Start the new year with Justice Bedworth, who cuts to the chase, and the chuckle, when it comes to electing judges.
“Electoral Processpool,” by Justice William W. Bedsworth
Excerpt: “…I’m pleased that my friends(2) have been impressed by the margin of my victory. With no opponent, I received 73.3% of the vote. Just call me Landslide Bedsworth.
Despite cries from legislators and others that It’s All Online, in Oregon at least (and we really do know it’s the same in other places), IT IS NOT ALL ONLINE!
For example:
Have you ever tried to find an Oregon city or county code without these dance steps?
Multnomah County Library has created a web-guide to Veteran’s Resources.
Other Oregon counties also have local Veteran Services offices, e.g. Washington County.
Better late than never, I think. If you want to read the tax bill that just passed the House and is now on the way to, if not already on, the President’s desk:
“Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010” (Yes, that is what it’s called. Just sayin’)
Bill Summary & Status, 111th Congress (2009 – 2010), H.R.4853
The Sunlight Foundation releases a beta version of a House (Congressional) Staff Directory.
(Note: Clicking on the Members List (at bottom of the search screen) seems to work better right now, at least for me.)
The have a lot of additional news on government transparency at their blog.
Online, FREE, access to cases from the Supreme Court of California (annotated).
Read many more great legal research tips at Legal Research Plus.
(If you want to call your federal and/or state Legislator(s), use the Find Your Legislator tool at the Oregon Legislature’s website.)
I always wince a bit when I hear people say that someone in “Washington D.C.” steals their tax dollars. Yes, sometimes it’s true that a crime against us taxpayers has been committed, but sometimes our communities get a lot of those dollars back, though only after Congress takes out money for fighting wars, national security, diplomatic missions, economic development, social security, medicare, corporation subsidies, international medical aid, etc., etc., etc.
If you’re at all curious about which states get how much “return” on the federal tax dollars sent to federal coffers, here are a few places to start off your research. More serious and thorough research will take more work:
1) Federal tax dollar to D.C. and federal tax dollar back to Oregon: The Tax Foundation has this chart that shows Oregon, in 2005, received back $.93 of the federal tax dollars they paid in federal taxes.
Librarians tend not to get their whatsits in a twist when it comes to information leaks. Maybe because leaks, censorship, privacy, and related issues are things we think about and deal with every week, every year, decade, century, in our libraries, our databases with patrons’ personal information, with literature, with book-buying, with library boards, parents, etc.
1) Unshelved Librarians (from 12/7/10)
2) You can also find a link to a Gallagher Law Librarian blog post on:
The Willamette Law School’s “United States Supreme Court News: Willamette Law Online” service, with case summaries and law updates, tells us about this latest U.S. Supreme Court decision:
“On December 13th, 2010 the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the case sumarized below:
Copyright Law (The first sale doctrine of 17 U.S.C. §109(a) does not apply to goods manufactured abroad and later imported into the United States).
Oregon’s Department of Housing and Community Services Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative:
Homeowners can apply online for the Mortgage Payment Assistance program at oregonhomeownerhelp.org. Applications for the program will be accepted until Jan. 14, 2011.
Homeowners who need help immediately should call 1-800-SAFE NET (1-800-723-3638).
Oregon Legal Research Blog