Government Research

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EVALUATING INTERNET SOURCES
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY ABOUT INTERNET SOURCES
CRITICALLY ANALYZING INFORMATION SOURCES
DISTINGUISHING SCHOLARLY JOURNALS FROM OTHER PERIODICALS
EVALUATING INFORMATION FOUND IN THE INTERNET
EVALUATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES
EVALUATING WEB PAGES
PRIMARY SOURCES
Disclaimer:All links on this page lead to other web sites that do not necessarily reflect the my views. In addition, these links do not constitute an endorsement of other sites nor do they guarantee the accuracy of information presented on
other sites. I welcome your comments: If you have comments on these links or recommendations for additional sites, please email me. Government
Governments of the 50 States

Links to the official state web site, governor’s office, legislature, and court system of each state.

State Resource Center Links to each state’s home pages, statewide offices, executive, legislature, judiciary, courts, boards & commissions, regions, counties, libraries, and more. From Lexis.
State and Local Government on the Net A frequently updated and comprehensive directory of links.
THOMAS U.S. Congress on the Internet.
White House
House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
U.S. Government Documents Ready Reference Collection Government reports and statistics. From Columbia University

Libraries

USA.gov An easy way to navigate through U.S. federal government resources.
GovEngine A search engine for federal, state, and local government.
GPO Access Another good way to find U.S. government material.
Open Congressional Research Reports A collection of Congressional Research (CRS) reports accessible via the web.
Documents Center A central reference point for local, state, federal, and international government information.
Political Resources on the Net Listings of political sites on the Internet sorted by country, with links to parties, organizations, governments, media and more from all around the world.
European Governments Online
Politics and Government Around the World A collection of links to government, political parties, elections, and political information from around the world.
Rulers Leaders of all countries and territories, going back to about 1700 in most cases.
United Nations Use its
Web Site Locator to find its various agencies.
Governments on the WWW A comprehensive database of governmental institutions on the World Wide Web.
Foreign Governments Links to the official web sites of national governments.
Official Government Web Pages An alphabetical listing by country.
See also

CRF-USA

Law
Political Science

Issues

NewsHour IndexTranscripts of PBS’s NewsHour indexed by subject and searchable.
Social Issues Links from the Multnomah Public Library.
Political Information A search engine for politics and policies.
SpeakOut.com Issues organized into topics, sub-topics, and links to even more information.
Documents in the News The Document Center at University of Michigan archives current events documents by subject.
Science in the Headlines Summary of science issues in the news with links to related reports written by the nation’s top experts. From the National Academy of Science.
Commentary Today Links to columnists on the left and right.
News, Views, and Tools for Progressives Links to liberal and progressive viewpoints on issues.
Townhall.com Conservative news and information.
Directory of Political Debates & Issues Links to leading groups on all sides of the hot political issues facing our nation today. From Politics 1.
Hot Topics Series Overview and links to current issues, especially those science-related.
Political Advocacy Groups A listing of national political advocacy organizations arranged by the issue they are interested in.
New York Times: Politics Navigator A guide to political sites on the Internet.
[more] A complete listing of issue links. Opinion Polls
PollingReport.comLatest public opinion polls on politics, issues, and the economy.
Public Agenda Online In-depth analyses of public opinion and public policies.
Harris Poll Current and past polls back to 1998.
Gallup Organization Current and past opinion polls.
Pew Research Center An independent opinion research group that studies public attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues.

