Once again we have updated this guide as of today, May 8, 2020. These updates include new presidential actions and a link from the IRS for additional information on the stimulus checks. We have added links to information under the State Government section as well highlighted some of the recent CRS reports and new blog …
Yesterday was International Day of Peace and since, historically speaking, peace often meant treaties between various countries, it seemed a good occasion to talk about doing treaty research. When I began working at the Law Library of Congress over 11 1/2 years ago, I was excited by the variety of questions from patrons. But there …
I spent my summer vacation at Dickens Universe on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. In anticipation of the bicentenary of George Eliot’s birth, this year’s book was Middlemarch, rather than the usual novel by Dickens. I had promised the blog team that I would write a post on Middlemarch after attending this literary fest. …
This is a guest post by Conleth Burns, foreign law intern, who wrote a another post earlier this summer, UK Supreme Court rules “Deport first, appeal later” power is unlawful. On June 21st 2017, HM Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the UK’s Parliament by delivering her 64th Queen’s Speech. Despite being called the “Queen’s Speech,” this …
During my time as a docent for our Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor exhibition, I noticed various names on the coffered ceiling of the South Gallery where the exhibition was housed. I was puzzled as to who these persons were until I saw Josiah Bartlett‘s name. Thanks to my years of watching The West Wing, …
On September 24, 2015, Pope Francis delivered a speech before a joint meeting of Congress. I thought it would be interesting to provide some information about joint sessions and meetings of Congress–what they are, how they occur and where one can find historical information about joint sessions. The Senate website defines a joint session as …
April 2014 marks the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth. As a way of combining a salute to Shakespeare and continuing our fascination with all things Magna Carta, I thought I would take a look at Shakespeare’s play, “King John.” The play is believed to have been written in the 1590s, but it was not …
Like many people, I have always enjoyed being scared—just a little—not with chainsaws and blood but a contest of wits between the archetypal vampire Dracula and his human opponents. Dracula of course is not the first fictional vampire. John Polidori, physician to Lord Byron, and Sheridan LeFanu both wrote short stories about vampires in the …