Orange County register: Too many secrets

[question everything]

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Too many secrets

The U.S. appeals court for the District of Columbia Circuit dealt a serious blow to openness in government and pretty much gutted the Federal Advisory Committee Act in a ruling last week.

In siding with the administration that it did not have to reveal the names of those Vice President Dick Cheney consulted with while his National Energy Policy Development Group was coming up with energy policies early in the first Bush term, the court simply made up new criteria for deciding when citizens have a right to know what the government is up to.

(snip)

However, as Chris Farrell, director of investigations for Judicial Watch, told us, "Nowhere in the statute, the legislative history, or in previous court decisions has the issue of formally having a vote on a policy panel been the key issue. We had no objection to the task force consulting with industry people. We simply believed it should disclose which people it talked to."

The default position of a government of free people is openness. This decision subverts that idea and gives power to the secret keepers.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/05/17/sections/commentary/editorials/article_522039.php

[bullimiami]

1. its always the hypocracy

the same people that screamed bloody murder about hillary having to disclose who was on the health care panel are complicit in this coverup of the planned larceny of this group.

the same people who would try to impeach clinton for nothing would allow murder, lies and wholesale plunder by their own junta and do nothing.

[tk2kewl]

2. But, please, give us more RW judges

:puke:

[Salviati]

3. Orange County register: Cootys rat semen

Oh wait, that isn't right...

Seriously, why is it that they are so willing to pry into everyone elses privacy, with the Real ID, becoming the sex police, etc, but abhor a little light being shown on what should be their public activity...