Part-Time Policy Wonk

MAPLight.org illuminates the connection between money and politics. We shine a light on campaign contributions and show their related legislative outcomes, which leads to a more informed public and election reform.
The MAPLight.org database brings together information on campaign contributions and votes in the California legislature. The first of its kind in the nation, MAPLight provides [...]

From Wired:
Tread carefully, politicians — concerned citizens are watching your every move on the web. Their tools? Custom data mashups that use public databases to draw correlations between every vote cast and every dollar spent in Washington. . .
. . . Anyone — from bloggers and students to lobbyists and activists — can use these [...]

From the Free Expression Policy Project:
Clearly, we can’t depend on judges alone to put the brakes on an overly secretive and gag order-happy government. Only an outraged populace can give judges the necessary support for openness and executive officers the necessary message that it, not secrecy, should be the default setting for democracy. And only [...]

From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today has released a report, WITHOUT A TRACE: The Missing White House Emails and the Violations of the Presidential Records Act, detailing the legal issues behind the story of the White House e-mail scandal.
WITHOUT A TRACE covers the following areas:
• Presidential [...]

From Common Cause:
Common Cause Vice President for Advocacy Celia Wexler testified Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to urge support for a proposal to require disclosure on contributions made to presidential libraries.
Wexler testified in support of Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA)’s proposal that would require quarterly public disclosure through the Internet of [...]

This hearing will examine the need for public disclosure of donations made to private foundations established to fund presidential libraries and related facilities. The committee will consider possible legislative proposals to require such disclosure.
Wecast of the hearing

OMB Watch Press Release:
OMB Watch today (Feb. 22, 2007) launched the first in a series of upgrades to its popular FedSpending.org website, which is a searchable database of nearly all government spending since FY 2000. The site updates make FedSpending.org more comprehensive, more searchable, and more customizable. Journalists, researchers, and the public, among others, will [...]

2006 Gold Mouse Report
No, it has nothing to do with Mickey.
Since 1998, the Congressional Management Foundation has been tracking the use of the Internet by Congress in an effort to identify best practices to cope with new technologies and utilize them to meet the needs and goals of congressional offices. . .
. . . The [...]