Los Angeles Times Poll

Zogby International Polls from all over the world.
CBS News Polls
Field Poll A California poll.
Program on International Policy Attitudes Research on public opinion on foreign policy and international issues.
World Public Opinion Information and analysis on public opinion from around the world.
Public Opinion Poll Database Questions and data from polls archived from the 1970s to present.
Roper Center Archive of data from polls conducted by many survey research organizations.
Survey Research Links Links to opinion polls and to other useful web sites for survey research. Law
FindLaw Links to cases, laws, law schools, legal news, legal subject index, law reviews, legal organizations, law firms, and international legal resources.
Legal Information Institute U.S. Supreme Court decisions, U.S. Code, U.S. Constitution, and other important legal materials. From Cornell Law School.
Jurist: The Law Professors’ Network
Legal news
topics
documents
videos
commentary
Oyez Supreme Court cases, audio of hearings, and other resources.
American Law Sources On-Line A huge collection of links to freely accessible online legal sources for the United States and Canada.
Guide to Law Online An annotated guide to sources of information on government and law available online from the Library of Congress.
Hieros Gamos Legal directories of U.S. and other nation’s legal systems.
Internet Legal Research Group A categorized index of thousands of legal web sites.
Nolo Clear information on many areas of U.S. law.
Court Web Sites Links to state, federal, and international courts. From National Center for State Courts.
Law.com Law news with free searchable archives.
Blawg Listing of legal blogs, podcasts, news feeds.
AcademicBlogs: Law A listing of blogs by law professors.
Law Reviews Online A listing of law reviews that make their content available online.
Directory of Open Access Journals: Law A directory of law journals that have content available online for free.
Argument Transcripts Transcripts of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Justice in America Links Links to all aspects of the criminal justice system.
Famous Trials Detailed information on trials throughout history.
Famous Trials in World History Links
Be Spacific Weblog on law archived by topic.
U.S. Constitution Complete text.
Justice Learning: The Meaning of the U.S. Constitution An article by article analysis. Navigate by clicking on the Articles listed across the top.
Constitution Finder Database of constitutions, charters, amendments, and related documents.
Constitutions, Treaties, and Declarations Links organized in alphabetical order by country.
Intute: Law Links.
Voice of the Shuttle: Legal Studies Links.
Yahoo Directory: Law Links.
Open Directory Project: Law Links. TERRORISM 1. Rand Corp. and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Rand-MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Database,
www.tkb.org/AnalyticalTools.jsp 2. Brookings Institution, “Iraq Index,” Oct. 29, 2007,
www.brookings.edu/iraqindex 3. Department of Justice, “Counterterrorism White Paper,” June 22, 2006,
http://trac.syr.edu /tracreports/terrorism/169/include/terrorism. whitepaper.pdf. This is the Justice Department’s most comprehensive public account of its “terrorism and terrorism-related” convictions and pleas to date. 4. Id. The “Counterterrorism White Paper” identifies only two people convicted of an attempted terrorist act (with an international connection) since 2001: Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, and Gale Nettles, who pleaded guilty to attempting to bomb a federal building in Chicago. Only Reid is linked to Islamic terrorism. Most of the government-claimed “terrorism or terrorism-related” convictions or pleas involved no terrorism charges, only such crimes as making false statements, immigration violations or credit card fraud. Most convictions or pleas that did involve terrorism charges are for providing “material support” to a group labeled terrorist, not for engaging in or even conspiring to engage in terrorist activity. 5. Dan Eggen and Susan Schmidt, “Count of Released Detainees Is Hard to Pin Down,” Washington Post, Nov. 6, 2001. Reports a government statement that 1,182 “potential terror suspects” had been detained as of early November 2001. Prepared statement of Michael T. Dougherty, director of operations, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, before the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Federal News Service, May 8, 2003. States that immigration officials detained 1,139 people in the Absconder Apprehension Initiative, directed at foreign nationals from Arab and Muslim countries who had outstanding deportation orders. Department of Homeland Security fact sheet, “Changes to National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS),” Dec. 1, 2003,
