Posts Tagged ‘Robert Livingston’
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself”*…
The 93rd U.S. Congress, 1973-74, considered 26,157 bills; it made 738 (3%) of them law. The 103rd Congress, 1993-94, enacted 458 (5%) of the 9,746 bills it considered. The current Congress– the 113th, 2013-14– has so far introduced 7,980 bills, and passed only 100 (just over 1%) of them.
The Legislative Explorer, from researchers at the University of Washington’s Center for American Politics and Public Policy, allows readers to follow the lawmaking process– over 250,000 bills and resolutions introduced from 1973 to present– in action.
The left half represents the U.S. Senate, with senators sorted by party (blue=Democrat) and a proxy for ideology (top=liberal). The House is displayed on the right. Moving in from the borders, the standing committees of the Senate and House are represented, followed by the Senate and House floors. A bill approved by both chambers then moves upward to the President’s desk and into law, while an adopted resolutions (that does not require the president’s signature) moves downward.
Each dot represents a bill, so one can see them move through the process. The drop-down menus at the top allow a shift of focus to a specific Congress, a person, a party, a topic, and several other categorizations; and there’s search to allow one to examine specific bills. Counters across the bottom of the screen keep track of the action… or the lack thereof.
[TotH to Flowing Data]
* Mark Twain
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As we yield, Mr. Speaker, to the gentleman from the District of Columbia, we might think expansionist thoughts in honor of Thomas Jefferson, whose emissaries Robert Livingston and James Monroe signed the the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, called by some “the letter that bought a continent,” in Paris on this date in 1803… and in one stroke (well, three strokes– Livingston, Monroe, and French representative Barbé Marbois all signed) doubled the size of the United States.
Do tell…
Nick Faber, Jeremy Griffin, and Jenny Nicholson offer a very nifty free service: one submits a title for a story, then one of them writes a 100 word tale to fit. Indeed in some cases, they even illustrate them…
One Ukelele and Some Stars
It was dark that night, so even though you were right beside me, I couldn’t see your face, just the black silhouette of your head against the stars. The lake was still and the cicadas trilled in the background, calling out to one another. You told me you’d written a song — for me. I held my breath, waited for the melody to flow over me and across the water. Your hands stumbled over the chords and you cursed under your breath. You stopped playing, and when you apologized, your voice was shaky. I waited for you to start again.
Read more– and submit your own title– at Name Your Tale.
As we compose our thoughts, we might think expansionist thoughts in honor of Thomas Jefferson, whose emissaries Robert Livingston, James Monroe signed the the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, called by some “the letter that bought a continent”, in Paris on this date in 1803… and in one stroke (well, three strokes– Livingston, Monroe, and French representative Barbé Marbois all signed) doubled the size of the United States.
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