Library Stuff

AP – “The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too. U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.”

See also, “EFF Posts Documents Detailing Law Enforcement Collection of Data From Social Media Sites.”

NYT – “Indeed, Mr. Obama’s administration has posted White House visitor logs online, it has made public the once-classified memorandums on torture policies in the George W. Bush administration, and it has developed an internal system for archiving its own unclassified e-mail messages. But a new report released Sunday by a private research group, the National Security Archive, suggests that the results of Mr. Obama’s push for transparency have been decidedly mixed across the federal government, with progress slow and erratic.”

More here

Denver Post – “Treasurer Cary Kennedy’s efforts to show Coloradans how their money is spent will help keep government accountable.”

Access the database here

AP – “Blending behind-the-scenes nuggets with a defense of President Barack Obama’s record, White House and administration officials increasingly are communicating through Twitter. The popular social network is operating as a Web-based clearinghouse for public statements on weighty subjects (the federal budget) and the mundane (personal grocery lists). It’s similar to a bulletin board where anyone can post short notes and users cull the pieces they see by choosing to “follow” individuals’ account.”

FCW – “The Veterans Affairs Department debuts VA.gov/Open today, its new Web page that highlights ongoing VA open government initiatives to improve transparency and public engagement. The Web page includes a link to a new VA dashboard application that shows the status of the VA Office of Information Technology projects. The dashboard lists 81 projects with nine indicators for each project, such as requirements and cost schedule. Green dots indicate “Project on Track” status, yellow dots signify “Project Slipping” and red dots indicate “Project Failing.”

Direct to the site.

Michigan Messenger – E-government promises enhanced services often at a lower cost

White House – “In support of the President’s Open Government Initiative — and in keeping with a 40-year history of bringing government information to the public — GSA’s Office of Citizen Services is hosting the dialog, Your Voice Matters. Your Voice Matters invites the public to post ideas for improving USA.gov, the U.S. government’s official web portal.

Direct to Your Voice Matters

News at Princeton – “Edward Felten and Stephen Schultze use computers as flashlights. The Princeton computer scientists recently oversaw the launch of two Web-based technologies to illuminate the workings of government by making court records and the federal government’s “newspaper,” the Federal Register, easily accessible online.”

See RECAP
See FedThread

Save The Internet – “There is a silent battle occurring in Washington, D.C., over our ability to freely access and exchange information through our last unbiased medium, the Internet. The telecom industry is feverishly buying up policy-makers in an attempt to block new, unanimously approved FCC regulations on Internet service providers.”

USA Today – “The independent, non-profit organization, which focuses on investigative journalism, says it has “cleaned out the cobwebs and added thousands of records the feds didn’t include to create the most complete and search able analysis of stimulus spending available anywhere.”

Direct to the project