Information Tracking Tools

In my never-ending quest to keep abreast of what is happening in the world of religion and politics, I ran across this great tool.

Government Track is an independent website that allows me to track the status of Federal legislation, and allows me to watch what my senators and representatives are doing. I can set up ‘Monitors’ which sort of act like a news alert or newspaper clipping service – but concentrate on the actions of the U.S. Congress.

Once you sign up for this free service, you can create your own listing of ‘monitored’ activities (tracked events), by keyword, by legislator, and by committee. Once your listing is complete, you are given an RSS feed for it, which I plop into Google Reader. You can change the items you are tracking whenever you like.


I’ve also been trying to keep up with the silly pronouncements from Al-Qaeda, and other radical Islamists. So far the only seemingly useful site I’ve found is Jihad Watch. I’m on the lookout for more.

I’d really like to know where the AP is getting their news sources when they quote a terrorist document or tape from a, “Website that frequently posts press releases from Al-Qaeda.” I know that terrorist sites usually get taken down by every hacker on the planet, so what sites are these? Anyone have any clues?

I’m always on the lookout for sites that contain the ‘raw data’ of religion, politics, and non-belief. I’m looking for things that fall below the radar – not only of news organizations, but also below the radar of the ‘big blogs’ like Daily Kos.

I’m also on the lookout for a web site that aggregates the 50 different State legislatures and allows searching on State Bills. Heck, I’d be happy for a site that allows an RSS feed of ANY state’s legislature. I’ll aggregate them myself! I would love to be able to see at a glance what is going on legislatively in all 50 states at once.

If you know of any sites like this, or have info you think I might be interested in, please drop me an email!