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It's not obvious from the LWN article, but the reason it says "White House" is that lawyers from the DoJ have filed an Amicus Curiae ("Friend of the Court") bri

It's not obvious from the LWN article, but the reason it says "White House" is that lawyers from the DoJ have filed an Amicus Curiae ("Friend of the Court") brief informing them of their stance on the topic. [1] [2] [1] - http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/white-house-sides-with-oracle-tells-supreme-court-apis-are-copyrightable/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/white-house-sides... [2] - http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google-oracleverrillijr.pdf http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google...

TallGuyShort 11y ago
Is the term "White House" often used to refer to anything within the executive branch? I have always assumed it meant the office of the President and perhaps his cabinet...
- fixermark 11y ago
  Yes; it's not uncommon.
- noblethrasher 11y ago
  It's more customary to use the word "Administration" or "Obama Administration" instead.
- soup10 11y ago
  You gotta remember Obama hasn't written a line of code in his life and has someone literally tells him what his opinions and stances are on technology issues.
  - nickysielicki 11y ago
    That's not true! He has pair programmed a line of Javascript, and even went as far as watching 3rd graders play with Scratch! http://www.wired.com/2014/12/obama-becomes-first-president-write-computer-program/ http://www.wired.com/2014/12/obama-becomes-first-president-w...
- themgt 11y ago
  It's an amicus brief filed by DoJ with the Solicitor General's name of it - a man directly appointed by Obama in 2011. In more ways than even other DoJ briefs [1], there is a straight line from this to Obama, and surely if he wished to intervene to alter or prevent the submission of this brief he would have been able to. To answer your question yes, in general, actions taken with direct authority or direction from high-level appointees of the President are described by the media as "White House" actions, with good reason. [1] http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs/fisher_appellee_brief.pdf http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs/fisher_appellee_...
  - shard972 11y ago
    It makes sense really, anyone that the president appoints is not elected so can't be judged directly by the public through voting, the only fair thing to do is hold his publicly elected appointer responsible for actions.
- eropple 11y ago
  It's called metonymy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy
  - metonymy 11y ago
    Exactly!
  - andrewrice 11y ago
    See also synecdoche. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Is the term "White House" often used to refer to anything within the executive branch? Only when people are being sloppy, either through ignorance, or, e.g, because its convenient for spin they'd look to put on something. Less sloppily, referring to an entity rather than a building, it refers to either the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President, or the whole Executive Office of the President (both of which are headed by the White House Chief of Staff.)
  - shit_parade2 11y ago
    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche 'Sloppy' seems the wrong word to use to me.
    - dragonwriter 11y ago
      That something is synecdoche doesn't mean its not sloppy, and vice versa.
      - shit_parade2 11y ago
        Perhaps its use has become cliche, but using a well-worn textbook example of a synecdoche isn't exactly sloppy and to describe it as such is ignorant.
- Spooky23 11y ago
  DOJ people don't just wake up and submit opinions to the Supreme Court at the approval of some random middle manager.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > DOJ people don't just wake up and submit opinions to the Supreme Court at the approval of some random middle manager. Well, no, the Solicitor General, under whose authority such things are done (and who is the person to whom the Supreme Court issues -- as it did in this case -- "invitations" [treated as commands] for input), is one of the highest-ranking officers at DoJ. And still not part of the White House.
    - remarkEon 11y ago
      The Solicitor General is still appointed by the WH, and confirmed by the Senate. I would think that he/she, ostensibly speaking, would probably be in direct dialogue with the WH with respect to the executive's position on legal matters, especially considering that they so often end up on the Supreme Court anyway.
- jMyles 11y ago
  I've been exposed to or worked on a few style guides on this topic. I think pretty much universally, in US media, "White House" means elements of the executive branch outside the cabinet-level departments. So it includes the Executive Office of the President, the OMB, ONDCP, DoJ, etc. It does not include law enforcement or intelligence agencies, nor cabinet-level departments. So "White House" does not mean FBI, DEA, Department of the Interior, etc. However, the term "Administration" or "<President's last name> Administration" does include these entities.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > I've been exposed to or worked on a few style guides on this topic. I think pretty much universally, in US media, "White House" means elements of the executive branch outside the cabinet-level departments. That would mean most non-cabinet and "independent" agencies -- all of which are part of the executive branch and not part of a cabinet-level department -- would be part of the "White House", which assuredly is not the common use. Usually, it means specifically the Executive Office of the President. (Rarely, it might even more specifically mean the White House Office, which is within the Executive Office of the President and, like the Executive Office, also headed by the White House Chief of Staff.) > So it includes the Executive Office of the President, the OMB, ONDCP, DoJ, etc. OMB and ONDCP are part of the Executive Office of the President. [0] DoJ (which, relevant to the thread, includes the Office of the Solicitor General) is a cabinet-level department (headed by the Attorney-General), and so even if your excessively-broad "outside the cabinet-level departments" rule was correct, would still be excluded. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Office_of_the_President_of_the_United_States#Organization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Office_of_the_Preside...
pekk 11y ago
That's really misleading, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised when the next election is rapidly approaching.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- fixxer 11y ago
  Given the amount of control both the Obama and Bush administrations have exerted over the DOJ, I'm OK with this title.
- ianstallings 11y ago
  It's not misleading. It's quite literally their stated opinion: http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google-oracleverrillijr.pdf http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google... This was to let the courts know how they felt on the matter, even though they aren't directly involved.
  - pekk 11y ago
    Exactly whose stated opinion? That is the problem. DoJ and "the White House" are not exactly the same thing.
    - ianstallings 11y ago
      That's why I linked the brief - Donald Verrilli Jr. is Solicitor General of the US, an Obama appointee.

