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Monthly Archives: January 2017

House Office of Congressional Ethics: History, Authority, and Procedures

CRS report via FAS – House Office of Congressional Ethics: History, Authority, and Procedures. Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress, January 24, 2017. “The mandate of the OCE, which has jurisdiction only in the House, is to review information, and when appropriate, refer findings of fact to the House Committee on Ethics. Only this… Continue Reading

CRS – President Trump Freezes Federal Civil Service Hiring

Via FAS – President Trump Freezes Federal Civil Service Hiring, CRS Legal Sidebar, January 26, 2017 “While the President possesses a certain amount of control over the executive branch, various statutory and constitutional provisions impose important limits on the President’s authority over the civil service. These statutory and constitutional parameters can set the boundary for… Continue Reading

Mapping Wildland Values and Climate Change Vulnerability

Via NOAA – Using climate change projections, conservationists can assess which of the wildest lands remaining in the contiguous United States are most vulnerable to the impacts of future climate change – “Undeveloped natural areas—also known as wildlands—aren’t just empty land: these areas are essential for the health and sustainability of the environment and the ecosystems… Continue Reading

Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, January 30, 2017: “…For fiscal year 2017, which is in progress, the heads of all agencies are directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year shall be no greater than zero, unless otherwise required by law or… Continue Reading

Trump Refugee and Visa Order Generates Dissents from Diplomats, DOJ, Goldman Sachs, Silicon Valley

Follow up to previous posting of sources on the immigration ban order signed by President Trump on January 27, 2017: Via LawFare – Full Text of Draft Dissent Channel Memo on Trump Refugee and Visa Order: “Numerous Foreign Service officers and other diplomats have drafted a dissent memo expressing opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Search Warrant Issued For Amazon Echo Data

Via LLRX.com – Search Warrant Issued For Amazon Echo Data – An Amazon Echo device is the subject of a prosecutor’s search warrant related to an Arkansas murder case. Nicole Black illuminates how such devices are complicating issues related to consumer privacy and vendor responses to search warrants. The ubiquity of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in homes… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Cybersecurity For Lawyers: The Nitty Gritty

Via LLRX.com – Cybersecurity For Lawyers: The Nitty Gritty – Nicole Black reports that 26 states now require lawyers to stay abreast of changes in legal technology and advises colleagues on how to implement security procedures that will protect your law firm’s data and help to keep client data confidential and secure. Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Library Services for People with Memory Loss, Dementia, and Alzheimers

Via LLRX.com – Library Services for People with Memory Loss, Dementia, and Alzheimers – Sarah Houghton organized a training for library staff throughout her county from the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and a stellar local senior non-profit named Senior Access dedicated to serving residents with memory loss issues. This training was inspired by two things:… Continue Reading

Maurice Sendak’s personal collection of rare books finally go to Philly library

Philly.com – “When Maurice Sendak died in 2012, he left a will directing that all his “rare edition books” go to the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia – a cache of 895 items that made up a large part of the celebrated author-illustrator’s own personal library of rare books. But the Sendak estate… Continue Reading

How Citizen Advocacy Is Changing Mail Operations on Capitol Hill

“This report was sponsored by Convio, Fireside21, and VoterVoice. We thank them for their support of CMF’s Partnership for a More Perfect Union. Communicating with Congress: How Citizen Advocacy is Changing Mail Operations on Capitol Hill Key Findings Mail volume in congressional offices continues to increase exponentially. Senate offices reported a 548 percent increase in… Continue Reading

Wired – Donald Trump’s 1,500 or so business ties, visualized

Via Wired: “Before Donald Trump was the president, he was a businessman. He came to office leading a vast business enterprise that includes real estate, casinos, and a lucrative branding operation. “The network is huge,” says designer Kim Albrecht, whose riveting data visualization Trump Connections attempts to untangle it all. Albrecht used data from BuzzFeed’s TrumpWorld investigation into… Continue Reading