marketplace/American Public Media, 3.21.08]
REPORT: DoD Report on Captured Iraqi Documents
[FAS Secrecy News blog, 3.20.08]
ANALYSIS: Inclusion or Illusion? An Analysis of the FCC's Public Hearings on Media Ownership 2006-2007
[SSRN, 3.4.08]
COMMENTARY: Whistleblowers need better protection
[Topeka Capital-Journal, 3.21.08]
ANALYSIS: Duplicate systems viewed as challenge to sharing intelligence information
[NextGov, 3.21.08]
NEWS: Click, browse, follow the money
[Baltimore Sun, 3.20.08; see Maryland legislation, HB 358]
REPORT: Climate Change Report Buried by DOT; Author Blocked From Reporters
[GAP, 3.14.08; read the report]
REPORT: Management of the [Energy] Department's Publicly Accessible Websites
[U.S. Department of Energy, March 2008]
REPORT: Citizen Satisfaction with E-Government Falls to Lowest in Three Years
[ACSI, 3.18.08 (via beSpacific)]
COMMENTARY: Finally, A Campaign Debate Over Openness
[Editor & Publisher, 3.17.08]
CONGRESS: Government Reform panel passes contractor database bill
[CongressDaily, via NextGov, 3.14.08]
REPORT: FCC Defends Its Database, Management Tools
[InformationWeek, 3.14.08; see the GAO's report]
NEWS: YouTube for the intell community
[Federal Computer Week, 3.14.08]
NEWS: Court finds presumption of openness in plea documents
[RCFP, 3.13.08]
CONGRESS: Subcommittee Seeks Answers on EPA Library Closures
[House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight, 3.13.08; see also GAO Report]
NEWS: OMB concerned about legislation to regulate data resellers
[Federal Computer Week, 3.12.08]
NEWS: Clarke sharply criticizes Bush cyber-security plans
[InfoWorld, 3.12.08]
REPORT: Privacy: Government Use of Data from Information Resellers Could Include Better Protections
[GAO, 3.11.08]
REPORT: Presidential Signing Statements: Agency Implementation of Selected Provisions of Law
[GAO, 3.11.08]
RESOURCE: Interviews of U.S. Supreme Court Justices
[LawProse, Inc.]
ANALYSIS: Intelligence agencies hope to improve image by opening up
[GovExec.com, 3.10.08]
NEWS: OMB finalizes new statistical policy
[Federal Computer Week, 3.7.08]
NEWS: GAO Seeks Review of Spy Agencies
[Washington Post, 3.7.08]
RESOURCE: The Reimer Digital Library is Back
[FAS Secrecy News blog, 3.6.08]
NEWS: Court reverses ruling blocking release of farm information
[RCFP, 3.4.08]
NEWS: GAO Oversight Office at NSA Lies Dormant
[FAS Secrecy News blog, 3.3.08]
NEWS: Law enforcement officials secretly profiling immigrants
[McClatchy, 3.4.08]
REPORT: Grading the States 2008
[Governing.com, March 2008; see the Pew Government Performance reports page]
RESOURCE: Preserving Born-Digital Content
[GovExec.com, 3.3.08; see the Library of Congress site, DigitalPreservation.gov]
REPORT: NASA IG: Manage official e-mail messages better
[Federal Computer Week, 3.3.08; see also report]
OTHER: Delegate's obsession a benefit to the Net
[Baltimore Sun, 3.3.08]
COMMENTARY: Bush's e-mail misery has company
[Federal Computer Week, 3.3.08]
RESOURCE: Government Agencies Tweet @ Twitter
[Free Government Information (Rebecca Blakeley), 3.2.08]
ANALYSIS: Declassified Studies from Cheney Pentagon Show Push for U.S. Military Predominance and a Strategy to "Prevent the Reemergence of a New Rival"
[National Security Archive's Nuclear Vault, 2.29.08; see 3/8/1992 New York Times story and the previously-published document]
NEWS: Government records incorrectly kill off thousands
[MSNBC, 2.29.08]
RESOURCE: Look it up on the web
[The Economist, 2.14.08]
REPORT: Report Details Limitations Faced By Federal Inspectors General
[Washington Post, 2.29.08; read POGO's report, Inspectors General: Many Lack Essential Tools for Independence]
NEWS: Outspoken scientist dismissed from panel on chemical safety
[Los Angeles Times, 2.29.08]
NEWS: USDA Shuts Down Congressional Audit
[AP, 2.28.08]
ANALYSIS: EPA Library Closures Hampering Agency Work, Arbitrator Finds
[PEER, 2.27.08]
ANALYSIS: FOIA Facts: The Congressional Role in FOIA Operations
[LLRX.com, 2.27.08]
NEWS: Preservation of Iraq War Records, and More DoD Doctrine
[Secrecy News, 2.28.08]
CONGRESS: Rep. Rohrabacher Says Administration Not Cooperating with Congress
[Congressional Record, 2.26.08, via FAS: Project on Government Secrecy]
ANALYSIS: Why Was All the E-Mail Missing From Cheney's Office on Key Dates in CIA Leak Probe?
[AP, 2.27.08]
NEWS: "Wikileaks" Case Gets EFF, ACLU Backing
[National Journal's Tech Daily Dose, 2.27.08]
CONGRESS: Grassley to Wrestle Justice Department
[Washington Post, 2.27.08, see also Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and bill text.]
ANALYSIS: White House Ignored Repeated Warnings That E-mails Were at Risk
[National Security Archive, 2.26.08; see also, Congress continues probe into missing e-mails and Expert: White House Had "Primitive" Email Setup]
NEWS: State Transparency Roundup
[Nisha Thompson's Sunlight Foundation blog, 2.25.08]
CONGRESS: C-SPAN Congressional Chronicle
CONGRESS: Senate to Hold Hearing on GAO and Intelligence Oversight [2/29; see Calendar]
[Secrecy News, 2.25.08]
COMMENTARY: Mr. Cheney's Government
[Washington Post, 2.23.08]
NEWS: DNI Report Details Data Mining Programs
[Secrecy News, 2.22.08; see the report]
RESOURCE: New StatPack, Including First Justice Agreement Stats
[SCOTUSblog, 2.22.08]
RESOURCE: The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) has decided to continue the economicindicators.gov website.
