How might we bring local governments together to make better cities? Why not try Code for America? This compelling organization works to "help residents and governments harness technology to solve community problems." Its work is supported by a range of organizations, including Google, the Kauffman Foundation, and ESRI. The site contains a number of topical sections, including Governments,...

Amidst all of his other responsibilities as a lawyer, politician, and father, Abraham Lincoln found time to write. In fact, he wrote quite a bit, and it took scholars decades to assemble the majority of his various published (and unpublished) writings. After working on bringing together his writings, the Abraham Lincoln Association published "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln" in 1953. In...

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is the office of the U.S. Department of Justice that "advances the practice of community policing in America's state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies." COPS was created in 1994, and since then it has worked to provide technical and practical assistance to thousands of law enforcement partners across the country. First-time...

Recently, the Law Library of Congress and Google teamed up on a collaborative pilot project to digitize the Law Library's entire collection of 75,000 volumes of printed Congressional Hearings. For those who might not be familiar with these hearings, they typically contain testimony from members of Congress, interest groups, and policy experts. The intent of this initial digitization project is to...

Everyone could use a bit of the Constitution added to their daily lives, and this website more than delivers on its promise to deliver "smart conversation about the Constitution". Constitution Daily is an experimental blog edited by the National Constitution Center (NCC) in Philadelphia, and commentary here can include conversations about student privacy rights, the Second Amendment, and the...

The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Los Angeles, seeks to educate young people about the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the benefits of civic participation. On the site, educators will find many Common Core ready resources. Readers may like to start with the Teachers tab, which navigates to the Teacher's Lounge. Here,...

Air Force to start operational testing of F-35 http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2011/07/defense-air-force-to-start-opeval-test-f35-071511/ F-35 Lightning II Program http://www.jsf.mil/ GAO: Joint Strike Fighter-Restructuring Places Program on Firmer Footing, but Progress Still Lags [pdf] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11325.pdf United States Senate Armed Services...

Perhaps the United States might be a better place if at the dinner table one interested party might ask the question, "Hey Mom, can we talk about the establishment clause tonight?" Until such topics spontaneously arrive in a pre-prandial setting like the one just mentioned, there will still be great interest in this lovely website created by the American Bar Association. As its mission statement...

Craigslist Disputes “Fair” Housing Lawsuit http://www.craigslist.org/about/fair.housing.html Free classified ads not working well for newspapers http://www.editorsweblog.org/news/2006/02/free_classified_ads_not_working_well_for.php#more Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc....

More and more Americans are experiencing problems with their credit, and in a rather ominous trend, the year 2005 saw a record number of personal bankruptcy filings. The first site offered here was created by the American Radio Works documentary group, and it profiles the current state of personal bankruptcy, along with offering some investigative reporting on the credit reporting industry....