hurricanes by the numbers

Earlier this month, the Census Bureau released Hurricane Data and Emergency Preparedness, an electronic resource showing the impact of last year's storms. This source includes estimates of the population of the affected areas, and compares the data to the 2005 American Community Survey.

check out my stat abs!

The Census Bureau has taken my beloved favorite, the Statistical Abstract of the United States into the 21st Century!

The home page for this source, subtitled The National Data Book, has gotten a facelift to include more web-friendly navigation (note the side menu of categories) and even excel files to download. These improvements are only applied to the most recent edition (2006), which means you might could create a real pretty pie chart displaying Household Pet Ownership in 2001, but you couldn't create a chart to assess trends in pet ownership over a decade or so unless you wanted to plug in the numbers yourself.

Of cousre, the best use of this amazing source is by browsing the print... the most recent edition lives on the Ready Reference shelf (sandwiched in between the Reference and Circulation desks) and on the fourth floor of Gelman under the call number HA205 .A51.

because a duck may be somebody's mother

Brand spankin' new today! Google announces that they've launched a new U.S. Government Search!

But really, how new is it?

Not so new, really. Some of you might be familiar with Google/Unclesam, which the company hasn't really done a whole lot to promote. It searches across federal and state government websites, along with agencies and other "selected" pages. This seems to be the same M.O. for this new fangled search, so I tested it. I generically searched for "immigration bill" and you know what happened? I got the same exact results from both engines.

So what's the deal? Is Google just recycling an underused engine, or do they really mean to do something different? And also, what's the difference between this and FirstGov's Clustered search powered by Vivisimo?

And more importantly, it just begs for me to point out that it's not really so much about the search engine, but about what data government agencies are making available on their websites. These entities are notoriously stingy with what they make available electronically. It's what I call "the love you make is equal to the love you take" theory of information dissemination. If the agencies actually want us to find stuff, first, they gotta get it out there!

100 Years of Consumer Spending

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has just released 100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending: Data for the Nation, New York City, and Boston, a report with some fantastic data about life in America (full disclosure: I'm thanked in the acknowlegements!). This time, the writers of the report took a longitudinal approach to incorporate significant events in time and effects on demographics and the economy.

2005 Report on Religious Freedom

The House of Representatives' Committee on International Relations relased this report in April, which is a country-by-country tally of religious freedom. Appendicies include an overview of U.S. refugee policy, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Department of Homeland Security's stance on the International Religious Freedom Act.

for the journalist in all of us

Loyal Govdocs@Gelman reader Heidi Glenn alerted us to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery. Designed for reporters who cover the Senate, it's a one-stop for daily events and conferences and all sorts of things that make the press drool (like contact information for press secretaries!)... put on your scoop hat and get to it!

Meausring Stability and Security in Iraq

The May edition of Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, was just released by the Department of Defense. This report features charts and graphs, some depicting election turn out and the growth of electoral participation. Other reports can be found here.

global warming

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program just relased the first of hopefully more "interpreted products" (meaning that it does not reflect policies, just the facts ma'am): Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences. Downloadable all in one swoop as an 180-page PDF; or, as individual sections and chapters. Notable features include a glossary and acronyms section so you can impress your friends with your knowledge of the technical side when you go see Al Gore's new movie.

S.2611 makes its way through the Senate

Last night, the Senate passed S.2611: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.

There were 62 yays, 36 nays, and 2 Senators who didn't vote. For the breakdown by vote, party, and state, go here.

Homeland Security Digital Library

The Department of Homeland Security has released an electronic library of sorts, or at least a portal for information for policy issues. It requires a log-in (no gmail or yahoo, please-- you need to prove your academic or professional need for the material), but once you're there, it's free! And, it utilizes a pretty fancy cross-database search engine called SeekOnce (based on a really cool National Library of Medicine developed tool called ToxSeek), which allows you to search in more than once place all at once (get it-- Seek Once?!). Some of the HSDL's functions are available without the log-in,

A review of the library can be found here.

No hablo Ingles

Lots of immigration action on the Senate floor yesterday, including this amendment submitted by Ken Salazar (D-CO) to ammend the immigration bill to include English as the country's national language and some redesign of the citizenship test.

From the Congressional Record (links to key documents provided by me):

SA 4067. Mr. SALAZAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2611, to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: §161. Declaration of English

English is the common language of the United States that helps provide unity for the people of the United States. §162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the national language

The Government of the United States shall preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language of America. Unless otherwise authorized or provided for by law, no person has a legal entitlement to services authorized or provided for by the Federal Government in any language other than English.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.--A The table of chapters for title 4, United States Code, is amended by adding at the Language of the Government of the United States.

