Politics on the Internet - Examples

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm

The web site version of the annual CIA publication. This site is run by the Central Intelligence Agency. Excellent aggregate country data. China and the United States are good examples for showing life expectancy, ethnic divisions, GNP, GNP per capita, size of armed forces, etc.

UMSL's edition of CIA World Factbook 1995

http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact/index.html

has less graphics (and is one year out of date) but may load a lot faster (it's a good backup if you can't get into the CIA's web site).

http://www.un.org/

Alternative to the CIA World Factbook (above) as a source for authoritative data on country demographic, political, economic, and other characteristics. Contains the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

http://www.yahoo.com/

Can be used to locate information on "hot" topics, such as the World Trade Organization.

http://www.politicalindex.com/

Possibly the single best site for political junkies. One can find information ranging from political humor at ex-Vice President Dan Quayle's expense to tracking Congressional Legislation. This site includes information about federal agencies, such as the CIA, Census Bureau, Department of Justice, FBI (including the "most wanted" list), and EPA. Can be used to locate information on state and local government, including profiles and addresses of Missouri state and city officials.

http://www.vote-smart.org/issues/

An excellent site for students to use in researching current public policy issues, such as abortion or crime.

http://moby.ucdavis.edu/ApproachingDemocracy/Main.htm

This web site is operated by Houghton Mifflin in connection with their American government texts. It has an excellent "Current Events" set of links to the New York Times, CNN, and other media outlets. It also has a great set of "Internet Resources" links to the Executive Branch, Congress, etc.

http://www.envirolink.org/search/

Outstanding search engine for finding out about environmental issues, such as the Clean Air Act or the Clean Water Act.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/omb/omb002.html

Searchable database of current U.S. Government Budget materials. Run by the Office of Management and Budget, this site is for the serious number cruncher!

See also UMSL's version of the Economic Report of the President 1997

http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/erp/1997/

which is a unique translation from the PDF format (which requires the special Adobe Acrobat reader) to the web's Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). It's a good distillation of Executive Branch policy, including charts and tables covering unemployment, productivity, and trade.