State Government in Your Pocket

Nancy Scola | June 23, 2009 - 9:59am | 1 comment | Email This!

Text message "nysenate marriage" or "nysenate Adams" or "nysenate S427" to 41411 and get back a list of relevant bills or a short description of the bill in question right to your cell phone. It's part of the burgeoning Open NY Senate initiative, and while developer Nathan Freitas admits that the trial is proof-of-concept and will likely only appeal to the wonkiest of state government nerds, it's a demonstration of what parsed, searchable legislative data makes possible. The ultimate goal, says Freitas, is to make finding out what's happening in government "as easy as looking up sports scores." Might be useful the next time you're trying to settle a bar bet over what Albany is up to.

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Talking about Marriage......

by JaydenJ on June 26, 2009 - 12:27am

One of the biggest issues that people have been making noise about has been same sex marriage, but in an obvious move to appease instead of pursue civil rights, the Obama Justice Department has committed to defending DOMA. DOMA, or the Defense Of Marriage Act, was a piece of legislation passed under President Clinton, which has been applauded by people that would give instant payday loans to have their fellow citizens under the heel of tyranny, and has been upheld. The law mandates that the Federal government will not recognize a same sex union, and many have put forth the view that DOMA is unconstitutional, but no unsecured loans or legal briefs can get the Supreme Court to review it.