DNC Makes Public Records Request

The Boston Globe reported today that someone at the Democratic National Committee made public records requests to a number of different Massachusetts state agencies, seeking records about Governor Romney. The person, Shauna Daly, has requested that the fees for responding to the request be waived. Fees may be waived if the disclosure requested would benefit the public interest. Hmmm.......

Other Blogs

Here are some links to other blogs about open government issues for those of you who want more:

Sunshine Week Blog- This is the blog for Sunshine Week, which is scheduled for March 12-18, 2006. (I will have more about Sunshine Week after the first of the new year. )

The Project On Open Government Blog- This is the blog run by POGO which investigates and exposes corruption in the federal government.

Open Government- This blog is not really about specific open government issues. Its real focus is on anything having to do with the federal government. It has not been updated for a while.

People For Open Government Blog- If you are from New Jersey, you may want to check this blog out. People For Open Government have similar goals to the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government.

Citizens for Open Government (COG)- This blog is all about the local government in Barnstable Massachusetts, and probably would only interest someone from that community. It is devoted to providing "information," mostly in the form of rants, about the local government in Barnstable

Virginia's Coalition For Open Government Blog- Obviously this blog is about Virginia. It is run by Virginia's Coalition For Open Government which is one of the more active local open government organizations. The organization's website provides a wealth of information and is a good example of the type of organization that we should have in Massachusetts. Check it out.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

I already missed my first deadline due to the holidays. In any event,
here I am back at my desk, typing away finally, eating leftovers from a fabulous Christmas dinner with my sister and friends. We did not discuss politics once and it felt great. The news over the past two weeks has been so disturbing, but it illustrates why we all need to be more vigilant about our government at all levels.

Everyone should be concerned about this domestic spying controversy, but not just because our privacy has been put at risk. Everyone should be concerned because the President has decided that he has a power that is not subject to the checks and balances set out in our Constitution. In essence, he has said that if the nation is at war, he can decide to take whatever action he feels is necessary for the war effort, and no other branch of the government can question him. That reasoning is the type of reasoning used by dictators.

The President's actions are particularly troublesome because of the way in which the term "war" has been used over the past four years. Yes, we are at risk of another terrorist attack and probably always will be at risk, but I really have been troubled by the use of the word "war" in this context. First, it elevated terrorists to a higher status than they should be. Terrorists are thugs and criminals, and calling the fight against them a war elevated them to the status of soldiers. They are not soldiers. Second, misusing the term "war" allows the President, under his own irresponsible reasoning, to wield unchecked power indefinitely as long as he refers to the effort to prevent terrorism as a "war."

The President's actions concerning domestic surveillance without first obtaining warrants violate the Constitution and specific legislation passed by Congress. His actions need to be investigated thoroughly and, if necessary, impeachment proceedings should be initiated. Congress has to step up to the plate on this issue and all of us need to start asking questions, and lots of them. It is the least we can do to honor all those people who sacrificed their lives to protect our freedom and our democracy.

The Power of the Internet

The Washington Post has an article about China in today's edition which illustrates the power of the internet to provide information and promote democracy even under a totalitarian government.

Rhode Island Reports On Public Access

Last month the Globe reported that the Rhode Island Secretary of State gave low marks to the Rhode Island General Assembly for compliance with the Rhode Island Open Meeting Law. The grades were included in a report issued by the Rhode Island Secretary of State for the second year in a row. Too bad there is not a similar report prepared for the Massachusetts state government.

I know of at least one other report on Rhode Island that would be interesting to repeat here in Massachusetts. In 1997, a group of students at the University of Rhode Island and Brown University prepared a report on access to public records at the local community level in Rhode Island. The report examined how successful the students were in obtaining copies of certain key public records.

I'm Back

I have not posted anything for over a month due to a variety of pretty lame reasons. From now on, however, there will be at least one new posting every Friday, with postings on other days if the need arises. You also will see a change in the look of the blog over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, the change will make the site easier to use.

Now here is the FOIA news item of the day. The New York Times is reporting that President Bush has ordered agencies to improve public access to government information under the Freedom of Information Act. However, Mark Tapscott of the Heritage Foundation states in today's Boston Globe that the Executive Order only addresses FOIA procedures and does not address the overly broad exemptions claimed by some agencies or the complete lack of penalties for individuals or agencies that violate the Act. In other words, the Executive Order addresses form, but not substance.

At least the Administration is advocating that procedures be followed, unlike what it did according to the really big news story of the day. According to today's New York Times, the Administration completely ignored procedure (and violated constitutional rights) when it authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on international calls made by people within the United States without first obtaining a warrant.

I guess the Administration figured that sometimes that procedure stuff just gets in the way...