Pinch me…
The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a
clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.
The Government should not keep information confidential merely
because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure,
because errors and failures might be revealed, or because
of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never
be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of
Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed
to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive
branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit
of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of
the public.
All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure,
in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied
in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The
presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions
involving FOIA.
Presidential memorandum, January 21, 2009
You know, I think this Pastor Rapheal Shofadekan guy might be the real deal. Where do I send my credit card number? Do you need my SSN?
Well I can’t disagree with the sentiment the new administration expresses. I wonder how far they will go in practice though.
For instance, would they go so far as to heed Bloomberg’s call (among others) to open the workings of the Federal Reserve? For instance details regarding the rationale and amount it lent to each beneficiary in the $2 trillion banker bailout? Or the transcripts of it’s meeting sessions, wherein it sets the policy which inflates the money supply? Or the M3 figures upon which it bases these decisions?
I’ll give Obama a chance, but I’m waiting to see the actions backing his talk 😉
Nice blog btw
Dear Anon: I don’t expect that every word spoken by every member of the new administration in every meeting will be public. But their decisions will be and they are encouraging everyone to speak their mind to the government. And I think they will listen to the public and that will have an effect, especially when people who really know about a part of the system (like Bloomberg) speaks up.
I choose to believe that they are sincere and it’s up to us to help them to live up to their good intentions.