Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Reviews published in the February 11, 2008 issue of InSITE:

• Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler
• Compassion Index
• Real Lawyers Have Blogs
• State Cancer Legislative Database Program
• Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice

[RJ]

Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler
http://library.lawschool.cornell.edu/WhatWeHave/SpecialCollections/Donovan/Hitler/index.cfm

"The Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler" is a fascinating report that is part of Cornell Law Library’s Donovan Nuremberg Trials Collection. The collection consists of nearly 150 bound volumes of Nuremberg trial transcripts and documents from the personal archives of General William J. Donovan (1883-1959). General Donovan worked on the staff of Chief Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (later U.S. Supreme Court Justice Jackson) which gave Donovan a unique perspective on the war crime trials.  "Wild Bill" Donovan is better known for his work as head of the Office of Special Services (OSS) during World War II, which led to his recognition as the father of the CIA, which morphed from the OSS after the war. The report was commissioned by the OSS in preparation for dealing with Hitler and Germany after the war. The analysis of Hitler was compiled by Dr. Henry A. Murray, a pioneering psychologist of the time and Director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic. Only 30 copies of the report were created so the analysis has not been widely available. Cornell Law Library’s copy is the only copy easily accessible to the public online. The site includes a PDF version of the 227 page report.  The entire book or parts thereof can be downloaded from the Table of Contents page.  A “More Info” option gives links to related articles about the Nuremberg collection, Dr. Murray, and the OSS. The site provides an interesting look at Hitler and the emerging field of psychology. [JC]

Compassion Index
http://www.compassionindex.org/

The Compassion Index is an offering of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI).  AWI is devoted to maintaining the well-being of animals by ensuring decent treatment by humans.  AWI has worked for the adoption of many federal animal protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Humane Slaughter Act.  The Compassion Index rates members of Congress on their compassion toward animals by tallying key votes and positions taken on pending legislation.  AWI offers the index as a tool for both promoting legislative accountability and "to facilitate the advancement of federal bills benefiting animals and to defeat measures detrimental to their welfare."  The index may be searched by state, Congressional member's name, or by Zip code.  Each member of Congress is assigned a percentage rating based on his or her degree of agreement with AWI on various pieces of legislation.  There is an entry for each senator and representative detailing his or her votes and positions on legislation.  Currently, the index covers the 109th and 110th congresses.  The site also lists key legislation that AWI is tracking.  There are several bills before Congress of interest to the group, including the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and the Pet Safety and Protection Act. [MM]

Real Lawyers Have Blogs
http://kevin.lexblog.com/       

Kevin O'Keefe is one of the top industry-acknowledged experts in legal blogdom.  His company, LexBlog, offers lawyers a "turn-key, professional blog service" in the form of blog hosting and promoting.  "Real Lawyers Have Blogs" is Mr. O’Keefe’s own blog, which promotes this service but also acts as one of the best portals and tutorials for the world of legal blogging.  This blog, directed at practicing attorneys, covers law firm marketing, emerging Internet technology, blog basics, search engine optimization, and many other topics.  Substantive legal issues are not covered.  Unlike some blogs which offer a chronologically-arranged archive, this site arranges all content exclusively by topic.  User comments are welcome, and "Real Lawyers Have Blogs" is searchable. [BWK]

State Cancer Legislative Database Program
http://www.scld-nci.net/

The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) is a database of state cancer-related legislation covering topics and issues such as tobacco, genetics, access to state-of-the-art treatment, and cancers of the breast, prostate, ovary, and other organs.  This database is a resource for research and analysis of cancer-related health policy, providing summaries of legislation affecting cancer prevention and control since 1989. Designed as a resource for Federal and state agencies, Congress, health departments, universities and research centers, professional organizations, and the general public, SCLD data is not generally available for free on the NCI’s website.  Freely available are fact sheets, the SCLD Update (the organization’s newsletter) going back to 1997, staff presentations, and the SCLD Tobacco Ratings.  The Tobacco Ratings are two indices that measure the extensiveness of state tobacco control laws related to youth access to tobacco and clean indoor air.   Researchers can also find summary information in the SCLD Legislative Snapshots, which contain graphic illustrations summarizing specific issues reported in the SCLD Updates. Custom research queries may be requested, but it is unclear from the website whether this is a fee-based service or not. [BWK]

Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
http://www.sugarlaw.org/

The Sugar Law Center is a national, non-profit organization providing legal support and advocacy for working people and their communities by "binding corporations and government to their legal and moral responsibilities." The Center pursues aggressive enforcement of Federal, state and local laws governing corporate behavior.  The website is a neatly organized presentation of the Center’s projects and concerns. Highlighted on the home page (as well as listed in the navigation bar) is a link to information about  current efforts to revise the Federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act, legislation that the Center supports. The WARN blog page provides links to proposed legislation, existing primary law, how to express support, and more resources. Also given prominence on the home page (as well as by a navigation link) is a link to “Workplace Concerns” including discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, layoffs, and pay. The site gives workers a place to submit an online form about their problem for evaluation by the Center’s legal staff. The “Projects” page lists the Economic Bill of Rights, Fair Employment Practices, Workers’ Rights as Human Rights, Community Reinvestment (by corporations receiving tax breaks for creating jobs), and Environmental Justice as additional ongoing activities. The Center is a transparent organization that posts information about its staff, interns and Board members. It also posts its recent court filings and offers a free newsletter. Finally, a list of related websites organized by topic such as Living Wage Organizations, and The Effort to Change Wal-Mart are offered as resources for interested readers. Sprinkled throughout the site are links for those interested in working for the Center or funding it through donations or by purchases of its monographs. The vibrant, colorful website shows an organization actively pursuing its mission. [JC]

InSITE contributors: J. Callihan, B. Kreisler, M. Morrison, J. Pajerek (editor)

InSITE highlights selected law-related Web sites in two ways: as an annotated publication issued electronically and in print; and, as a keyword-searchable database. The law librarians at Cornell evaluate potentially useful Web sites, select the most valuable ones, and provide commentary and subject access to them. This information can be accessed via the channels below, in addition to this mailing list:

1. Searchable database or by browsing current and archived
   issues on the web:

        InSITE home page ( http://library2.lawschool.cornell.edu/insiteasp/)

2. RSS feed ( http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/insiteasp/public/rss.asp )

3. Print format for the Cornell Law School community.