The Defense Science Board has posted a new report on the Deployment of Members of the National Guard and Reserves in the Global War on Terror.
The report can be found at on the DSB reports page -- http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm or directly at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-11-National_Guard_and_Reserve_in_the_Global_War_on_Terrorism.pdf
The task force examined the question of optimal length and frequency of deployment of members of the National Guard and reserve. According to the report, the task force found "that there is a general consensus that the guidelines for the reserve components satisfy their needs for predictability and sustainability. However, given current levels of operational demand, today's Army active National Guard, and reserve force structure will not support DoD's policy. Nor can it be supported when planned increases in end-strength are reached."
The report also expressed concern about the availability of Guard and reserve personnel and equipment to meet homeland security, civil support and domestic emergency requirements along with the robust overseas deployments.
Various charts and graphs are included.

Launch of the Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA)
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will launch the "Government of Canada Web Archive" on November 20, 2007. The site can be found at:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/
The Library and Archives of Canada Act received Royal Assent on April 22, 2004, allowing Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to collect and preserve a representative sample of Canadian websites. To meet its new mandate, LAC began to harvest the Web domain of the Federal Government of Canada starting in December 2005. As resources permit, this harvesting activity will be undertaken on a semi-annual basis. The harvested website data is stored in the "Government of Canada Web Archive" (GCWA). Client access to the content of the GCWA is provided through searching full text by keyword, by department name and by URL.
It is also possible to search by specific format type, (e.g., *.PDF). By the fall 2007, approximately 100 million digital objects (over 4
terabytes) of archived federal government website data will be made accessible via the LAC website.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has implemented this first significant Canadian Web archive through the use of open source tools, developed by the International Internet Preservation Consortium (http://www.netpreserve.org), of which LAC is a member. The goal of this organization is to collect, preserve and ensure long-term access to Internet content from around the world through the collaborative development of common tools and techniques for developing Web archives.

From
Grace York, Coordinator,
Documents Center &
Political Science Librarian
University of Michigan Library


Elections 2008 is up and running at UMich:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/elec2008.html
Even though it is very early in the election process, there is a critical, if not overwhelming, mass of material. Using the quick jumps at the top of the page, you can navigate to presidential match sites, political advertising, likely Congressional candidates, campaign finances, public opinion polls, election calendars, and historic Presidential votes by Congressional District.
Multi-purpose election web sites are analyzed. Campaign finances appear in LEXIS Congressional as well as the FEC, advertisements in National Journal as well as the Livingroom Candidate, and the text of preconvention debates on the CNN and MSNBC sites.
There is some quirky material under issues, such as the roll call votes on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which states support stem cell research, and Eliot Spitzer's concession speech on driver's licenses for illegal aliens. If you are a Michigan voter, we're covering the Presidential primary situation.
Ray Walling and Alex Watson are going to help me upgrade the issues section over the next few weeks, and the web site will be continually updated over the next year.
Have fun with it and feel free to contribute your own favorite political web sites.

As noted in the news -- the Joint Economic Committee Majority Staff has just published a report on the Cost of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They estimate it could exceed $3.5 trillion.
"November 13: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will join Joint Economic Committee
(JEC) Chairman Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and JEC Vice Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today released a new report exposing the hidden costs of the war in Iraq. The Joint Economic Committee report investigates the costs of the war in Iraq that are not included in direct budgetary appropriations, including long term veteran's health care, foregone investment, oil market disruptions and interest payments on borrowed war funding. The JEC estimates these costs could total in the trillions of dollars."
Joint Economic Committee -- "War at Any Price?-the Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget" and it is available at http://jec.senate.gov/Documents/Reports/11.13.07IraqEconomicCostsReport.
pdf
The press release includes a brief summary
http://jec.senate.gov/Documents/Releases/11.13.07IraqReportRelease.pdf
Individual charts are available as follows:
* The American Family Will Bear Heavy Burden to Pay for Wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/Chart2.pdf
* With No Change in Course, Total Costs Incurred per Family
Reach Almost $50,000 by 2017
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart1.pdf
* The Projected Interest Costs of Iraq War Alone are Higher than
the Cost of Children's Health Program and Health Research and Training http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart3.pdf
* Taxpayer Spending on Iraq War vs. Federal Spending on Other
Priorities
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart4.pdf
* Breaking Down the Costs of War in Iraq
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart5.pdf
* Total Economic Costs Under Future Scenarios
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart%20a-1
.pdf
* State-by-State Heat Map: States Bear Billions in Iraq War
Costs
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/state%20by%
20state%20new.pdf
The response from the Joint Economic Committee Republicans can be found at http://www.house.gov/jec/news/2007/Nov/JEC%20GOP%20Response.pdf
They say the report should be withdrawn -- that it is politically motivated and filled with errors and poor methodology.
A second press release from them indicates that some errors were quietly corrected on the web version.
http://www.house.gov/jec/news/2007/Nov/JEC%20GOP%20Response%2011-14.pdf