TallGuyShort 11y ago

Is the term "White House" often used to refer to anything within the executive branch? I have always assumed it meant the office of the President and perhaps his cabinet...

fixermark 11y ago
Yes; it's not uncommon.
noblethrasher 11y ago
It's more customary to use the word "Administration" or "Obama Administration" instead.
soup10 11y ago
You gotta remember Obama hasn't written a line of code in his life and has someone literally tells him what his opinions and stances are on technology issues.
- nickysielicki 11y ago
  That's not true! He has pair programmed a line of Javascript, and even went as far as watching 3rd graders play with Scratch! http://www.wired.com/2014/12/obama-becomes-first-president-write-computer-program/ http://www.wired.com/2014/12/obama-becomes-first-president-w...
themgt 11y ago
It's an amicus brief filed by DoJ with the Solicitor General's name of it - a man directly appointed by Obama in 2011. In more ways than even other DoJ briefs [1], there is a straight line from this to Obama, and surely if he wished to intervene to alter or prevent the submission of this brief he would have been able to. To answer your question yes, in general, actions taken with direct authority or direction from high-level appointees of the President are described by the media as "White House" actions, with good reason. [1] http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs/fisher_appellee_brief.pdf http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs/fisher_appellee_...
- shard972 11y ago
  It makes sense really, anyone that the president appoints is not elected so can't be judged directly by the public through voting, the only fair thing to do is hold his publicly elected appointer responsible for actions.
eropple 11y ago
It's called metonymy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy
- metonymy 11y ago
  Exactly!
- andrewrice 11y ago
  See also synecdoche. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche
dragonwriter 11y ago
> Is the term "White House" often used to refer to anything within the executive branch? Only when people are being sloppy, either through ignorance, or, e.g, because its convenient for spin they'd look to put on something. Less sloppily, referring to an entity rather than a building, it refers to either the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President, or the whole Executive Office of the President (both of which are headed by the White House Chief of Staff.)
- shit_parade2 11y ago
  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche 'Sloppy' seems the wrong word to use to me.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    That something is synecdoche doesn't mean its not sloppy, and vice versa.
    - shit_parade2 11y ago
      Perhaps its use has become cliche, but using a well-worn textbook example of a synecdoche isn't exactly sloppy and to describe it as such is ignorant.
Spooky23 11y ago
DOJ people don't just wake up and submit opinions to the Supreme Court at the approval of some random middle manager.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > DOJ people don't just wake up and submit opinions to the Supreme Court at the approval of some random middle manager. Well, no, the Solicitor General, under whose authority such things are done (and who is the person to whom the Supreme Court issues -- as it did in this case -- "invitations" [treated as commands] for input), is one of the highest-ranking officers at DoJ. And still not part of the White House.
  - remarkEon 11y ago
    The Solicitor General is still appointed by the WH, and confirmed by the Senate. I would think that he/she, ostensibly speaking, would probably be in direct dialogue with the WH with respect to the executive's position on legal matters, especially considering that they so often end up on the Supreme Court anyway.
jMyles 11y ago
I've been exposed to or worked on a few style guides on this topic. I think pretty much universally, in US media, "White House" means elements of the executive branch outside the cabinet-level departments. So it includes the Executive Office of the President, the OMB, ONDCP, DoJ, etc. It does not include law enforcement or intelligence agencies, nor cabinet-level departments. So "White House" does not mean FBI, DEA, Department of the Interior, etc. However, the term "Administration" or "<President's last name> Administration" does include these entities.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > I've been exposed to or worked on a few style guides on this topic. I think pretty much universally, in US media, "White House" means elements of the executive branch outside the cabinet-level departments. That would mean most non-cabinet and "independent" agencies -- all of which are part of the executive branch and not part of a cabinet-level department -- would be part of the "White House", which assuredly is not the common use. Usually, it means specifically the Executive Office of the President. (Rarely, it might even more specifically mean the White House Office, which is within the Executive Office of the President and, like the Executive Office, also headed by the White House Chief of Staff.) > So it includes the Executive Office of the President, the OMB, ONDCP, DoJ, etc. OMB and ONDCP are part of the Executive Office of the President. [0] DoJ (which, relevant to the thread, includes the Office of the Solicitor General) is a cabinet-level department (headed by the Attorney-General), and so even if your excessively-broad "outside the cabinet-level departments" rule was correct, would still be excluded. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Office_of_the_President_of_the_United_States#Organization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Office_of_the_Preside...

pekk 11y ago

That's really misleading, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised when the next election is rapidly approaching.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
fixxer 11y ago
Given the amount of control both the Obama and Bush administrations have exerted over the DOJ, I'm OK with this title.
ianstallings 11y ago
It's not misleading. It's quite literally their stated opinion: http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google-oracleverrillijr.pdf http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/google... This was to let the courts know how they felt on the matter, even though they aren't directly involved.
- pekk 11y ago
  Exactly whose stated opinion? That is the problem. DoJ and "the White House" are not exactly the same thing.
  - ianstallings 11y ago
    That's why I linked the brief - Donald Verrilli Jr. is Solicitor General of the US, an Obama appointee.