Congress approves act that opens US government data to the public
Congress has passed a bill that could make it easier for you to access public data released by the government. The House approved the OPEN Government Data Act on Saturday, while all eyes were on the shutdown, as part of a larger bill to support evidence-based policymaking. It requires that federal agencies must publish any "non-sensitive" info in a "machine-readable" format (essentially in a way that's legible on your smartphone or laptop). The act also insists that agencies appoint a chief data officer to oversee all open data efforts. Having passed the Senate last Wednesday, the bill is next headed to the President's desk.
The US public already paid for the data to be gathered, analyzed, and reported; why shouldn't they be able to freely access it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 26 2018, @07:56PM (19 children)
Orange man bad, I hate open government now! We should be kept in the dark, this isn't acceptable!
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday December 26 2018, @08:06PM
:-) Well, there is the EPA if you want to keep everything behind closed doors [envirodatagov.org]. Hey, if the majority says that's okay, then I guess we gotta live with it, right?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday December 26 2018, @08:16PM (17 children)
Orange man not in House or Senate.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday December 26 2018, @08:27PM
Yeah, just "his" buddies, including the ones pretending not to be... Better Reality TV you will never find.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 26 2018, @08:41PM (15 children)
Go on, DM. You can do it. Say the Republicans did something good. You can even tack on an "even a broken clock is right twice a day" if you need to to maintain your sanity.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 26 2018, @09:05PM (12 children)
Turns out all 17 nay votes were from republicans with zero nays from democrsts.
Would you like to try again?
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 26 2018, @09:26PM (11 children)
Yes, 17 is clearly a majority of the party. You have spanked me thoroughly with your logic.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 26 2018, @09:56PM (10 children)
You are irredeemable.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday December 26 2018, @10:44PM
The "irredeemables" came back to haunt Hillary. They expressed their feelings loud and clear. She spent big money but, in the end, had no game!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 26 2018, @11:10PM (8 children)
Of course I am. You can't redeem someone who is already righteous. And since I pretty much never violate my moral code, that's precisely what I am.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 26 2018, @11:46PM (4 children)
You misunderstand, I was saying no one will accept returns of YOU. Even Satan is like "nah that guy is a tool".
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday December 27 2018, @12:44AM (3 children)
Dude, it's 2018 not 1818. We don't trade in human flesh anymore. And stop poking eye holes in your mother's sheets.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday December 27 2018, @02:27AM (1 child)
You obviously haven't looked at the black market lately. Plenty of live humans for sale, flesh and all, in any country you care to name. Probably butchered as well, if you know the right fetid corner of the 'net to go looking in.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday December 27 2018, @02:31AM
Man, that's no way to talk about your democratically elected representatives. Where's your respect for the office?
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 27 2018, @02:54AM
Oooh ok, i see the confusion. You are right (eww i said that) Satan doesn't give two shits about your aging meat. Personally id rather get rejected for my ugly meat (who am i kidding I'm gorgeous!) than my ugly soul.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday December 27 2018, @01:14AM (2 children)
Righteous doesn't necessary make one right.
Go fish, Buzz, at least that's the right thing to do for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday December 27 2018, @02:11AM (1 child)
Heading out for a week or so in the morning, now that you mention it. I'll probably stop in once in a while but y'all just ain't as interesting as my favorite fishing spot.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 27 2018, @02:47AM
Just enjoy your trip, no screentime is a pretty popular mental diet these days.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday December 26 2018, @10:49PM (1 child)
To say that a Republican Congress and Senate did something good? Sure. No problem. When they actually fucking do it. I'm not impressed. At all. With either party. Why did it take so fucking long to formally recognize that the information was ours to fucking begin with? I hope this is including the reports made by the Congressional Research Service. They are supposedly respected as being bipartisan and produce high quality research for our politicians to digest. Frequently, some politicians go against the rules and disseminate the data anyways. However, it's disgusting that the policy has been to hide it, which has always meant to me that BOTH sides agreed that information could be damaging so they kept it to just themselves.
This was the least they could do, and they were ALWAYS morally, ethically, but not legally bound to do so.
Whaddya want a medal? :)
I'll be impressed when the Republicans can pass something that isn't blatantly for the 1% alone. Anything supporting the unions and our right to fight those fucking sons of bitches to get our lives back. Not seeing anybody drain the swamp, or obtain justice for all the wealth stolen from the middle class, etc. Yes, that very much goes for the Democrats too. A fully controlled Democratic government did jack diddly shit for the people too.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 26 2018, @11:12PM
Don't take it too seriously, ed. I was just giving DM some well-deserved crap. I have complete faith they'll manage to screw it up somehow. They're politicians. If they actually made everything not suck, they couldn't rile anyone up to vote for them anymore.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.