Washington Post: “A member of Congress called for the impeachment of a sitting Supreme Court justice, complaining that the justice had supported the idea that violence and rebellion against the government may be justified under some circumstances. The member noted that the code of ethics for federal judicial officers, which included the concept of recusal… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
AI Now 2023 Landscape Report
AI Now Institute – Confronting Tech Power Report [103 pages PDF]: “This report highlights a set of approaches that, in concert, will collectively enable us to confront tech power. Some of these are bold policy reforms that underscore the need for bright-line rules and structural curbs. Others identify popular policy responses that, because they fail… Continue Reading
How to avoid sticker shock on prescriptions
Consumer Reports via Washington Post: “Do you experience sticker shock when you’re at a pharmacy to fill prescriptions? Many older people say they have. Eleven percent of Americans 65 and older — 6 million people — report that they or a loved one have skipped prescribed meds to save money, according to a 2021 Gallup… Continue Reading
The Four Quadrants of American Politics
The Atlantic: “Control of the House of Representatives could teeter precariously for years as each party consolidates its dominance over mirror-image demographic strongholds. That’s the clearest conclusion of a new analysis of the demographic and economic characteristics of all 435 congressional districts, conducted by the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California in… Continue Reading
The gun that divides a nation
Washington Post: ‘The AR-15 thrives in times of tension and tragedy. This is how it came to dominate the marketplace – and loom so large in the American psyche. The AR-15 wasn’t supposed to be a bestseller. The rugged, powerful weapon was originally designed as a soldiers’ rifle in the late 1950s. “An outstanding weapon… Continue Reading
Visualizing Political Bias in Bicameral Legislatures
The Economist – See the visualization here: “Left-of-centre Americans often bemoan their country’s Senate, in which each state gets two seats regardless of population. This has always given the least populous states extra sway in the upper chamber of Congress. But in recent years, smaller states have become more Republican, and Democrats have called for… Continue Reading
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan Issues Sweeping Subpoenas to Universities Studying Misinformation
Pro Publica: “In the subpoenas, Jordan asserted that the schools may have contributed to the Biden administration’s “censorship regime by advising on so-called misinformation. House Republicans have sent letters to at least three universities and a think tank requesting a broad range of documents related to what it says are the institutions’ contributions to the… Continue Reading
How AI could write our laws
MIT Technology News: “Nearly 90% of the multibillion-dollar federal lobbying apparatus in the United States serves corporate interests. In some cases, the objective of that money is obvious. Google pours millions into lobbying on bills related to antitrust regulation. Big energy companies expect action whenever there is a move to end drilling leases for federal… Continue Reading
Forecasting potential misuses of language models for disinformation campaigns and how to reduce risk
“OpenAI researchers collaborated with Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and the Stanford Internet Observatory to investigate how large language models might be misused for disinformation purposes. The collaboration included an October 2021 workshop bringing together 30 disinformation researchers, machine learning experts, and policy analysts, and culminated in a co-authored report building on… Continue Reading
DOJ – Trump can be sued for Jan. 6 riot harm
AP: “Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot. In court papers, the Justice Department urged a federal… Continue Reading
Domestic Terrorism: Further Actions Needed to Strengthen FBI and DHS Collaboration to Counter Threats
Domestic Terrorism: Further Actions Needed to Strengthen FBI and DHS Collaboration to Counter Threats, GAO-23-104720 Published: Feb 22, 2023. Publicly Released: Feb 28, 2023. “Incidents of domestic terrorism increased by 357% between 2013 and 2021. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are charged with collaborating to prevent domestic threats. Although they work together… Continue Reading
New Options for Member Alerts
In Custodia Legis – Congress.gov February 2023 New, Tip, and Top: “Congress.gov uses an iterative design process to get new features and enhancements to you quickly. With the January release Robert shared that member remarks are now included with sponsored and cosponsored legislation on member profile pages. With today’s release, we build on that by… Continue Reading
