In last week’s Tools for Transparency post I broke down how I use Google Reader to stay on top of... View Article
Continue readingData Visualeggzation
Months ago, Josh and Tim bought an Egg-Bot kit from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. Despite the obvious utility of this piece of office equipment, it fell into disuse not too long after assembly. But with the year's premiere egg-decorating holiday fast approaching, we decided to dust off the Egg-Bot and see if we couldn't put it to good use during our team's weekly lunch meeting. Things kind of spiraled out of control from there. We blame the sugar high from eating all that candy.
Continue readingSen. Ensign Resigns Amid Ethics Investigation
No longer will I be able to use the word “cuckold” on this blog. Sen. John Ensign will no longer... View Article
Continue readingThe Day in Transparency 4/22/2011
Here is Friday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News... View Article
Continue readingSenator Carper Writes To Vivek Kundra About E-Gov Cut Implications
Calling the cuts to the e-gov fund potentially “penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Delaware Senator Tom Carper wrote yesterday to federal CIO... View Article
Continue readingSunrise (4/22/11)
DRAFT EO ON CITIZENS UNITED WOULD COVER THOUSANDS OF COMPANY CONTRIBUTIONS —Sunlight: “During the 2010 midterm election David and Charles... View Article
Continue readingDraft Executive Order On Outside Spending Disclosure Would Have Sweeping Reach
During the 2010 midterm election David and Charles Koch, owners of the massive energy conglomerate Koch Industries, became the face... View Article
Continue readingWhat we don’t know about doctors
As political debate rages in Washington about how to reform the nation’s $509 billion Medicare system, a hearing is taking place in a Florida courtroom today about making data available to the public on how much individual physicians are paid under the program.
Though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that some $48 billion in improper payments were billed last year to the massive federal program--much of which is driven by health care providers including physicians--the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintains that a 1979 court order bars publication of government records ...
Continue readingThe Day in Transparency 4/21/2011
Here is Thursday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News... View Article
Continue readingNew On Influence Explorer: Fundraisers, Bills and More
One of the primary goals of our site Influence Explorer is to show users a wide variety of influence data on one page. Today we're expanding the scope of influence data by integrating with three important Sunlight projects: Party Time, Lobbying Registration Tracker and OpenCongress. Along with integration with these sites we're also including new data from our partner organization, Center for Responsive Politics, that gives a far more accurate picture of the campaign donations of registered lobbyists.
Continue reading
