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Checking Citizenship Online
During his remarks this afternoon following a meeting with congressional leaders to discuss immigration, President Obama announced a new initiative that will allow applicants for U.S. citizenship to check their application status online:
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Open The Fed
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who ran for president in 2008, has a different take on transparency than <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090521_4542.php">open government guru</a> President Barack Obama.
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Update: Davis Doesn't Want Cyber Job
My colleague at <a href="http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2009/06/tom-davis-doesnt-want-cyber-cz.php#more">TechDailyDose reports</a> that Davis isn't interested in being cyber czar after all:<blockquote>Former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said Tuesday that he does not want the job of President Obama's cybersecurity coordinator despite recent rumblings that he was one of the top contenders for the position.
Ideas
Tom Davis, Cyber Czar?
Time magazine <a href="http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1905822,00.html">reported on Friday</a> that former Republican congressman Tom Davis of Virginia is the White House's leading candidate to be <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090529_1893.php?oref=search">the nation's first cybersecurity czar</a>:
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Pentagon Stops Sharing
One of the fascinating things about government IT is the extent to which the government's investments in technology and research benefit society as a whole. The government has always provided much of the funding for the type of basic scientific research that has led to development of technologies like personal computers or the Internet. The scientific community relies heavily on the government to provide resources that would otherwise be unavailable.
Ideas
Air Force Slow to Process
The Air Force failed to keep track of requests for government records under the Freedom of Information Act, three years after a federal court found a pattern of not processing FOIA requests, according to an agency <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20090618/USAF_audit_report.pdf">audit</a> released to the National Security Archive.
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Former Cyber Chief Takes to the Stage
Ever wonder what federal officials do once they retire from government? In the case of Greg Garcia, the DHS cyber chief appointed by Bush, he takes to the stage.
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Financial Reform Transparency
The White House on Wednesday released a plan for protecting consumers from deceptive financial practices that calls for greater disclosure, or, "transparency," as President Obama likes to say.
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One More Makes Three
The General Services Administration announced today that Verizon Business Services will offer secure Internet connections to agencies via the Networx Universal contract. Verizon joins AT&T and Qwest Government Services in offering managed trusted Internet protocol service on Networx Universal.
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IG: DHS Intel folks need cyber education
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general released a <a href="http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_08-87_Aug08.pdf">report</a> Friday on the security program for DHS' Intelligence systems. Since it relates to weaknesses in top secret and sensitive systems, the report is predictably short in length and vague in its recommendations.
Ideas
No Tweets in Iranian Election
A twitter outage in Iran on Friday reportedly foiled some supporters of a leading reformist candidate in the country's presidential election.
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Has Hathaway's Star Fallen?
A lot of names are being floated around as possible picks for the position of cyber czar, and interestingly enough, none seem to be Melissa Hathaway.
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Recovery RFQ Only for Alliant Vendors
As my colleague Robert Brodsky <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090602_5138.php?oref=search">reported last week</a>, the Recovery Board <a href="https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=1b3ec144c7c80e70622d6600cf519697&tab=core&_cview=0">issued an RFQ this morning</a> for the redesign of the <a href="http://www.recovery.gov">Recovery.gov</a> Web site.
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FAA Launches Safety Site
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday remodeled its <a href="http://www.faa.gov/">Web site</a> partly to direct users to its safety-related content.
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A Retreat (Sorta) on Blocking Social Media
Wired's Danger Room blog has <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/army-orders-bases-stop-blocking-twitter-facebook-flickr/">obtained a copy</a> of a May 18 operations order from the Army's 93rd Signal Brigade directing information managers on domestic military bases to allow personnel to access Facebook, Vimeo, Delicious, Flickr and Twitter. From the order:
Ideas
Committee Approves Johnson to GSA
On Monday, the Senate Committee for Homeland Security and Government Affairs approved by unanimous voice vote the nomination of Martha Johnson to be GSA administrator. Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., praised Johnson for her experience and firsthand knowledge of GSA:
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Looking for Leap-Ahead Tech
The Homeland Security Department's Directorate for Science & Technology, which is the primary research and development arm of the Homeland Security Department, requested an increase of $5.4 million for cybersecurity in President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget.
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Still Learning Online Politics
Have politicians learned from President Obama about the value of the Internet for campaigning? Larry Sabato argued that they haven't learned enough during a speech he gave at the University of Virginia on Sunday.
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CDC Shows Off Its Stats
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has become the star of the Government 2.0 movement recently, as the agency has been wildly successful in deploying social media to raise awareness of recent public health crises, including the <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090209_7840.php">peanut butter/salmonella outbreak</a> and the recent <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090427_5864.php">swine flu scare</a>.
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