Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Government Accountability Made Easy–a tutorial

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Clearly if I want to know about past or present bills, in the House or the Senate, I go to thomas.gov

It’s website is fairly straightforward to use.  You can search for a bill by it’s number or text.  You can search by a Senator or Congressman.  And even once there, you can see what has happened to that bill.

It reminds me of the best learning tool on our government, and Lord knows since we’ve lost the press to the corporations and we’ve lost government classes to NCLB, it’s important that we bring some of this back!

Of course School House Rock may seem like the dark ages to some, especially in the days of opensecrets.org and the Comedy Network.

So lets go check out opensecrets.org, first.

http://opensecrets.org/

Opensecrets dot org is vital to see where candidate’s campaign dollars are coming from.  It’s clear that from Presidential elections right on down to the local races, those dollars mean business.  (And usually it’s not the peoples’ business!)

All of us are aware of the donations in Obama’s campaign. And some might be aware of the online donations that went to Kerry and Dean in 04.  But I have a story to share about a little local race and a big business.

(Please bear with me…)

In a small town nearby a famous big business wanted to move in–against the peoples’ wishes!  There were years of protest, planning meetings, letter writing, and so on.  There were fantastic arguments against this business moving in due to the dangerous intersection and the proximity to the local schools.

The people were adamantly against it.  And it wasn’t just a small group of ‘progressives’ either.  This was a highly Republican area.

The business was…

Can you guess it?

The people lost to this big corporation because this corporation arranged for donations to be made to the local races.  And now there is a big fat ugly Walmart going up against the wishes of the local residents and merchants.

That why opensecrets.org is vital information no matter where you live.  It’s also easily navigated by year, race, and even corporation or lobbys.

Another place I go to for a historical perspective is the forum at the Democracy Cell Project where someone put in a huge mass of documents!  It’s a great place to find those especially when I’m helping someone work on a government or history project.

The last place I look for information is on CREW.  Ethics in government should be a foundation in our country instead of an after thought.

So where do you go for reliable information?

Please share widely!
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Comments

    • Thanks for all those links. I’m still checking out the top one–the pilots and 9-11 one.  I have a “Reagan-Democrat”  friend who is sure that 9-11 was not what we’ve been told.

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      p>I’ll keep checking the rest of your links.

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      p>Thanks so much!  

      • now doubts the official version of 911 is bogus and is moving to protect their own national interests rather than waste resources in PNAC’s war of terror.  PNAC stands for Project for the New American Century and it’s now defunct website.  PNAC was a think tank whose memebership consisted of most of Bush’s cabinet memebers and advisors.  Their primary theme was to build up America’s military strength but in order to do so they thought America NEEDED a New Pearl Harbor.  Hence 911.

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        p>I accepted 911 as a MIHOP job years before it was mildly fashionable and I have been ejected from several political forums as a result.  Your response makes my heart sing.  
        I stopped debating the specifics of 911 except for the simple physical facts.  Both towers imploded and fell to the ground at free fall speed and WTC seven did also.
        Asbestos removal from the towers also would have cost big time but Lucky Larry Silverstein had the foresight to insure his holdings.  It is all too convienient.

  4. Just wondering.

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    p>Not buying in, either.

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    p>Now, the story about Walmart and the impact of donations – and lobbying – yes, that I accept.  I have learned the impact of professional lobbying and collective effort – and that the professionals are, for reasons of money and also of the impact of longitudinal relationship building, higher impact than one-shot grass roots campaigns that blow through the State House or the Capitol with all the sound and fury of a summer storm – and similar longevity.  

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