Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 14, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs
CRS – The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs, March 09, 2021: “As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began to unfold, many federal, local, and state governments, in addition to large and small businesses, implemented remote working or distance learning options to help abate the spread of the… Continue Reading
Everything to know about the third stimulus check: Timeline, IRS calculations and more
CNET – “A third stimulus check for up to $1,400 per person could become real this week, as Congress works to finish up the final COVID-19 relief package and get to the President Joe Biden to sign in the coming days. While there’s an outside chance details on the new stimulus payment could change before the… Continue Reading
How Did Absentee Voting Affect the 2020 U.S.Election?
How Did Absentee Voting Affect the 2020 U.S.Election? Jesse Yoder, Cassandra Handan-Nader, Andrew Myers,Tobias Nowacki, Daniel M. Thompson, Jennifer A. Wu,Chenoa Yorgason, and Andrew B. Hall, Democracy & Polarization Lab, Stanford University, March 5, 2021. “The 2020 U.S. election saw high turnout, a huge increase in absentee voting, and brought unified Democratic control at the… Continue Reading
Joe Biden has picked 58 nominees to fill key roles in his administration so far
Washington Post – We are tracking 791 government positions among about 1,250 that require Senate confirmation. Presidents are required to fill roughly 4,000 politically appointed positions in the executive branch and independent agencies, including more than 1,250 that require Senate confirmation. The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking nominees for roughly… Continue Reading
This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participant
George Washington University Program on Extremism / Top Level Findings – “We released a new report coauthored jointly by our staff, titled “This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participants.” The report offers new details about the individuals alleged to have stormed the nation’s Capitol, as well as a number… Continue Reading
Levin, Senator Jack Reed Introduce Legislation to Modernize Library Infrastructure
Rep. Andy Levin: “[On March 3, 2021], Congressman Andy Levin (D-MI) teamed up with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to introduce the House companion of S.127, the Build America’s Libraries Act, which provides long-term improvements to library facilities and updates library infrastructure, prioritizing libraries in predominantly low-income and underserved communities. The Build America’s Libraries Act authorizes… Continue Reading
The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read
The National Security Archive – “The January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol is now the subject of systematic National Security Archive Freedom of Information Act campaign. The First installment and The Second Installment of new Document Sourcebook features a Pentagon timeline, State Department dissent, Homeland Security warning, FBI alert, and first court indictment… The January… Continue Reading
New Duke paper calls Washington to increase transparency around online political ads
Washington Post – “Major social platforms put new limits on political ads in the run-up to the controversial 2020 election due to concerns they amplify misinformation. But a new Duke University paper published today [J. Scott Babwah Brennen & Matt Perault, March 2, 2021 Breaking Blackout Black Boxes: Roadblocks to Analyzing Platform Political Ads] says a… Continue Reading
Pentagon report cites threat of extremism in military
AP: “Domestic extremist groups pose a serious threat to the military by seeking to recruit service members into their ranks and, in some cases, joining the military to acquire combat experience, according to a Pentagon report released Tuesday [March 3, 2021]. Report to Armed Services Committees on Screening Individuals Who Seek to Enlist in the… Continue Reading
CRS – Banking Policy Issues in the 117th Congress
Banking Policy Issues in the 117th Congress, March 2, 2021: “Over the past 14 years, banking has experienced significant events and changes and has regularly been the subject of policymaker initiatives and debates. In response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, Congress—primarily through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act; P.L.… Continue Reading
Zombie Laws
Wasserman, Howard, Zombie Laws (February 2, 2021). Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 21-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3778122 “Zombie laws” are the statutory remainder from constitutional litigation. Neither a judicial declaration of constitutional invalidity nor an injunction prohibiting enforcement removes or erases a challenged law from the books. The court stops the defendant… Continue Reading
