The Office for Intellectual Freedom, with the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and others, develops toolkits on a variety of topics to assist librarians and the general public  http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/iftoolkits/intellectual.cfm

The American Rhetoric Web site is dedicated to Public Communication of all kinds and includes a Speech Bank, Rhetorical Figures in Sound, Movie Speeches and more. It feature "The Top 100 Speeches," considered "the most significant speeches in American history" according to leading scholars and compiled by two researchers in the field. Users can view speeches by rank or decade, as well as by categories.A full-text transcript is available for each speech and an MP3 audio file is available for most.http://www.americanrhetoric.com

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is brought to the World Wide Web as a service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Ben's Guide serves as the educational component of GPO Access, GPO's service to provide the official online version of legislative and regulatory information. This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben's Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids http://bensguide.gpo.gov/

The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government.  http://www.opensecrets.org

The Citizens' Advisory Organization is working to take the money out of politics and make room for individual citizens once again. It's goal is to put the "i" back in "politics". That's "i" as in the individual voter, "aye" as in the voice of the average citizen, and "eye" as in keeping a watchful eye on politicians. The primary tool that accomplishes that purpose is a voting advice system that makes it easy to get voting recommendations from people you trust and which, in the process, empowers your selected advisors and advisory organizations with political influence--to even the playing field, so that corporate money no longer dominates the equation. http://www.citizensadvisory.org/

Civics Online is a collaborative, online project providing a rich array of primary sources, professional development tools, and interactive activities to help in the teaching of civics. http://www.civics-online.org/

Congress for Kids gives you access to interactive, fun-filled experiences designed to help you learn about the foundation of our federal government and how its actions affect you. Although designed for students in grades fourth through high school, other students, teachers, parents, and interested citizens will find helpful, engaging activities, too.http://www.congressforkids.net/

Welcome to Congresspedia, the "citizen's encyclopedia on Congress" that anyone-including you-can edit. Congresspedia is a not-for-profit, collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy and the Sunlight Foundation and is overseen by an editor to help ensure fairness and accuracy. Congresspedia is part of the SourceWatch wiki. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Congresspedia

This database offers constitutions, charters, amendments, and other related documents. Nations of the world are linked to their constitutional text posted somewhere on the Internet. We invite comments or suggestions for improving this index. We would appreciate both your direction to internet sites where other constitutions may be found and your contribution of the texts of constitutions not yet accessible on the Internet. Send them electronically or by post and we will add them to this database. We seek not only constitutions in effect, and their amendments, but also constitutions which have been superseded as well as drafts not yet acted upon or else abandoned. http://confinder.richmond.edu/

A practical and colorful CDV PowerPoint SLIDE SHOW, Core Democratic Values, Developing the Visual/Spatial Intelligence (10.71MB zipped .PPT file), containing over 140 selected graphic images that will help students to deeply understand and connect 18 of our most prominent Core Democratic Values. Designed for teacher use in direct instruction or for student use as a graphics clip art source for CDV reports, booklets, or posters.

Our aim is to help students learn to be smart consumers of these messages, to see through the deceptions that they encounter daily, to dig for facts using the Internet and other resources, and to set aside prejudice and weigh evidence logically. http://www.factchecked.org/

Fantasy Congress^TM offers you the power to "play politics." As in other fantasy sports, you - the Citizen - draft a team of real-life legislators from the U.S. Congress and score points for your team's successes. ...Educators, Fantasy Congress is the perfect tool for bringing home the process of legislation and the role of Congress to your students. Our database is the largest and broadest of its kind, and is updated daily. http://www.fantasycongress.com

First Vote is a nonpartisan, classroom-based voter registration, education, and citizenship program for high school students. The program, designed for use in one or two class periods, gives students and teachers an opportunity to discuss the relationship between voting and other duties and responsibilities of citizenship. The Close Up Foundation, in partnership with the American Express Foundation, provides teachers with an inspirational First Vote video and Teacher's Resource Guide free of charge. In return, teachers agree to make First Vote an ongoing part of the social studies curriculum and give eligible students an opportunity to register to vote in the classroom. http://www.closeup.org/frstvote.htm

State Legislatures, State Laws and State Regulations - Web Site Links and Telephone Numbers http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/state-leg.htm

The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights works to ensure that the courts protect and preserve justice, fairness, and opportunity for everyone. http://www.rollbackcampaign.org/

The mission of the PeaceJam Foundation is to create a new generation of young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates. http://www.peacejam.org/

The People's Email Network is constructed to facilitate communication with our elected officials. By your participation you can establish that you are a voter who will call your government to account at each successive election. Your views do count. They will be heard. And most importantly, when you cast your votes in the section above, be sure to use the ground-breaking input functions of our website to also submit the email addresses of everyone you know. In this way we can together mobilize the entire country to speak in the loudest possible voice. http://www.usalone.com/

Politicopia aims to promote better politics by (1) politically empowering individuals, (2) encouraging better dialogue, and (3) producing better ideas. Politicopians believe that political solutions are possible and work together to craft those solutions. This allows for plenty of constructive give-and-take and plenty of civil disagreement. But, if it's a flame war or partisan echo-chamber you're after, there are plenty of other sites you might want to visit instead. We're trying to make a difference. If you'd like to help us, we enthusiastically welcome you! http://www.politicopia.com

