Now Expanded! - Feature your blog on Congresspedia's Iowa Blogroll
By Avelino, Sunlight Foundation
Each state now has a individual portal on Congresspedia, listing its members of Congress, 2008 candidates and local blogs that cover national politics (at least in part). If you're getting this email, your blog is on that list. Help Congresspedia's readers find your blog by adding a (very) brief description to the listing of your blog. To do so, go to the Iowa portal, scroll down to the "Local blogs" list and click "edit". Instructions are there.
Wiki the Vote 2008 - Iowa Update
The first two weeks of our Wiki the Vote project to build profiles on every candidate running for Congress have gone really well thanks to the contributions of what appear to be campaign volunteers, the candidates themselves and "regular" citizens (all are welcome as long as the additions are accurate and linked to a source).
Two weeks ago featured a participatory project to upload photos of all the candidates, and we now have a nearly complete set. Go to the Iowa portal to see the results and add any information you think is relevant. The current featured project is recording the endorsements any incumbents or challengers have received for the 2008 race. (How to participate.)
Current featured participatory project on Congresspedia: What's your member of Congress' record on SCHIP?
The Congresspedia staff has boned up on their healthcare research and has written an extensive page on State Children's Health Insurance Program and the recent votes in Congress to massively expand the number of people covered and, of course, the cost of the program. Help make this an accountability moment, regardless of whether you think expanding SCHIP was one more step towards socialism or a lifeline for working class kids, by recording how your representative votes. (How to participate.)
Applications for Mini-Grants from the Sunlight Foundation still being accepted!
The Sunlight Foundation/Network is offering grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for local bloggers that dedicate some of their blogging time to covering their member of Congress. Applications will be judged on how your blog tries to keep your readers informed about your member of Congress. The focus should be on shedding more light on what Congress does and how to improve the communication between citizens and Congress. As a rule we do not award money for salaries but do for technology upgrades. If you are interested in applying, please fill out the provided application, it is available on the Sunlight Foundation grants page (http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/grants).
Please describe your project with a detailed description of how it fits in with Sunlight’s mission and your goals for your project, an itemized budget (including the amount requested from Sunlight) and contact information. Mini grant applications are due by January 1st 2008.
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Saturday, November 3
Now Expanded! - Feature your blog on Congresspedia's Iowa Blogroll
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 03 Nov 2007 09:09 AM CDT
Tuesday, February 27
Sunlight Foundation Update
by
Sam Garchik
on Tue 27 Feb 2007 10:08 AM CST
Sunlight Foundation Update
By The Sunlight Foundation In this month's Sunlight Foundation/ Congresspedia update we wanted to alert you to a few new tools, prizes and grants, as well as a plea to help us rate members of Congress on how useful their websites are to constituents. --Items-- 1. New “Money in politics” section in Congresspedia profiles helps illuminate the ties that bind 2. Sunlight Foundation launches OpenCongress 3. Win a $2,000 cash prize for having the best mashup website on Congress! 4. Rate your member of Congress' website for transparency (or self-promotion) 5. Sunlight Foundation now accepting applications from local groups for mini-grants 1. New “Money in politics” section in Congresspedia profiles helps illuminate the ties that bind Congresspedia's crack team of interns has just finished installing a new "Money in politics" section in each member of Congress profile. The section provides links to several databases at the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets site that document the campaign contributions, private travel and personal finances of members. We're also linking to a brand new database that will actually show you the former staffers of a member who turned lobbyist (and who they lobby for). What we're most proud of, however, is an innovative new live feed of data from CRP of each member's top 2006 campaign contributors. As soon as the 2008 data comes out we'll be syndicating that as well. You can find the money-in-politics section on each member's page. Here's the listing by state: 2. Sunlight Foundation launches OpenCongress Congresspedia’s co-parent, the Sunlight Foundation, has just launched a new project, OpenCongress.org. The site was envisioned as an actually functional version of the Library of Congress' THOMAS legislative information website combined with what bloggers and mainstream media are saying for all kinds of Web2.0 goodness. The site includes: * Official government information from Thomas, made available by GovTrack.us. * News and blog coverage of Congress from Google News and Technorati. * Links to profiles of each Member of Congress on Congresspedia. * Campaign contribution information from the non-profit OpenSecrets.org. * The Congress Gossip Blog, written by OpenCongress site editors, a blog that highlights useful news & blog reporting from around the web. 3. Win a $2,000 cash prize for having the best mashup website on Congress! To celebrate Sunshine Week (March 12-19th), the Sunlight Foundation is offering a $2,000 prize for the best mashup website that displays information about Congress. Websites will be judged on their creativity, their delightfulness, and how effectively they share information about Congress. This contest was inspired by the explosion of simple mashups in the last year, and Sunlight’s commitment to using new tools to make Congress more transparent. There are many sources of raw data about Congress, but