This could be big.

    A while back, I ran across a story about an astronomy project that was so big that the professional astronomers were calling on amateurs to help them sort through the data. I thought it was a nice use of the Internet and I promptly forgot about it.

    Then, I got an email yesterday that hit a nerve.

    There is a fairly new watchdog group in Washington, D.C. called CREW. CREW stands for “Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.” Again, when I first heard about CREW, it sounded like a nice idea and I promptly forgot about it. Then, I saw a TV spot about them and decided it was worth my time to sign up for their e-newsletter.

    And, the e-newsletter I received from them is dangerous, even to the point of having an impact on our government.

    Come to find out, CREW has incorporated the essence of the abovementioned astronomy project. When CREW files Freedom of Information Act requests, the federal government dumps mountains of papers on them, almost daring them to sift through them. Well, now, CREW has assigned each of those pieces of paper a URL and you can now become a Citizen Reviewer.

    Yep, by going to the CREW Open Community Document Review System website, you can sign up to voluntarily snoop on your government. You get to sift through all kinds of government documents, communications, and logs, to find out what your government is really up to.

    So far, I’ve been able to see some of the timestamps of when Jack Abramoff was at the White House. I’ve been able to check out IRS stuff regarding investigating non-profit organizations. And, I’ve been able to peek at some Senate related stuff.

    For anyone who is nosy, this is like dying and going to Heaven.

    And, if enough people hook up with this, things could get interesting.

    TWH