“The U.S. Office of Special Counsel November 9, 2021 issued a report outlining the investigative findings of its career Hatch Act Unit staff in response to Hatch Act complaints filed with OSC regarding senior Trump administration officials’ participation in the 2020 Republican National Convention (RNC) and their political activities leading up to the presidential election.… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Bipartisan bill would force Big Tech to offer algorithm-free feeds, search results
Ars Technica: “A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would force social media platforms to allow people to use the site without algorithms that filter or prioritize the content that users see. The bill joins a similar act proposed in the Senate, and together, the bills suggest that… Continue Reading
Federal Firearms Laws
CRS Report – Federal Firearms Law: Selected Developments in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. November 3, 2021 [42 pages]: “Firearm regulation in the United States is an area of shared authority between the federal, state,and local governments. At the federal level, firearm commerce, possession, and transfers are governed largely by two statutory regimes: the… Continue Reading
55 corporations paid no federal income tax in 2020
“Senators Warren, King, and Wyden Announce Updated Proposal To Prevent The Biggest And Most Profitable Corporations From Paying Nothing In Federal Taxes. The Corporate Profits Minimum Tax Would Raise Hundreds of Billions in Revenue While Creating a Fairer Tax System. Updated Proposal to be Included as a Pay-for in the Build Back Better Plan…” Legislative… Continue Reading
LLRX Articles and Columns for October 2021
Articles and Columns for October 2021 Employing My Law Librarian Skills on an Uncertain Road – As we all navigate through the era of Covid, it is critical to learn from the myriad other medical challenges that many Americans, as well as our professional colleagues, are facing separate from the pandemic. Taryn L. Rucinski, Supervisory… Continue Reading
Washington Post 3 Part Investigation on January 6 Insurrection
Before/Red Flags [As Trump propelled his supporters to Washington, law enforcement agencies failed to heed mounting warnings about violence on Jan. 6.”] – During [For 187 harrowing minutes, the president watched his supporters attack the Capitol — and resisted pleas to stop them] – After [Contagion – Threats and disinformation spread across the country in… Continue Reading
Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions
SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions: “Two months ago, Texas put in place the most restrictive abortion law since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. The law, which prohibits almost all abortions in the state, has dramatically reduced access… Continue Reading
Merriam Webster Adds 455 new words from ‘dad bod’ to ‘deplatform’
Among the 455 new words and definitions: “Oobleck, air fryer, whataboutism, FTW, and fourth trimester. Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding. New terms and new uses for existing terms are the constant in a living language, and our latest list brings together both new and likely familiar words that… Continue Reading
Americans Don’t Trust Their Congressional Maps To Be Drawn Fairly. Can Anything Change That?
FiveThirtyEight: “The United States is in the middle of a once-in-a-decade process: redistricting. And although it’s early yet — 19 states aren’t expected to finalize their maps until next year — a number of states have proposed maps, and there are debates happening all across the country over which ones to pass. Six states have… Continue Reading
President Biden’s Build Back Better Framework
White House – Build Back Better Framework. October 28, 2021: ” The Build Back Better Act will create millions of good-paying jobs, enable more Americans to join and remain in the labor force, spur long-term growth, reduce price pressures and set the United States on course to meet its clean energy ambitions. Continue Reading
U.S. Climate Change Policy
CRS Report – U.S. Climate Change Policy. October 28, 2021: “The greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere trap radiant energy, warming earth’s surface and oceans. Scientific assessments conclude that GHGs very likely have been the main driver of warming of the earth’s lower atmosphere since 1979. The most recent global assessment projected that surface temperature… Continue Reading
Questioning Questions in the Law of Democracy: What the Debate over Voter ID Laws’ Effects Teaches about Asking the Right Questions
Zhang, Emily, Questioning Questions in the Law of Democracy: What the Debate over Voter ID Laws’ Effects Teaches about Asking the Right Questions (October 14, 2021). UCLA Law Review, 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3942940 – “Voter identification laws, laws that require voters to present identification when voting (“voter ID laws”), first launched the modern Voting… Continue Reading