WASHOE COUNTY prepared to serve homeless in overflow shelter
Reno, Nevada. November 13, 2007. In today’s Washoe County Commissioners Board meeting, Commissioners voted to approve the overflow homeless shelter’s lease agreement at 85 Edison Way in Sparks. They also approved the additional $17,236 provided to the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission to support the operation.
Since its opening on December 8, 2006, the homeless overflow shelter has served hundreds of homeless individuals that may have been turned away due to full capacity at the men’s drop-in shelter at 315 Record Street and the women’s drop in shelter at 355 Record Street. "The necessity of this shelter is obvious," Gabrielle Enfield, Washoe County Community Support Administrator states. "These folks would be out on our streets, possibly freezing to death if it were not for this overflow facility." Enfield anticipated the need and began looking for county space for overflow shelter in the fall of 2006. Working with County resources, and with the cooperation of the Flood Control Project, she was able to identify and convert the vacant building at 85 Edison Way.
The overflow emergency cold weather shelter at 85 Edison Way will provide shelter for up to 60 men from November 15th through March 31, 2008. Individuals in need of shelter will receive an evening meal, an opportunity to shower, shelter for the night and a light breakfast in the morning.
The women’s shelter facility is expected to be completed this December and single women will be provided cold weather overflow shelter at the Reno Sparks Gospel Mission Women and Family Shelter and the Reno Sparks Gospel Mission building on the Record Street Site. The Reno Sparks Gospel Mission will provide the same services to homeless women during the cold months that are provided to men.
Washoe County is committed to addressing our community’s homeless issue and since 1996, has provided more than $3 million in funding.
###

The FBI has published its newest edition of its report summarizing terrorist activities in the US. The newest report - "Terrorism 2002-2005" can be found as follows and the previous reports are listed
below:
PDF -- http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terrorism2002_2005.pdf
HTML -- http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terrorism2002_2005.htm
According to the forward the report "provides an overview of the terrorist incidents and preventions designated by the FBI as having taken place in the United States and its territories during the years
2002 through 2005 and that are matters of public record. This publication does not include those incidents which the Bureau classifies under criminal rather than terrorism investigations. In addition, the report discusses major FBI investigations overseas and identifies significant events-including legislative actions, prosecutorial updates, and program developments-relevant to U.S. counterterrorism efforts."
The report includes a chart of "casualties of terrorism 1980-2005" as well as a chronological summary of the terrorist incidents in the US
1980-2005 which includes the date, location, incident type, perpetrator, killed or injured.

If you toil in the fields of government information, you may be interested to know that an urgent campaign is underway to strike language from the Senate version of the Farm Bill which would create a substantial new FOIA exemption and severely restrict public access to important information about farm animal health under a National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
OpenTheGovernment.org has written a letter to Senators expressing opposition to the non-disclosure language in the Senate version of the bill, and the American Library Association, Special Libraries Association, and American Association of Law Libraries are among the 28 organizations to sign on. Please see the letter at:
http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/farm_bill_letter.pdf
As the letter states, Section 10305 of the Livestock Title of the Farm Bill approved October 25 by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to restrict and control disclosure of NAIS information, and imposes "disproportionately harsh penalties for press activities protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." The letter seeks to strike Section 10305 from the bill.
As always, it's important that legislators hear from THEIR constituents.
If you wish to lend your voice to this effort, please call or fax your Senators and let them know that you support the principles of transparency and disclosure expressed in the OpenTheGovernment.org letter, and urge them to oppose any version of the bill which includes
the non-disclosure provisions. Senate phone numbers are available on
the Senate website, and fax numbers are available from the sites of individual members:
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm . A complete reiteration of all the points made in the letter isn't necessary - what's most important is that they hear from you, their constituents, that you want the non-disclosure language of Section 10305 removed. Senate floor action could come at any time this week, so please act quickly.

