Spotlight on Freedom of Information

FOI Opinion Piece

Page 2

BC-FOI-FOIA-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (1190 words)

Taming the Nanny State means saving the FOIA

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Right-thinking members of Congress have long talked about cutting it down to size, but the Nanny State on the Potomac keeps growing. Maybe it's time for a new approach, something "out of the box,î as Newt Gingrich would say.

Fortunately, one need look no further than the 1966 Freedom of Information Act, originally co-sponsored by then-Illinois GOP congressman Donald Rumsfeld. He knew then what the Right should rediscover now; that the FOIA can be the Nanny State's worst enemy. But it needs help.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (720 words)

Time to upgrade the national security secrecy program

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Meredith Fuchs

(MCT)

When the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on pre-war intelligence concerning the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction program was released this past July, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., declared:  "The initial thing that came back was absolutely an insult, and it would be laughable if it wasn't so insulting, because they redacted half of what we had. A lot of it was to redact a word that revealed nothing."  

BC-FOI-SEDITIOUSLIBEL-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (890 words)

Relic of pre-Revolutionary America raises its ugly head

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Charles N. Davis

(MCT)

Two simple words — 'seditious libel' — invoke images of redcoats, Whigs and Tories, tar and feathers. We fought the War for Independence in part to rid ourselves of sedition, that odious threat through which monarchies stifled any expression, true or false, which dared challenge the omnipotence of the throne.

Now, as photographs of military coffins draped in the stars and stripes, photos of Iraqi prisoners humiliated by American GIs and photos of the war dead are subject to criticism, repression and in the case of the war dead, an outright government ban, it is worth remembering seditious libel's inglorious role in our nation's history.

BC-FOI-OPENNESS-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed

American leadership and open government

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Lawrence Repeta

(MCT)

Once upon a time, Americans could proclaim with confidence that we had created the world`s most open government, subject to the strictest standards of accountability in the world.  In reaction to Watergate, the Congress of the 1970s adopted a series of open government laws to ensure that the "plumbers," the "enemies list," the runaway FBI with its "black bag jobs," illegal CIA surveillance of domestic political activists and other abuses common in the Nixon years, would never come back. 

BC-FOI-SECRECY-HERITAGE:MCT — op-ed (850 words)

Spawning a culture of secrecy

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Quick, call the FBI! Get a search warrant ASAP. Put the Justice Department's best investigators and prosecutors on the case. National Security has been compromised by another leak of classified information.

And what vital secrets were leaked this time, you ask? Why, appropriations for the Central Intelligence Agency ... in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

It happened in the District of Columbia District Court recently in a Freedom of Information Act suit. The files were clearly marked "Secret" and "Security Information," yet they were exposed to the whole world.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (1080 words)

Waking up to the costs of secrecy

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Eric R. Biel

(MCT)

This week's final report of the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks offers a time for reflection on what went wrong — and rededication to move beyond assessing blame and make the fixes needed to lessen the chance of another disastrous intelligence failure.

One achievement of the 9/11 commission is that it has opened at least a small window on how the government does — and at times fails to do — its most important business.  In no small part because of the advocacy of the victims' families, it pushed for the release of a number of important documents that help clarify what officials knew before that fateful day.  But there is much more to do.  Nearly three years after 9/11, it is more difficult than ever to be an informed citizen — even if you happen to be a member of Congress.

BC-FOI-POLLUTION-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (850 words)

Public's right to know about toxic pollution being compromised

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Carol Andress

(MCT)

Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that after years of steady decline releases of toxic chemicals to the air, water and land increased in 2002 by 5 percent.  A day earlier, the Environmental Integrity Project documented that companies may be failing to report 15 percent of their total toxic air emissions.  In some cases, levels of specific toxic chemicals may be four to five times higher than is reported to EPA. 

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed

Post 9-11 secrecy hits home

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By George Sorvalis and Paul Orum

(MCT)

To prevent pollution, people need adequate information.  With adequate information, communities can better demand accountability from industry and government. 

However, new government secrecy is eroding citizens' right-to-know about toxic pollution and hindering once-productive relationships between the government and citizens. 

BC-FOI-TAXPAYERS-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (850 words)

Taxpayers: Keep out

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Want some good news about how the federal government operates?

It's this: The bureaucrats in Washington who run the world's largest buying operation with our tax dollars have a sophisticated Web-based system to monitor how well government contractors do their work.