PR Watch, a quarterly publication of the Center for Media & Democracy, is dedicated to investigative reporting on the public relations industry. It serves citizens, journalists and researchers seeking to recognize and combat manipulative and misleading PR practices. It specializes in blowing the lid off today's multi-billion dollar propaganda-for-hire industry, naming names and revealing how public relations wizards concoct and spin the news, organize phony 'grassroots' front groups, spy on citizens, and conspire with lobbyists and politicians to thwart democracy. We expose the hidden activities of secretive, little-known mega-firms such as Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and Ketchum PR--the "invisible men" who control our political debates and public opinion, twisting reality and protecting the powerful from scrutiny. http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/prwatch.html

This is the Teachers' Guide for using the Professional Cartoonists Index web site in your classes. We have developed lesson plans for using the editorial cartoons as a teaching tool in Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and English at all levels --click on the icons to the left to visit our lesson plans. http://www.cagle.com/teacher/

The founders of RadicalMath believe strongly that math literacy is a civil right for all youth and that all classrooms should foster culture, unique learning styles and reflect the just societies we encourage in our own lives and teaching practices.  They ask the question of students, What are the problems that my community is facing, and how can I use math to understand and help solve them?"  Access the Guide for Integrating Issues of Social and Economic Justice into Mathematics Classrooms and Curriculum to learn about the possibilities of teaching math through a social justice lens.  http://www.radicalmath.org/

Ripple Kids is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering kids to take action in their communities by publicizing what their peers are doing.

The name comes from the idea that if one kid does something positive in her community, it will inspire someone else to do something, and so on and so on and so on. It's the ripple effect caused by one kid - a ‘Ripple Kid' - taking action.

Our goal with this web site is to create an interactive experience that makes community involvement cool and fun. We want community service to become part of the mainstream conversation where hearing about the good things kids are doing is the rule rather than the exception.  http://www.ripplekids.com/

Welcome to SourceWatch-your guide to the names behind the news. SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists and government agencies. Unlike some other wikis, SourceWatch has a policy of strict referencing, and is overseen by a paid editor. SourceWatch has 30,177 articles http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch

Street Law is practical, participatory education about law, democracy, and human rights. A unique blend of content and methodology, Street Law uses techniques that promote cooperative learning, critical thinking, and the ability to participate in a democratic society. For 30 years, Street Law, Inc.'s programs and curricula have promoted knowledge of legal rights and responsibilities, engagement in the democratic process, and belief in the rule of law, among both youth and adults. http://www.streetlaw.org/

TakingITGlobal.org is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. It's the world's most popular online community for young people interested in making a difference, with hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month. TIG's highly interactive website provides a platform for expression, connection to opportunities, and support for action. Join now and connect with thousands of other young people around the world! http://www.takingitglobal.org/

Intellectual Property (IP) is abstract and creative rights assigned to IP are not well understood. It's difficult for individuals to connect it to their everyday activities, and therefore it's pretty easy to ignore. Yet, IP and the rights that protect it are in fact real—with tangible consequences felt deeply by the myriad of people who created it and who are part of the value chain it provides. Creative rights are a cornerstone of creative freedom. It's important that we understand and respect them at a personal level meaningful to our everyday lives—particularly in a world of digitally delivered content that is easier to access than ever before, and where that access is often misinterpreted as a license to use. Students interact with music, movies, software, images, literature, and other digital content every day. Are they aware that these works are protected, and do they understand why these issues are relevant to them? http://www.ipreducation.com/

 Teaching Current Events via Newspapers, Magazine, TV http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/cevents.html

TechPresident was started by Andrew Rasiej and Micah Sifry as a new group blog that covers how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web, and vice versa, how content generated by voters is affecting the campaign.  The 2008 election will be the first where the Internet will play a central role, not only in terms of how the campaigns use technology, but also in how voter-generated content affects its course.  TechPresident.com plans to track all these changes in real-time, covering everything from campaign websites, online advertising and email lists to the postings on YouTube and who's got the fastest growing group of friends on MySpace.

Our team of bloggers is made of veterans of the 2004 and 2006 elections, ranging across the political spectrum. Their expertise covers everything from website design to the latest in mobile tools and social networking sites. And we'll look closely not just at what the campaigns are or are not doing, but what voters and activists are doing online to independently affect the election. http://techpresident.com/

The mission of The Freechild Project is to advocate, inform, and celebrate social change led by and with young people around the world, particularly those who have been historically denied the right to participate. http://www.freechild.org/

http://www.house.gov/house/Educate.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/virtual.htm

Vote: The Machinery of Democracy explores how ballots and voting systems have evolved over the years as a response to political, social, and technological change, transforming the ways in which Americans vote. http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/

Get information, links, and discussions on socially-responsible global issues; Participate in contests, activities, and prizes for your work; Gain exposure and get feedback on your creations.  All in a commercial-free space! http://www.takingitglobal.org/members/ss.html?partner=ymex

YOUTH NOISE is a group of young people--from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 176 countries--together with a small group of adults working to provide information from more than 300 nonprofit partners to date that will spark youth action and voice. YOUTH NOISE is a project of the Tides Center, a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization www.youthnoise.com