Librarians Say Surveillance Bills Lack Adequate Oversight
By Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
A little-remarked feature of pending legislation on domestic surveillance has provoked alarm among university and public librarians who say it could allow federal intelligence-gathering on library patrons without sufficient court oversight.
Draft House and Senate bills would allow the government to compel any "communications service provider" to provide access to e-mails and other electronic information within the United States as part of federal surveillance of non-U.S. citizens outside the country.
The Justice Department has previously said that "providers" may include libraries, causing three major university and library groups to worry that the government's ability to monitor people targeted for surveillance without a warrant would chill students' and faculty members' online research activities.
"It is fundamental that when a user enters the library, physically or electronically," said Jim Neal, the head librarian at Columbia University, "their use of the collections, print or electronic, their communications on library servers and computers, is not going to be subjected to surveillance unless the courts have authorized it."
Under the legislation, the government could monitor a non-U.S. citizen overseas participating in an online research project through a U.S.
university library, and gain access to the communications of all the project participants with that surveillance target, said Al Gidari, a lawyer with the Perkins Coie firm who represents the Association of
Research Libraries and the American Library Association.
The bills, which would replace a temporary law amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, would not require the government to demonstrate "probable cause" that the foreign person targeted is a terrorist or a spy or to let the FISA court, which grants surveillance warrants, know that the tap will be on a library. Under the Senate bill, a general surveillance program may be authorized yearly by the attorney general and the director of national intelligence. The House's version would require the FISA court to authorize surveillance directed at people overseas.


<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102233.html>

WASHOE COUNTY AND NEVADA LAND CONSERVANCY BEGIN HAWKEN FIRE BURN AREA REHABILITATION WORK
Reno, Nevada. October 31, 2007. Nevada Land Conservancy and Washoe County announced today the beginning of rehabilitation and restoration efforts for the Hawken Fire burn area, with the construction of sediment basins and the application of hydro mulch seed over 40 acres.
In late July, the Hawken Fire devastated 2,700 acres in southwest Reno, 72% on federal land and 28% on private land. In the aftermath, the burn area threatens the quality of the community’s drinking water, the safety of nearby homes from future fires, recreational access, and hundreds of acres of crucial winter habitat for mule deer along the Carson range of the Sierra. With the input of federal, state and county agencies, a plan has been created to rehabilitate soils and restore critical habitat in the burn area. This plan includes treatments to stabilize soils, clear stream channels, construct sediment basins, remove hazardous trees, replant 300 Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees, erect fences and signage, and reseed more than 500 acres.
The Hawken Fire recovery efforts on private land were initiated by local resident Jeannie Cassinelli, who leads the Hawken Fire Recovery Team consisting of roughly 75 individuals actively supporting the recovery process. Through their efforts, local non-profit Nevada Land Conservancy was brought on board to lead fundraising efforts, recruit volunteers, and provide project oversight. The Team has raised $470,118 for the total project (restoration on both public and private lands). Of the total amount of $470,118, $364,518 comes from the community as grants and donations from the groups listed below, and the remaining $105,600 is federal money.
Washoe County leads the design and implementation of the immediate treatments needed to prevent erosion and reseed habitat through the efforts of several departments, including Parks and Open Space, Public Works, and Fire Services. The U.S. Forest Service Humboldt-Toiyabe District is coordinating the treatments on federal land. Other project partners in this effort include the Caughlin Ranch Homeowners’ Association, City of Reno, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Nevada Fire Safe Council, and several funding partners.
Time is of the essence – many of the treatments need to be in place before winter precipitation, so work is now beginning with the construction of sediment basins and the hydro mulching of 40 acres behind homes. Tree removal will begin in November, aerial seeding later this winter, and hand planting of 300 trees in early spring.
"It is so crucial that we provide erosion control measures now," states Sonya Hem, Deputy Director of Nevada Land Conservancy. "We would hate to see part of the mountain slide into the Truckee River through Alum Creek. And that could impact the water quality for the entire Truckee Meadows."
In addition to water quality, the burn area is located directly in the middle of the winter range of the Truckee-Loyalton Mule Deer herd. Already stressed by previous fires on Peavine Mountain, the herd is receiving support from Nevada Bighorns Unlimited in the form of a $20,000 contribution towards the forage reseeding efforts. Aerial seeding of 500 acres in the upper elevations with sagebrush, bitterbrush and other forage species will occur this winter.
The threat of invasive grass species colonizing the burn area is also a serious threat, according to Kurt Latipow, Washoe County Fire Services Coordinator. "We have a one-year window of opportunity to combat the extremely invasive cheat grass that will grow in the burn area if we do not come in aggressively now," states Latipow. "Cheat grass is extremely flammable and it increases the intensity and spread of fires, which results in an increased threat to lives and property."
Hawken Fire Restoration Effort Donors
Truckee River Fund
Nevada Bighorns Unlimited
City of Reno Ward One Neighborhood Advisory Board
City of Reno Ward Five Northwest Neighborhood Advisory Board
The Phil and Jennifer Satre Family Charitable Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada
The Ranson and Norma Webster Foundation at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada
Sierra Pacific Resources Foundation
Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation
Gaston & Wilkerson Management Group
Scenic Nevada
Lahontan Audubon Society
...and many donations from generous individuals!
###