[2.22.08; previously, the site was to be frozen on March 1]
NEWS: Researchers Find Way to Steal Encrypted Data
[New York Times, 2.22.08]
NEWS: Army Says It Will Restore Public Access to Online Library
[Secrecy News, 2.21.08; see previous item, Army Blocks Public Access to Digital Library, 2.13.08]
RESOURCE: American Association of Law Libraries Announces New Resource: AALL's Washington Blawg
[AALL, 2.20.08]
RESOURCE: The Public Library of Law
ANALYSIS: Lawfare and Legal Ethics in Guantanamo
[NELLCO, 2.12.08]
NEWS: DHS handoff worries lawmakers
[Federal Computer Week.com, 2.18.08]
ANALYSIS: Terrorism no match for Mother Nature
[Government Computer News, 2.18.08]
NEWS: The Economic Indicators service will not be discontinued after all.
[EconomicIndicators.gov, 2.22.08]
NEWS: Court Issues Injunction Against Wikileaks.org
[Secrecy News, 2.19.08]
NEWS: INTELWIRE Releases FBI Documents Given To The 9/11 Commission
[INTELWIRE, 2.18.08]
COMMENTARY: Looking at candidates' records on open government
[Dallas Morning News, 2.18.08]
REPORT: Tests show contaminated water on airplanes
[KGO (ABC-7, San Francisco), 2.14.08; see summary of tests released by EPA]
ANALYSIS: Seth F. Kreimer, Rays of Sunlight in a Shadow "War": FOIA, The Abuses of Anti-Terrorism, and the Strategy of Transparency
[Lewis & Clark Law Review; also available at SSRN]
RESOURCES: Freedominfo.org, including IFTI (International Financial and Trade Institutions) Watch
COMMENTARY: Time to Vote Contempt
[New York Times, 2.14.08]
NEWS: Domestic Access to Spy Imagery Expands
[Washington Post, 2.12.08]
ANALYSIS: Exemptions subvert open records laws
[Newsweek, 2.13.08; see also, States Failing FOI Responsiveness, a 2007 study by the Better Government Association and the National Freedom of Information Coalition]
RESOURCE: StateMaster.com and NationMaster.com.
NEWS: 1.8 Mil. Pages Of Case Law Put Online For Public Use
[CongressDaily, 2.11.08]
NEWS: More testimony in Secret Service lawsuit
[Cox News: The Secrecy File, 2.12.08]
NEWS: Civil rights groups sue DHS for border screening policy info
[Jurist, 2.8.08]
Analysis: Deepening complexity over detainees
[SCOTUS-blog, 2.12.08]
NEWS: DHS' annual privacy report later than expected, again
[Federal Computer Week, 2.11.08]
REPORT: Great Lakes Danger Zones?
[The Center for Public Integrity, 2.11.08]
NEWS: IRS Flouts Three Court Orders
[TRAC, 2.11.08]
RESOURCE: Government Information Online: Ask A Librarian
[GovtInfo.org, 2.11.08]
COMMENTARY: Those Missing E-Mails
[Washington Post, 2.11.08]
COMMENTARY: Clinton Records Watch
[Washington Post, 2.8.08]
COMMENTARY: The next president should open up the Bush Administration's record
[Nieman Watchdog, 2.7.08]
NEWS: New Blog on Virtual Government
[GovExec.com, 2.7.08]
NEWS: Some public notices find home on Web
[USA Today, 2.7.08]
NEWS: New Charges of Gitmo Torture
[Time, 2.6.08]
NEWS: Register for the First Annual Freedom of Information Day Celebration
[Collaboration on Government Secrecy (AU-WCL), 2.6.08]
NEWS: NRCC probe scares GOP
[The Politico, 2.6.08]
RESOURCE: Michigan AG's "Track Your Taxes" Webpage
[thanks to beSpacific.com, 2.5.08]
NEWS: The Budget's Seal of Authenticity
[GovExec.com, 2.4.08]
NEWS: Leaked E-mails May Sink Arctic Offshore Lease Sales
[PEER, 2.4.08]
REPORT: DHS Annual Privacy Report to Congress, July 2006 to July 2007
[bespacific, 2.2.08]
NEWS: Archives Challenges Clinton Papers Case
[AP, via TPM, 1.31.08]
COMMENTARY: The End of Privacy
[AlterNet, 1.28.08]
REPORT: US broadband goal nearly reached
[BusinessWeek, 1.30.08]. See also Ignoring Reality, Bush Declares Broadband Mission Accomplished
[freepress, 1.31.08]
NEWS: Threats from everywhere in "cyber storm"
[AP, 1.31.08]
RESOURCE: Public Opposition to Wiretapping, Immunity
[ACLU via The Constitution Project, 1.31.08]
COMMENTARY: The Dynastic Question
[New York Times, 1.31.08]
RESOURCE: New blog will explore the role of science in the arms race, government secrecy and civil liberties.
[eMediaWire, 1.31.08; see the original press release]
NEWS: Feds Oppose Release of Cheney Testimony in Colorado Suit
[AP via Fox News, 1.30.08]
NEWS: S1 Implementation in the Senate Finance Committee
[Sunlight Foundation - John Wonderlich's blog, 1.30.08]
NEWS Local Sunlight
[Sunlight Foundation - Nisha Thompson's blog, 1.29.08]
RESOURCE: United Nations Treaty Collection
[thanks to FGI, 1.29.08]
RESOURCE: Torture's Not Us: documents and information about the torture issue.
