Hi Friends,
A few weeks ago the New York Times floated a rumor/great idea that Carl Malamud, the great hard working free information Internet do-gooder, was being mentioned as a potential candidate for head of the Government Printing Office. Of course, we at Justia cheered this idea on — who better to bring government publishing into the digital age than the man whose will and technology know how has lead millions of court decisions, SEC filings, patents, Congressional videos online and other public domain documents being brough online for all to research and enjoy.
Well, it turns out the rumor is true! We wanted to be among the first to announce our unqualified support for Carl as Public Printer of the United States. Carl’s vision for open, secure, and efficient government publishing will be a welcome asset to the Obama Administration, helping to usher in the new era of accessible government.
At Justia, we believe that information produced with taxpayer dollars — including laws and legal opinions — belong to the people. We want all Americans to have access to the law, and to achieve that end, we need transparency, accountability, and a spirit of openness in our government. Carl Malamud embodies all of these qualities.
Carl’s ability to lead and organize a variety of folks in this effort has been extremely impressive. He has an incredible ability to get folks from a variety of backgrounds to work together on a common goal for the public good. Most recently, through his work with public.resource.org, Carl has made an invaluable contribution to the growing collection of free case law, codes, and regulations on the internet. His Pacer Recycling Program adds court filings, opinions, and other public domain materials.
Carl also understands and supports business. Carl has been a CEO, and he especially knows the Internet business marketplace. He has been very encouraging to us and others to use the data and materials he has collected at public.resource.org to create new products and services. He has been invaluable in helping with technology issues we face in dealing with large amounts of public data. With Carl as head of the GPO, many more small businesses, would greatly benefit from the additional access to public information (and I am sure that many more new businesses would start up as well!).
Carl’s demonstrated commitment to preserving and extending our public access to the public record and government works makes him the perfect candidate for the GPO. We are promised change — and we need someone like Carl to make that happen. Having someone with the technological and leadership skills of Carl Malamud running the Government Printing Office will make the USA a better place for all! We cannot think of a bigger win for public access to government documents!
Please join us in supporting Carl by visiting his “campaign” site and reading his policy documents: www.yeswescan.org. Carl is a great man who deserves all our support!
Peace & Yes We Scan!
Tim, Ken, Stacy, Courtney, Cicely, Vasu, Dan, Nick, Soby and the Rest of the Justia Team!!!