One of our focuses here at Sunlight Labs is to demonstrate how open data enables citizens to be engaged and informed on how Congress works. We do this by creating mashups that make information from a variety of sources easy to manipulate and understand. I recently gave a talk at a CARR Boot Camp on using the web to work with data. While not directly related to Congressional transparency, the following example from the talk is a good demonstration of how an end user can work with open data without the assistance of software developers.
Continue readingNot Beyond DeLay
CREW may have moved "Beyond DeLay" but federal investigators haven't. The Politico reports that Tom DeLay is under increasing legal jeopardy. John Bresnahan writes that the records of Ed Buckham, former DeLay chief of staff and close Jack Abramoff associate, were supboenaed by a federal grand jury investigating lawmaker and lobbyist ties to Abramoff. According to Bresnahan, "a number of ex-DeLay staffers have been subpoenaed - or voluntarily came in for questioning - by the Justice Dept. to discuss the day-to-day operations of DeLay's office, including the role Buckham played once he left DeLay's staff, according to sources familiar with the investigation."
TPM Muckraker has a great background piece on Ed Buckham and how deeply in the muck he is. Investigators in the Abramoff case, already with 10 guilty pleas and one conviction, are still moving towards other targets. So far, two former DeLay aides, Tony Rudy and Michael Scanlon, have pled guilty. While everyone is concentrated on the Juice, we're waiting to see if the Hammer is going to get nailed.
Continue readingRefresh DC: Web Widgets: What, Why, and How
Refresh is a community of web designers, developers, and other new media professionals working together to refresh the creative, technical, and professional aspects of their trades in greater Washington, DC.
Continue readingThe 25 Most Corrupt Members of Congress
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress, entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch). The report highlights the corrupt activities of each of the 25 on the list.
The report is clear evidence that corruption hasn't disappeared from Capitol Hill.
Continue readingHowdy
I'm John Brothers, and I'm the new CTO of the lab.
Continue readingStepping Up to the Plate
I've been in New York for a couple days talking with various foundations, along with a couple of our grantees, about the work of Sunlight, particuarly about how there is a paradigm shift in how disclosure happens in the Internet age -- how information is collected and disseminated and what people can do with it. So, when I was catching up on my reading this morning I was psyched to see that Dan Gillmor (a 2006 grantee), director of the Center for Citizen Media -- has challenged the nation's community foundations, suggesting that they put the survival of quality local journalism squarely on their agendas. He compares the disintegration of the country's infrastructure to the shedding of editorial staff and investigative reporters by newspapers. Just as falling bridges and crumbling highways threaten the country's economy and public safety, the demise of vibrant local newspapers spells trouble for a well-informed citizenry and the foundation of our free and open society. He's so right.
Continue readingGetting information during a “war-time situation”
I've been calling various Army public affairs officials to get some information about Blackhawk helicopters and was passed from one official to another. I finally reached the right department and I was asked to send an e-mail listing my questions.
This morning I received a reply from the Army saying that my request had been forwarded to the FOIA office. My reaction: you don't need a FOIA request to talk to or e-mail another person."
So I called them back and talked to another person in the same office who said since we were not a print publication ...
Continue readingCampaign Cash Coincidences? Murtha Gives Earmarks to Murtha Donors
Lobbyists, campaign cash and earmarks: Roll Call's Tory Newmyer, with help Taxpayers for Common Sense, shows ($$) the correlations:
Every private entity that Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) favored with an earmark in this year’s defense bill recently has given political money to the lawmaker, according to an analysis of House Appropriations and federal elections records by Roll Call and Taxpayers for Common Sense. PACs and employees of those 26 groups together have contributed $413,250 to Murtha since the beginning of 2005. He collected nearly a quarter of the sum — $100,750 — in the two weeks leading up to March 16, the original deadline for lawmakers to file their earmark requests.Murtha's not alone in this. Anu ran contribution numbers from earmark recipients favored by Rep. James Moran, a fellow appropriator, for the current election cycle: companies that are in line to receive some $24 million in earmarks contributed $75,800 to Moran's campaign committee. We didn't even get around to running the numbers for his leadership PAC yet. [Update: After running the PAC numbers, Anu found that contributions figure rises to $99,900...] Continue reading
Congressional Subpoena Watch
The Washington Post reports that 13 members of the House of Representatives have received subpoenas in connection with the trial of Brent Wilkes, one of the contractors alleged to be involved in the Randy "Duke" Cunningham bribery case:
The defense contractor charged with bribing convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham has subpoenaed 13 House members, including former speaker J. Dennis Hastert, to testify in his federal trial.But the 13 lawmakers are refusing the subpoena, and the House general counsel sent lawyers for the contractor, Brent R. Wilkes, a letter saying that it was overly broad and "did not elaborate ...
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Best VECO Investigation Coverage
This morning a friend of mine, who is an Alaska resident, called me to ask if I could use the power of the Internet to find out if the state had released the total amount of money that he gets from the state oil dividend program, i.e.: free money for residents from oil revenues. This led me to the Anchorage Daily News Web site where the main story was, of course, the on-going investigation and court trials of Alaska politicians and oil company executives. If you're looking for coverage of this massive statewide scandal, the ADN is the place to go. I was really impressed by the amount of multimedia they have on their site. From ADN, I've embedded below the testimony of VECO executive Bill Allen where he admits to using personal funds and VECO employees to work on Sen. Ted Stevens home remodeling project, a center piece to the investigation of the senior Senator from Alaska. Allen does not sound comfortable here.
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