Dubbed the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), it's part of "E-Gov," which the federal government is using to make itself more accessible and convenient to Americans. Thousands of Uncle Sam's procurement officials use PPIRS to see how companies bidding for new government contracts have performed in the past.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed

Bush and Ashcroft: A pattern of stonewalling and secrecy

(ARCHIVE CARICATURES)

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Gary D. Bass

(MCT)

As Congress investigates U.S. abuse and torture of prisoners in Iraq, a 50-page Justice Department memo has surfaced that says torture 'may be justified' and legal.  While this is shocking news, Attorney General John Ashcroft's refusal to release it to Congress is not. Rather it is only the latest affront in a three-year pattern of stonewalling and withholding of information — business as usual for the Bush administration — where the lack of public disclosure does serious harm to public safety and trust in our government.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (780 words)

Public access to vital information is victim of war on terror

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Chellie Pingree

(MCT)

Much of the nation's attention lately has been focused on the 'war on terror' being fought on many fronts worldwide. News and images of the fighting under way in Iraq and Afghanistan are familiar to many citizens, as well as news of the recent attacks against contractors in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and the terrorist bombings of Spanish commuter trains last March.

America is also a front in that war. But the battle here is not quite what you would expect. Our government agencies are using two different approaches to make the country more secure, with wildly varying results. 

BC-FOI-TEXAS-COMMENTARY:MCT ‹ op-ed (860 words)

Does open government shine brightest in Texas?

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

You likely won't hear about it in the nation's major media outlets, but recent events suggest Texas may be doing the best job of letting sunlight shine on state government.  In the process it's establishing a benchmark for others.

The big news is the recent decision of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to hire an experienced prosecutor as the first attorney ever placed on the state payroll to prosecute violations of the Texas Public Information Act. Abbott's move means state and local bureaucrats who prefer to operate behind closed doors could now face the prospect of fines or jail time or both for violating the PIA.

BC-FOI-FREEDOM-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed

Keep spotlight on government action

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Tom Curley

(MCT)

You could hardly ask for better proof of the toxic effects of unwatched and unchecked power than the parade of horrors now spilling out from behind the closed iron doors of the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

The images of U.S. guards brutalizing Iraqi inmates have been deeply disheartening to those who believe that the best reason for demolishing the Saddam Hussein regime was to bring to Iraq the benefits of democratic government.

BC-FOI-INFORMATION-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (860 words)

Stonewalling your right to know

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Ever wonder why journalists seem so cynical? Maybe you would be, too, if the following exchange between a New York reporter and a local "public servant" was typical of your day at the office:

Journalist: "Why can't you provide these school payroll records electronically?"

Bureaucrat: "Ummm ... we just don't."

BC-FOI-SUPREMECOURT-COMMENTARY:MCT - op-ed, xst (840 words)

Why ignore Supreme Court's threat to free press?

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Having spent years as a newspaper reporter and editor, I am proud to be called an "ink-stained wretch." But I am mystified by the newsroom silence about a legal dagger aimed at the heart of the First Amendment and the free press.

That silence should worry every citizen who cares about preserving his or her right to speak out on the issues of the day. The Constitution makes journalists our independent watchdogs to keep the politicians honest. We all lose if the politicians muzzle our watchdogs. But must journalists help tie their own muzzles?

BC-FOI-PRIVACY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (870 words)

Court struggles with privacy issue in Vincent Foster suicide case

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Martin Halstuk

(MCT)

Ever since White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster, a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, was found dead by gunshot in a Washington-area park a decade ago, some on the political right have claimed foul play.

Several official investigations concluded that Foster committed suicide. Still, one of the murder theorists sued to obtain the death scene and autopsy photos in order to conduct an independent investigation. Foster's family and the government, meanwhile, counter-sued to block disclosure of some of the photos on ground their release would invade the family's privacy.

BC-FOI-ENERGY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (800 words)

Government must come clean on energy bill

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Chellie Pingree

Common Cause

(MCT)

It is no secret that Americans need and want a new energy policy. Recent events -- including the August blackouts that affected tens of millions of people in the Northeast and Midwest, and the California energy crisis of 2001 -- have made that point abundantly clear.

So if Americans want a balanced, reliable energy system that benefits consumers, boosts our economy and protects the environment, why do Congress and the Bush administration insist on developing an energy policy as though it were a top-secret military strategy?

BC-FOI-SECURITY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (940 words)

Security act blocks citizens from getting information they need

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Chellie Pingree

Common Cause

(MCT)

More than 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. ... If it be restrained now, the present corruptions will be protected, and new ones encouraged."

Yet, at the beginning of the 21st century, we face a government seemingly intent on limiting the "free inquiry" of its citizens.

The phrase "we don't want information to get in the hands of the terrorists," has become a mantra for drawing a curtain around public information.

