Replies

Arts and Humanities

The 50th Anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum
Website for “a yearlong celebration of art, architecture, and innovation to mark the 50th anniversary [in 2009] of [the Guggenheim Museum’s] landmark building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.” Features an illustrated chronology of the Frank Lloyd Wright building, and a listing of anniversary programs. Link to the May 2009 opening exhibit, “Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward,” to view an online exhibit about the architect. From the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28345

Oral History: Veterans Remember
Collection of oral histories from veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The “current focus is on the Korean War, as that war is too often ignored, and very poorly understood. Our Korean War veterans deserve better, and fifty-plus years removed from the war, we are racing the clock.” Find audio, written oral history abstracts, and photos for dozens of interviews. From the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27193

War Letters
Companion to a PBS American Experience documentary “[b]ased on newly discovered personal correspondence from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War, ‘War Letters’ [which] brings to life vivid eyewitness accounts of famous battles, intimate declarations of love and longing, poignant letters penned just before the writer was killed, and heartbreaking ‘Dear John’ letters.” Site features a program transcript, timeline of U.S. military actions, letter excerpts, gallery of Bill Maudlin art, material about censorship, and more.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/warletters/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28206

Business

Alpha Consumer
This blog focuses on “how to save money, avoid scams, manage debt, and be a savvy shopper.” Topics include credit card “balance chasers,” donating to charity, mortgage points, how to buy an Internet domain name, the recession and weekly spending, how to calculate student loan debt, going green and saving cash, and more. Includes audio and video. Archive goes back to July 2007. From U.S. News & World Report.
URL: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/index.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27722

Financial Stimulus Plans: Recent Developments in Selected Countries
This page summarizes economic stimulus measures and packages that have been introduced by various countries in 2008 and 2009. Some of the countries include Argentina, Brazil, China, France, and Taiwan. Organized alphabetically by country. Includes links to relevant documents (a few only available in languages other than English). From the Law Library of Congress.
URL: http://www.loc.gov/law/help/financial_stimulus_plan.php
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28322

How Does a Dealership Work?
“There are more than 23,000 car dealerships in the U.S., employing more than 1 million people.” This article describes the different tasks of each department in car dealerships, which typically include “new-car sales, used-car sales, service, parts, accounting, and sometimes a body shop.” Discusses the showroom as a lifestyle boutique, the sales manager, “dealer invoices,” promotions, finance and insurance staff, inventories of cars and parts, and related topics. From IntelliChoice.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28348

Inside the Meltdown
Companion to a 2009 PBS Frontline documentary that responds to the idea that “[m]any Americans still don’t understand what has happened to the economy. ... How did it all go so bad so quickly? Who is responsible? How effective has the response from Washington and Wall Street been?” Provides analysis on topics such as the Bear Stearns rescue, interviews, and a timeline of events starting with housing market troubles in summer 2007.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28004

Meltdown 101: What If My Car Dealer Shuts Down?
This May 2009 article discusses what happens if you need service on your car if your local car dealership closes. “If you live in a major metropolitan area, you could simply drive to another dealership to get your car serviced.” Provides specifics for Chrysler dealerships on topics of warranties and where warranties will be honored, and if dealership closures will mean “fire sale” prices. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28349

National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
“Founded in 1917, [NADA] represents more than 20,000 new car and truck dealers, both domestic and international.” Its site features information on the 2009 Chrysler bankruptcy, GM restructuring, and forced dealership closures; timeline about wholesale and retail credit “from the first signs of the economic meltdown in July 2008”; material about economic stimulus tax provisions of potential relevance to dealers; details about ad campaigns; code of ethics; reports; tips for car shopping; and more.
URL: http://www.nada.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28052

Twentieth-Century Business Archives: Lehman Brothers Collection
This collection allows researchers to browse the deal books (from 1925-1986) of the financial services firm Lehman Brothers “by one of three points of access: the date of the deal, the company name at the time of the deal, or industry type.” Company pages include company histories and links to descriptions of deals associated with that company. Website also includes a history of Lehman Brothers. From Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.
URL: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27609

