ShowUsTheData.com
The Sunlight Foundation, Open The Government and the Center for Democracy and Technology have done it again. They've created yet another cool initiative called Show Us the Data for you to "identify the 10 Most Wanted Government Documents, Reports or Data Sets that should be available on the Web"!
Is the federal government putting the information you need online? Are there categories of unclassified documents or data that you know exist–on paper or in government computers and databases–that would be of value to the public if posted and regularly updated on an agency's Web site? If so, then help Open The Government and the Center for Democracy and Technology identify the 10 Most Wanted Government Documents, Reports or Data Sets that should be available on the Web. Use this site to tell us what data you want and who has it, (“Request a Document”) or add your vote (up to three times) to the suggestions others have made. The deadline to submit documents and vote is March 9, 2009Continue reading
Virginia asks citizens for stimulus ideas on web
The Commonwealth has developed a website for citizens, groups, localities, and others to use to share project proposals for potential funding from the expected federal stimulus package. As the stimulus package becomes finalized, more information and details will be made available on this site. ...These suggestions will be posted on the Virginia Stimulus webpage and shared with state government officials. All the information will be public.It has a page of proposals and is making the data available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Continue reading
New web site: FinancialStability.gov
This site already has press realeases, webcasts, and fact sheets: FinancialStability.gov.
On Tuesday, February 10th, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined a comprehensive plan to restore stability to our financial system. In the address, Secretary Geithner discussed the Obama Administration’s strategy to strengthen our economy by getting credit flowing again to families and businesses, while imposing new measures and conditions to strengthen accountability, oversight and transparency in how taxpayer dollars are spent. And Secretary Geithner explained how the financial stability plan will be critical in supporting an effective and lasting economic recovery. For more information, please visit http://www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/Continue reading
Won’t Get Fooled Again: Day 21
The new regimes in the White House and Capitol Hill continue their complicated policy waltz to seriously address the ongoing financial failures. Waiting for the turn on the dance card, advocates for free government information must surely grasp that the revelations and revolutions so hotly anticipated after last year's elections remain just that -- anticipations. We are still in tactical mode with our federal government (and state governments) when it comes to information technology and proactive and deliberative civic information policy. Yes -- agencies use social networking tools, cloud-computing and liberation of CRS reports by non-profit groups make more information easily accessible, and the use of twitter, blogs and otheer "push technologies" by elected officials deepen the connection betwen the elected and those who sent them into public service. But is there a strategy? Has the Obama team, or the democratic leadership in Congress for that matter, revealed any long-term plans that take advantage of technology's democratic possibilities? Not really. If free government information advocates believe it is only a matter of time, the struggle for restoring confidence in the economy is necessarily taking precedence, then one would hope to see indications of the promised innovation and strategy. But that didn't happen. The stimulus legislation is mired in political horse trading, with much of the money supposed to address information infrastructure issues gutted from the Senate version. Other commentators reflect on just how much the the president's current efforts fall far short of the electoral promise in education or the treasury proposals to shore up the banking industry. That is not to say Obama is little better than Bush. Not at all. What I am saying is that if any progressive or deliberative effort to strategically improve the country's vastly complicated civic information infrastructure through better institutions and use of technology is going to have to come from the grassroots. So here again is one more reason to get involved at at the local, state and national level to shape and proposed the variety of proposals from government groups, library groups and citizen groups. In November the revolution won might be characterized in this way -- we are now able to talk about government as a POSITIVE force in our society. The revolution we wage now is to move beyond the rhetoric and put into something "shovel ready" into motion. It won't happen any other way. See you on day 22. Continue reading
Won’t Get Fooled Again: Day 20
In all the talk about the civic potential for digital information and local libraries, and there is much good and solid talk, the underlying economics of our institutions is often not on the agenda. With the economic crisis slowly spreading is pall over the nation, one has to wonder what the immediate future holds for any of our proposals for a more permanent and public system of access to government information. Just here in Illinois, which is looking at a possible nine billion and the University of Illinois must consider its own financial future challenges. One is more than sure these economic choices are being made in thousands of libraries around the country. So let me add another topic to discuss with our community -- the economics of libraries and their worth to the people they serve. Here is one insightful article about the range of funding mechanisms used throughout Illinois. See you on Day 21 Continue reading