Take a look around the Internets™ and you'll discover some amazing sources of information on a variety of political and policy subjects. Though the current flavor-of-the-month term 'reality-based politics" leaves me a bit cold—er, whose reality would that be, again?—I am definitely a proponent of knowledge seeking and perspective broadening in political discourse and policymaking.

Every Sunday beginning today, I will feature on the sidebar a new (or at least, new to me) website that seeks to expand a Progressive body of thought. You and I may agree with the content and context of the sites. And we may not.

As a blog, my aim is to make Unbossed synonymous with free-thinking dialogue—not a site that fosters name-calling, litmus tests, tinfoil theories, and divise tactics that pit us against one another when the REAL enemy is the PNAC—the cabal of oligarchic imperialists devoted to global military expansionism and dismantling of traditional social policy programs that enable an economically healthy and vigorous middle class.

We'll test historic liberal ideals against pragmatic modern political action. And hopefully, we can capture here the same sense of awe that a ten-year-old girl holed up in her bedroom in Cleveland, Ohio felt when she opened Colliers Encyclopedia Book "A" for the first time and a magical, confusing, comforting, and inspiring world opened up before her.

Originally posted on July 10, 2005

And now for something completely different:

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

Originally posted on July 17, 2005

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.

Considering the complicity of many in the media to serve as wholesale propaganda distribution channels for The White House, Media Matters is an indispensible resource for all progressive-thinking Americans.

Originally posted on July 24, 2005

Browse small town newspapers exactly as they were printed in a database searchable newspaper archive. High resolution grayscale scans of exceptional quality from 1800s to 2005 are presented in image form with full text search.

Small Town Newspapers is a fantastic resource and dovetails nicely with Shirah's post today on Op-Eds.

As Auntie Em always sez "All politics are local."

Originally posted on July 31, 2005

Clusty is a

specially-developed Vivísimo clustering algorithm puts search results together (clusters them) based on textual and linguistic similarity. This raw similarity is augmented with heuristics (i.e., human knowledge) — coded by Vivísimo's programmers and partly invented by them — based on what users wish to see when they examine clustered documents. The clusters are shown to users in the style of folders and sub-folders.

Originally posted on August 21, 2005

Junk Charts as described by its author, Kaiser:

Edward Tufte has declared chartjunk as an enemy of clear, informative graphics of data. Chartjunk is everywhere, particularly in mainstream media. I am a junk artist dedicated to recycling chartjunk as junk art.

This one's for you, tunesmith, chartmaker extraordinaire.

Originally posted on August 28, 2005

Rocky Mountain Institute is an entrepreneurial nonprofit organization that fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining. We do this by inspiring business, civil society, and government to design integrative solutions that create true wealth.

RMI has some very interesting backgrounders and policy ideas on refugee settlements that apply quite well to FEMA's inept response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Originally posted on September 11, 2005

The Gospel of Slavery: A Primer of Freedom was recently scanned and posted at Flickr.

The series of engraved illustrations and rhyme were originally published in 1864 by Abel C. Thomas, a Universalist minister and author active in Philadelphia. He published several works of juvenile literature together with his theological writings and religious disputation.

Originally posted on September 18, 2005

Political Research Associates is an independent, nonprofit research center that exposes and challenges the Right and larger oppressive movements, institutions, and forces. PRA produces accurate applied research and useful analytic tools to inform and support progressive activism that promotes equality and justice.

Originally posted on September 25, 2005

ProgressNow Action

The best news coverage, the most clever ads aren’t enough to change public opinion. Change has to be made one person at a time, community by community, all across the state and the country. ProgressNow Action gives you the tools you need make this change happen:

Get connected with others in your area by starting a group and organizing locally around the issues important to you.

Get current by choosing the news you want, delivered the way you want it.

Get active by reaching out and influencing your local media, your elected officials, and voters near you.

Originally posted on October 9, 2005

Footnoted.org is a blog that supports Michelle Leder's book Financial Fine Print: Uncovering a Company's True Value.

At footnoted.org, Michelle provides analysis of US businesses through the gems of information, accounting tricks, and foreboding red flags often hidden within the footnotes of SEC filings.

Remember: there’s no need to read every word or even understand everything that you are reading. What you’re looking for are signs of aggressive accounting and any significant changes that were not in the filing last quarter or last year. What makes something significant? That’s difficult to say. It’s kind of like the way the Supreme Court defines obscenity: you’ll know it when you see it.

Originally posted on October 16, 2005

SheSource is an online resource for journalists that is dedicated to closing the gender gap in news media. SheSource.org provides journalists with a database of women who are distinguished experts in their fields and experienced spokespeople.

Experts found within this site range from high ranking military officers to deans of academic institutions to women who have become advocates on issues after an issue impacted and changed their lives forever. Collectively, the women have decades of experience in communications.

From national security and military spending to technology, health care, and the economy, SheSource.org brings experience women to the forefront of the news.

Originally posted on October 23, 2005

WorkLife Law is a research and advocacy center supported by grants, university funding and private donations. Our mission is to provide valuable information to help shape the public conversation around changing families and their experiences in the workplace. We hope to influence the future of work so that individuals can participate in family life as they desire and deserve to do.

Originally posted on October 30, 2005

An Empirical Study. Oh sure, it sounds innocent enough. That's what they want you to think.

Abstract
Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government's invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

Originally posted on November 13, 2005

Welcome to o.s.Earth, home of the Global Simulation Workshop, an exciting and innovative learning tool for schools, universities, and corporations. A direct descendant of R. Buckminster Fuller’s famous World Game, the Global Simulation Workshop is a 3-hour interactive game that builds critical skills and teaches its participants about global issues.

Developed by our team of experienced educators and researchers over the past three decades, the game has been played by more than 350,000 people from around the world. More than 2,500 educational institutions, organizations, and corporations from 35 countries have used the game to teach their participants about how the world works, and how to make it work better.

Originally posted on December 5, 2005