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Category Archives: Congress

Introducing the U.S. Election Twitter Network Graph Tool

“This is a blog post co-authored by Emmi Bevensee, a Mozilla Fellow hosted at the Anti-Defamation League. Emmi is co-creator of the recently-launched Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT). Who does Trump most interact with on Twitter? What does sectarianism look like in political social media? Who has the most influence on our politicians online? Today,… Continue Reading

How Long Will Vote Counting Take? Estimates and Deadlines in All 50 States

The New York Times -“Although many winners may quickly be evident on election night, the increase in mail voting because of the pandemic is expected to push back the release of full results in many key states. The New York Times asked officials in every state and the District of Columbia about their reporting processes… Continue Reading

How politicians target you: 3,000 data points on every voter, including your phone number

Washington Post – “Our quest to find what politicians know about voters uncovered data troves with intimate information about income, debt, family, religion, gun ownership and a whole lot more…I’ve been on a crusade to find out what politicians know about me. So over the past few months, I’ve used California’s new data privacy law… Continue Reading

Reading the ACA’s Findings: Textualism, Severability and the ACA’s Return to the Court

Gluck, Abbe R – Reading the ACA’s Findings: Textualism, Severability and the ACA’s Return to the Court, 130 Yale L.J. F. 132 (2020). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is back in the Court, but challengers’ “textualist” arguments are not textualist at all. They argue a findings section in the ACA is an “inseverability clause,” meaning… Continue Reading

Unemployment Rates and Household Debt During the COVID-19 Pandemic

CRS report via LC – Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief, October 23, 2020: “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant effect on unemployment in every state, industry, and major demographic group in the United States. This report provides information on which groups have experienced the largest increases in unemployment… Continue Reading

United States of America, General Elections, 3 November 2020: Interim Report

Politico: “The first 2020 U.S. election report by international observers makes for sober reading, Ryan Heath emails us. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — which has 47 member countries including the U.S. — has deployed 30 experts around the U.S. to monitor all aspects of the election through October. While that’s well… Continue Reading

COVID-19: Government Resources for Real-Time Economic Indicators

CRS Insight via LC – COVID-19: Government Resources for Real-Time Economic Indicators, October 21, 2020: “This CRS Insight presents select real-time economic indicators that attempt to measure the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the U.S. economy. Created by select federal government agencies, these new or unique indicators attempt to measure the… Continue Reading

Copyright in Code: Supreme Court Hears Landmark Software Case in Google v. Oracle

CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – Copyright in Code: Supreme Court Hears Landmark Software Case in Google v. Oracle, October 21, 2020: “In what observers have hailed as the “copyright case of the century,” an eight-member Supreme Court heard arguments on October 7, 2020 ,in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., a long-running intellectual-property dispute… Continue Reading

USPS IG Report – Operational Changes to Mail Delivery

“This report responds to an August 7, 2020, congressional request regarding concerns that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s modifications to U.S. Postal Service staffing and policies had an adverse effect on Postal Service operations, leading to slower and less reliable mail delivery. This report also responds to a number of recent similar congressional requests. We are… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020 – 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

Monthly poverty rates in the United States during COVID-19

Center on Poverty & Social Policy – “This report presents monthly poverty rates in the U.S. before and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast to measures of poverty based on a family’s annual resources, we project poverty rates based on a family’s monthly resources. We find that the monthly poverty rate increased from 15% to… Continue Reading

Your guide to following the election on social media

Washington Post – From misinformation to fast-changing maps, here’s how to understand election results and navigate social media. “The experts agree: The best way to accurately track election results, and avoid falling for misinformation between now and Election Day, is to avoid too much social media. Stick with a handful of reputable news sources and… Continue Reading