“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) makes available the Congressional Pictorial Directory: 115th Congress on GPO’s govinfo. GPO employees designed and produced the Pictorial Directory, which features a color photograph of each Member of the House of Representatives and Senate. It also details each Member’s length of service, political party affiliation, and congressional district. The… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: March 2018
Brennan Center – Extreme Gerrymandering and the 2018 Midterm
Brennan Center for Justice – “Many Democrats are optimistic about their chances of winning a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. But in a new report, we measured how much harder partisan gerrymandering will make it for Democrats to win seats — and found that even a blue wave election… Continue Reading
Report – Worsening Worldwide Land Degradation Now ‘Critical’, Undermining Well-Being of 3.2 Billion People
“Worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of two fifths of humanity, driving species extinctions and intensifying climate change. It is also a major contributor to mass human migration and increased conflict, according to the world’s first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration. The dangers of land degradation, which… Continue Reading
Linda Brown, center of Brown v. Board case, dies at 76
Topeka Captial-Journal: “Linda Brown, who as a little girl in Topeka was at the center of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that ended school segregation in the United States, has died at age 76. Brown’s sister, Cheryl Brown Henderson, founding president of The Brown Foundation, confirmed the death…Linda Brown’s father,… Continue Reading
IRS Referrals for Criminal Prosecution Reach New Low
“The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during January 2018 the government reported receiving 135 new referrals for prosecution from the Internal Revenue Service. According to referral-by-referral data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number was down substantially from its peak four years ago. For the most recent twelve… Continue Reading
AI And Open Data Show Just How Often Cars Block Bus And Bike Lanes
Fast Company: “Alex Bell, a cyclist, programmer, and lifelong New Yorker, is fed up with vehicles drifting into lanes that are not meant for them. His frustration began with UPS trucks: So frequently would the large brown vehicles idle in the bike lane near Bell’s Harlem home that he eventually sued the company to get… Continue Reading
Documents from former Cambridge Analytica workers widen scope of engagement with campaigns
The complex story of Cambridge Analytica’s impact on U.S. campaigns is being revealed with greater clarity as the Washington Post continues its reporting based on documents provided to them by former Cambridge Analytica research director, and whistleblower, Christopher Wylie and other former employees. “Cambridge Analytica assigned dozens of non-U.S. citizens to provide campaign strategy and… Continue Reading
Commentary – How the FTC Could Have Prevented the Facebook Mess
Techonomy Exclusive – Marc Rotenberg: “Here comes an understatement: Facebook’s failure to protect user data was well known before the company suspended dealings with Cambridge Analytica last week. What is not well known is that the transfer of 50 million user records to the controversial data mining and political consulting firm could have been avoided… Continue Reading
Research – The surprising link between your birthday and place of birth in one heat map
Data Driven Journalism: “…Take a look at [the heat map in this article], created by the team at Visme. Based on the most recent UN data on live births, it clearly shows that there is a rather surprising and unexpected correlation between three different variables: the top birth months, seasons of the year and the… Continue Reading
DOJ Revives Push to Mandate a Way to Unlock Phones
The New York Times: “Federal law enforcement officials are renewing a push for a legal mandate that tech companies build tools into smartphones and other devices that would allow access to encrypted data in criminal investigations. F.B.I. and Justice Department officials have been quietly meeting with security researchers who have been working on approaches to… Continue Reading
How Facebook Figures Out Everyone You’ve Ever Met
Gizmodo – Behind the Facebook profile you’ve built for yourself is another one, a shadow profile, built from the inboxes and smartphones of other Facebook users. “…Shadow contact information has been a known feature of Facebook for a few years now. But most users remain unaware of its reach and power. Because shadow-profile connections happen… Continue Reading
Is Free Public Access To Congressional Research Service Reports Coming in 2018?
Taxpayers for Common Sense: “We’re happy to see something we’ve advocated for in the past – free public access to Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports: From page 1095 [of the 2,232 page Omnibus Spending Bill] AVAILABILITY OF CRS REPORTS THROUGH LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WEBSITE.— (1) WEBSITE.— (A) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.—The Librarian of Congress, in consultation… Continue Reading
