CBSNews.com: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officers in each branch of the military, sent a remarkable memo to all members of the armed forces on Tuesday reminding them of their duty to uphold the Constitution and reaffirming that President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. “The American people have trusted the… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Congress
Everything Is Different Now
The Atlantic – Tom Junod: The U.S. Capitol did not fall the way the Twin Towers did, but the American idea it embodies was brutalized. “We must remember 1/6 the way we remember 9/11….The attack on the U.S. Capitol was not a shock, because the people who perpetrated it did not come from out of the… Continue Reading
House introduces article of impeachment against President for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’
“U.S. Congressmen David N. Cicilline (RI-01), Ted Lieu (CA-33), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) introduced an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump this morning. The impeachment resolution is sponsored by Cicilline, with Lieu and Raskin serving as the two lead co-sponsors. It is also co-sponsored by another 211 members of the U.S. House. The article… Continue Reading
The Capitol riot and its aftermath makes the case for tech regulation more urgent, but no simpler
TechCrunch: “Last week and throughout the weekend, technology companies took the historic step of deplatforming the president of the United States in the wake of a riot in which the US Capitol was stormed by a collection of white nationalists, QAnon supporters, and right wing activists. The decision to remove Donald Trump, his fundraising and… Continue Reading
The Social Security Administration’s Death Data: In Brief
CRS report via LC – The Social Security Administration’s Death Data: In Brief, Updated January 11, 2021: “The Social Security Administration (SSA) acquires and maintains death data to administer the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, including preventing the improper payment of benefits to deceased individuals and identifying individuals who are potentially eligible… Continue Reading
Experts explain how disinformation online helped fuel the attack on the Capitol
Poynter – How did we get here?: “The world changed last week after rioters infiltrated the U.S. Capitol building and disrupted our legislative and democratic process. It was an event most people did not see coming, but others have worried about for months, if not years. Disinformation and misinformation researchers, online content verification analysts and… Continue Reading
How to Change Your Political Party Affiliation
Lifehacker: “Aside from one Republican Senator who’s currently mulling a decision to switch her political affiliation, Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol hasn’t necessarily compelled Republican lawmakers to flee the party en masse. The Trump era, with its normalization of incendiary rhetoric, only saw a handful of lawmakers switch their affiliations out of contempt for the… Continue Reading
A Civilian’s Guide to Insurrection Legalese
The Marshall Project – Everyone’s talking about sedition, treason and conspiracy. Here’s what these terms actually mean and how they’ve been enforced. “In the 24 hours since a mob incited by the president of the United States stormed the Capitol attempting to halt the functioning of American democracy, the news media and everyone else have… Continue Reading
Advanced Searches Using Legislative Action Codes on Congress.gov
In Custodia Legis: “The following is a guest post by senior legal reference librarian Beth Osborne. Recently, one of my colleagues from the blog team asked me if I knew of any “hidden treasures” at the Law Library of Congress that I wanted to mention in her recent post. Of course, I realized she was… Continue Reading
Post-Riot, the Capitol Hill IT Staff Faces a Security Mess
Wired – Wednesday’s insurrection could have exposed congressional data and devices in ways that have yet to be appreciated. “…the mob Wednesday had ample opportunities to steal information or gain device access if they wanted to. And while the Senate and House each build off of their own shared IT framework, ultimately each of the… Continue Reading
The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears
MIT Technology Review: “As a violent mob incited by President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on January 6, halting the procedure in Congress to formally certify Joe Biden as president-elect, a Redditor with the username Adam Lynch began a thread on the subreddit r/DataHoarder—a forum dedicated to saving data that might be erased or… Continue Reading
Masked and armed rioters who were inside the Capitol intent on violence
Slate – They Were Out for Blood – “The men who carried zip ties as they stormed the Capitol weren’t clowning around. “…But there were other rioters inside the Capitol, if you look at the images. And once you see them, it’s impossible to look away. The zip-tie guys. Call the zip ties by their… Continue Reading
