Three cheers for the red, white, and blue! July is a perfect time to renew your commitment to civic involvement, and the Internet makes it easy for you to stay informed, to communicate with your leaders, and to get involved in the process of government at the local, state, and national levels.
Every agency of the federal government has a website. The "U.S. Government's Official Web Portal," at www.firstgov.gov, is a great jumping-off spot for finding links to all manner of government offices and information. There are links to various agencies, links to important publications, and links to contact information for federal officials. The site even has links to each individual state site.
You can take a tour of the White House, learn its history, find out about pending presidential appointments, or read transcripts of the President's speeches at www.whitehouse.gov. There's even a special area for kids (www.whitehouse.gov/kids) with educational quizzes and games and videos of the presidential pets.
Want to let your U.S. Senator or Congressman know your opinion on an issue? Try www.senate.gov or www.house.gov. There you'll find easy links for sending email to your elected representatives. You can also read the text of pending legislation, find the makeup of various legislative committees, or view artwork housed in the U.S. Capitol. You'll find the full text of the U.S. Constitution here, along with the Congressional Record. You can even read about some of the "urban legends" surrounding the U.S. Congress.
If you're anxious about your family's security in light of the global terrorism threat, you might check out www.fema.gov/areyouready for A Guide to Citizen's Preparedness. It has useful information to help you prepare for all manner of events, including natural disasters like hurricanes and floods that affect us here in South Louisiana. I've used the information here to prepare a nifty Emergency Kit for my own home which might be helpful in any natural or man-made disaster.
If politics is your cup of tea, all of the major political parties host robust websites, where you can read the party's platform, volunteer to work on political campaigns, request yard signs, or make a contribution. Visit www.democrats.org (The Democratic Party) or www.gop.com (The Republican Party) or go to www.politics1.com/parties.htm for links to some of the "third party" websites.
The main portal for government agencies in Louisiana is www.louisiana.gov. Here you'll find links to maps, various state agencies, and government publications. You can renew your driver's license or vehicle registration, purchase a hunting or fishing license, or search for a job.
Maybe the state of Louisiana owes you some money! Louisiana makes its database of unclaimed property available online at www.treasury.state.la.us/ucpm/ucp/claim/simplesearch.asp. You can type in your last name and find out whether the state is holding unclaimed utility deposits, unclaimed bank balances, unclaimed tax refunds or other funds that belong to you.
Baton Rouge has its own government portal at www.brgov.com. You can view our City Council's meeting live online, pay a traffic ticket, look up maps and property information, or learn how to control the mosquito population on your property. You can also find contact information, including email links, for the Mayor-President and City Council members.
If you'd like to get involved in some grassroots efforts right here at home, check out www.austin6.com. Austin 6 is a group of peers who seek to involve regular citizens in pushing our city and region forward. There's nothing to join, no compulsory meeting attendance, no dues just groups of citizens volunteering to work on short-term projects to promote the welfare of our region.
Finally, for a quick review of that high school civics lesson you may have slept through, visit http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12. This excellent tutorial explains the structure of our three-branched government, how laws are made, and how the election process works.
[Ed. note: Some of the same types of links are available here for Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Arizona:
You can also use your favorite Search Engine to find more activity, city, county, state, and country links - there are lots of them out there!]