What Should The Next President Read?
I'm begging your indulgence for a post that's not really within the scope of Free Government Information, but should be of interest to the many pro and amateur policy wonks out there. I got to thinking that no matter who wins in November, the next President will face some major challenges. But many of these challenges require knowledge and ways of thought that haven't seemed to be common to our political leaders. So, being a good librarian, I created a reading/viewing list for the next President. I used OCLC Open WorldCat to build my list and you can find it at http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/dcornwall/lists/188566. I tried to keep the list short because I know the next President may well be too busy to read much other than reports from his staff and hopefully some outside sources once in a while. Here are my choices:
Rosenberg, M. B. (2001). The basics of nonviolent communication an introductory training in nonviolent communication. Sherman, TX: Center for Nonviolent Communication. York, S., & Sheen, M. (2001). Bringing down a dictator. [Washington, D.C.]: York Zimmerman. Flynn, S. E. (2007). The edge of disaster: rebuilding a resilient nation. New York: Random House. Theoharis, A. G. (2004). The FBI & American democracy: a brief critical history. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. York, S., & Kingsley, B. (2000). A force more powerful. [Princeton, NJ]: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Muller, R. (2007). Physics for future Presidents, supreme court justices, congressmen, CEOs, diplomats, professors, and other world leaders. Southbank, Victoria: Thomson. Beck, A. T. (1999). Prisoners of hate: the cognitive basis of anger, hostility, and violence. New York: HarperCollins. Prothero, S. R. (2007). Religious literacy: what every American needs to know--and doesn't. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco.You can read the reasons for my choices on my list. I think all these items could be consumed and digested between the election and Inauguration Day. What do *You* think the next President read or watch? Make up your own WorldCat list and post the link to the list here. Tell your friends to make up their own lists. If enough people take up this call, maybe I'll search for ways to get the lists to the attention of our next chief executive. Continue reading
Ringtones from Your Government
Did you know that a number of government agencies offer free ringtones for your cell phone? Here are the ones we know about
- US Federal Agencies
- Army
- GoArmy.com Games and Downloads http://www.goarmy.com/downloads/ringtones.jsp - Here you *could* get a ringtone of a DI telling you to "drop and give me 20!", but I'd go for the Army Strong theme. I can so see it in many bold action movies.
- Army
- US States and Localities
- Arizona
- Arizona Fish and Game Department - http://www.azgfd.gov/downloads/ringtones.shtml - Includes ringtones for eagles, elk, wild turkeys, coyotes, rattlesnakes and more
- Kentucky
- Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources - http://fw.ky.gov/ringtonedownloads.asp - Want an angry bear to announce you've got a call? This is the place to go! Or perhaps you'd prefer a barred owl or gray tree frog
- Arizona
Need more ringtones? Go to usa.gov and search on "ringtones." One caution, some of the pages, especially from schools, appear to have been spammed. Look for site excerpt featuring complete sentences and a meaningful page title. Do you have a gov't agency ringtone you'd like to share? Let us know in comments. Ringtones can come from any level of government from around the world, but must be identifiable as an official government agency page! Continue reading
Public Resource makes CFR available for free
Carl Malamud and Public.Resource.Org, Inc. is at work again, freeing what should be free. He has purchased the Code of Federal Regulations from GPO and is making it publicly available without charge. This is the raw, SGML and images version that GPO sells for over $17,000. Carl says:
Our intent in purchasing this product is to make it available in raw format on the Internet for access by anonymous FTP. We will not charge for access, nor will we restrict usage by the imposition of any license agreements. Since public documents are defined as “public property” in 44 USC 1119, this deployment of the raw feed of the Code will make it available for all to use without restriction and will allow for-profit and non-profit entities to construct alternative versions of the CFR.See details here and Public Resource's GPO page. Continue reading
Government Tweets
Did you know that the first announcement of the discovery of ice on Mars was by NASA on Twitter.com? Did you know that the Joint Forces Command and the Office on Women's Health in the Health and Human Services Department are using twitter to announce speaking engagements and deliver medical news and advice? Did you know that you can receive Twitter messages on your cell phone, or your instant messaging client, or by e-mail, or via other Web 2.0 applications, such as Facebook? Welcome to the new world of government communication.
- Psst! Are you Twittering yet?, By Heather B. Hayes, FCW, August 25, 2008.
Lunchtime Listen: All Your Tommorows Today: history of RAND
This is one of the reasons why I love the Web. Last year, BBC's Radio 3 Sunday feature broadcast a radio story by UK journalist and fringe explorer Ken Hollings about the RAND corporation (can also be accessed here). RAND (standing for Research ANd Development), the first think tank, was once dubbed the ‘malevolent university’ and influencer of presidents. I wouldn't have even heard this fascinating history if not for the Web as it was recently posted to BoingBoing. Wikipedia's article on [w:RAND] has an amazing list of notable RAND participants including more than 30 Nobel Prize winners. RAND has been highly influential on US foreign and public policy since WWII. I highly recommend listening to this one! [Thanks BoingBoing!] Continue reading