Snopes: Obama Lends $2 Billion to Brazilian Oil CompanyHeard the one about how the President Obama is spending billions on offshore drilling…in Brazil? Snopes rates it “mostly false.” This is another case of conservatives getting riled up about something that's not true and dates from President Bush's time in the White House. ThinkProgress: Exxon Makes …
Tag Archives: congress
Links for May 5th
Wikipedia: Timeline of Web BrowsersA family tree for web browsers. There are a lot of browsers here I hadn't thought of for years. HotJava, ViolaWWW, and Cello, in particular. Voice of America: Historian Recounts Role of Chinese Americans Who Fought in US Civil WarIn 1861, there were only 200 Asians living in the Eastern U.S. …
Links for April 26th
Letters of Note: On bureaucratese and gobbledygookThis is a delightful memo sent by Civil Aeronautics Board chairman Alfred E. Kahn to the organization's top staff in 1977, begging them to please stop writing in "bureaucratese," and to instead use "straightforward, quasi-conversational, humane prose." He provides some specific examples that still apply nicely today. Wikipedia: List …
Hurt is “on the same page” as the Tea Party.
Rep. Robert Hurt on the Tea Party: We’re all on the same page. We’re singing off the same sheet of music. Let’s just get that on the record.
Links for April 10th
Reuters: China tells U.S. to quit as human rights judgeOne of the perils of the U.S.'s decade-old habit of engaging in torture is that we can't pretend to be outraged when other countries do the same. We're a role model. Wikipedia: Trailer (film)The MPAA caps the length of trailers at 2:30, though studios are allowed …
Links for April 6th
Guardian: Honeybees ‘entomb’ hives to protect against pesticides, say scientistsBees are awesome. New York Times: More Physicians Say No to Endless WorkdaysI'm glad to see that more doctors are ditching the habit of working endless hours. Though I appreciate that a small-town doctor or a specialist has an obligation to always be available, it's great …
Links for March 25th
The Washington Post: Shining some sunlight on $200 million in Virginia tax breaksDelegates David Toscano and Lee Ware propose some more stringent criteria for providing new tax credits. The annual tax credits that Virginia provides to the coal industry alone come to $100M/year, or $15/year/citizen. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: So, How Do We Put Elizabeth …
Tea Party disappointed by Hurt’s inaccessibility.
The Tea Party is upset with Rep. Robert Hurt: The group gathered in the parking lot outside Hurt’s Berkmar Circle office for about half an hour. After a few speeches, the crowd dispersed, with some attendees going to speak to office staff who were inside handling casework. Some were upset that no representative from Hurt’s …
Continue reading “Tea Party disappointed by Hurt’s inaccessibility.”
Links for March 15th
FOIA.govWoot! It's not just open government—it's open government about open government. Virginia needs one of these. Virginian Pilot: Va. House members back redistricting planThe state's House of Representatives delegation have agreed on a redistricting plan that would protect all incumbents. Let's all pause and put on our best surprised faces. Griffith's district grows to take …
Links for March 3rd
Science Daily: Eastern cougar is extinct, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concludesWell, that sucks. They figure it's been extinct since the 1930s. This isn't to say that cougars don't still exist in the eastern U.S., just that the rare specimens are not, in fact, of the eastern cougar species. Data Center Knowledge: Congressman Defeats IBM’s …