[1.27.08]
EPA Scientists Condemn Agency's Greenhouse Gas Waiver Denial
[PEER, 1.24.08 (see also letter from EPA unions)]
Perry office e-mails reveal 'candid' talk
[Star-Telegram, 1.24.08]
NEWS: OMB, GAO to Go Digital on Key Reports
[Washington Post, 1.24.08]
COMMENTARY: Sundance documentaries focus on trauma, tragedy (Secrecy film)
[Scripps News/Salt Lake Tribune, 1.24.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Journalism That Matters: NewsTools2008.org, April 30-May 3
[Media Giraffe Project, 1.24.08]
NEWS: Minnesota company disputes GAO claim that recycled agency tapes are purged of data: compare GAO report, GovExec.com story, and press release from Congresswoman McCollum
[1.23.08]
COMMENTARY: Found in Translation
[The American Conservative, 1.28.08 issue]
COMMENTARY: The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression is soliciting nominations for egregious and/or silly acts of censorship in 2007 for a "Jefferson Muzzle" (read more about the award, archive, and contact information)
[Via FEN, 1.18.08]
COMMENTARY: Our Right to Know? Over Whose Dead Body?
[Public Citizen's Watchdog Blog, 1.15.08]
ANALYSIS: Confronting the State Secrets Privilege
[Secrecy News Blog, 1.14.08]
COMMENTARY: Electoral Politics and the Rule of Law
[The Constitution Project, 1.10.08]
ANALYSIS: A Global Approach to Secret Evidence: How Human Rights Law Can Reform Our Immigration System
[Columbia Human Rights Law Review (via SSRN),
1.10.08]
COMMENTARY: Delete at Your Own Risk / Governments need a system for managing their mountains of e-mail. Very few have one.
[Governing magazine, January 2008]
COMMENTARY: Schwartz: Focusing on searchability
[Federal Computer Week, 1.7.08]
COMMENTARY: If Your Hard Drive Could Testify ...
[New York Times, 1.7.08]
ANALYSIS:
The Best and Worst of 2007: Government Secrecy
[The Century Foundation, 1.2.08]
COMMENTARY: Stonewalled by the C.I.A.
[New York Times, 1.2.08]
ANALYSIS: Map of Surveillance Societies around the world
[Privacy International, 12.28.07]
ANALYSIS: "Deemed Exports" and the Stirrings of a New Security Policy
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.26.07]
ANALYSIS: Candidates on executive power: a full spectrum
[Boston Globe, 12.22.07]
COMMENTARY: Bunning is leading charge to destroy modern history
[Louisville Courier-Journal, 12.14.07]
COMMENTARY: Only few saw the key FISA court rulings
[The Hill, 12.11.07]
ANALYSIS: Rays of Sunlight in a Shadow "War": FOIA, the Abuses of Anti-Terrorism, and the Strategy of Transparency
[Lewis & Clark Law Review, via Penn Law, 12.5.07]
COMMENTARY: Rep. Brad Miller: In contempt fight, Congress has options
[The Politico, 12.5.07]
Is Hillary Responsible for the 'Library Lockdown'? Washington Post's Fact Checker on the delays in the release of Clinton presidential papers.
The war on whistle-blowers
[Salon.com 11.1.07]
COMMENTARY: It's the Secrecy, Stupid: Why the FISA Immunity Debate is Important by Jack Balkin, Balkinization blog [10.14.07]
Transparency in the Election Spotlight [OMB Watcher 10.23.07]
What You Don't Know Might Be More than You Think
[OMB Watcher 10.10.07]
COMMENTARY: Bush's Free-Speech Radical? Comparatively speaking, it's Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. [Slate 10.1.07]
COMMENTARY: Dangerous Privilege by Aziz Huq [The Nation]
ANALYSIS: Federal Agencies Knew of Diacetyl Dangers and Kept Silent [OMB Watcher 9.11.07]
COMMENTARY: Tomgram: "Ruth Rosen, Shutting Down the Information Society, Bush-Style" and "Soft Crimes Against Democracy: What ever happened to Freedom of Information?" by Ruth Rosen [TomDispatch.com 9.6.07]
COMMENTARY: Democracy Kills
[by Jacob Sullum, Reason Magazine, 9.4.07]
ANALYSIS: Secrecy News on The Protect America Act, CRS Report
[Secrecy News 8.29.07]
ANALYSIS:
Recent FOI victories: Judges reject baseless secrecy [in the states]
[By Douglas Lee, First Amendment Center 8.28.07]
COMMENTARY: FOIA Annual Reports: A Diagnostic Tool for Identifying FOIA Administrative Problems
[By Michael Ravnitzky, LLRX.com 8.27.07]
COMMENTARY: Calling All Presidential Candidates: Who Will Stand Up and Be Transparent?
[Reason Magazine 8.24.07]
COMMENTARY: Reclaiming the Right to Know
[Plenty Magazine 8.22.07]
COMMENTARY: Secret Insecurity: Self-serving hush-ups, in Canada and the United States by Bruce Fein
[Slate 8.14.07]
ANALYSIS: Documents, Leaks and the Boundaries of Expression: Government Whistleblowing in an Over-Classified Age
[By Susan Nevelow Mart, LLRX.com, 7.27.07]
ANALYSIS: Presidential candidates & the First Amendment
[First Amendment Center]
ARTICLE: Crashing The System: Are we entering a new era of digital democracy - or just being conned by a bunch of smooth-talking geeks?
[Mother Jones 6.20.07]
ANALYSIS: "I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy by Daniel J. Solove, San Diego Law Review, Vol. 44, No. #, 2007
Secrecy and the perils of technocracy by Jeffrey Roy, Canada
[InterGovWorld.com]
Executive Nonsense: Bush's assertion of privilege is wildly misplaced - and could lead to another Watergate [Bruce Fein, Slate, 7.11.07]
ANALYSIS:Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress [CRS 7.6.07] Fusion Centers: Overview and Criticism [Hometown Security blog]
COMMENTARY: Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Curtain! by Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU
[7.4.07]
ANALYSIS: Congressional Oversight of National Security Activities: Improving Information Funnels
[by Heidi Kitrosser, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law. Thanks to Secrecy News]
ANALYSIS: When Public Records Are Too Public:
Open Records Are an Established Tradition,
But Does Internet Access Call for a Change?
