The most excellent Tumblr of the Sunlight Foundation
Every known drone attack in Pakistan
It’s hard to know the impact of drone attacks as outsiders looking in, because the United States government doesn’t disclose the information. Using data maintained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which is estimates based on reports from the ground, Pitch Interactive sheds some light on every known drone attack in Pakistan.
Gun Violence in U.S. Cities Compared to the Deadliest Nations in the World
“We can’t put this off any longer,” President Obama implored the nation last week as he introduced 23 executive actions designed to reduce gun violence in America. While the United States has the highest level of gun ownership per capita in the world, its rate of gun homicides, about three per 100,000 people, is far lower than that of Honduras, the country with the world’s highest gun homicide rate (roughly 68 gun murders per 100,000 people). But America’s homicide rate varies significantly by city and metro area, as I pointed out here at Cities a few weeks ago.
Road Closures, Vehicle Restricted Areas for Inauguration
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service have institute the following vehicle access and parking restrictions for today’s Inauguration activities. You can download the full list (PDF) or the map above (PDF)
How the Parties Flip-Flopped on the Debt Ceiling
Because of some the work we’ve done before on last minute negotiations and divided government, Sunlight prepared the following graphic that visualizes the recent history of US House votes on the debt ceiling, based on public voting records and a CRS report.
We’ll have more commentary forthcoming, but here are a few initial thoughts on what this graphic makes clear:
- Opposition to raising the debt ceiling is often partisan, with opposition coming from either party, based on who is in the White House. Many House Republicans have voted for raising the ceiling, just as President Obama voted against it when he was a Senator.
- Divided government has necessitated support from both parties to raise the limit.
- There is a significant untold story about the Gephardt Rule, a House Rule which enabled the limit to be raised with little public record. The role this rule played in setting up the current showdowns has been insufficiently examined.
- Good access to congressional data and reports enables this kind of analysis; it could be improved.
- Each of these votes was a predictable consequence of budgets that were passed before them, demonstrating another facet of political hypocrisy.
The Age of Obama: Timelapse of President Barack Obama over four years in office
Time roughs up presidents. Photos of Barack Obama on Election Night 2008 look like they were taken much longer ago. Now his face has deeper creases and crow’s feet, while his hair has turned white. “You look at the picture when they’re inaugurated and four years later, they’re visibly older,” said Connie Mariano, White House physician from 1992 to 2001. “It’s like they went in a time machine and fast-forwarded eight years in the span of four years.”
A comparison between 2009 and 2013 inaugural fundraising.
Obama discloses less about inaugural donors
What a difference four years makes: President Barack Obama, who began his first term with a promise to change the way Washington works, barred corporate donations to his first inauguration, capped individual contributions at $50,000 and began disclosing his donors and bundlers more than a month before his swearing-in.
Inauguration planning begins in earnest at Armory
Military and National Guard officials held a press conference to detail some of the 2014 Inauguration plans at the Armory in D.C., using a 40 by 60 foot map of the National Mall and its surrounding areas to plan logistics and staging.
Another reason for a fiscal cliff standstill: too many safe seats?
As “fiscal cliff” negotiations continue to slow to a standstill, Americans might be feeling frustrated about the inability of their representatives to reach a compromise. Wasn’t the election supposed to settle the argument?
There are many reasons to explain the intransigence. Last week, we documented the ubiquitous lobbying on tax and budget issues that will almost certainly complicate any attempt to reach a deal.
But there’s another factor to keep in mind: The majority of members of Congress have relatively homogenous constituencies. That means they’re probably hearing overwhelmingly from only one side of the argument back home, and facing limited pressure to find a compromise.
Plotting whitehouse.gov secession petitions
There are six counties in the US with a median income of more than $100,000. Here’s the list. And here’s how they voted:
Loudoun County, Virginia: Obama 51.6%, Romney 47.2%
Falls Church, Virginia: Obama 69.1%, Romney 29.6%
Fairfax, Virginia: Obama 57.3%, Romney 41.1%
Los Alamos, New Mexico: Obama 48.7%, Romney 45.0%
Howard, Maryland: Obama 59.5%, Romney 38.3%
Hunterdon, New Jersey: Obama 40.0%, Romney 58.9%
New Bloomberg Businessweek cover, out today”
Creative director: Richard Turley
Most of the nation shifted to the right in Tuesday’s vote, but not far enough to secure a win for Mitt Romney.
America: Elect! The action-packed journey to US election day in graphic novel form
It’s been a long – really long – campaign, one full of twists and turns, gaffes and memes. As Americans head to the polls to choose between Obama and Romney, catch up on the story so far and stay tuned for the final chapter
$$$ and what are they spending it on
