We may celebrate the 4th of July as America’s birthday but September 9th marks the anniversary of the name “United States”. While this term had been used previously, it was on this day in 1776 that the Second Continental Congress officially agreed to change the name of the new country from the United Colonies to …
When I last wrote about Happy Feet (the intrepid emperor penguin who took an extended vacation in New Zealand while recovering from a very long swim and a belly full of sand and twigs), he was being pampered at the Wellington Zoo while fans from around the world watched and waited to see what would …
Due to the increased interest in the United States in a balanced budget amendment (my THOMAS search retrieved a total of forty-four House and Senate legislative items on the subject submitted in the current Congress so far), I looked into the regulation of public spending under Israeli law. In 1992, the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) passed …
This week’s interview is with Peter Roudik, Director of the Global Legal Research Center. Describe your background. I was born in Moscow, Russia into a typical Russian intelligentsia family. My parents taught me to appreciate books, art, and classical music. For 30 years I lived two blocks from the Red Square in this building. What …
On August 23, 2011, for the first time in 25 years, Liberia initiated a measure to amend its 1986 Constitution, mainly the provisions having to do with presidential and legislative elections. First, let me briefly note what it takes to amend the Liberian Constitution. A proposal for a constitutional amendment has to be put up …
It’s Labor Day, the September holiday that is seen by many as the end of summer. Many of this blog’s regular readers are probably at a cookout right now or enjoying one last visit to the beach. These seem to be two common ways to celebrate the holiday honoring American labor. If you have not …
In the Reading Room of the Law Library of Congress, behind our reference desk is a ready reference section. The ready reference section of any library contains resources that are frequently used by both patrons and librarians in doing legal research. In the Law Library’s section, we have resources such as the District of Columbia …
Just like in July, our top post was Kelly’s Inspiring Story of Nelson Mandela. I think this is the first time a post has been number one two months in a row. We also got to celebrate the blog’s first birthday at the beginning of August. There are now more than 15,000 email subscribers to In …