[Wall Street Journal Opinion 6.25.07]
ANALYSIS: Hill Scrutiny of IC Intensifies - But Is It Oversight? IC Staffing May Get Nod
[The Kimery Report 6.14.07]
ANALYSIS: Data Mining and the Security-Liberty Debate by Daniel J. Solove, University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 74, 2007-2008
ANALYSIS: FOIA Facts: Are Ombudsman The Answer? [LLRX.com 4.24.07]
ANALYSIS: Daniel Metcalfe Says 'Nothing Compares to the Past Two Years'
[Legal Times 4.16.07]
COMMENTARY:
Eschewing email (and accountability) COMMENTARY: Secrecy and Freedom [Free Expression Policy Project]
COMMENTARY: The State of the Live Web, April 2007 [Sifry's Alerts 4.5.07]
COMMENTARY: Bush's Secret Government Undermines Democracy [John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute, 1.25.07] COMMENTARY: Talking about public disclosure of information [Paul Blumenthal's blog, Sunlight Foundation, 4.10.07] ANALYSIS: Transparency Makes Early Appearance in the New Congress
[The Carpetbagger Report 3.28.07]
Also see: Fixing the misinformation age [Boston Globe Op-Ed 4.10.07]
[OMB Watcher 1.23.07]
ANNOUNCEMENTS
[Also see our Calendar]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Freedom Of Information Grants Available for State Coalitions
[National Freedom of Information Coalition, 1.22.08]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Complete Index of DOJ Office of Legal Counsel Opinions Posted (thanks to Michael Ravnitzky)
ANNOUNCEMENT: Get Your Question Asked at a Presidential Debate: On Dec. 4, NPR and Iowa Public Radio will host a Democratic presidential candidates' debate. Share a question of your own, and see what others are asking the candidates. (Note: NPR is working with the leading Republican candidates to schedule a debate for early 2008)
How far can a President go to defend the nation? Bill Moyers Journal examines the unprecedented Presidential power that some say is being amassed by our current Administration and kept secret in the name of national security. [PBS 10.26.07]
ANNOUNCEMENT: FairVote's Upgrade Democracy Video Contest: Make a short digital video that answers the question: "If you could change anything about elections, what would our democracy look like?"
ANNOUNCEMENT: "Ask the White House" - an online interactive forum where you can submit questions to Bush administration officials. On Friday, Sept. 28 at 2 pm EDT, join Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at HHS, Mr. Kerry Weems, to discuss S-CHIP
ANNOUNCEMENT: International Right to Know Day is Sept. 28!
HEARING: Senate Whistleblower Hearing- Open to the Public. "The Mistreatment of Iraq Contracting Whistleblowers", Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
ANNOUNCEMENT: National Archives seeks public comment on its digitization plan and proposed changes to FOIA regulations
ANNOUNCEMENT: Help to ensure access to info in Europe: Access Info, a Spain-based organization dedicated to promoting and protecting access to information worldwide, is asking groups and individuals to sign on to a letter urging European officials to ensure official records remain open. [Thanks to the Sunshine Week blog]
New Center on Government Secrecy ("CGS") at American University Washington College of Law
ANNOUNCEMENT: Knight News Challenge: The Knight Foundation is looking for smart, innovative solutions that connect people with the news and information that matters to them most. As much as $5 million will be given away this year. Anyone can apply.
ANNOUNCEMENT: SPJ Convention and National Journalism Conference [Washington, DC, October 4-7]
Fall 2007 Grants now available for state FOI groups. Deadline Oct. 1, 2007
Environmental Advocacy Fellowship at the First Amendment Project. FAP is the only nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to providing free legal services exclusively on free speech and free press issues. More info
ANNOUNCEMENT: Sunshine Week 2007: March 11-17, 2007
ANNOUNCEMENT: Weinstein, Waxman headline FOI Day conference, Friday, March 16, at the National Press Club
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT: Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) to meet on Jan. 19 in Washington, DC. Federal Register notice
LECTURE: "How Electronic Archives have challenged the National Archives"- A series of lectures in February. Free and open to the public. At the University of Maryland's McKeldin Library in College Park
CONGRESS: Chairman Waxman Schedules Hearing to Examine Preservation of White House E-mails
[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 1.17.08]
Secrecy on Animal ID System Challenged, Written Into Farm Bill
[SEJ WatchDog TipSheet 10.31.07]
Congress urged to confront the executive branch's use of the state secrets privilege. A letter to Congressional leaders, organized by the Constitution Project [Thanks to Secrecy News]
Rep. Gillibrand Passes Amendment to Save Taxpayers Money - Shine a Light on the Federal Government's Waste, Fraud and Abuse [Gillibrand Press Release, 10.3.07]
Testimony of POGO's Beth Daley on failures of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to represent whistleblowers seeking redress for retaliation [7.12.07]
Testimony of POGO's Danielle Brian about the need to strengthen the Inspector General (IG) program. [7.12.07]
CONGRESS: Hearing on Classification of National Security Information. Read testimony of Steven Aftergood, Meredith Fuchs, and J. William Leonard here. [Secrecy News 7.13.07] Watch the video of the hearing here.
The record of a January 2007 hearing on presidential signing statements that was held by the House Judiciary Committee has now been published [Secrecy News 7.16.07]
CONGRESS: Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information [House Oversight and Government Reform Committee]
CONGRESS: During the week of March 12, five good government initiatives from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be considered on the House floor:
H.R. 1309: Freedom of Information Act Amendments
H.R. 1362: Accountability in Contracting Act
H.R. 1255: Presidential Records Act Amendments
H.R. 1254: Presidential Library Donation Reform Act
H.R. 985: Whistleblower Protection Act
CONGRESS: House Oversight and Government Reform Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee considers a House report on how citizens can use the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to request government records and marks up draft bills on openness in government and on amendments to presidential records legislation. 2 p.m. Tuesday, 2154 Rayburn
CONGRESS: On March 1, 2007, Rep. Henry A. Waxman along with Reps. Platts, Clay, and Burton introduced H.R. 1255, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, to nullify a 2001 presidential executive order and restore public access to presidential records. Testimony from the hearing will be available soon.
