Articles Posted in David Badertscher

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Amazon has now released Kindle DX, a larger, more versatile veriion of its wireless Kindle ebook device. The new DX version has a larger display and a screen which rotates from portrait to landscape to view Web pages and spreadsheets, etc.

Kindle DX and other wireless ebook reading devices certainly do not portend the end of the tradional book as we know it; they are simply useful, but additional, methods of conveying information to readers.

Here are some of the features of the Kindle DX as listed by Amazon:

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According to C.G. Lynch’s provocative artice in the CIO Insider Newsletter,Twitter’s growing popularity is exposing a considerable “fraility” of writing among those tweet. He observes that Twitter’s 140 character message format demands concise, engaging writing “and that’s a skill that a lot of people don’t have. To read more of Mr. Lynch’s practical, expert advice click here.

As for where to write, sometimes it seems as though tweeting or twittering is almost universal. Amy Hale-Jenke, Head of Reference at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found many fellow twittering, or tweeting, law librarians by going to the Twitter Yellow Pages. To “meet” all types of legal professionals, including law librarians who like to tweet, you can also go to Justia’s Legal Birds, a “Twitter Community.” Perhaps all of this gives the quotation, “birds of a feather flock together” a special meaning. Thinking of all this one wonders if tweets are becoming sort of information age variations of haiku that are being spread around the web.

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Library of Congress Report: Information Technology Strategic Planning: A Well Developed Framework is Essential to Support the Library’s Current and Future Information Technology (IT) Needs

The Library of Congress Office of the Inspector General.

Library-Wide

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As you undoubtedly have heard, a new strain of influenza called Swine Flu or Swine Influenza apparently started about a month ago in Mexico. It has now spread, first to at least a few states in the United States and now may be spreading world wide.

Art Bernardino who provides consulting services in pandamic planning suggests seven things people can do to lessen infection and protect themselves and others:

1. Wash hands frequently using soap and water or waterless hand sanitizers

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In response to litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Obama administration authorized the Justice Department to release four secret legal memoranda used by the Bush administration to justify torture. The memoranda were releasd on April 16, 2009. President Obama also issued a statement, emphasizing that “this is a time of reflection, not retribution”.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who was involved in the interrogations being discussed and who questioned Abu Zubaydah in 2002 has written an important Op Ed article, “My Tortured Decision”, which is published in the April 23, 2009 New York Times. In his article Mr. Soufan says trhat Abu Zubaydah provided important intelligence under traditional methods. He writes: “…I questioned him [Zubaydah] from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced late in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence”. Mr. Soufan also writes that he believes that it was the “right decision” to release the memos because “we need the truth to come out” and that releaseing these memos “enables us to begin the tricky business of finally bringing these terrorists to justice”.

Since the events being discussed transpired during the administration of George W. Bush, we thought it might be interesting and instructive to also provide a link to: Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush.; a report prepared by the majority staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

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On March 30, 2009 we posted information on this blawg about the historic agreement reached by New York lawmakers regarding reform of the Rockefeller drug law. Since that time there has been significant activity related to his effort including the signing of Chapter 56 of 2009 by the Governor on April 7, 2009. Although Chapter 56 is considered as primarily related to budget matters it contains significant material related to the Rockefeller Law reform initiatives.

For your information this posting includes links to those parts of the aforementioned legislation which appear to be relevant to the Rockefeller Drug Law reform issue. The links are to items I have posted on the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library Blog:

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/PLL?id=12751 for Part AAA of Chapter 56 of 2009.

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In his memorandum of March 19, 2009 to heads of executive departments and agencies, Attorney General Holder rescinds former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft’s October 12, 2001 memorandum which states that records could be witheld by the Department of Justice “unless they lack a sound legal basis or present an unwarranted risk of adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important records” Topics included in the Attorney General Holder memorandum include: A presumption of openess; FOIA is the Responsibility of Everyone, and the importance of agencies working productively and properly.

To quote from a statement on the U.S. Department of Justice website:

“By restoring the presumption of disclosure that is at the heart of the Freedom of Information Act, we are making a critical change that will restore the public’s ability to access information in a timely manner,” said Attorney General Holder. ‘The American people have the right to information about their government’s activities, and these new guidelines will ensure they are able to obtain that information under principles of openness and transparency.’ “

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DAVID BADERTSCHER
Tomorrow is Lincoln’s birthday; it is also the 200th anniversary of his birth, all of which calls for a special celebration of the life, works, and thought of such an inspiring individual. Our current President has said that he has found the thoughts and deeds of Abraham Lincoln to be a source of great inspiration. I too have been inspired by Lincoln’s words, his principles, his focus on justice, his focus on equality, and his strong belief in our nation and our constitutional democracy; but as a law librarian working in a court setting I will focus primarily on books about Lincoln and leave the other topics to historians and others.

Before leaving this section however, I want to commend the American Bar Association (ABA) for its efforts to help make this a banner year for the Lincoln Bicentennial. They have been working with many other organizations, including the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), to incorporate a celebration of the legacy of Lincoln in various events nationwide throughout the year. In addition they have prepared a comprehensive planning guide, “A Legacy of Liberty: Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial”, which is being distributed widely. The ABA has also devoted a significant part of the February 2009 issue of its journal, The ABA Journal to features about Abraham Lincoln including his practice of law and discussions of what that practice has in common with that of lawyers today.

