Research Blog : government, politics

Constitution Day -- September 17th

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:13:00 GMT

September 17th is the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. It's a great day to spend some time learning about this important document that affects all of us who live in the United States of America. If you click right here, you'll go to the National Archives page for the Constitution. You can read a transcript of the original and also look at images of the original document.

Here are some library resources for the Constitution:

The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, written by Jonathan Hennessey with art by Aaron McConnell

The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, edited by Jack N. Rakove

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the U.S. Constitution, by Tim Harper

U.S. Constitution for Dummies by Michael Arnheim

And for little citizens:

We the People: The Constitution of the United States of America, by Peter Spier

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, with illustrations and forward by David Catrow

The Health Care Reform Act turmoil

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Opinions and concerns abound about this issue, sometimes to the point that the facts get obscured. Can I separate all the facts from the fiction? Nope, I can be duped and sucked in as easily as the next person. But I can tell you where to go to form your own opinions undiluted by anyone else with an agenda. Thomas from the Library of Congress is an excellent site for following legislation and the workings of Congress. As a matter of fact, Thomas has made it easy for people right now. You don't even have to search for the House's health care bill. They've put up a direct link on the very front of their website. From that link, you can then read a summary of the bill, see what Committees it's been referred to, see who is sponsoring it, and read the bill word for word yourself. Be warned, the bill's over 1,000 pages long and very dense to read! That doesn't mean I think it's not worth reading; I'm just saying don't expect to skim through it on your lunch hour unless you belong to Mensa. :)

You can also get some very useful links from Congressman Brad Ellsworth's "Online Office." He has the PDF of the full bill, just as Thomas does, but he additionally has links to the committee work being done on the bill.

And while we're talking Congressmen, if you want to share your opinion, do you know who to share yours with? Indiana's Senators are Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, while Evansville's Congressman is Brad Ellsworth.

Lastly, here's on other place I like to go when I'm inundated with opinions, http://factcheck.org/. They appear non-partisan to me. They've debunked pro and con statements surrounding the health care debate. And, their website/services don't exist solely for the health care debate (it just looks that way right now :). Take a look at their Archives or Ask Factcheck to see some of the other political issues they address.

Speak your mind…opinions welcome, wanted, and appreciated

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:11:00 GMT

Hello out there to everyone in EVPL blogland,

I have a dilemma that I could use your help with. Every year I sit down to plan a workshop on useful government documents and websites (more websites than actual documents now-a-days) and every year I get overwhelmed with the glut of information I could offer… Do I focus on how to find useful health and nutrition information? Or on how to find those interesting statistics you always hear quoted from the Census and Labor Departments? Or what about consumer safety information? Or how to navigate Social Security’s website? Or how about following legislation? The list can go on and on. So, I’m opening the floor to all of you, the people that the government is trying to reach with all of this information. What do you most want to know about? What do you need help discovering? Let me know how best to help you.

Over 100 people running for President in 2008!

SuDocQueen@evpl — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:51:00 GMT

So far over one hundred people have announced or filed for candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Visit Project Vote Smart to learn about them and the front runners McCain and Obama. Project Vote Smart is a non-partisan organization endorsed by leading newspapers and journals, the United States Government, and organizations such as the American Political Science Association. The organization provides information on candidates and government officials from the national to the local level. You can access information on your elected officials from voting records to campaign finances.

New Local Newspaper

lotech@evpl — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:31:00 GMT

Free copies of a new local newspaper have appeared in our libraries: "The City County Observer". The paper describes itseilf as "A Non-Partisan Publication Dedicated to the Reporting of Your Local Government at Work". This is the first issue, August, 2008, volume 1, issue 1; the paper appears to aim for a monthly publication. Besides several articles about local government, this first issue has two pages of local candidates for the upcoming general election; the page includes thier photos and comments. A calendar of some of this month's governmental meetings appears on another page. The paper's website, http://www.citycountyobserver.com , also has a full copy of this month's paper, links to both city and county governement websites, and an archives which will apparently have past issues as new issues are published.