Federal Documents - Government Information Everyone Can Use: 2009.06

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Event

On Thursday, July 2nd, the University of New Orleans will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The UNO Diversity Cabinet will host a commemoration at 10am in room 407 of the Earl K. Long Library. Nikki Brown, author of Private Politics and Public Voices: African American Women's Activism from World War I through the New Deal, will make a presentation, field questions, and lead a discussion about the significance of the Civil Rights Act.

All are invited.

In addition to the event, the Earl K. Long Library will feature a display on the 2nd floor throughout July.

This begins on July 2nd! Please feel free to stop on by!

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Monday, June 29, 2009

Meet the Press with Sr. White House adviser David Axelrod, Mitt Romney, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (6/28/2009)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Face the Nation with Gov. Haley Barbour and U.N. Ambassador Dr. Susan Rice (6/28/2009)

Watch CBS Videos Online

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

President Obama's Weekly Address (6/27/2009)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Monday, June 22, 2009

Meet the Press with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (6/21/2009)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Face the Nation with Sen. John McCain (6/21/2009)

President Obama's Weekly Address (6/20/2009)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Monday, June 15, 2009

Face the Nation with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (6/14/2009)

Meet the Press with V.P. Joe Biden (6/14/2009)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

President Obama's Weekly Address (6/13/2009)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Friday, June 12, 2009

DTV Transition

Tonight, the transition begins...

http://www.dtv.gov/

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

200 U.S. Hearings Digitized!

Today, the Earl K. Long Library hit 200 hearings in our new online collection of U.S. House and Senate Committee Hearings and Publications. This collection is free and open to the public. We have been working to digitize older hearings that are in our online catalog but are not available online...until now! The hearings are fully indexed.

Special thanks to Digital Initiatives Librarian, Keith Pickett, my partner in crime. He's the gentleman who has been patiently scanning these documents for your enjoyment. He's also the one who created the cool GPO/PDF logo that links to each document.

So, we beg of you...please take the time to peruse this collection and click, click, click to your heart's content.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

The Supreme Court Appointment Process

For those of you curious about how the Supreme Court appointment process, I thought I would list some resources that might help.

How Supreme Court Appointments Work (from HowStuffWorks)

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

President George H.W. Bush's Birthday

Today is the 85th birthday of our 41st president, George Herbert Walker Bush. President Bush served from 1989 to 1993. He is best known for his role in bringing down General Noriega, as well as for sending troops to fight the Iraqis in Desert Storm. To learn more, click on these links:

White House: Biography of George H.W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush (American President: an Online Reference Resource)

George Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Thursday, June 11, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School. President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on January 31, 2006, replacing Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer hails from San Francisco, California. He received an A.B. from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College, Oxfgord, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Arthur Goldberg during the 1964 term. President Bill Clinton nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on August 3, 1994, replacing Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun (best known as the author of Roe v. Wade).

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is from Brooklyn, New York. She received her B.A. from Cornell University. She also attended Harvard Law School and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She was instrumental in launching the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU in 1971. President Bill Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; she took her seat on August 10, 1993, replacing Associate Justice Byron White and becoming only the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Monday, June 8, 2009

Face the Nation with Sr. White House Advisor David Axelrod and Fmr. Speark of the House Newt Gingrich (6/7/2009)

President Obama's Weekly Address (6/6/2009)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was born in the Pin Point community of Georgia (near Savannah). He received his A.B., cum laude, from Holy Cross College and his J.D. from Yale Law School. President George H.W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on October 23, 1991, replacing Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall (the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court).

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Sunday, June 7, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice David Hackett Souter

Associate Justice David Hackett Souter is from Melrose, Massachusetts. He received his A.B. from Harvard College. He was also a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He would later receive an A.B. in Jurisprudene and an M.A. from Oxford. He then earned an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. President George H.W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on October 9, 1990, replacing Associate Justice William J. Brennan. He will be retiring this year; Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to replace him, but she still awaits confirmation from Congress.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Saturday, June 6, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy

Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was born in Sacramento, California. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and the London School of Economics and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School. President Ronald Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on February 18, 1988, replacing Associate Justice Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Friday, June 5, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Antonin Scalia

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He later received his LL.B. from Harvard Law School. President Ronald Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on September 26, 1986, replacing then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist when he was elevated to Chief Justice.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Thursday, June 4, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice John Paul Stevens

Associate Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. hails from Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago and the Northwestern University School of Law. He served in the Navy (1945-1945); after, he served as law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge during the 1947 term. President Gerald Ford nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on December 19, 1975, replacing Associate Justice William O. Douglas(who, with a term of 36 years and 209 days, was the longest-serving Justice in Supreme Court history).

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court: Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. hails from Buffalo, New York. He attended both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He also served as a law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist. President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on September 29, 2005, replacing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist upon his death.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Birthday of President Jefferson Davis, Confederate States of America

Today marks the 201st birthday of the only president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. President Davis served for the entire existence of the Confederate States of America, from 1861 to 1865. To learn more, click on these links:

The Papers of Jefferson Davis

American Civil War: Jefferson Davis, President Confederate States of America

The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis (Google Books)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court - Meet the Current Justices

It occurred to me that, with the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, many of you may be interested in learning more about the Supreme Court and the current justices. To start, here are some links to information:

Supreme Court of the United States

Biographies of Current Justices

All members of the Supreme Court of the United States

Another interesting site to check out is The Oyez Project, a multimedia archive devoted to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Check out more cool links here.

Every day, we'll focus on a different justice, so tune in!

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Monday, June 1, 2009

Hurricane Season (June 1st-November 30th)

Today marks the beginning of Hurricane Season. This year the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a fairly average season in the Atlantic:

9-14 Named Storms
4-7 Hurricanes
1-3 Major Hurricanes

The names chosen for this year (and up to the year 2014) can be found here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is responsible for vetting and confirming the new Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. They are currently preparing to consider the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

For more information about the Committee, visit judiciary.senate.gov.

For more information on Judge Sonia Sotomayor and the confirmation process, click here.

Members of the Committee are as follows (each name is a link that will bring you to that senator's personal site):

Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman (D-Vermont)

Jeff Sessions, Ranking Member (R-Alabama)

Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin)

Dianne Feinstein (D-California)

Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah)

Russell D. Feingold (D-Wisconsin)

Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)

Charles E. Schumer (D-New York)

Jon Kyl (R-Arizona)

Richard J. Durbin (D-Illinois)

Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)

Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Maryland)

John Cornyn (R-Texas)

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)

Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)

Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)

Edward E. Kaufman (D-Delaware)

Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania)

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy