I have begun a political blog called "Understated Priorities"-- it's at www.understatedpriorities.blogspot.com
It is mostly entries from reference books on the topic of politics: quotes, aphorisms, poems and a lot more. I discuss each entry and am open for your comments, too. Current posts included:
Here is your opportunity to reflect on the major thoughts related to government, politics and people. Enjoy!
David Weller
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Happy Sunshine Week!
In recognition of the importance of government openness and transparency, Public Citizen is asking us to contact our congressmembers to support a few related bills. Go to their campaign web page and send your letter, or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Tell your US Representative and two US Senators to improve transparency to our government by:
1. Supporting the immediate passage of the Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R. 1225/S. 886) in the Senate to override a Bush Executive Order that is undermining the original purpose of the post-Watergate law.
2. Fully funding the Office of Government Information Services under the National Archives and Records Administration as the OPEN Government Act requires, instead of under the Department of Justice, which the Bush FY09 budget proposal suggests.
3. Protecting the rights of governmental whistleblowers by ensuring that the final conference bill tracks closely to the stronger House bill, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985).
4. Limiting presidential signing statements, so that a President can’t alter legislation with a stroke of a pen, as President Bush did when he nullified Congress’s whistleblower protections for government contractors in Iraq.
5. Bring the Senate into the 21st Century and pass S. 223, which provides for electronic disclosure and prompt Internet searchability of Senate campaign contributions. Senator Ensign should stop blocking enactment of the bill with his poison pill amendment!
Thank you for helping to ensure that our government is more transparent and accountable to the public.
Taxpayers for Common Sense has completed its database of fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills earmarks.
Congress inserted 12,881 earmarks worth $18.3 billion into this year’s spending bills, $14.8 billion of which were disclosed by lawmakers. This represents a 23 percent cut in total earmarks from the high water mark of 2005, but a smaller cut than the 50 percent reduction House leadership initially set as its goal.Sphere: Related Content
More than 125 years since the installation of the first telephone in the Capitol, the Capitol switchboard office employs a staff of more than two dozen and handles in excess of 30,000 calls per week. To find your senators' and representative's phone numbers, you may use the Congress.org searchable online congressional directory or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask for your senators' and/or representative's office.
Remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress. Ask to speak with the aide who handles the issue about which you wish to comment.
After identifying yourself, tell the aide you would like to leave a brief message, such as: "Please tell Senator/Representative (Name) that I support/oppose (S.___/H.R.___)."
You will also want to state reasons for your support or opposition to the bill. Ask for your senators' or representative's position on the bill. You may also request a written response to your telephone call.
FairVote has "Roadmap for Reform - 2007", a page of bills introduced in the states in 2007 on electoral reform. Many of these bills are still in the legislative process, so check out your own state to see how your state is doing; then, call on your state representative and state senator to make your own opinions heard.
Sphere: Related ContentReadable Laws wiki subtitle is "Legislation in plain English". It focuses on only several Congressional bills active right now, as it is still fairly new. They are always looking for contributors to this wiki form of public collaboration, to increase its number of bills.
This site is a project of NewAssignment.Net, a project in open-source, pro-am journalism. It will prove to be very helpful to the vast majority of the general public (including me!) wanting to find out what interesting bills in legislation actually say.
Downsize DC has an ongoing netroots campaign to push leglislation for the "Read the Bills Act" (RTBA). Just as it says, it requires all who vote for a bill to read it first. If you agree, take action at this webpage or send you message on your own.
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