What You Need to Know About Car Dealership Closures
This blog entry offers tips for car buyers shopping during the economic recession that started in 2008, when many car dealerships have closed down. It advises that consumers “need to be extra vigilant to make sure they don’t become victims when dealers hit the skids.” Includes tips such as using a credit card (payment can be challenged if necessary) and paying off a vehicle yourself before trading it in. From Consumer Reports.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27576

Government

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Trustees Report & Trust Funds
Annual report on the financial operations and actuarial projections of the Medicare program. The website recommends starting with the overview section of this “detailed, lengthy document, containing a substantial amount of information on the past and estimated future financial operations of the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds.” Includes reports back to 2002 and related links. From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
URL: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28339

Documenting the Return of U.S. War Dead
“On April 5th, 2009, the repatriation of the remains of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Meyers became the first such event to be covered by the press in 18 years. This process has taken place, undocumented, over 5,000 times since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. Collected here are photographs documenting the transfers of nine soldiers that have taken place since April 5th, 2009.” From the website for the Boston Globe.
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28265

Social Security: Actuarial Publications
This page collects actuarial publications relating to Social Security Administration (SSA) programs, including the annual report on the financial status of the Social Security program, annual report of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, solvency memoranda and provisions, notes and studies, projections, and statistics. Also find the 2009 Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs, reporting that “[p]rojected long run program costs are not sustainable under current program parameters.” From the SSA.
URL: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/pubs.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28338

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The Supreme Court of the United States
Background about the Senate Judiciary Committee’s role in holding confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees. Includes a listing of previous justices. Site notes that on “May 1, 2009, Associate Justice David Souter announced that he intends to retire from the Court when the current sessions comes to a close in June. In the coming weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee will provide information on its website about the Supreme Court confirmation process.”
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28340

Health

Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index
This index “has been developed to provide the official measure for health and well-being [in the U.S.]. It’s the voice of Americans and the most ambitious effort ever undertaken to measure what people believe constitutes a good life” and helps Americans “understand how work impacts life and health and conversely how life affects work and health.” Finds national figures for well-being, emotional health, physical health, and other factors. From Gallup and Healthways.
URL: http://www.well-beingindex.com/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28094

Heart Attack Entrées With Side Orders of Stroke
Press release and full text of a May 2009 report on “[u]nsafe levels of sodium chloride, or salt, in chain restaurant meals [which may] increase one’s chance of developing hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.” The study “examined 17 chains and found that 85 out of 102 meals had more than a day’s worth of sodium, and some had more than four days’ worth.” From the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
URL: http://www.cspinet.org/new/200905111.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28336

Media

PBS Video
On this website, “[w]atch your favorite Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) shows and catch the episodes you may have missed, all on your schedule.” Browse episodes by PBS program or by topics such as culture and science. Also under the “Topics” tag are current events collections such as “Flu Outbreak” and “Obama Presidency.” Includes links to PBS videos for children and podcasts.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/video
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28275

Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Consumer Expenditure Survey
This program “consists of two surveys, the quarterly Interview Survey and the Diary Survey, that provide information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics.” Find data back to 1984, news releases, reports and other publications related to this survey, a FAQ, and related links. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor.
URL: http://www.bls.gov/cex/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27715

OECD: United States
This page compiles “reports and statistics on the United States. Browse the documents in chronological order or by topic,” such as economic outlook, economic policy reforms, “Overcoming the Financial Crisis in the United States,” health care reform, and energy policy. From the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which “provides its member countries tools with which to analyse and monitor their economic, social and environmental policies.”
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LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27466

Science

HubbleSite
Devoted to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Contains news; photographs of “stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, and strange celestial phenomena” taken by the telescope; a FAQ; educational resources and games; and more.
URL: http://hubblesite.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/3709

Society & Social Science

In Remembrance ... Memorial Day
Material about the Memorial Day holiday, including origins (covering when people decorated the graves of Civil War dead, 1971 when Memorial Day was set as the last Monday in May, and related events); “The Last Salute,” a publication of “accounts of funerals conducted for civil and military officials, active and retired, and for the unknown servicemen of three wars between 1921 and 1969”; and images. From the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
URL: http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/memday/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/28266

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