scroll Government Integrity - The Power of Facts from the Web

“What used to take hours to dig up and analyze is now laid bare for you to see in seconds or minutes.” California Progress Report

Read : Jeremy Caplan's article "The Citizen Watchdogs of Web 2.0" Time. 30 Jun. 2008 http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1819187,00.html

Harness the web sites mentioned in the article to examine the record of one of your legislators.

1. Who are their top 5 contributors?

 

2. How many people in your community made a contribution to their recent election campaign?

 

3. Select an Issue at Tracking the Payback

Evaluate your legislator's votes regarding the issue.

What groups, lobbyists or individuals related to the issue made a donation to the legislator's election campaign?

Is your legislator voting in the best interest of people of your state or district?

 

Extend your efforts:

Identify 3 "good government" advocacy groups in your state or commonwealth.

What is an good government issue in the news in your community, region or state?

Write a 5 paragraph statement that is rich in facts. What is your opinion regarding the issue?

 

"Voters are often so confused by what their party is selling,
they vote for people who do them more harm than good. ." BuzzFlash

Resources:

Most legislators have their own web site use your online research skills to find it.

Your America: Take action resources

Personal Democracy Forum OpenSecrets.org
Sunlight Foundation OpenCongress.org

the OpenHouse project

Congresspedia
THOMAS - legislative information from the Library of Congress Help: How to research congressional records and positions
How to track Federal Legislation using THOMAS Project on Government Oversight
Budget of the United States Government Evaluate your Senator or Representative
Government Accountability Office Change Congress
Government Accountability Standards Board

It is Time to Reboot America

PA Open Records Law 2008 Project Public's Right to Know project
USA.gov is the official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services. Watch Google Docs video - How could you use Google Docs to do a project?

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developed by Cynthia J. O'Hora Released to public domain and Posted 7/2008

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