The Defense Science Board (DSB) has posted a new report.
The report on "Mission Impact of Foreign Influence on DoD Software can be found at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-09-Mission_Impact_of_Foreign_Inf
luence_on_DoD_Software.pdf.
According to the memorandum of endorsement by Dr. Schneider, this report "was established to complement the 2005 DSB study on High Performance Microchip Supply which focused on the implications of semiconductor fabrication in foreign countries. The task force found that the DoD faces similar consequences from the possible exploitation of software, increasingly developed outside of the United States, it its systems."
The 2005 report can be found at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2005-02-HPMS_Report_Final.pdf
If you have trouble with the link wrapping go to http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm and you can retrieve both from there.

WASHOE COUNTY SUPPORTS COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS URBAN BEAR INCIDENTS
Reno, Nevada. October 23, 2007. At their October 23 Board meeting, Commissioners authorized Washoe County staff to devote resources and staff time to the Sierra Front Bear Working Group plan. The Sierra Front Bear Working Group consists of multiple state and local agencies with a common goal to address the increasing problem of human-bear contacts and activity in Washoe County.
Due to the dramatic increases in bear complaints in 2007, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners directed staff to reconvene the Sierra Front Bear Working Group. Washoe County’s contribution to the group’s plan is to dedicate $5,000 to a community-wide education and awareness program and, as funds become available, contribute a minimum of $50,000 for the installation of wildlife proof trash enclosures at Davis Creek Park. This effective community plan will be implemented by the participating multiple agencies with varying responsibilities. These include education, public safety, ordinance enforcement, natural resource management, community planning, legislation and funding.
Over the next year, the Sierra Front Bear Working Group will prepare a Community Bear Management Plan and implement an initial education and awareness campaign. The group includes representatives from Washoe County Animal Control, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Community Relations, Community Development and Health Department, Washoe County Manager’s Office, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Douglas County Code Enforcement, Incline Village General Improvement District and Waste Management.
Citizens are reminded to call 911 for any encounter with a bear that threatens human life. All other bear-related calls should be made to the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife at (775) 688-1331.

Cabinet members blogging



Leavitt's blog: http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/my--weblog/
Chertoff's blog:
http://www.dhs.gov/journal/leadership/2007--10--01--archive.html

New Maritime Strategy



The Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard have released a new cooperative Maritime Strategy. The report entitled "A Cooperative Strategy for the 21st Century Seapower" was released at the International Seapower Symposium at the Naval War College today.
The report can be found at
http://www.navy.mil/maritime/MaritimeStrategy.pdf or from main site http://www.navy.mil/maritime/.
A video of the conference can be found at http://www.navy.mil/media/video/live/newport-webcast.asx