CONGRESS: Hearing: House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives hearing on The Presidential Records Act of 1978: A Review of Executive Branch Implementation and Compliance Thursday, March 1, 2007, 2:00 p.m., in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
CONGRESS: Hearing: Full Committee hearing on the Executive Branch Reform Act of 2007 and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007. Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 10:00 a.m., in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
CONGRESS: Hearing: Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives hearing on The State of FOIA: Assessing Agency Efforts to Meet FOIA Requirements. Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 2:00 p.m., in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
CONGRESS: Hearing: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on EPA Library Closings. February 6, 2007, in Room 206 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, 1st St. and Constitution Ave., Washington, DC. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.
CONGRESS: Hearing: Allegations of Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists. Tuesday, January 30, 2007, 10:00am, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
CONGRESS: Rep. Waxman Announces Democratic Membership of Oversight Committee
CONGRESS: Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1401 - Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007
CONGRESS: Systemic failure at the White House to follow procedures for protecting classified information: Rep. Waxman letter to Andrew Card
NEWS: Shining the light on federal government
[The Secrecy Files, 1.14.08]
NEWS: Capitol Hill websites fail to make grade
[The Hill, 1.14.08; see the CMF's press release and report]
NEWS: White House cuts paper out of federal budget
[Computerworld, 1.10.08]
NEWS: Sunlight for Senate Campaign Contributions
[Sunlight Foundation, 1.10.08]
NEWS: FOIA Community Conference on the FOIA Amendments of 2007 (1/16/08)
[Collaboration on Government Secrecy, see also FOIA conference conflict-just a coincidence?, The Secrecy File, 1.9.08]
NEWS: EPA Fights Legal Bid to Re-open World Trade Center Probe
[PEER, 1.8.08]
NEWS: NSA Releases History of American SIGINT and the Vietnam War
[FAS's Secrecy News Blog, 1.7.08]
NEWS: ODNI issues new metadata standards
[Federal Computer Week, 1.4.08]
NEWS: DoJ Attorneys Damaged Secrecy Oversight, FAS Complaint Says
[FAS's Secrecy News Blog, 1.3.08]
NEWS: Norway mandates government use of ODF
[The Inquirer (London), 12.20.07]
NEWS: Classification Reform Bill Introduced in House
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.20.07]
NEWS: Intel Agencies to Withhold Contract Info from Public Database
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.18.07]
NEWS: U.S. Intelligence Seen "Retreating into Greater Secrecy"
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.18.07]
NEWS: NARA Seeks to Speed Processing of Presidential Records
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.18.07]
NEWS: Inside The Clinton Archives: Interview with NARA's Sharon Fawcett
[National Journal, 12.17.07]
NEWS: Conferees Want Hard Look at Intelligence Contractors
[Washington Post, 12.17.07]
NEWS: Feds to pay newspapers' attorneys fees from Katrina relief case
[The News Press, 12.14.07, via RCFP]
NEWS:Bush Secret Shredding Soars
[Radar Magazine, 12.14.07]
NEWS: Bill would make CRS reports available
[Free Government Information, 12.12.07]
NEWS: Did CIA Violate the Federal Records Act?
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.12.07]
NEWS: DOJ Reiterates to ISOO, Vice President's Office is Not an Agency
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.11.07]
NEWS: Safe and Secure? In the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, some states have tightened control of inspection records that could foretell the next disaster
[The News Media & The Law, Fall 2007 issue]
NEWS: CIA Bungles Declassification of Official Histories
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.6.07]
NEWS: FL Governor signs open government bill of rights
Secrecy Threatens Historical Record, State Dept is Told [Secrecy News 11.1.07]
PRESS RELEASE: Judiciary Committee Releases Questions To AG Nominee Mukasey : Sen. Leahy's press release provides written questions and correspondence submitted for the record to Mukasey. Consistent with standard committee practice, Senators were given a week to submit written follow-up questions to the nominee. (Sen. Leahy (D-Vt.) also sent a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding renewing requests for full disclosure of the Administration's policies on torture and interrogation techniques for detainees.)
NEWS:National Security Archive seeks to discover true extent of missing e-mails at White House [National Security Archive 10.29.07]
NEWS: First Toxic Sediments Leave FERC's Secrect Superfund Site [SEJ WatchDog TipSheet 10.3.07]
NEWS: Federal shield law clears Senate Judiciary Committee [Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, Press Release, 10.4.07] Also see Journalists' Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses [CRS Report 9.28.07]
Declassifying the "Fact of" Satellite Reconnaissance [National Security Archive 10.1.07]
NEWS: Court Rules Delay in Release of Presidential Papers is Illegal [National Security Archive 10.1.07]
NEWS: Trust in Federal Government, On Nearly All Issues, Hits New Low -- Even Less Than in Watergate Era [Editor and Publisher] See the survey here [Gallup 9.26.07]
NEWS: State Dept Classifies Report on Iraqi Corruption
[Secrecy News 9.26.07]
PRESS RELEASE: Interior Attorney Placed on Protected Witness List - Secrets Case on Assets Mismanagement Elevated to Presidential Appointee [PEER Press Release 9.17.07]
NEWS: Supreme Court is Asked to Review State Secrets Case [Secrecy News 9.17.07]
NEWS: Court denies FOIA request for 40-year-old CIA briefings [Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 9.7.07]
PRESS RELEASE:
NASA and Internet Archive Team to Digitize Space Imagery
[NASA 8.23.07]
PRESS RELEASE: Anonymous Lawmaker Helps to Build OpenCRS Database
[Center for Democracy & Technology 8.23.07]
NEWS: DOD 'Talon' Database Declawed
[TPMmuckraker 8.21.07]
NEWS: Richardson is only candidate to pledge open government
[Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility]
NEWS: Carl Malamud Takes on WestLaw: Carl Malamud has taken on the SEC, Patents, and Congress and C-Span. Now he's tackling the 5 million or so pages of federal case law. [Free Government Information 8.21.07]