www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases /press_release_0305.shtm. Cites 2,870 people detained as part of the registration program. 6. Department of Justice, “Counterterrorism White Paper,” June 22, 2006. Our analysis of the cases reported in the white paper found no convictions of foreign nationals who were preventively detained in the first two years after 9/11. Most of those convicted were citizens or foreign nationals detained only after they were arrested and charged. 7. Department of Homeland Security fact sheet, “Changes to National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS),” Dec. 1, 2003. 8. Prepared statement of Carlina Tapia Ruano, first vice president, American Immigration Lawyers Assn., before the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing
on the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, June 10, 2005.
www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=16686 States that no one who registered was charged with a “terrorist-related” offense. Department of Justice “Counterterrorism White Paper,” June 22, 2006. Our review of all terrorism convictions identified in the white paper found that none of the defendants were subject to registration, according to government criteria. 9. Department of Justice,
www.lifeandliberty.gov/subs/a_terr.htm
10. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, “The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks,” April 2003, released June 2, 2003.
www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/0306/full.pdf. States that the government’s post-9/11 policy, called “hold until cleared,” barred deportation of foreign nationals until the FBI cleared them of any connection to terrorism. 11. ABC News, “Secret FBI Report Questions Al Qaeda Capabilities,” March 9, 2005. Reports on a secret February 2005 FBI document that admitted the agency had found no Al Qaeda cells in the U.S. Department of Justice, “Counterterrorism White Paper,” June 22, 2006. Includes no mention of Al Qaeda cells found in the U.S. Our research shows no record of the discovery of an Al Qaeda cell in the U.S. since June 2006. 12. 13. Department of Defense news release, Nov. 9, 2007.
www.defenselink.mil/releases /release.aspx?releaseid=11477. 14. Although the government has established military tribunals to try detainees, because of continuing legal questions concerning the proceedings, no one has been successfully tried for any crime. One detainee, David Hicks, an Australian citizen, pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist group, in return for being released to Australia. 15. Dana Priest, “CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons,” Washington Post, Nov. 2, 2005. Reported “contours” of the CIA “black site” detention program based on “current and former U.S. intelligence officials and foreign sources.” 16. In a speech on Sept. 6, 2006,
President Bush announced that 14 of the “black site” detainees had been transferred to Guantanamo to face justice via military tribunals; so far none has been charged with any crime. 17. Peter G. Gosselin and Robin Wright, “Showdown with Iraq,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 26, 2003. Reports that White House economic advisor Lawrence B. Lindsey’s estimate that Iraq war’s cost could run between $100 billion and $200 billion was dismissed by the administration and that Lindsey was subsequently fired at least in part, many speculate, because of his estimate. 18. Prepared statement of Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, before the House Committee on the Budget, Oct. 24, 2007.
www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/86xx/doc8690/ 10-24-CostOfWar_Testimony.pdf. 19. Congressional Budget Office (Mike Waters), “Federal Funding for Homeland Security: An Update,” July 20, 2005.
www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/65xx/doc6566/ 7-20-HomelandSecurity.pdf. Summarizes funding in 2003 and 2004, estimates funding in 2005, cites requested funding for 2006. Pam Fessler, “Homeland Security Spending on the Rise” (An Inside Look:
President Bush‘s 2007 Budget), NPR.org., Feb. 6, 2006.
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=5192631. Reports on requested increase for 2007. 20. icasualties.org/oif/ 21.
www.iraqbodycount.org/
RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS
FACT CHECKS –
US GOVERNMENT FACT MONSTE
FOLLOW THE MONEY – MONEY GIVEN TO CA POLITICIANS
OPEN SECRETS – DATA ON MONEY GIVEN TO POLITICIANS
SECREATARY OF STATE – REPORTS ON MONEY GIVEN TO POLITICOS IN CALIFORNIAN
CROOKS AND LIARS
PROJECT VOTE SMART
ONLINE DEMOCRACY
CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE
ANALYSIS ON ALL ISSUES
DOUBTCOM. DIFFERENT VIEWS
HOW STUFF WORKS
NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MANHATTAN INSTITUTENATIO
PUBLIC AGENDA – RESEARCH ON CRITICAL ISSUES
TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
NOGS WORKING TOGETHER
NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION

