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Presidential Signing Statements 1929-2008
The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara has archived all Presidential Signing Statements from Herbert Hoover through George W. Bush.
You can search or browse by year. The signing statements are part of a much larger documents section that includes executive orders, proclamations, "fireside chats" and more.
The Project site also includes a "data" section with information such as a table of vetoes and "success rate", a section on presidential elections data (statistics) and more.
Continue readingMore about Sunshine Week
As noted here previously, Sunshine Week is coming up March 16-22. More events around it: Gabriela notified us of a a press briefing featuring Lawrence Lessig that will be webcast. Secrecy News lists several events, including: National Freedom of Information Act day will be observed on March 14 with a day-long conference sponsored by the First Amendment Center. http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/press/information/topic.aspx?topic=FOI_Day Collaboration on Government Secrecy at the American University’s Washington College of Law will hold a conference on Monday March 17. http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/founders/2008/031708.cfm OpenTheGovernment.org will hold a webcast conference on Government Secrecy at the National Press Club on March 19 and lists a Calendar of Sunshine Week Events http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/subarchive/109 Continue reading
Enhanced American FactFinder (AFF) Comments Requested
This from the Census Bureau:
Enhanced American FactFinder (AFF) Comments Requested The U.S. Census Bureau is enhancing the current American FactFinder (AFF) to add features and improve its functionality. As users of our data, we value your input and want the enhanced AFF to meet as many of your needs as possible so that you can easily access and use data available at the Census Bureau. Therefore, we would like your input about the new system. We have identified a number of improvements which are described in the link below. Please review them and then provide up to five additional items you would like to see incorporated into the new system. (Note: The survey will be available for comments beginning today, March 10 - March 31, 2008.) Given the limited resources available for enhancing the AFF, the Census Bureau may not be able to implement all the suggestions. https://questionweb.com/63144/ In an effort to reach as many users as possible, please forward this information to your colleagues and others who use data from the Census Bureau. Thanks for your time and input as we work together to make the AFF a more efficient, dynamic, and interactive data access and dissemination system. ******************************************* Nancy M. Gordon Associate Director for Strategic Planning and Innovation U.S. Census Bureau 301-763-2126 (Office) 301-763-8150 (Fax)Continue reading
The Army Monograph that Predicted Just About Everything that’s Happened in Iraq
"In October 2002, the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, in coordination with the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff/G-3, initiated a study to analyze how American and coalition forces can best address the requirements that will necessarily follow operational victory in a war with Iraq." Thus says the foreward of the monograph that is available from the Strategic Studies Institute of the the U.S. Army War College.
- Reconstructing Iraq: Insights, Challenges, and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario, February 2003, by Dr. Conrad C. Crane and Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.
There is an excerpt and a bit more about the authors at:
- The Army Monograph that Predicted Just About Everything that's Happened in Iraq, History News Network, March 10, 2008.
From the foreward of the monograph:
In October 2002, the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, in coordination with the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff/G-3, initiated a study to analyze how American and coalition forces can best address the requirements that will necessarily follow operational victory in a war with Iraq. The objectives of the project were to determine and analyze probable missions for military forces in a post-Saddam Iraq; examine associated challenges; and formulate strategic recommendations for transferring responsibilities to coalition partners or civilian organizations, mitigating local animosity, and facilitating overall mission accomplishment in the war against terrorism. The Strategic Studies Institute organized an interdisciplinary team under the leadership of Dr. Conrad C. Crane and Dr. W. Andrew Terrill. The team’s initial findings were vetted at a joint and interagency workshop conducted in December. The final report of the project consists of three parts: a discussion of historical insights from 20th century postwar occupations and post-conflict operations; an analysis of the unique challenges Iraq will present for an occupying power; and a mission matrix that lists 135 specific tasks that must be performed to build and sustain a state. The matrix arrays those tasks across four phases of occupation and designates whether coalition military forces or civilian agencies should perform them.Continue reading
Ken Burns on PBS
As you are probably aware, President Bush has proposed reducing public broadcasting funding by 56%. The New York Times asked in a recent article (Is PBS Still Necessary?, By Charles Mcgrath, New York Times, February 17, 2008) and there is now a debate about the value of Public Broadcasting in the age of cable and the Web (see for example: "Is PBS Necessary?" The Debate Moves Online, PBS Engage Blog). We have even had a few comments on this here on FGI (Is PBS passé?, by Susanna Leers, and comments).
Now Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker whose projects include "The War," "The Civil War," "Jazz" and "Baseball" (about which he says, "none of the films I have made in the last nearly 30 years could have been produced anywhere but at PBS") weighs in with an Op-Ed:
- Standing up for public television, By Ken Burns Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2008. "PBS offers an invaluable service that none of the other channels can deliver."
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