Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

USA.gov has a Thanksgiving resource page to learn more about this holiday, including the annual White House Turkey Ceremony, where this year's turkeys, Pumpkin and Pecan, were "pardoned".

Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy this Cold War era video, "A Day of Thanksgiving" from "Young America Films", 1951.

Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month. According to the Library of Congress, "The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans". Here is a compilation of Native American and American Indian government resources:

* Library of Congress Native American Heritage Month Webpage with links to their collections, images, and audio/video collections.

* USA.gov's Tribal Government and Native American Information guide.

* Bureau of Indian Affairs manages lands held in trust for and the education of Native Americans.

* Indian Health Service

* National Park Service's National American Indian Heritage Month webpage

Weekly Presidential Address will be on YouTube

President-elect Obama launched his first Weekly YouTube Address!

According to the announcement on his Change.gov website:

For the first time, the weekly Democratic address has been released as a web video. It will also continue to air on the radio.

President-elect Obama plans to publish these weekly updates through the Transition and then from the White House.

Civic Engagement

There are some great discussion going on at the FGI (Free Government Information) website about civic engagement in librarianship and a series of posts from John Schuler called "75 Days" to Government Information Liberation. Check it out and join in on the conversation!

Here are some government resources to use that encourage civic engagement which are each discussed in detail at FGI:

* The Congressional Record

* Congressional Calendars & Schedules

* The Federal Register (also check out regulations.gov!)

* Contact Your Government (by Topic)

Presidential Transition Part II

Gosh, there are tons of resources coming out about the Presidential Transition! Here are some more:

ResourceShelf.com has a long list of resources about Presidential Transitions, some which I mentioned in my previous post, and they even give a shout out to the FGI website on their recent posts on transition and technology issues during the transition. Join in on the conversation!

Congresspedia has a listing of Presidential Transition Resources, including laws, CRS Reports, and recommendations.

OMBWatch.org has created a document: Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda: Recommendations to President-elect Obama and Congress. They make suggestions for better technology, government transparency, etc.

Presidential Transition Part I

Now that we have a President-elect, a transition is taking place, causing much excitement, anticipation, and some anxiety. This is to be expected during a time of "Presidential Transition" after an election. Here are some resources about presidential transitions, including this current one!

The Presidential Transition Resources website is produced by the GSA and NARA to introduce the new Administration to the operation of the Federal government and the resources available to help them begin their service in the new Administration. The Presidential Transition Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-293) states that the transition directory "provides information on the officers, organization, and statutory and administrative authorities, functions, duties, responsibilities, and mission of each department and agency." Oh, and it's a good resource for us citizens to look at too!

President-elect Obama has a new website up called Change.gov. They have some interactive features in which to "tell your story" or "share your vision" as well as a news column and blog. According to the website: "The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 USC 102) specifically authorizes the Administrator of GSA to provide services and support to the Office of the President-elect beginning the day after the election until 30 days after the inauguration to support the orderly transfer of executive power after a general election. This site provides information to the public in support of this important public purpose." I've noticed that their Agenda items seem to vanish...thank goodness the Dot Gov Harvest project is archiving the website! This issue has been discussed quite a bit over at the Free Government Information (FGI) website as well as the issue of Presidential Transition.

The GSA also runs the Presidential Transition website portal, with information about the GSA's role in the transition, laws & regulations on the Presidential Transition periods, etc.

Another website for this transition period is run by the Government Accountability Office (GAO): 2009 Congressional and Presidential Transition. Check out their "Urgent Issues" section.

The 2008 edition of the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, commonly known as the Plum Book, is now available online. It is prepared after each Presidential election by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform, and provides comprehensive information on thousands of Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government.

Veteran's Day

Veterans Day is today! The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has a great website devoted to resources about Veterans Day, including a Poster Gallery and downloads section.


Here are some other resources about Veterans Day:

* Library of Congress has a "Today in History: November 11th" page has some great images, digitized historical materials, and memoirs.

* GovGab Blog post on Veterans and Veterans Day resources.

* Library of Congress Veterans History Project is a wonderful resource for viewing and listening to first hand accounts of U.S. Veterans from WWI to the current Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

The Day After

Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States last night. Regardless of who you voted for, I think we can all agree that this was an amazing, historic, and record-breaking voter turnout of an election!

Here are some resources on election results and such:
* CNN's Election Center and Results
* Louisiana Election Results
* Obama's Victory Speech: Transcript & Video
* State Voter Registration Figures for the 2008 Election

Ahem...

VOTE.

That is all.