NEWS: ACLU challenges constitutionality of Patriot Act NSL gag orders
[JURIST 8.16.07]
Pentagon orders stronger whistleblower protections
[PEER Press Release 7.31.07]
NEWS: Pilot Project Begins: Two Courts Offer Digital Audio Recordings Online
NEWS: Senator Durbin asks for Unanimous Consent on OPEN Government Act (S. 849) [Congressional Record, Senate - July 26, 2007; Page S10090]
NEWS: House Backs Taxpayer-Funded Research Access
[7.20.07]
NEWS: Energy Task Force Advisors Revealed, Six Years after Meetings
[OMB Watcher 7.24.07]
Public access to EPA library holdings in jeopardy
[PEER 7.17.07]
NEWS: Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Us
[NPR's On The Media 7.6.07]
NEWS: Court unseals redacted portions of Miller opinion
[Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 7.3.07]
NEWS: Justice Department Launches National Missing And Unidentified Persons Initiative (NAMUS)
[US DOJ 7.2.07]
Press Release: As FOIA Anniversary And July 4th Near, Leahy Presses For Passage Of The Leahy-Cornyn OPEN Government Act To Strengthen Nation's Foremost Right-To-Know Law [Sen. Leahy 6.27.07]
NEWS: Secret Surveillance Evidence Unsealed in AT&T Spying Case: Whistleblower Declaration and Other Key Documents Released to Public [EFF 6.12.07]
NEWS: Judge Orders FBI to Release NSL Abuse Records [EFF 6.15.07]
NEWS: Washington State Enacts Two Open Government Laws [SEJ WatchDog TipSheet 5.2.07]
NEWS: Nation's Largest Single-Subject Declassification Effort Coming to a Close [NARA 4.2.07]
NEWS: Investigation of the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
[SEJ WatchDog TipSheet 4.7.07]
NEWS: Climate and Ocean Scientists Put Under New Speech Restraints
[Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 4.3.07]
NEWS: NOW on PBS this week: For Your Eyes Only? Allegations that the government is reading your e-mails, with the help of AT&T. A whistleblower speaks out. [Streaming video of this program will be available online after broadcast] [2.16.07]
NEWS: Two U.S. Government reports call for public access to agency-funded research [Alliance for Taxpayer Access Media Advisory 5.3.07]
NEWS: EPA Quietly Resumes Dismantling Library System [PEER 5.2.07]
REPORT: Information Searches That Solve Problems, and the report itself
[Pew Internet & American Life Project, 12.30.07]
REPORT: Iraq: The War Card
[CPI, 1.22.08, via TPM Muckraker]
REPORT: CIA on Prepublication Review
[FAS Secrecy News, 1.22.08]
REPORT: CREW Analysis of National News at the Time the White House E-mail Went Missing (see reports for the White House, OVP, CEQ, CEA, OMB, and USTR)
[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 1.18.08]
REPORT: Department of Justice Continues to Ignore Violent Crimes Committed By Private Security Contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan
[Human Rights First, 1.16.08 (via beSpacific)]
REPORT: Sunlight Foundation's John Wonderlich tracks down S. Pub. 102-20 (a "study of the archival sources that document the operations of Congress")
[Sunlight Foundation, 12.19.07]
REPORT: Pew Survey: Finding Government-Related Information
[SLA Government Information Division, 1.2.08]
REPORT: Study shows strong support for access enforcement
[Indiana Coalition for Open Government, 1.2.08; see the press release and report]
REPORT: Midwest Democracy Network Releases Results of Presidential Questionnaire: Responses from candidates who completed a survey, sent earlier this fall to presidential nomination candidates, about issues of civic and public interest, such as campaign finance, government ethics, communication policy, and more.
REPORT: State Open Government Law and Practice in a Post 9/11 World - The 50-state analysis is available only in book form. An analysis of this data is also contained in OpenTheGovernment.org's Secrecy Report Card.
REPORT: The State of State Disclosure- The Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First evaluates the quantity and quality of state government Web-based disclosure on economic development subsidies, procurement contracts and state lobbying activities; concludes that states have a long way to go to fulfill the potential of the Internet in enhancing the public's right to know.
REPORT: CRS Report -- Electronic Rulemaking in the Federal Government [via OpenCRS]
National Strategy for Information Sharing [The White House, October 2007]
REPORT: Annual Report to Congress on the Information Sharing Environment submitted by Ambassador Thomas E. McNamara, Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, September 2007 [thanks to beSpacific]
REPORT: States failing FOI responsiveness - Better Government Association and National Freedom of Information Coalition give 38 out of 50 states "F" grade in overall responses to FOI requests.
REPORT: The Invisible Primary - Invisible No Longer: A First Look at Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign. A study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy [10.29.07]
REPORT: Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications [CRS via Federation of American Scientists, Updated 9.17.07]
REPORT: Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice and Recent Developments [CRS via Federation of American Scientists, Updated 9.17.07]
U.S. Reconnaissance Satellites: Domestic Targets - Documents Describe Use of Satellites in Support of Civil Agencies [National Security Archive 9.14.07]
Summary of Annual FOIA Reports for Fiscal Year 2006 [Dept. of Justice Office of Information and Privacy]
REPORT: Mediation Without Litigation by Harry Hammitt. Access advocates are turning to state models for examples of how access to information disputes can be resolved short of litigation.
REPORT: Congress and the Internet: Highlights [CRS via Federation of American Scientists 8.29.07]
REPORT: Freedom and Information: Assessing Publicly Available Data Regarding U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Security [RAND]
REPORT: What's in Your Water? The State of Public Notification in 11 U.S. States
[American Rivers 8.16.07]
REPORT: Executive Summary: Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report on CIA Accountability With Respect to the 9/11 Attacks and CIA Director's Statement [8.21.07]
[Thanks to Secrecy News]
REPORT: Privatization v. The Public's Right to Know: A Special Report from the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press
REPORT: Still Waiting After All These Years: An in-depth analysis of FOIA performance from 1998 to 2006 [Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, 8.8.07]
REPORT: Secret in Seattle
Newspapers uncovering sealed cases in Washington and Nevada faced reluctant judges, bureaucratic hurdles and lawsuit threats.
[The News Media & the Law Spring 2007]
REPORT: Still Waiting After All These Years: An in-depth analysis of FOIA performance from 1998 to 2006 [Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, 8.8.07]
REPORT: Reexamining Regulations: Opportunities Exist to Improve Effectiveness and Transparency of Retrospective Reviews [Government Accountability Office, 7.16.07]
REPORT: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Amendments:
110th Congress
[CRS via Federation of American Scientists Updated 7.10.07]
REPORT: Homeland Security Report
[Homeland Security Group August 2007]
REPORT: How Nonprofits Helped America Vote:
2006
[OMB Watch August 2007]
REPORT: Congress's Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure
[CRS via Federation of American Scientists 7.24.07]
REPORT: State E-Government Strategies:
Identifying Best Practices and Applications
[CRS via Center for Democracy and Technology 7.23.07]
REPORT: National Security Letters in Foreign
Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the
Legal Background and Recent Amendments
[CRS via Center for Democracy and Technology Updated 3.7.07]
REPORT: State and Federal E-Government Report, 2007 [Brown University]
REPORT: Government-Wide Assessment of Citizen Service Activities by USA Services. How and where do federal agencies interact with citizens?
[Thanks to beSpacific.com]
REPORT: Long-term fiscal challenge: Additional Transparency and Controls Are Needed
[Government Accountability Office July 25, 2007]
REPORT: Inspectors General: Opportunities to Enhance Independence and Accountability [Government Accountability Office July 11, 2007]
REPORT: 2006 Information Security Oversight Office Report to the President on classification and declassification activities
REPORT: GAO: Government Accountability Office and General Accounting Office [Updated June 22, 2007]
[Through the Federation of American Scientists]
REPORT: CREW released a report, Crossing the Line: The Bush Administration's Efforts to Expand Its Powerful Reach
[7.2.07]
REPORT: National Security Archive FOIA Audit: 40 years of FOIA, 20 years of Delay
REPORT: Secret Sessions of the House and Senate [CRS report Updated 5.25.07]
REPORT: The CIA's Family Jewels: Agency Violated Charter for 25 Years, Wiretapped Journalists and Dissidents [National Security Archive, 6.21.07]
REPORT: The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0
[David C. Wyld, Associate Professor Southeastern Louisiana University, thanks to beSpacific.com]
REPORT: Federal Research: Policies Guiding the Dissemination of Scientific Research from Selected Agencies Should Be Clarified and Better Communicated [GAO May 2007]
REPORT: CDT Identifies Most Wanted Warrantless Snooping Documents: Most Wanted Documents and Most Wanted Answers [6.20.07]
REPORT: Openness & Accountability: A Study of Transparency in Global Media Outlets
REPORT: Attorney General's Report to the President Pursuant to Executive Order 13,392, Entitled "Improving Agency Disclosure of Information" [June 2007]
REPORT: The Power of Information [UK] by Ed May and Tom Steinberg, June 2007
REPORT: Reforming the State Secrets Privilege
Statement of the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee & Coalition to Defend Checks and Balances
[5.31.07]
REPORT: Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress: October 1, 2006-March 31, 2007
REPORT: ACLU released a new report on lack of protections for national security whistleblowers
REPORT: Governing by the Numbers: The Promise of Data-Driven Policymaking in the Information Age
[By Daniel C. Esty, Reece Rushing, Center for American Progress 4.23.07]
PAPER: First Generation E-Rulemaking: An Assessment of Regulatory Agency Websites
PAPER: Government Websites and Political Engagement: Facilitating Citizen Entry Into the Policy Process
REPORT: Without a Trace: The Story Behind the Missing White House Emails and the Violations of the Presidential Records Act [CREW]
REPORT: How trustworthy are state-level primary legal resources on the Web? Find out in a new report by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources. Press release.
REPORT: Congressional Web Site Investigation: Citizen journalists evaluated congressional Web sites to determine their Transparency score. The Results are in!
REPORT: NET worked Radicalization: A Counter-Strategy [The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and the University of Virginia Critical Incident Analysis Group]
REPORT: Nationwide Information Audit of Public Hazmat Documents Meets with Suspicion, Confusion And, Sometimes, Compliance
REPORT: Agencies Violate Law on Online Information: Only One in Five Federal Agencies Meets Congress's Requirements 10 Years After Electronic Freedom of Information Amendments [The National Security Archive]
REPORT: Federal Government Seen As Increasingly Secretive; National Poll for Sunshine Week Finds Privacy Concerns
REPORT: Congressional Information & the Internet: A Collaborative Examination of the House of Representatives and Internet Technology [The Open House Project, May 8, 2007]
RESOURCE: State Voter Registration Verification Web sites
[Federal Voting Assistance Program, DoD, 1.22.08 (last updated)]
RESOURCE: Resource: Free Government Information's "EPA Pilot Information Tagging Project"
[FGI, 1.18.08]
RESOURCE: Announcing "My OpenCongress": Network, Comment and Vote on Congress
[OpenCongress.org, 1.14.08 (via Sunlight Foundation]
RESOURCE: The Buying of the President 2008
[The Center for Public Integrity, via beSpacific]
RESOURCE: DOJ archive of Attorney General speeches (1996-2007) now online
[USDOJ, via beSpacific, 1.5.08]
RESOURCE: Senate Provides Better Tool for Tracking Lobbyists
[Sunlight Foundation, 1.2.08]
RESOURCES: New CRS Reports, including: Data Mining and Homeland Security: An Overview
[FAS's Secrecy News, 12.28.07]
RESOURCE: Presidential primary and caucus dates
[Stateline.org, last updated 12.19.07]
RESOURCE: A Call For Stewardship: Enhancing the Federal Government's Ability to Address Key Fiscal and Other 21st Century Challenges
[GAO, 12.17.07]
RESOURCE: 50-State Agency Database Registry Launches Historical Materials
[Free Government Information, 12.15.07]
RESOURCE: Transparency in Congress: The Sunlight Foundation's "Punch Clock Campaign" makes the schedules of some members of Congress visible to the public
[The Secrecy File, 12.12.07]
RESOURCE: Transparency in Congress
[Cox Washington Bureau, 12.11.07]
RESOURCE: CRS Report for Congress: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): Issues for Congress
[CRS, via OpenCRS 12.5.07]
RESOURCE: New book: Who Needs to Know? The State of Public Access to Federal Government Information
RESOURCE: DOJ white paper regarding federal government secrecy defense, "Glomarization" (see related Post story)
RESOURCE: NYT Review of Books About Presidential Power
RESOURCE: Elections 2008- Navigate to presidential match sites, political advertising, likely Congressional candidates, campaign finances, public opinion polls, election calendars, and historic Presidential votes by Congressional District. Multi-purpose election web sites are analyzed, and more.
