The Memory Hole - Rescuing Knowledge, Freeing Information
By Russ Kick at 7 March, 2009, 9:14 am

ProPublica has set up a page, with a feed, that monitors any changes to whitehouse.gov, recovery.gov, and financialstability.gov.

Whenever there’s a change to any page on these sites, it’s noted in the feed. You can then view the old and new versions of the page side by side, with the changes highlighted.

Most of the changes are to be expected - a new press release goes up, a policy document is posted, etc. But already some interesting changes have been caught:

White House Site Un-Slams Bush on Katrina

Also, an article on Slate focuses on the White House’s recent changes to George W. Bush’s biography, but the real story is to another change discussed in the second half of the article:

Elsewhere on Obama’s Whitehouse.gov, when it comes to Iraq policy, change is always afoot. Refugees eager for the $2 billion promised in the earlier version? I wouldn’t count on it. That whole “preventing humanitarian crisis” thing is no more, replaced in part by a curious section on defusing Iranian nukes and securing peace for Israel.

Indeed, it’s grim for Iraq. The hopeful talk of creating a sort of shining beacon on a Mesopotamian hill—supporting reconciliation, reconstruction, development, compromises, lasting stability, and (of course) federalism—is all gone. Now, instead, is a rather stark warning: “Iraq’s future is now its own responsibility.”

It’s hard to send things down the memory hole when the people have tools like this.