Now back to the books. The list below is divided into two sections. The first section consists of a few books about Lincoln recommended by William Safire in his New York Times Book Review article,”Lincoln Monuments”. (February 8, 2009). The second list is of books devoted to Lincoln the lawyer. This list is based on books retreved through what we call bibliographic searching for materials about Lincoln as a lawyer. The listings will be brief and some abbreviated:

RECOMMENDED BOOKS (GENERAL)

McPherson, James M. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. (Oxford University).

White, Ronald C. Jr. A. LINCOLN: A Biography. Random House.

Burlingame, Michael. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A Life. (Johns Hopkins University), 2 vols. 2000 pages.

Holzer, Harold and Joshua Wolf Shenk Eds. IN LINCOLN’S HAND: His Original Manuscripts With Commentary by Distinguished Americans, Bantam.

Holzer, Harold. THE LINCOLN ANTHOLOGY: Great writers on His Life and Legacy From 1860 to Now. (Library of America).

LINCOLN THE LAWYER: (These are listed in Books in Print format).

Lincoln the Lawyer
Author: Dirck, Brian Publisher: University of Illinois Press ISBN or UPC: 0-252-07614-1 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Paper Date: Dec 2008 Price: $19.95 Market: United States Availability: Readily Available
ISBN 13: 978-0-252-07614-5

Lincoln, Lee, Grant, and Other Biographical Addresses
Author: Speer, Emory Publisher: Read Books ISBN or UPC: 1-4086-8446-2 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Paper Date: Jul 2008 Price: $29.45 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
ISBN 13: 978-1-4086-8446-7

The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, Set
Author: Lincoln, Abraham et al. Publisher: University Press of Virginia ISBN or UPC: 0-8139-2606-8 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Nov 2007 Price: $300.00 Market: United States Availability: Readily Available
LC Class #: KF213.L53S76 2007 Dewey#: 973.7092 B ISBN 13: 978-0-8139-2606-3

Lincoln the Lawyer
Author: Dirck, Brian R. Publisher: University of Illinois Press ISBN or UPC: 0-252-03181-4 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Mar 2007 Price: $29.95 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
LC Class #: E457.2.D575 2007 Dewey#: 973.7092 B ISBN 13: 978-0-252-03181-6

An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Steiner, Mark E. Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press ISBN or UPC: 0-87580-358-X (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Aug 2006 Price: $42.00 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
LC Class #: E457.2.S8 2006 Dewey#: 340.092 B ISBN 13: 978-0-87580-358-6

Courage and Country: James Shields
Author: Callan, J. Sean Publisher: Authorhouse ISBN or UPC: 1-4107-8895-4 (On Demand)
Format: Trade Paper Date: Jan 2004 Price: $24.95 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
LC Class #: E403.1.S5C35 2004 Dewey#: 973/.049162/0092 B ISBN 13: 978-1-4107-8895-5

Lincoln, the Constitutional Lawyer [1932]

Author: Zane, John Maxcy Publisher: Lawbook Exchange, Limited, The ISBN or UPC: 1-58477-257-3 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Mar 2003 Price: $80.00 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
LC Class #: KF368.L52Z36 2002 Dewey#: 973.7/092 B ISBN 13: 978-1-58477-257-6

Life on the Circuit with Lincoln: With Sketches of Generals Grant, Sherman and McClellan, Judge Davis, Leonard Swett and Other Contemporaries, 1892
Author: Whitney, Henry Clay Publisher: Lawbook Exchange, Limited, The ISBN or UPC: 1-58477-115-1 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Jan 2001 Price: $110.00 Market: United States Availability: Available for Order
LC Class #: KF368.L52W48 2001 Dewey#: 973.7/092 B ISBN 13: 978-1-58477-115-9

Lincoln for the Defense: The Only Known Transcript of an Abraham Lincoln Criminal Jury Trial
Author: Plaetzer, Ross F. Publisher: High House Press, Incorporated ISBN or UPC: 0-9641176-0-6 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Paper Date: Sep 1994 Price: $15.95 Market: United States ISBN 13: 978-0-9641176-0-0

Lincoln the Lawyer
Author: Hill, Frederick Trevor Publisher: William S. Hein & Company, Incorporated ISBN or UPC: 0-8377-0711-0 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: 1986 Price: $45.00 Market: United States LC Class #: KF368.L52H55 1986 Dewey#: 349.73/092/4 B ISBN 13: 978-0-8377-0711-2

Lawyers Before the Warren Court: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, 1957-66
Author: Casper, Jonathan D. Publisher: University of Illinois Press ISBN or UPC: 0-252-00244-X (Out of Print)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Jun 1972 Price: $24.95 Market: United States Availability: Hard to Find
LC Class #: KF298.C27 Dewey#: 342/.73/0850269 ISBN 13: 978-0-252-00244-1

Abraham Lincoln, the Lawyer-Statesman
Author: Richards, John Thomas Publisher: Library Reprints, Inc. ISBN or UPC: 0-7222-8804-2 (Active Record)
Format: Trade Cloth Date: Not Supplied Price: $98.00 Market: United States ISBN 13: 978-0-7222-8804-7

SEE IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW:
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I was going to post something about the comparative funding levels between the House and Senate versions of the stimulus legislation, but have just learned that ProPublica has already done so on their blog. Congratulations to ProPublica for a really good posting.

Here is the link. http://www.propublica.org/special/the-stimulus-bills-house-vs.-senate

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