“Even as home values climb back from the dramatic fall that helped set off the Great Recession, homeownership in the United States stands at its lowest level in at least 20 years. As of the third quarter of this year only 63.5% of households own their homes, down significantly from the modern peak of 69.0%… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2016
Pew – 16 striking findings from 2016
“Every year, we publish a collection of facts about the important events, issues and trends we documented in our wide-ranging research over the past 12 months. In 2016, Pew Research Center examined an array of topics in America – from immigration to the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats – as well as many from… Continue Reading
Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenues Third Quarter 2016
“Provides quarterly estimates of state and local government tax revenue at a national level, as well as detailed tax revenue data for individual states. This report produces three tables: Tables 1 and 2 include income and sales data, and Table 3 provides tax collections by state. Internet address: www.census.gov/govs/qtax/.” Continue Reading
GAO Report on Homeless Veterans
Homeless Veterans: Management Improvements Could Help VA Better Identify Supportive-Housing Projects, GAO-17-101: Published: Dec 21, 2016. Publicly Released: Dec 21, 2016. “As of September 2016, for veterans who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had developed 35 enhanced-use leases (EUL) for supportive-housing with low cost rental housing and… Continue Reading
Heads Up – Disruption at Go To Fact Checking Web Site
This investigative article from Forbes leaves readers in a quandry – the status of the fact checking website, Snopes.com is in question due to the disposition of its ownership and the transparency and accountability of its operations. I do not use the site, so all I can say is proceed with caution moving forward in… Continue Reading
HOAXY – beta – Visualize the spread of claims and fact checking
Via the site’s FAQ: “Hoaxy [Indiana University] visualizes the spread of claims and related fact checking online. A claim may be a fake news article, hoax, rumor, conspiracy theory, satire, or even an accurate report. Anyone can use Hoaxy to explore how claims spread across social media. You can select any matching fact-checking articles to… Continue Reading
House Intel Committee Releases Declassified Snowden Report
News release: “The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence today released a declassified version of its investigative report on Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who fled to China and then Russia after stealing an estimated 1.5 million classified documents. The report, including redactions for classified information, was the result of a two-year… Continue Reading
WaPo – The AG could have ordered FBI Director James Comey not to send his bombshell letter on Clinton emails
The attorney general could have ordered FBI Director James Comey not to send his bombshell letter on Clinton emails. Here’s why she didn’t. “Justice officials laid out a number of arguments against releasing the letter. It violated two long-standing policies. Never publicly discuss an ongoing investigation. And never take an action affecting a candidate for… Continue Reading
Google finally changes algorithm promoting Holocaust deniers
In the category of – and what took you so long – this is not news to librarians category – and the – if you have not done so, change search engines now suggestion – try DuckDuckGo – Via Fortune – “In recent months, Google has confronted a new and unsettling trend: Its top search… Continue Reading
GAO – Declining Resources: Selected Agencies Took Steps to Minimize Effects on Mission
Declining Resources: Selected Agencies Took Steps to Minimize Effects on Mission but Opportunities Exist for Additional Action, GAO-17-79: Published: Dec 20, 2016. Publicly Released: Dec 20, 2016. “How are agencies responding to smaller budgets? Federal discretionary spending, which funds activities like law enforcement training and worker protection programs, declined by about 12% between fiscal years… Continue Reading
PersonalData.IO helps you get access to your personal data
“PersonalData.IO is a free and open platform for citizens to track their personal data and understand how it is used by companies. It is part of the MyData movement, promoting a human-centric approach to personal data management. A lot of readers of this blog will be familiar with Freedom of Information laws, a legal mechanism… Continue Reading
West Virginia Univ. – New database to track millions of public policies
“Policymakers, researchers and journalists alike will soon have access to roughly 4.2 million state government decisions in a single database. West Virginia University political science researcher, William Franko, a professor in the Rockefeller School of Politics and Policy, is part of a research team collecting every legislative bill, executive rule and judicial decision across all 50 states,… Continue Reading
