It has been said that "information is power" and now sites like OpenCongress are utilizing Web 2.0 Internet technologies to shift power to the masses and bring about a revolution in participatory politics by making it very easy to learn and follow what is happening in the halls of Congress. That may sound like a lot of hyperbole, but I do not think it is. The Internet is changing our democracy and hopefully for the better.
I've written about Barack Obama's web site and how effectively it has been used to create an online community that has motivated him to not accept public financing for his presidential campaign, because he has been able to reach out to millions of small donors via the Web.
From the OpenCongress About page:
OpenCongress brings together official government information with news and blog coverage to give you the real story behind what's happening in Congress.
For most people, finding out what's really happening in Congress is a daunting and time-consuming task. The legislative process is frequently arcane and closed-off from the public, resulting in frustration with Congress and apathy about politics.
Small groups of political insiders and lobbyists know what's really going on in Congress, but this important information rarely makes its way into the light. The official website of the library of Congress, Thomas, publishes the full text of bills, but we can do much more to inform ourselves and make our government accessible. Now, with OpenCongress, everyone can be an insider.
OpenCongress is a free, open-source, non-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to help make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement. OpenCongress is a joint project of the Sunlight Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation.
OpenCongress brings together, for the first time in one place, all the best data on what's really happening in Congress:
- Official Congressional information from Thomas, made available by GovTrack.us: bills, votes, committee reports, and more.
- News articles about bills and Members of Congress from Google News.
- Blog posts about bills and Members of Congress from Google Blog Search and Technorati.
- Campaign contribution information for every Member of Congress from the website of the non-profit, non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org.
- Congress Gossip Blog: a blog written by the site editors of OpenCongress that highlights useful news and blog reporting from around the web. The blog also solicits tips, either anonymous or attributed, from political insiders, citizen journalists, and the public in order to build public knowledge about Congress.
There is even a Facebook Application to help you track bills through the House and Senate.
25 September 2008, 23:44
It is easy to get into trouble if you take a chance on something without being informed. Currently, the pros and cons of payday loans are being hotly contested, and just what is in the future for the industry. Some of our leaders, from both sides of the aisle, have even enacted legislation at the state and local levels that makes it difficult to get a payday loan if you need one, and some have banned them outright. Still others, such as Barrack Obama, are looking to get rid of the industry altogether; which is based on the idea that payday loan lenders are nothing more than legalized loan sharks. This is the time to educate yourself and your friends so all can preserve their right to financial independence.
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03 October 2008, 05:19
Everyone requires a little extra cash now and then, but not everybody can possess as good of a credit score as others. Some of our leaders, from both sides of the aisle, have even enacted legislation at the state and local levels that makes it difficult to get a payday loan if you need one, and some have banned them outright. Some are looking to get rid of the industry altogether; which is based on the idea that l Payday Loans lenders are nothing more than legalized loan sharks, which is just outright faulty logic.