Transparency, Apparently, is for Chumps
This administration makes my head hurt.
The Obama administration conducted a workshop on government openness for federal employees behind closed doors Monday, a private training session for freedom-of-information officials to learn about a new U.S. office that settle disputes between the bureaucracy and the public.
The decision to preclude the public and the media from attending Monday’s workshop left open government advocates scratching their heads, given President Barack Obama’s campaign promise to make his administration the most transparent ever. A reporter for The Associated Press was turned away from the door Monday
I can’t figure out why this new office is even necessary. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three types of information that should not be released to the public: national security, ongoing criminal case evidence, and private personal information. So, photos of dead soldiers shouldn’t be released by the government without the proper next-of-kin permission. On the other hand, officials shouldn’t hesitate for a millisecond when a request comes in to release lists of lobbyists who met privately with the President. This isn’t a hard thing to figure out. Government serves the citizenry and, consistent with protecting other citizens lives and privacy, government should give us every scrap of information we want without a hassle and as soon as possible.
In fact, I think we ought to demand a new set of rules. Any request for information from the government must be fulfilled in one week or less. If, for some reason, the government can’t make that deadline, it must not only give a new deadline for completing the request but also provide a detailed explanation why it missed the first one. I can’t think of any reason the government should ever take longer than three months to fulfill a routine information request.
Of course, my rules wouldn’t make the government larger nor would it put another layer of bureaucracy between elected officials and bureaucrats and their employers, which is exactly why this administration won’t put them into place. Transparency is just a word tossed out there to fool the chumps. You know, like you and me.
(via Patriot Room)
Other Posts of Interest:
- It’s Not Hypocrisy — He’s Just Better than You!
- President Obama Removes Politics from Science by Adding More Politics to Science
- Transparency Doesn’t Extend to Panic-Causing Pictures and Grey Poupon
Category: President Barack Obama