The Veteran's Disability Benefits Commission has released their report "Honoring the Call to Duty: Veterans' Disability Benefits in the 21st Century." The report can be accessed from http://www.vetscommission.org/reports.asp
The PDF of the full report is available at http://www.vetscommission.org/pdf/eReport_prepub_9-27.pdf
The executive summary is available at
http://www.vetscommission.org/pdf/ExecutiveSummary_eV_9-27.pdf
Excerpt from the Exec Summary:
The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission was established by Public Law 108-136, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004.
Between May 2005 and October 2007, the Commission conducted an in-depth analysis of the benefits and services available to veterans, service members, their survivors, and their families to compensate and provide assistance for the effects of disabilities and deaths attributable to military service. The Department of Veterans Affairs expended $40.5 billion on the wide array of these benefits and services in fiscal year 2006. The Commission addressed the appropriateness and purpose of benefits, benefit levels and payment rates, and the processes and procedures used to determine eligibility. The Commission reviewed past studies on these subjects, the legislative history of the benefit programs, and related issues that have been debated repeatedly over many decades.
The Commission identified eight principles for guiding the development and delivery of future benefits for veterans and their families.
1. Benefits should recognize the often enormous sacrifices of military service as a continuing cost of war, and commend military service as the highest obligation of citizenship.
2. The goal of disability benefits should be rehabilitation and reintegration into civilian life to the maximum extent possible and preservation of the veterans' dignity.
3. Benefits should be uniformly based on severity of service-connected disability without regard to the circumstances of the disability (wartime v. peacetime, combat v. training, or geographical
location.)
4. Benefits and services should be provided that collectively compensate for the consequence of service-connected disability on the average impairment of earnings capacity, the ability to engage in usual life activities, and quality of life.
5. Benefits and standards for determining benefits should be updated or adapted frequently based on changes in the economic and social impact of disability and impairment, advances in medical knowledge and technology, and the evolving nature of warfare and military service.
6. Benefits should include access to a full range of health care provided at no cost to service-disabled veterans. Priority for care must be based on service connection and degree of disability.
7. Funding and resources to adequately meet the needs of service-disabled veterans and their families must be fully provided while being aware of the burden on current and future generations.
8. Benefits to our nation's service-disabled veterans must be delivered in a consistent, fair, equitable, and timely manner.

A couple of new reports by Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) might be of particular use with some interesting graphs and charts on various topics.
Pandora's Box: Iraqi Federalism, Separatism, "Hard" Partitioning and US Policy.
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071009_pandorasbox.pdf
This working draft report from Oct 9, 2007 looks at federalizing or partitioning Iraq. Useful graphs/charts include topics such as:
refugees and displaced persons, maps of threats and ethno-sectarian violence, Iraqi military and civilian casualties, public opinion, demographics, infrastructure and more.
Political, Military and Economic Dynamics in Iraq: A Graphic Overview.
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071005_iraqoverview.pdf
This revised October 2007 report shows, through the use of graphs and maps, topics such as: sectarian & ethnic divisions, oil fields, weekly attack trends by type, high profile and IED attacks, major threats and the state of Al Qaeda, insurgent concentrations, US aid status, crude oil production and more.

From ALA's Action Alert:
The Presidential Records Act Amendments bill
(H.R.1255)
is currently being prevented from a vote in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY). He has not stated his reasons for doing so. H.R.1255 removes restrictions placed by President Bush's 2001 Executive Order 13233 and enhances the Presidential Records Act, one of the nation's most important open-government laws.
On March 14, 2007, by a vote of 333-93, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1255.
More information is available at:
http://www.capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=10372136
*****************************************************
Further Background:
In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which gave current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents broad authority to withhold Presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. The Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R.1255) would nullify the Bush executive order and restore the principle that the records of our highest elected public official belong to the people. This bill passed the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 333-93 on March 14, 2007, but it is now held up in the Senate by a hold placed by Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky. ALA supports H.R.1255 and has issued an action alert seeking the release of Sen. Bunning's hold so the bill can move forward.
This National Action Alert Network (NAAN) release is intended to support that effort.

Action:
*****KENTUCKY RESIDENTS: Your participation is doubly critical. Your junior Senator, Jim Bunning, is responsible for the hold on the bill, and your senior Senator, Mitch McConnell, has a special responsibility as Minority Leader to help move the bill through the Senate. Please call Sen. Bunning's office and ask that he release his hold on the bill so it can be scheduled for a vote. His direct office number is 202-224-4343. Please ask Sen.
McConnell to urge Sen. Bunning to take these steps; his direct office number is 202-224-2541. Hearing from as many of *their* constituents as possible will be crucial. Talking points and a sample email/fax are below.