BC-FOI-PATRIOTACT-HERITAGE:MCT -- op-ed (810 words)

FOI blunders and abuses justify Patriot Act fears

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Ask a journalist about the Patriot Act, and the response may strike you as overly suspicious or even paranoid. But those who have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to a federal agency know better.

Consider FOIA requestor Robert Todd, who recently asked the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration for copies of the unclassified cover sheets typically used by government officials to indicate a document's sensitivity. Yellow sheets are used for "confidential" documents, red for "secret," and orange for "top secret." GSA produces these colorful sheets by the millions.

BC-FOI-PRISONS-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (1050 words)

Bureau of Prisons uses a sledgehammer where FOIA demands a finer instrument

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Marka Peterson

Public Citizen Litigation Group

(MCT)

Fifteen years ago the Supreme Court decided in Department of Justice v. Julian that prison inmates are entitled to obtain copies of their presentence investigation reports under the Freedom of Information Act.  The Federal Bureau of Prisons, an arm of the Department of Justice, recently decided to ignore that decision by adopting a blanket policy that prisoners are prohibited from obtaining copies of their presentence reports.  On the basis of this new policy, the bureau has uniformly denied prisoners' FOIA requests for their presentence reports.

BC-FOI-CONTRACTS-HERITAGE:MCT -- op-ed, xst (760 words)

Help shine the Internet's light on government contracts

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

You want honesty in government, right? Enough to take 15 minutes out of your busy day to encourage Uncle Sam to jumpstart an obscure but potentially historic project that could shine more light on Washington than ever before?

There is no formal name for the project, which would require all federal departments and agencies to post their billions of dollars worth of contracts on the Internet for public review. Even so, supporters of the effort know it could transform government transparency and accountability. Now the government is inviting public comments on how to move forward on the project.

BC-FOI-MEDICALERRORS-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (1040 words)

Public disclosure of medical errors

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Amanda Frost

Public Citizen Litigation Group

(MCT)

After Doris Shipp died of cancer in June 1999, her husband, David, informed the Department of Health and Human Services that he feared that her doctors had provided inadequate care that may have led to her death.  Mrs. Shipp's treatment had been paid for by Medicare, the federal insurance program that provides medical coverage for Americans age 65 and over.

BC-FOI-BUSINESS-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, business (1050 words)

The business secrets that undermine our national security

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Michael Tankersley

Public Citizen Litigation Group

(MCT)

More than 90 percent of the facilities that are considered critical to defending our country from a crippling attack by criminals, hostile foreign governments or terrorists are controlled by private businesses. These so-called "critical infrastructures" include transportation systems, energy and water production and distribution facilities, and the computer and telecommunications systems that are vital to financial transactions, trade and law enforcement.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (860 words)

Why government secrecy won't make us safe

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Danielle Brian

Project On Government Oversight

(MCT)

Since the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, the Bush administration and Congress have expanded the kinds of documents and information that are withheld from the public in order to protect national security. Of most concern is the Homeland Security Act that may put excessive amounts of information about chemical, nuclear and other privately owned facilities out of public reach. Equally troubling has been the Bush administration's obsession with secrecy in the form of threats to prosecute whistleblowers.

BC-FOI-FOIA-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (900 words)

Restore America's freedom of information

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Sens. Patrick Leahy and Carl Levin

(MCT)

Increased government secrecy has become a serious concern for Americans across the nation and across the political spectrum, sparking calls for greater openness from groups as diverse as the Eagle Forum and the ACLU. 

The Bush administration has made secrecy, not sunshine, its default position, whether the issue is industry input to the national energy policy, the names of those detained after the Sept. 11 attacks, or potential vulnerabilities in the nation's infrastructure.  Secrecy has its place, but governments are always tempted to overuse the "secret" stamp.    When that happens, it can come at the cost of the public's stake in such other values as safety or clean air and water.     

BC-FOI-TAXRETURNS-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (1020 words)

Balancing privacy & accountability: What to do about tax returns

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Alan B. Morrison

Public Citizen Litigation Group

(MCT)

My tax return is my business and no one else's -- aside from the Internal Revenue Service and my wife who also signs it.  How much I earn (or don't earn) is for us alone to know, as is how much we claim for medical expenses, pay on a mortgage, or give to charity.  Having to tell the government all this information so that it can check to see whether I pay enough taxes is one thing, but allowing others to have access is quite another.  That is why Congress has a long-standing statute that forbids the IRS from releasing any information about the tax return of any individual.

