White House releases economic report as e-book
By Donald Melanson 
posted February 12th 2010 5:44PM
posted February 12th 2010 5:44PM
Looking for a bit of light reading this weekend? Then look no further than the 400+ pages of the Economic Report of the President (the hotly anticipated sequel to the Economic Report of the President) which, for the first time, has been made available as a free e-book. That includes versions ready to be delivered to your Kindle or Nook (the former of which is already sitting at #46 on the bestseller list), and an ePub version for Sony readers and other devices. Will this be the final step that truly pushes e-books into the mainstream? Probably not. But if this rapid adoption of technology by the White House is any indication, we could well see weekly Presidential addresses in 3D next year.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
All joking aside, I think this administration has really taken the time and effort to exploit the technologies available. I've downloaded the iPhone app, bookmarked their website, and regularly read their blog. Interesting stuff. I'm so glad to see then open up their arms to the gadgetry.
@phillipl I think that is something everyone should be able to agree with, even if they don't like the specific politics of this administration. I'm starting to question his tactics, but I am satisfied with how he uses technology to create more transparency.
@phillipl
You can also get the weekly address as a podcast in iTunes.
Maybe their plan is to put everything out in e-book format. It would save a lot of paper. And it would be quicker to search through the document to find what you want. They just need to come up with a way that the released version can not be changed or updated without making it obvious what had changed.
He's probably even been on "The Google"
@phillipl
It's really a shame when gadgetry is the best thing to say about an administration.
@phillipl
How many of the 400 pages blame Bush for everything instead of giving us
to fix everything?
@phillipl
I really enjoy using the Whitehouse.gov app on my DROID, but then again I am a political junkie - LOL!
@crazypeng1
... especially teleprompters.
I'm happy to see that we have a more modern administration that knows the importance of net neutrality. I bet Obama uses the internet and knows how to work a computer (gasp!)
=O
Next thing you know, the White House is going to be buying everybody iPads. Save the Earth!
I would so not spend good money on this... hey google, you have this on your free book service yet?
@lcchoops It's a free download.
@Kirtay Oh... thanks... *facepalm*
Wow! You mean public information was made free? Or even better, available in a "easy-to-use" format? Damn, Now THATS progress.
i'm not going to lie, I can't wait to see CSPAN in 3D.
@(Unverified)
Agreed. The congressional hearings alone would be a fappable win.
i wonder if our eBooks and phones will be able to compute the deficit of the numbers outlined in this book....just a thought..
I think we all agree that this is pretty cool, regardless of how you view this particular administration.
What's cool is that if this administration keeps this up, then the next administration will likely continue the trend and we'll maintain some level of transparency in our government.
Can't really hate on that.
Test.
400+ pages huh. Scientific Fact Government Lingo makes you sleepy. So this will be a good way to go to sleep at night. After like 2 pages you should be on your way to the land before time.
couldnt washington be putting these efforts towards something of actual worth?
@NoOrdinaryMSFT
How much of the report blames Bush for everything?
@Mentat Not everything, just for 9/11.
You can find older versions, to compare, who's blaming whom, and who's the more delirious.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/download.html
He did something even better last night while no cameras were around. He signed a bill raising our debt ceiling to over 14 trillion. I bet that Bush forced him to do it.
@pd Let's see if we can remember who got us into a war that has been bleeding us at 4 to 8 billion a month. The same one who lied to our faces to "get 'er done". So, yeah Bush did kinda make it necessary.
@scobb You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Congress has raised the debt ceiling three times since Obama, and you think they did it to continue funding wars?
Your guy didn't end them though, did he? He said he would by March '09.
@pd
Wow, you're the one who has absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Escalating the war in Afghanistan was one of Obama's campaign promises. The reason he had to do that at all is because Bush failed in Afghanistan. Bush invaded Afghanistan years ago, then dropped the ball and sent us into the pointless and costly Iraq War, while Afghanistan returned to a lawless country. What the hell was the point of Bush's invasion of Afghanistan if he was just going to let the country fall apart and become a haven for terrorists again? What a waste of money!
Had Bush kept Afghanistan stable, not invaded Iraq, done away with his tax cuts, he would have had a surplus and he could have paid down U.S. debt. Instead, he left us with $10 trillion in debt, and that was when revenues were higher than they are now, so he squandered even more money!
Bush hid the costs of the Iraq War from us by not raising taxes OR cutting spending, by printing hundreds of billions of dollars and by leaving the financial sector to anarchy so as to artificially inflate the government's revenue via irresponsible lending. The truth is we are only NOW paying for the real costs what Bush did, and THAT is the cause of our debt.
Now if only this administration would release a bill to the public online BEFORE signing it... That's when we'll see real progress.
@AndrewS He said that he would. He lied. He preyed on our fears!
If it is "free" then why did my Kindle shopping list just report that it costs $0.99? That's sorta, kinda, maybe CLOSE to "free", but I think it negates the meaning of the word. Guess Amazon sees a way to hitch a ride on "free". ???
"the hotly anticipated sequel to the Economic Report of the President"
Just thought I'd say that this made me laugh. Well played, sir. :)