RESOURCE: Navigate House Defense Earmarks on Google Earth - Using Google Earth, Sunlight's House Defense file presents a 3-D view of where the recipients of earmarks in the House Defense appropriations bill are located and corresponding links to EarmarkWatch.org -- where citizens can further research each earmark and its recipient. Users can search for earmarks by city, state or zip code.
RESOURCE: Pilot Project: Free Access to Federal Court Records at 16 Libraries - Free public access to federal court records is available at 16 libraries in 14 states under a joint pilot project of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Government Printing Office. The project offers free access to the federal judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system.
RESOURCE: Death and Taxes : A Visual Guide to Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go. 2008 edition now available.
RESOURCE: governmentattic.org - "rummaging in the government's attic" for government documents
RESOURCE:
Index of Presidential Signing Statements 2001-2007
A comprehensive index of presidential signing statements issued between 2001 and 2007. [Compiled by Neil Kinkopf, associate professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law and former special assistant in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice]
Related postings on Presidential signing statements
[Thanks to beSpacific]
RESOURCE: "Wiki the Vote" Project on Congresspedia Profiles Congressional Candidates in the 2008 Election [Center for Media and Democracy and the Sunlight Foundation]
Mexico Project Launches New Transparency Web Site [via The National Security Archive]
Gov Gab - Your U.S. Government Blog - Gov Gab is written by a team of five bloggers with different backgrounds and interests, all experts on government information via their jobs at USA.gov, Pueblo.gsa.gov, or 1 (800) FED-INFO.
Earmark Watch: Bringing Citizen Oversight to Congressional Spending. Your chance to investigate earmarks [A project of Sunlight Foundation and Taxpayers for Common Sense]
Dipnote, the State Department's first-ever blog [Thanks to beSpacific]
RESOURCE: LSU Libraries Federal Agencies Directory [The directory is a partnership of Louisiana State University and the Federal Depository Library Program]
RESOURCE: FBI Unbound: How National Security Letters Violate Our Privacy. The 26-minute video, available on DVD from BORDC, explores the repercussions of the FBI's power to demand hundreds of thousands of Americans' private records without any oversight by a court or Congress.
RESOURCE: The FOIA Files: Searchable database of stories that FOIA Made Possible [Sunshine in Government Initiative]
C-SPAN Libraries series opens door to presidential history [Houston Chronicle 9.6.07] Also see the C-SPAN website for hundreds of newly discovered films, audio, and video recordings and serves as the companion piece to C-SPAN's television and radio series.
[Thanks to Free Government Information]
RESOURCE: Congressional Committees - Secrecy and Delayed Transparency
[Free Government Information, Open House Project]
Summaries of New Decisions in FOIA Cases - A new feature of DOJ FOIA Post
[DOJ Office of Information and Privacy, Aug. 07]
[Thanks to beSpacific]
White House Office of Administration and FOIA:
RESOURCE: 60 Years of Federation of American Scientists Public Interest Reports Available Online. Reports online range from 1946 to 2005. [Thanks to Michael Ravnitzky]
RESOURCE: Business Filings Databases Updated
All 50 states make some level of corporate and business filings available online. [Thanks to beSpacific]
RESOURCE: The Government Domain: Back to School for Constitution Day 2007
[By Peggy Garvin, LLRX.com 8.27.07]
RESOURCE: PolitiFact: Reporters and researchers will analyze candidates' speeches, TV ads and interviews for accuracy. A project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly. [Thanks to beSpacific]
RESOURCE: Town Hall Meetings (Organized by State and District)
[Bill of Rights Defense Committee]
RESOURCE: State Sunshine and Open Records: open records at the state and local level
RESOURCE: Carnival of Open Records, a blog-centered project to build and promote awareness about open records issues and concerns [Thanks to Tapscott's Copy Desk]
RESOURCE: Many Eyes: Allows users to visualize data sets and post them. Make colorful graphics out of earmark data, census data, and many other data sets that users upload
RESOURCE: Local Sunlight: The Sunlight Foundation highlights local blogs
RESOURCE: The Secrecy File
Daily developments about the growing level of secrecy in the federal government and how it impacts the public's right to know from Cox Newspapers
RESOURCE: Disclosure of Broadband Data
Find out who owns the media in your region
[Center for Public Integrity]
RESOURCE: FY2008 Appropriations Bills: TCS Analyses and Earmark Databases
[Taxpayers for Common Sense]
RESOURCE: League Launches Government Transparency Handbook: Observing Your Government in Action
[Also available for purchase ($5)]
[League of Women Voters]
RESOURCE: Coming Up This Week in Congress [Center for Media and Democracy]
RESOURCE: WhiteHouseForSale.org Public Citizen unveiled a Web site that provides an up-to-date listing of the 2008 presidential hopefuls' 'bundlers," the super-fundraisers who are powering the billion-dollar race for the White House.
RESOURCE: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). Over 11,000 data series have been added to the regional data category in the database, including labor force and unemployment rate time series for every state, county, and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the US
Also see the new data-mapping tool called GEOFRED