Section 767. Requirements for Naturalization

(a) FINDINGS.--The Senate makes the following findings:

a. Under United States law (8 USC 1423 (a)), lawful permanent residents of the United States who have immigrated from foreign countries must, among other requirements, demonstrate an understanding of the English language, United States history and Government, to become citizens of the United States.

b. The Department of Homeland Security is currently conducting a review of the testing process used to ensure prospective United States citizens demonstrate said knowledge of the English language and United States history and government for the purpose of redesigning said test.

(b) DEFINITIONS.--for purposes of this section only, the following words are defined:

(1) KEY DOCUMENTS.--The term `key documents' means the documents that established or explained the foundational principles of democracy in the United States, including the United States Constitution and the amendments to the Constitution (particularly the bill of rights) Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

(2) KEY EVENTS.--The term `key events' means the critical turning points in the history of the United States (including the American Revolution, the Civil War, the world wars of the twentieth century, the civil rights movement, and the major court decisions and legislation) that contributed to extending the promise of democracy in American life.

(3) KEY IDEAS.--The term `key ideas' means the ideas that shaped the democratic institutions and heritage of the United States, including the notion of equal justice under the law, freedom, individualism, human rights, and a belief in progress.

(4) KEY PERSONS.--The term `key persons' means the men and women who led the United States as founding fathers, elected officials, scientists, inventors, pioneers, advocates of equal rights, entrepreneurs, and artists.

(c) GOALS FOR CITIZENSHIP TEST REDESIGN.--The Department of Homeland Security shall establish as goals of the testing process designed to comply with provisions of [8 USC 1423 (a)] that prospective citizens:

a. demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the English language for usage in everyday life;

b. demonstrate an understanding of American common values and traditions, including the principles of the Constitution of the United States, the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the flag of the United States, the National Anthem, and voting in public elections;

c. demonstrate an understanding of the history of the United States, including the key events, key persons, key ideas, and key documents that shaped the institutions and democratic heritage of the United States; and

d. demonstrate an attachment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and the well being and happiness of the people of the United States; and

e. demonstrate an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.

(d) IMPLEMENTATION.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement changes to the testing process designed to ensure compliance with [8 U.S.C. 1423(a)] not later than January 1, 2008.

In the News

According to OMB Watch, Congress is about to vote on legislation that would change the reporting schedule and what actually gets reported for the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory Public Data Report (click for the 2004 Report, the most recent edition), and read the whole appropriations bill here.

Yesterday was a big day for immigration legislation

The Senate began consideration of bill the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S.2611) and took a few actions on it. Read the debate as it appears in the Congressional Record here. And read the President's prime time speech here.

Thermy Thermometer

The wonderful folks at Evergreen State College have just released a new website featuring scans of coloring books published by government agencies: http://www.evergreen.edu/library/govdocs/coloringbooks.html

I highly recommend the Food Saftey Mobile Coloring Book.

a must read before summer break

The White House, along with the Department of Homeland Security, has released the National Strategy for Pandemic Influence Implementation Plan. This link will take you to a 233 page PDF of what to do in case of an outbreak of Bird Flu.

Spies Like Us

Michael V. Haden, Bush's new nominee to head the C.I.A., is the chief architect for the NSA's wiretapping project. The 2005 report of this project was recently released, and you can read all about it here: http://www.uscourts.gov/wiretap05/contents.html.

Previous wiretap reports are also online.

Happy Birthday, America's Highways!

The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System turns 50 next month, and to celebrate, The Federal Highway Administration has created a website! Lots of neat history about how we travel our great nation, and a really cool interactive road density map that shows the development of highways over the decades. And, maybe you'll want to play some of the songs from FHA's list of car/travel songs during your summer road trip!

Track that Legislation!

Occasionally, non-government organizations will figure out a way to get government information out into the ether in a more efficient format than good old Uncle Sam. One such website is GovTrack.us, a site that provides access to info about bills and legislation that, according to creator Joshua Tauberer, is less biased than the media and less boring than C-SPAN. Information can be sent via email, RSS/ATOM feeds, or you can even embed code into your own website. Now that's some useful government!

Jane Jacobs Legacy in Action

Legendary urban planner Jane Jacobs passed away earlier this week. She's most noted for her book Death and Life of Great American Cities (NA 9108 .J3, on the 5th floor of Gelman) and for her activisim during Robert Moses' reign on New York City.

To see her legacy in action, read about the Federal Transit Administration's Livable Communities Initiative.

USAPATRIOT Act: Re-uppage

1/3/06: H.R. 3199 was issued to extend the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The short title, of course: the USAPATRIOT Act.

The link is to the 86 page PDF of the bill presented in the House, but the final version of the bill, as it passed in both chambers of Congress, can be found on thomas.gov by searching the Bill number.