*****Other States: Please call, fax, or e-mail your Senators (do not use U.S.
mail). Their contact information is available from the U.S. Senate website:


<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>

<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>
Talking Points:
I'm calling to ask Senator _____________ to urge his/her colleague, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to have Sen. Bunning release the hold on H.R. 1255, Presidential Records Act Amendments bill, so it can be brought to the senate floor. HR 1255 will nullify Executive Order 13233, signed by President Bush in 2001. E.O. 13233 amended the Presidential Records Act of 1978, restricting the public's access to presidential records after a president leaves office. H.R. 1255 will do the following to restore the public's
access:
- Establish a Deadline for restriction of release. Under EO 13233,
records are released when both the current and former president approve the
release. If neither approves the release, the records stay hidden from
public view. H.R. 1255 will set a time period of 40 business days to
raise objection to the release of the records. If no objections are raised,
the records are presented to the public.

- Limit the power of former presidents to withhold records. EO 13233
allows the former president to withhold his/her records from public view
unless a court ordered them released, placing the burden of proof on the
public. HR 1255 will reverse this process: the former president will need
to get a court order to prevent the records from being released, placing the
burden of proof on the president.

- Limit Vice Presidential Power. Under EO 13233, the vice president
may claim executive privilege and withhold presidential records, an
unprecedented step. H.R. 1255 will restore the long standing
precedent that executive privilege resides with the president, and not the
vice president.

- Only the President has the power to make privilege claims. EO 13233
allowed for the former president to bequeath executive privilege to
assistants, relatives or descendants, thus allowing the designate to keep
the records hidden from the public indefinitely. HR 1255 will nullify this
claim and allow only the current president to restrict access to records.


Email/Fax:

To the Honorable Senator ___________
I am writing to express my support for the Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R. 1255) and to ask you to urge your colleague, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to have Sen. Bunning release the hold on this important bill. I support this bill because it will nullify Executive Order 13233, signed by President Bush in 2001, and re-establish procedures to ensure the timely release of Presidential records.
The records of the highest elected public office in the country, the President of the United States, belong to the people and are official evidence of government activities. Presidential records, preserved and made accessible by the National Archives, document the decisions and operation of the executive branch and contribute to cultural and historical understanding and scholarship.
Access to these records is a basic element of citizenship in a government by the people. I urge you to add your influential voice to those who are calling for this principle to be restored to our Nation's laws.
Sincerely,

Congress and
Private Military Contractors



"Blackwater USA: Private Military Contractor Activity in Iraq and Afghanistan" House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing, October 2, 2007 [not much there yet but more will be added after the hearing]
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1509
"Additional Information about Blackwater USA." House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Memorandum from the Majority Staff -.
October 1, 2007
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf
"Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater's Actions in Fallujah." House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Majority Staff report. Sept 2007
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070927104643.pdf
"War Profiteering and Other Contractor Crimes Committed Overseas."
House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. June 19, 2007
http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=338
"Iraqi Reconstruction: Reliance on Private Military Contractors " House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing - Feb 7, 2007 [includes links to the video of the hearing, witness statements, and more]
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1165
Various letters to and from the Committee, the State Dept and Blackwater

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1497
CPA Memorandum 17 - Registration Requirements for Private Security Companies (PSC) with Annexes including Annex A-
Rules for the Use of Force by Contractors in Iraq and Annex B - Code of Conduct for Private Security Companies Operating Iraq
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040626_CPAMEMO_17_Registratio
n_Requirements_for_Private_Security_Companies_with_Annexes.pdf
"Abuses in Private Security and Reconstruction Contracting in Iraq:
Ensuring Accountability, Protecting Whistleblowers." Senate Democratic Party Committee Hearing. September 21, 2007. [includes statements and links to the video of the hearing]
http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-hearing.cfm?A=40
Selected other sources:
"The Private Military Firms: Historical Evolution and Industry Analysis." NPS thesis. June 2007.
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/07Jun%5FAlabarda%5FMBA.pd
f
"Analysis of Security Contractors in Deployed Environments." NPS Thesis.
December 2006
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/06Dec%5FHerron%5FMBA.pdf
"A Critical Analysis of the Coordination, Command and Control of Contractors in Iraq." NPS Thesis. December 2006
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/06Dec%5FButkus%5FMBA.pdf
"Outsourcing Small Wars: Expanding the Role of Private Military Companies in U.S. Military Operations." NPS Thesis. September 2005.
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/05Sep%5FJorgensen.pdf
"Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Improve Use of Private Security Providers." GAO July 2005
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05737.pdf
"Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues" CRS report updated July 11, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32419.pdf
DCAF Backgrounder "Private Military Companies" April 2004
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/issueareas/security/security
_pdf/2006_DCAF.pdf
"The Private Military Industry and Iraq: What Have We Learned and Where to Next?" DCAF Policy Paper. Nov 2004
http://www.dcaf.ch/_docs/pp04_private-military.pdf
"Phasing Out Private Security Contractors in Iraq" USAWC Strategic Leadership Course paper. March 2006
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil520.pdf
"Private Security Contractors on the Battlefield." USAWC Strategy Research Project. March 2006
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil320.pdf
"Operational Implications of Private Military Companies in the Global War on Terror. Army Command and General Staff College, 2005
http://stinet.dtic.mil/dticrev/PDFs/ADA436294.pdf
"Public War, Private Fight? The United States and Private Military Companies" Global War on Terrorism Occasional Paper no. 12. Fort Leavenworth Combat Studies Institute. 2005
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/kidwell.pdf

The Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed Wednesday, October 3 as ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day.
Take the Change a Light Pledge, learn what Washoe County is doing to conserve, preserve and restore resources and find out how you can too and save money in the process!
When: Wednesday, October 3
Where: Building A Lobby
When: 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lots of fun giveaways! Enjoy a complimentary dessert while you learn!
Who will be there?

Sierra Pacific Power, RTC, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, Washoe County Cooperative Extension, Environmental Health Services, Regional Parks and Open Space, the Flood Project, Water Resources, Air Quality Management, the Quality of Life Task Force, Community Relations, Purchasing, Facility Management and YOU!!!

Introducing Gov Gab – Your U.S. Government Blog!
We are very pleased to announce that USA.gov and the team at the Office of Citizen Services at GSA have just launched a blog. Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> is a blog for all Americans to share all our government information. Check it out at http://www.govgab.gov <http://www.govgab.gov/> .
Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> is written by a team of five bloggers with different backgrounds and interests, all experts on government information via their jobs at USA.gov, Pueblo.gsa.gov, or 1 (800) FED-INFO. Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> offers a new post each weekday, and readers are encouraged to join the conversation by leaving comments or sending e-mails. The Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> team will key off the conversation going on in the blogosphere and use their own experiences and expertise as government information managers to blog about the services and great information from the U.S. government that are helpful to Americans in their everyday lives.
Check out our first posts <http://www.govgab.gov/> and read the "meet the bloggers <http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/page/bios> " section for a short, fun autobiography of each writer. With their varying backgrounds and stories, the bloggers have something for everyone. This personal element lets Gov Gab put a "face" on the federal government, and makes it easier for readers to ask questions, share experiences, and join the conversation.
Find out who’s talking, what’s being said, and offer your two cents on Gov Gab.gov—Your U.S. Government Blog <http://www.govgab.gov/> .
And, please, help us spread the word!
Thanks!

Bev Godwin <mailto:beverly.godwin@gsa.gov> Director, USA.gov and Web Best Practices Federal Citizen Information Center, Office of Citizen Services U.S. General Services Administration
For all your government information needs:
Click on USA.gov <http://www.usa.gov/>
or Call 1-800-FED-INFO

This month marks the official debut of The Dirksen Congressional Center's new online version of Congress in the Classroom -- http://moodle.congressclass.org/ -- an award-winning course for teachers.
Do you teach social studies, American government, American history, or civics? Are your lessons about the U.S. Congress out of date? Is it hard to engage your students in learning about the House and Senate? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then Congress in the Classroom Online is the course for you!
Congress in the Classroom Online will help you understand today's Congress and suggest ways to teach about it. The self-paced online course is organized around the twin responsibilities of Congress members:
representation and lawmaking. There are more than a dozen individual units on such topics as "What Makes for Effective Members of Congress?" "How Representative is the Membership of Congress?" and "Lawmaking: Understanding the Basics." All the information you need to complete the course is available with just a few mouse clicks.
This improved version of Congress in the Classroom Online uses a more interactive approach, featuring many options to engage you (and the
instructor) in the course materials.
We welcome your participation! Take a look -- http://moodle.congressclass.org.
Sincerely,
Cindy Koeppel
The Dirksen Congressional Center
2815 Broadway
Pekin, IL 61554
Phone: 309.347.7113
Fax: 309.347.6432
E-mail: ckoeppel@dirksencenter.org http://www.dirksencongressionalcenter.org