Farleyfiles is a searchable database of information promoting or supporting the left of center point of view. The emphasis is on analysis, research and commentary, and providing context and background information on current news and events. Representative news stories related to current events are included, but farleyfiles is not meant to be a "latest news" provider. There are already a number of liberal and progressive sites providing this information in a much more timely manner. My personal favorite is Democrats.com, since they also provide newsbriefs in a daily email (click here to subscribe). My favorite place for discussing the news of the day is the DemocraticUnderground, where I'm known as bain_sidhe (pronounced "banshee" - the pale ghost of Irish legend that wails in the night to warn of impending doom).

Items entered into the database are first sorted into to general categories (type of item, major subject areas and groups affected) then linked to more specific keywords within those categories where appropriate. For example, an item might generally apply to "Domestic Policy," but also be specifically about health care, or labor policy, or some other area of domestic policy. All the categories and subcategories currently containing items can be seen on the "search" page. The categories are frequently re-arranged and updated as current events or concentrations of items require, so the search page is dynamically generated to always present the most current structure. (This means the layout isn't as nice as I'd like, but you can't have everything...)

Who I Am and Why farleyfiles exists...

Hi, my name is Karen Gould, and I'm a recovering moderate. ::GRIN:: The Bush* selection has radicalized me in ways I never would have thought possible just a few short years ago. This site was born out of the frustration of finding great sources of information on the web, and then not being able to find them again when I wanted to refer to them in the daily battle against the Bush* regime.

I have been involved in web-based activism since 1995. My first foray into web-activism was a site called "Askwitteachik" that attempted to track legislation affecting Native Americans through Congress. This work was eventually taken over by a tribal lawyer, but has since been discontinued. I then spent a year as About.com's Guide for Women's Issues, a position which I left in 2001. In creating this site, I had to learn an entirely new language... the server-side scripting language "PHP." While I'd never worked with a database or server-side scripting, I thought, "how hard can it be? I already know html..." (also known as "famous last words"). But, after several months, several books, and the generous help of the user community at pair Networks (the web host for this site), it's functional--although, not complete. Of course, it will never be complete, since there will always be new items to add, but as I learn more about scripting, I also continue to find new and better ways to add features and functionality, so farleyfiles will always be a work in progress.

A note of explanation:

Some users have written to ask why I choose to use a "keyword" method of searching instead of using a text-based search. The reason is simple: the words that are actually in the database - the title plus a brief description of the item - might not contain the text-string a user is looking for, even though the article may be directly related to that subject. Nothing beats a human brain for determining what keywords might be relevant to a given item. Therefore, when an item is entered, that item is associated with the keywords a human being thinks are relevant, not the keywords a computer just happens to find in the item itself.

Where the name comes from...

Farleyfiles is named after James Aloysius "Big Jim" Farley, probably best known for his work as campaign manager for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But before Farley became a big name in campaign management, he had held elective office himself in the town of Stony Point, New York. He was elected to his first public office, Stony Point Town Clerk, in 1911.

Farley kept extensive notes on everyone he ever dealt with - names of spouses and children, accomplishments, interests - every scrap of information he had about a person went into the "file," which he reviewed before meeting with them. A constituent entering his office was likely to be greeted with friendly inquiry about how the new job was working out, or whether the kids had gotten over their colds yet. This attention to the details of the lives of his constituents made him immensely popular in Stony Point, where he was widely viewed as a politician who took a personal interest in the people he served. His "Farley Files" helped him rise through the posts of town supervisor, state assemblyman and county Democratic chairman long before he became nationally recognized for his work on FDR's campaigns--where he put his "Farleyfiles" to good use in dealing with both friends and enemies of his candidate.

Thank you for visiting!

Come back often, and feel free to with advice or comments, or to let me know of any problems you encounter (Especially to let me know of problems! I try to keep the site standards compliant, so if some feature is giving you problems, I want to know about it! If you do report a problem, please let me know which browser you are using. )

Karen

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