not all of them (sadly) have open APIs, so we leave it up to you to figure out how to take their data and do something fun and informative with it. Last year, Sunlight Labs mashed up a database of earmarks in the Labor and Health and Human Services Bill with Google Maps, so that people could navigate a map of the United States covered with icons representing earmarks, in the course learning more about those earmarks. We're hoping to see more of that kind of fun and informative project. Esther Dyson , Craig Newmark and Jimmy Wales have signed up to judge the contest. Deadline is March 12th. More details are available here. 4. Rate your member of Congress' website for transparency (or self-promotion) The Sunlight Foundation has set up a rating system for constituents to evaluate the websites of their members of Congress to determine whether they're using public funds to create tools for transparency or vehicles for self promotion. So far, citizen journalists have evaluated more than 430 congressional Web sites, determining whether members provide online information on their official acts, from their legally required disclosure forms, or make additional efforts to be transparent and accountable. When the survey is complete we will post the results on the members' Congresspedia pages as a very public report card. We've only got 100 members left to go. Help put us over the top by taking the survey or by urging your readers to do so. Even if your members have already been evaluated, multiple ratings for every member would help us get a better picture of their efforts. Go here for more information And thank you! 5. Sunlight Foundation now accepting applications from local groups for mini-grants on increasing citizen power. For the second year, the Sunlight Foundation is offering grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for local groups that have creative ideas for changing the relationship between elected federal representatives and the people they represent. Successful applicants will receive the grant, consulting and strategic support, and networking opportunities. The goal is to provide that extra element that takes a project from good to great -- server space, a video camera, or access to polling data -- or provide the seed that makes a new project viable. Projects could range from citizen media, to creative use of the internet to engage citizens in watchdogging, to opening up new ways of communicating with federal lawmakers to creative mapping of lawmakers' activities. Applications are encouraged from existing small local nonprofits and websites, offshoots of national groups, individuals, and informal groups of citizens. Details can be found here Sunday, December 24
Sunlight Seeker Added to BFIA
by
Sam Garchik
on Sun 24 Dec 2006 06:57 AM CST
Sunlight Seeker Added to BFIA
By Sam Garchik Once again, the folks at the Sunlight Foundation have made politics more accountable. Check out the new "Sunlight Seeker," in the lower left hand side of the blog page. Type in the name of any state or local politician, or donor, for that matter, and the seeker searches Open Secrets (for national donors) and Follow the Money (for state money), as well as the Congresspedia and GovTrack.us. This combines several searches into one easy window, and I encourage you all to use this tool. That being the case, this blog will be taking a week or so off for winter break, but stay tuned come January 2 for more of the same on Blog For Iowa. Sunday, September 17
Punch Clock Campaign
by
Sam Garchik
on Sun 17 Sep 2006 12:00 PM CDT
Punch Clock Campaign Hello, My name is Kate Herbst, an intern here at the Sunlight Foundation, and I am writing to let you all in on the organization’s most recent efforts to bring transparency back into our government. While the 109th Congress is winding down for its last session this year, the Sunlight Foundation has been gearing up to launch the new Punch Clock Campaign. This is one of our latest endeavors to hold Members of Congress responsible while they are in office and get them to do their jobs: working for us! The campaign premise, which can be found at www.punchclockcampaign.com, is simple. We’re asking each Member of Congress to post their daily schedules on the internet so that you can see who they’re meeting with, what they’re working on, and generally how they spend their time. Ever wish your representatives were responsible for turning in timesheets or punching the clock just like you? Well, now is your chance. Here’s the catch: we need your help to do this! The Sunlight Foundation will award $1,000 for each Member of Congress and $250 for each candidate when you get them to agree to do this, beginning with the next Congress. That’s right. We’ll pay you for the work you do to make your Congressmen more accountable. For details and helpful hints on how you can get $1,000, just click the link below. www.sunlightnetwork.com/punchclock This Congress has put in less work days than any other Congress since 1948. What are they doing when they are not in legislative session? If we are going to change the nature of the relationship between lawmakers and citizens, it has to include a greater understanding of what Members of Congress do with their time. So, it’s time to get moving. Check out our site, ask questions, and start contacting you Congressmen! www.sunlightnetwork.com/punchclock Good luck! Sincerely, |
Iowa Sites Child & Family Policy Center - Iowa Genetic Engineering Action Network Iowa Citizen Action Network - ICAN Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility Iowa Public Interest Research Group Midwest Environmental Justice Advocates Progressive Action for the Common Good Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa QCAD (Quad-Citians Affirming Diversity - GLBT) Iowa Blogs The Deprogrammer (Quad Cities) Iowa True Blue (Gordon Fischer's Blog) Iowa Voters for Open and Transparent Elections Political FalloutFight Iowa Rapid Response Network - Iowa
Iowans for Better Local TV
Air America
The Counterpoint
National FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media Matters for America
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