BC-FOI-FOIA-HERITAGE:MCT -- op-ed (820 words)

Bureaucracy, not Bush, is suffocating the FOIA

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

Critics regularly bash President Bush for excessive secrecy in government. But it's federal bureaucrats who can't be bothered with public accountability who are slowly but surely strangling the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Typical of the critics is Charles Davis of the University of Missouri's Freedom of Information Center, who argued in a recent column that "the federal government of 2003 is the most secretive modern administration since King George's back in the era of tar and feathers." Similar rhetoric is a regular feature of "The FOI Advocate," the otherwise valuable e-newsletter Davis edits for the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

BC-FOI-FEES-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (980 words)

U.S. undermining openness by cutting off access to the courts

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Brian Wolfman

Public Citizen

(MCT)

Congress understands that when it creates important rights, the only way to make those laws a reality is to encourage people to go to court when their rights have been violated.  Many of the civil rights, pro-consumer and "open government" laws of the 1960s and '70s have "fee-shifting" provisions.  This includes the Freedom of Information Act --  the law that generally requires the federal government to make its records public.  Under these laws, when someone has to sue to make the government (or some other violator) obey the law, the losing defendant has to pay the winner's attorneys' fees -- in contrast to most cases, where each side pays its own legal costs.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (930 words)

Public not served by unnecessary secrecy

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Charles N. Davis

(MCT)

Much has been said and written about the current administration's deep and abiding love affair with secrecy, its all-abiding desire to keep the public's business to itself. Long before the events of Sept. 11, 2001, provided it with a convenient catchall excuse for hiding its actions from public scrutiny, ours was a government enamored with classification for classification's sake.

The media have done a fine job of chronicling the abuses of the last couple of years, from secret detentions of Muslim-Americans to back-office war planning conducted by non-elected policy warriors saddled by onerous conflicts of interest and the top-secret, rigged 'bidding' for post-conflict reconstruction contracts in Iraq. All of this has transpired without so much as a yawn from most members of Congress, who question the propriety of the administration's fraternity meeting style of government at their own perceived peril.

BC-FOI-TRADESECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed, xst (990 words)

Trade without transparency

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Amanda Frost

Public Citizen

(MCT)

Over the last decade the United States has been the standard-bearer in an open government revolution that has led dozens of countries to adopt laws requiring "transparency" in government decision-making.  Yet, when it comes to international trade agreements, the United States accepts a system in which policy decisions that must be reached in full public view at home can be reversed by bureaucrats who operate in secrecy and are not accountable to anyone. 

This runs completely counter to the American ideal of openness.

BC-FOI-COPS-COMMENTARY:MCT -- op-ed (820 words)

Why suppress COPS data?

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Mark Tapscott

The Heritage Foundation

(MCT)

You know something strange is afoot when Washington politicians and bureaucrats use tax dollars to pay for a study they say proves their anti-crime program works but refuse to make public the data behind that study.

That's what Justice Department officials did for almost a year and a half. They relented only recently, after receiving multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, letters and telephone calls from outraged congressmen and appeals to Attorney General John Ashcroft. In the process, those officials thumbed their noses at the peoples' right to know what their government is doing and what it costs.

BC-FOI-SECRECY-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (880 words)

New executive order means more secrecy

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Alan B. Morrison

(MCT)

On March 25, 2003, President Bush issued Executive Order 13,292 on classifying documents for reasons of national security. To the surprise of no one, keeping secrets is now easier than it was before. Although the changes are subtle, every one of them will lead to more secrecy.

No one disputes that the government may keep information from the public for defense and foreign affairs reasons and that the president and those who work for the executive branch need to decide the appropriate standards for classifying and declassifying documents. The key issue is how tough should they be, and the Bush administration's answer is "Very."

BC-FOI-MUZZLES-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (910 words)

Jefferson Muzzle Awards are a badge of shame for those who would stifle free expression

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Robert M. O’Neil

(MCT)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — What do the director of the National Zoo; the city administrator of McMinnville, Tenn.; and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft have in common?

Along with seven others, they have just been inducted into a select group of those receiving “Jefferson Muzzles” for suppressing free speech or press during the past year.

BC-FOI-ROBBINS-COMMENTARY:MCT — op-ed (790 words)

Hall of Fame had the right to shun Tim Robbins but it erred in not letting him speak

FOCUS ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

By Herb London

National Press Club First Amendment Fellow

(MCT)

NEW YORK — Actor Tim Robbins stated very recently that “a chill wind is blowing” across this land. What he was getting at is his belief that the First Amendment is a casualty of the war with Iraq.

This belief was manifest after Dale Petroskey, president of the baseball Hall of Fame, canceled a scheduled appearance by Robbins to celebrate the 1998 "Bull Durham’’ film in which Robbins appeared as rookie pitcher Nuke LaLoosh.