PRO WAR RESEARCH
INFORMATION ON THE MILITARY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DEFENSE AMD THE NATIONAL INTERESTS
MOVE AMERICA FORWARD – PRO WAR BLOG

ANTI WAR RESEARCH
IRAQ COALITION CASUALTY COUNT
AMERICANS AGAINST THE ESCALATION IN IRAQ
MOVEON.ORG
Experts and Advice
RAND This well-known non-profit institute researches various issues and publishes select papers on the Internet.
Brookings Institution This non-profit research organization serves as an independent analyst of public policy issues. Many of its publications are online.
Cato Institute This non-partisan public policy research foundation examines issues from a libertarian perspective. Many of its publications are online.
Center for American Progress A non-partisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all Americans.
Heritage Foundation A think tank whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies. Its site discusses many issues.
Hoover Institution This non-profit focuses mainly on foreign policy. Some of its publications are online.
Urban Institute This is a non-partisan economic and social policy organization. The site has information on many current topics.
Yahoo Directory: Public Policy Institutes
Think Tanks Listings of think tanks. From University of Michigan Documents Center.
Centers for Research & Policy Development Another listing of think tanks.
NIRA’s World Directory of Think Tanks Click on the index at the bottom of the page.
Think Tanks and NGOs From World Press Review. Other Experts AskMe You can ask a question or browse previous answers by category. Experts are rated by how well they answer questions.
Yahoo Answers Ask a question and people will answer online. Archives available.
AllExperts A large free Q & A service.
ExpertClick A directory of experts.
Pitsco’s Ask An Expert A directory of links to people who have volunteered their time to answer questions and web pages that provide information.
LibrarySpot: Ask an Expert Links to sites that might be helpful for homework.
Sources and Experts Links to experts who are willing to help journalists.
American Press Institute: Expert Sources More links to experts helpful for journalists.
LiveRef(sm) A listing of libraries that have reference services online via chat or e-mail.
AskNow Immediate information from California librarians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
People’s Network: Enquire Ask a question and a librarian will answer it.
Open Directory Project: Ask an Expert Links.
Yahoo Directory: Ask an Expert Links.
Ask an Expert Sources Links to experts in many subject areas.
Ask the Experts A listing by subject of many “ask an expert” sites. From the Virtual Reference Desk. Encyclopedias
Britannica ConciseMore than 25,000 alphabetical entries. The full
Britannica is now a subscription site.
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica The complete text of this encyclopedia.
Columbia Encyclopedia Latest edition of the largest one volume encyclopedia.
Encarta Microsoft’s encyclopedia, dictionary, and atlas.
Free Internet An encyclopedia composed of information available on the Internet.
Facts Encyclopedia Another encyclopedia of information on the Internet.
Wikipedia An online collaborative encyclopedia written by readers of the web site.
Citizendium Wikipedia-like but with “gentle expert oversight” of all articles.
AllRefer.com Thousands of articles from several encyclopedias.
HowStuffWorks Explanations on many subjects.
Encylopedia.com Articles with pictures, maps, and links to other resources.
Encyclopedia Smithsonian A wide-ranging encyclopedia.
Suite 101 Online articles, discussions, and courses.
Assorted Encyclopedias on the Internet A listing of encyclopedias.
Open Directory Project: Encyclopedias Links. Biographies
Biographical DictionaryShort biographies.
Biographies Biographies of historically important Americans.
Malaspina: Great Books Biographies of great figures in history.
Biography.com A database of more than 25,000 biographies.
Biography Center More than 10,000 biographies.
Blupete’s Literature Page Biographies of historical figures in the fields of law, literature, philosophy, economics, and history.
Wikipedia: Lists of People Many different categories to get biographies. Keep clicking.
Historic Figures Biographies from the BBC.
CNN Transcripts Profiles of people in the news from 2001 to present.
Biography/Who’s Who Links from Refdesk.com.
Who2 Searchable brief biographies and links to other biographies.
Homework Center Biographies Great links from the Multnomah County Library.
SparkNotes: Biography Study Guides Guides to the lives of many people.
Time 100 Profiles of the 100 people
Time magazine has selected as the most important of the 20th century.
Open Directory Project: Biography Links. Frequently Asked Questions
QueryCAT Search a large database of Frequently Asked Questions.
Internet FAQ Archives Archive of Usenet FAQs.
FAQs by Archive-Name
WiseGeek Clear answers to common questions.
WikiAnswers Answers to questions searchable and browsable by category.
AnswerBag Similar to WikiAnswers.
Yahoo Directory: FAQs How-To Guides
How How to do just about anything.
SoYouWanna Another how-to site.
Wiki-How An online collaborative project written by readers of the web site.
How to Do Things A searchable and browsable guide.
Tricks of the Trade Professional secrets from those in the know.
Knowledge Hound A how-to directory.
Yahoo Directory: How-To Guides Links. Maps
U.N. Cartographic Section Hundreds of maps (most are PDF files).
Maps & Geography Maps from National Geographic magazine.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection Extensive collection of maps from the University of Texas at Austin.
Map Collections: 1500-present From Library of Congress.
National Atlas U.S. maps to find and create.
All The Worlds Maps A compilation of each nation’s maps (including cities). From EmbassyWorld.com.
HRW: World Maps Maps of continents, countries, and the world.
Outline Maps Outline maps of all areas of the world. Useful for the classroom.
Geocoder.us Find the latitude & longitude of any US address.
The Earth From Above Stunning photographs from around the world.
Windows Live Local Aerial, road, and bird’s eye images.
Google Earth Downloadable software to view satellite maps.
Google Maps Maps, satellite maps, and combinations.
Maporama Maps, itineraries, longitude and latitude, and more for almost every city.
Strange Maps A blog exhibiting unusual maps.
Worldmapper Cartograms on many subjects.
Yahoo Maps Maps and driving directions.
MapQuest Maps and driving directions.
How Far Is It? Tells you the distance between two cities or locations.
Map Guide Many links to maps.
Links4Maps Links to map sites.
Open Directory Project: Maps Links to more map sites.
Yahoo Directory: Maps More links.
See also
Geography. THE WORLD COMMUNITY – FACTS
ALMANACS
STATISTICAL DATA

