As concerns about election security abound, here is an article listing both platforms along with relevant documents that inform the conversation.
Ballot Box Locations in New Jersey
Want to drop off your vote in a ballot box? Then use this handy guide.
Tracking Early Voting by State
With so many more people voting by mail-in ballot, it is sometimes hard to keep up with the figures; however, there is a handy reference that can help – U.S. Elections Project.
Using data obtained from each state, this site shows the level of activity with early voting. Since there is no nation-wide template for reporting early voting, each state presents its information in its own way, some states providing a great deal of information while others offer sparse documentation. For example, Alaska reports the number of ballots requested and the number returned while New Jersey breaks down the information by party affiliation, rate of return, and frequency of distribution.
Thirty-nine states are represented here; surprisingly New York is not listed. I recommend reading the accompanying analyses for insights into this process.
Biographies and Selected Poems of 2020 Nobel Laureate Louise Gluck
You can sample some of her work here and here. A 2015 interview can be read here; additional interviews as well as readings by her are also available.
National Security Reports – September 2020 Update
A Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative: Nanoscience, Applications, and Commercialization (NAP); Encouraging Participation and Cooperation in Contact Tracing: Lessons from Survey Research (NAP); Diagnosing the Cybersecurity Challenges in Healthcare (RSA); It’s OK If Countries Hack Each Other’s Vaccines (Vice); University Actions to Address Concerns about Security Threats and Undue Foreign Government Influence on Campus (AAU/APLU); Memorandum on Space Policy Directive-5—Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems (White House); and Guide to Enterprise Telework, Remote Access, and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Security (NIST, last revised in 2016 – call out for updated revisions/comments).
Cybersecurity: Recent Policy and Guidance on Federal Vulnerability Disclosure Programs; COVID-19 and Emerging Global Patterns of Financial Crime; Resurgence of Chemical Weapons Use: Issues for Congress; The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy; Protecting Against Rogue Drones; China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (updated September 1); and Police Reform and the 116th Congress: Selected Legal Issues, September 16, 2020.
Presidential Debates from 1960 to the Present Are Online
You can watch videos of the presidential and vice presidential debates since 1960 courtesy of C-SPAN. Many of the videos are accompanied by searchable transcripts as well.
A point of interest – there were no presidential debates in 1964, 1968, and 1972.
Most Challenged or Banned Books of the Last Decade
The American Library Association, for banned Books Week, released its list of the most challenged/banned books of the past ten years. Singled out for their putative harmful/disrespectful content, these books run the gamut of genres. How many have you read?
Everything You Need to Know About the MLB Post- Season Playoffs
In excruciating detail, this ESPN piece epitomizes TMI.
Biographies and Selected Writings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett
Here is a listing of some of her articles and opinions; additional information is contained here.
How A Supreme Court Justice Is Chosen
These three recent CRS reports offer guidance:
The Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Initial Considerations for Congress; Confirmation of U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations During Presidential Election Years: Frequently Asked Questions; and Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee.
Additional helpful information is found at How Judges and Justices Are Chosen.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
View almost 400 videos of her courtesy of C-SPAN and peruse Essays in Honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Harvard Law Review, 2013). You can also read her numerous opinions and dissents.
Tributes can be found here.
How Will the COVID Vaccine(s) Be Distributed?
Who gets it first? Will there be a listing of priority groups? These and other questions are addressed in this preliminary report from the National Academies – Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. This document reviews the efficacy of previous mass inoculations, various scenarios for its allocation/distribution, and the establishment of a foundational framework. Each chapter is supplemented by copious references.
Here is a rebuttal opinion, offering a different set of options.
National Security Reports – August 2020 Update
RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE
IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION. VOLUME 5: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES (the final report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; previous volumes here); Safest Voting Method Is Using Paper (Bloomberg); These Browser Extensions Will Show You Exactly Who’s Tracking You on the Web (Gizmodo); Scientific Aspects of Violent Extremism, Terrorism, and Radiological Security: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief (National Academies Press);Communications, Cyber Resilience, and the Future of the U.S. Electric Power System: Proceedings of a Workshop (NAP); NIST Usable Cybersecurity; Why is the Trump administration banning TikTok and WeChat? (Brookings); OSAC Registry Implementation; Building the Federal Profile for IoT Device Cybersecurity: Next Steps for Securing Federal Systems (NIST); and Counterterroism in the time of COVID (Brookings).
U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview; Caribbean Basin Security Initiative; COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment—Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress; Defense Primer: Naval Forces; U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Background and Issues for Congress(updated August 6); and U.S. – EU Privacy Shield (all CRS)
Reopening Schools in New Jersey
EducatingNJ is a one-stop news site focusing on K-college level instruction in the age of COVID. Timely, informative articles, lists of school districts planning to reopen online, and other relevant writings are found here.
The education section of NJ Spotlight offers valuable information as well.
As of September 4, here is a listing of what school districts are planning for the resumption of instruction.
Here Is a List of the New Jersey School Districts Going Online Only
As of this writing, this is the list of districts (139 at last count) that will be going virtual starting in September.
International Responses to COVID-19
Many NGOs and governmental agencies have compiled comparisons of how various countries have responded to the COVID crisis. This informative CRS report – COVID-19 International Responses: Resources for Comparison with U.S. Policies – guides you to many relevant sites of relevance.
What Are the Reopening Plans for the Nation’s 15 Largest School Districts?
As of this writing, only one district is offering in-person only education; all the other districts are offering modified/hybrid models. Of course, these plans may be altered as COVID-19 surges continue; this feature will be regularly updated as districts change their respective approaches to dealing with this pandemic.
National Security Reports – July 2020 Update
Russia (Intelligence and Security Committee of [UK] Parliament); The EU and Russia: Locked into confrontation (EU Think Tank); The American Way of Irregular Warfare (RAND); and Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst: American Nuclear Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula (Asia Society, video).
Intelligence Organizations: CENTER FOR 21ST CENTURY SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE (Brookings); Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA); AFCEA Intelligence; Intelligence and National Security Alliance; and RAND Intelligence Policy Center.
Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2020; Russian Armed Forces: Military Modernization and Reforms; Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress; Iraq: Issues in the 116th Congress; Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview; North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs; Tracking China’s Global Economic Activities: Data Challenges and Issues for Congress; Police Use of Force: Overview and Considerations for Congress; Comparing Police Reform Bills: the Justice in Policing Act and the JUSTICE Act; and Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Overview (all CRS).
Historic Accounts of Epidemics
This collection from Harvard – Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics – contains hundreds of items spanning the 15th to the early 20th centuries. You will find here works dealing with yellow fever, small pox, plague, and other diseases that have beset mankind.
Heads of Big Tech Firms Testify Before Congress
The five-hour hearing, along with a transcript, can be found here courtesy of C-SPAN.
