Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations. L. Elaine Halchin, Coordinator, Specialist in American National Government. March 13, 2017. [via FAS] “The crux of a presidential transition is the transfer of executive power from the incumbent to the President-elect. Yet the transition process encompasses a host of activities, beginning with pre-election planning and continuing… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: March 2017
CRS – Dark Web
CRS report – Dark Web, Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security. March 10, 2017. [via FAS] “The layers of the Internet go far beyond the surface content that many can easily access in their daily searches. The other content is that of the Deep Web, content that has not been indexed by traditional search engines… Continue Reading
CRS – Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence and Potential Impact on the Supreme Court
Via FAS – Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence and Potential Impact on the Supreme Court. Andrew Nolan, Coordinator, Acting Section Research Manager; Caitlain Devereaux Lewis, Coordinator, Legislative Attorney; Kate M. Manuel, Coordinator, Acting Section Research Manager; Jared P. Cole, Legislative Attorney; Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney; Brandon J. Murrill, Legislative Attorney. March 8, 2017.… Continue Reading
MIT announces prize for responsible civil disobedience
“On July 21, 2016 we announced the creation of a $250K cash prize award for responsible disobedience. This idea came after a realization that there’s a widespread frustration from people trying to figure out how can we effectively harness responsible, ethical disobedience aimed at challenging our norms, rules, or laws to benefit society. And so… Continue Reading
Physicist declassifies rescued nuclear test films
“The U.S. conducted 210 atmospheric nuclear tests between 1945 and 1962, with multiple cameras capturing each event at around 2,400 frames per second. But in the decades since, around 10,000 of these films sat idle, scattered across the country in high-security vaults. Not only were they gathering dust, the film material itself was slowly decomposing,… Continue Reading
Judges in Maryland and Hawaii block revised Trump travel band
Update, March 16, 2017 – The New York Times – 2 Federal Judges Halt Trump’s New Travel Ban – “Both rulings – the one in Hawaii more expansive than the one in Maryland — said the likely purpose of the president’s order was a de facto ban on Muslims.” Follow-up up to previous postings, Responses to… Continue Reading
Court: FBI’s Secret Rules for Spying on Journalists Can Remain Secret
FindLaw – “In 2015, the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to force the DOJ to publish its rules for conducting warrantless spying on journalists in the United States. The DOJ responded that it had supplied all of the documentation the Foundation… Continue Reading
FERC certificates several new natural gas pipelines in 2017
EIA – “Several large natural gas interstate pipeline projects have come online in recent years to support the shifting geography of domestic natural gas production. The Marcellus and Utica shale plays in the Northeast, where production has grown and resources are abundant, are major drivers for pipeline development. In 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission… Continue Reading
Trump Budget Expected To Seek Historic Contraction Of Federal Workforce
White House – “Simply put, government would be smaller and less involved in regulating life in America, with private companies and states playing a much bigger role.” Trump budget expected to seek historic contraction of federal workforce – Washington Post By Damian Paletta – “President Trump’s budget proposal this week would shake the federal government… Continue Reading
24/7 Wall St – States With Highest and Lowest Taxes
“In the U.S. federalist system, each state government decides how to generate revenue — that is, which taxes to collect, and how. No state tax code is identical, and largely as a result, what the average American pays annually in taxes varies from state to state. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed each state’s tax burden —… Continue Reading
Carbon Dioxide Is Rising at Record Rate
Climate Central – “The main driver of climate change is carbon dioxide. So the fact that it is rising at rates unseen in the instrumental record — and likely much longer than that — is cause for alarm. Yet here we are. For the second year in a row, carbon dioxide concentrations as measured at… Continue Reading
Responding to the Mortgage Crisis: Three Cleveland Examples
Keating, W. Dennis and Lind, Kermit J., Responding to the Mortgage Crisis: Three Cleveland Examples (2012). Keating, W. Dennis, and Kermit J. Lind. “Responding to the mortgage crisis: Three Cleveland examples.” The Urban Lawyer (2012): 1-35.. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2931450 “The Mortgage Crisis hit Cleveland early and in circumstances different from most other cities. Cleveland… Continue Reading