World Factbook

Facts about every nation in the world, published by the CIA.
OFFSTATS International statistics grouped by country, region, and topic
Infoplease.com Almanacs, dictionary, encyclopedia, and an atlas.

U.N. Statistics Division
Statistics from many international sources.
Area and Country Studies Links to information and statistics about all the countries and regions in the world.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Huge collection of federal government information on criminal justice issues
Answers.com Search a database of encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries and atlases.

GeoHive: Global Statistics
Population and economic statistics on regions, countries, provinces, and cities.

Statistical Abstract
Annual collection of statistics on U.S. social and economic conditions.

Governing Sourcebook
Data profiles for the top 50 counties or cities, states, D.C., or the U.S. Categories covered include economic development, education, environment, finance, health, management, public safety, public works, social services, and technology.

FOLDERS FOR STUDENTS
.

Map Stats
profiles your state, county, federal judicial district, or congressional district.

Other Statistical Sites
Links by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Statistical Resources on the Web
A large collection of links to statistical sources by the University of Michigan Documents Center.

International Statistical Agencies
Links to every nation’s office of statistics. From the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fast Facts: Almanacs/Fact books/Statistical Reports & Related Reference Tools
Huge list of links POLITICAL BLOGS – POLITICAL BLOGS – POLITICAL BLOGS
Baldilocks
Becker-Posner Blog
Best of the Web Today
Bill Hobbs
BlameBush!
Blogging For Bayh
Blogs for Bush
Burnt Orange Report
BushTracker
BuzzMachine
Chicago Boyz
Chrenkoff
Chris C. Mooney
Crooks and Liars
Cut on the Bias
Daily Kos
Daily Pundit
Daly Thoughts
Daniel W. Drezner
Day By Day
DC Media Girl
Decision08
Democratic Underground
DonkeyRising
EconoPundit
Ed Driscoll
Ellisblog
Ezra Klein
Fired Up! America
FishBowlDC
Free Republic
Hullabaloo
INDC Journal
Informed Comment
Instapundit
James Wolcott
Jesus’ General
K Marx The Spot
Kausfiles
Kennedy vs. The Machine
Kottke.org
Lawrence Lessig
Legal Fiction
Light Of Reason
Making Light
The Smirking Chimp
The Swift Report
The Washington Note
Vodkapundit
War and Piece
Washington State Political Report
WILLisms
Wizbang
ArchPundit
Matthew Yglesias
Michael J. Totten
Michelle Malkin
Mudville Gazette
Mystery Pollster
Notes from the Lounge
Off the Kuff
Oh, That Liberal Media
Orcinus
Outside The Beltway
Oval Office 2008
Pacific Views
ParaPundit
Patrick Ruffini
PoliBlog
PoliPundit
Political Animal
Political Wire
Power Line
Raising Kaine
RealClearPolitics
Rittenhouse Review
Roger Ailes
Roger L. Simon
Romenesko
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
The Hotline
The Indepundit
The News Blog
Rough and Tumble
Calblog
Huffington Post
Lean Left
LiberalOasis
TalkLeft
The Al Franken Show
The Left Coaster
Think Progress
Commonwealth Conservative
Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid
HughHewitt.com