is your government information glass half full or...

half empty? Well, if you are using Google to search specific government agency websites, you'd be looking at a pretty half empty glass! According to this article, only about half of the information on an agency's website will be revealed by a specific domain search. As a remedy, it seems, some agencies are building site maps o be compatible with the Google algorhythm. So, depending on how many agencies comply, this may end up being a case of the government going to where the people are instead of expecting the people to be able to figure it out.

what's in your food?

A neat source from the Agricultural Research Service, the What's in the Food You Eat Search Tool is an engine designed to find out what kind of nutrients. You can search by keyword or food code (kinda sorta like NAICS codes), and it really helps if the term you enter into the search box is exactly how it's used in the database. For example, "hotdog" won't work, but "hot dog" will yield 35 food codes, including number 25210150 (frankfurter or hot dog, cheese filled). So, the next time you find yourself at J Street eating a slice of 58106210 or a 58100140 (hold the guac), you might want to have a looksee to find out what you're really eating.

using myspace and facebook in the library?

Of course you are, and don't worry-- I'm not going to stop you.

But, the United States government might. If you happen to be under 18, Congress is worried about protecting you from social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. HR 5319 from the 109th Congress is an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934 and specifically seeks to "protect against access to a commercial social networking website or chat room unless used for an educational purpose with adult supervision."

Sounds like that idea on how to work FaceBook into your UW 20 paper might not be such a bad idea after all.

aviation security three ways

The executive branch of the government has just released the National Strategy for Aviation Security, a 29-page document that should explain just why we need to put our contact lens liquid and hair product in a plastic bag not even big enough for a sandwich. The White House has released this document on their website, along with its own spin, while the Department of Homeland Security goes into a bit more detail.

Who is Number One?

According to George Mason University's Mercatus Center, the Government Agency who is best at informing the public is (drumroll...) the Department of Transportation, with the Department of Labor and Veterans Affairs (a good thing, with all that identity theft experienced last year). Who scored poorly, you ask? Well, oddly enough, it's the agencies we might need the most: Health and Human Services scored lowest, with Office of Personnel Management (i.e., the government's Human Resources division) all the way at the bottom.

Want to read the whole report? Click here.

still unprepared

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security has created a web page for items related to their Hurricane Katrina report Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared (yet another in the long line of reports from the White House and House of Reps). This page contains links to documents requested to create the report, as well as additional points of view from some select senators.