#10 - Website on blog topic

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/

This site is the section on lobbying on the web site for the Center for Responsive Politics.  According to the “About” page, “OpenSecrets.org is the nation’s premier website tracking the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens’ lives.”  This site is sponsored by the Center for Responsive Politics, which, according to Wikipedia, is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections and public policy.”  The fact that the organization is non-profit and non-partisan indicates that bias should not be a problem with this site.   

Also there are “testimonials” on the site from many different sources, which indicates that the site provides good information; for example: One of the "most interesting and credible nonprofit, online publishers in the United States,” American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop; "The Center for Responsive Politics is a rare thing in Washington. It does the heavy lifting of true research, not just spinning information,” Ian Urbina, The New York Times; "The nation's top money-in-politics research organization." Julian Brookes, Rolling Stone.  

Based on the organization sponsoring the site and the testimonials, the information on this site should be reliable.  Also, the site contains a number of news stories on lobbying, one of which was published today, so updates on lobbying regulations should be available on this site. 

#9 - Author credentials and curency of book in post #4

My book in blog post #4 is Congressional lobbying: issues and reform, by Peter N. Almande.  I couldn’t find any information about this author using Google, but each chapter of the book is authored by someone other than Almande, so I suspect he merely edited the work by these writers, which doesn’t necessarily require expertise in the subject.  The four chapter authors are R. Eric Petersen, Jack Maskell, Sandy Streeter, and Mildred Amer.  All four of these authors are analyists for the Congressional Research Office.  According to the Library of Congress web page:

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.  CRS approaches complex topics from a variety of perspectives and examines all sides of an issue. Staff members analyze current policies and present the impact of proposed policy alternatives.

Considering that the Congressional Research Service serves the U.S. Congress, this already shows that their analysts must be reliable.  The four authors: Dr. R Eric Peterson (apparently he has a PhD), has the title of Analyst in American National Government; Jack Maskell is a Legislative Attorney in the American Law Division; Sandy Streeter is also an Analyst in American National Government; and Mildred Amer is a Specialist in American National Government.  Given their titles and the fact that they work for the Congressional Research Service, I conclude that these authors have good credentials for writing about the law as it pertains to the U.S. Government, including lobbying regulations.

Regarding my book's currency for the topic: My book was published in 2007.  This is roughly 8 years ago, which is long enough that the information it contains may be somewhat inaccurate, given changes in lobbying regulations that may have occurred since 2007.  Still, the book may discuss larger issues that are still relevant, and much of its information might still be accurate, so it is probably still a good source of information on lobbying regulations, though for a college-level paper it should be supplemented with more current information.