Transparency Schmansparency

[Yonivore]

“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.” -- President Barack Obama, January 21, 2009

Obama becomes most secretive President in history as denied requests for information hits record (http://www.eutimes.net/2010/03/obama-becomes-most-secretive-president-in-history-as-denied-requests-for-information-hits-record/)

[SnakeBoy]

Didn't read the article but I did try to see how many times in a row I could say the title without getting tongue tied. I always screw up schmansparency on the 3rd time.

Transparency Schmansparency Transparency Schmansparency Transparency Schmansschmparency...Dammit!

[Winehole23]

On this count Obama emulates the brazenness of his predecessor. No peeks.

[Winehole23]

Didn't read the article but I did try to see how many times in a row I could say the title without getting tongue tied. I always screw up schmansparency on the 3rd time.!I tripped on the first one. Schmansparency is apparently tougher than it looks.

[TeyshaBlue]

Didn't read the article but I did try to see how many times in a row I could say the title without getting tongue tied. I always screw up schmansparency on the 3rd time.

Transparency Schmansparency Transparency Schmansparency Transparency Schmansschmparency...Dammit!

My head asplode!

[Winehole23]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/05/fbi-chastised-court-lying-about-existence

[Warlord23]

Okay, Libya. …................. President Obama ...............supported .......... the uprising, correct? President Obama called for the removal of ..... Gaddafi. Just wanted to make sure we’re talking about the same thing before I say yes, I agree, or no, I didn’t agree. I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason ….... no, that’s a different one …................................................. .... I gotta go back, see …................. got all this stuff twirling around in my head. Specifically ........ what are you asking me that I agree or … not disagree with Obama?

[ChumpDumper]

Can only get worse as more people ask.

[ElNono]

on this count obama emulates the brazenness of his predecessor. No peeks.

+1

[Drachen]

On this count Obama emulates the brazenness of his predecessor. No peeks.

agreed

[baseline bum]

It's funny hearing the party of Grover Norquist and Citizens United arguing about transparency. Still, Obama is a turd.

[LnGrrrR]

Yoni is a bit late to the "Obama sucks on civil liberties/transparency" party. And by "a bit", I mean a few years.

[Winehole23]

On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama (http://topics.bloomberg.com/barack-obama/) ordered federal officials to “usher in a new era of open government” and “act promptly” to make information public.
As Obama nears the end of his term, his administration hasn’t met those goals, failing to follow the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, according to an analysis (http://go.bloomberg.com/multimedia/bloomberg-checks-obama-transparency/) of open-government requests filed by Bloomberg News (http://topics.bloomberg.com/bloomberg-news/).



Nineteen of 20 cabinet-level agencies disobeyed the law requiring the disclosure of public information: The cost of travel by top officials. In all, just eight of the 57 federal agencies met Bloomberg’s request for those documents within the 20-day window required by the Act.



“When it comes to implementation of Obama’s wonderful transparency policy goals, especially FOIA policy in particular, there has been far more ‘talk the talk’ rather than ‘walk the walk,’” said Daniel Metcalfe (http://www.wcl.american.edu/faculty/metcalfe/), director of the Department of Justice’s office monitoring the government’s compliance with FOIA requests from 1981 to 2007.



The Bloomberg survey was designed in part to gauge the timeliness of responses, which Attorney General Eric Holder called “an essential component of transparency” in a March 2009 memo. About half of the 57 agencies eventually disclosed the out-of-town travel expenses generated by their top official by Sept. 14, most of them well past the legal deadline.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-09-28/obama-cabinet-flunks-disclosure-test-with-19-in-20-ignoring-law.html

[boutons_deux]

No President will ever stop, or even slow down, the MIC/surveillance/police/secrecy apparatus (a very well paid group) completely fucked up on 9/11 and terrorism, and Human-Americans are, will be indefinitely paying the price for THEIR fuckup.

Yes, Barry was a huge hypocrite on this issue, but given his career, he was as conventional as could be.

[Chris]

Barry Soetoro didn't like his Christian name, so he had it changed to Barack Obama (which means lightning from the heavens in hebrew; aka Satan the Fallen Angel) Fun fact.

[Winehole23]

@boutons:

Barry normalized the outrages you still excoriate his political opponents for, after promising to change them.

You're the hypocrite, tbh.

[boutons_deux]

@Asshole

The surveillance/secret police apparatus is not micro-managed by Barry's or any WH. It's a govt unto itself, much like the MIC.

Trying to pin its inevitable growth and penetration into Human-Americans' lives specificallhy on Obama is pure bullshit. He didn't start it, didn't stop, and I guarantee you, GeKKKo wouldn't touch it.

[Th'Pusher]

GeKKKo

:lol

[SA210]

Gone are the days when a Democratic President has any real balls or a damn spine.

RIP JFK
xhZk8ronces

[Clipper Nation]

No President will ever stop, or even slow down, the MIC/surveillance/police/secrecy apparatus (a very well paid group) completely fucked up on 9/11 and terrorism, and Human-Americans are, will be indefinitely paying the price for THEIR fuckup.

Son, the government was fucking up on foreign policy and civil liberties LONG before 9/11, tbh....

[Winehole23]

@Asshole

The surveillance/secret police apparatus is not micro-managed by Barry's or any WH. It's a govt unto itself, much like the MIC.

Trying to pin its inevitable growth and penetration into Human-Americans' lives specificallhy on Obama is pure bullshit. He didn't start it, didn't stop, and I guarantee you, GeKKKo wouldn't touch it.Obama kept it going. With you I guess the buck stops at the top only if a Republican is in charge.

[RandomGuy]

Obama kept it going. With you I guess the buck stops at the top only if a Republican is in charge.

I would give him some marks for trying, but it seems little more than lip service. About on par with a lot of his other campaign promises, which is to say not.

(shrugs)

Romney would still be worse, I have absolutely no doubt, since his administration would be populated with former Cheneyites.

I will probably vote for the Green party candidate, assuming she is on the ballot in Texas. I know where my state is going anyway, so I am a bit more free to vote my conscience.

[Winehole23]

Marks for trying? Obama tried how, please?

[boutons_deux]

Obama kept it going. With you I guess the buck stops at the top only if a Republican is in charge.

My guess he did nothing specifically. It simply runs on its own fuel and logic. The Repugs and their JINO DID rape FISA and build the TSA monstrosity, not Barry.

[Clipper Nation]

But the foreign policy that set the stage for these abuses was enacted by decades of corrupt Republican AND Democrat administrations, dumbass......

[boutons_deux]

But the foreign policy that set the stage for these abuses was enacted by decades of corrupt Republican AND Democrat administrations, dumbass......

for example:

??

Clinton took the terrorist threat seriously and was actually shooting at OBL, not invading/occupying oil countries. while the 2001 Repugs totally ignored terrorist threat, until it gave them false pretext to invade Iraq. St Ronnie let Iran escape punished for the US Embassy destruction, hostages. Repugs even negotiated with Iran to hold the hostages until St Ronnie was elected.

[RandomGuy]

Marks for trying? Obama tried how, please?

I didn't say they were good marks. I give him some small credit for dimly trying with his memo. Odds are that other stuff has been going on since 2010. D- for good intentions. F for results.

More recent bit on the LA Times, much more damning than Yoni's stupid OP:
http://swampland.time.com/2012/07/12/obamas-secrets-even-his-declassification-effort-lacks-transparency/

Don't ask me to defend him or his efforts. I am deeply disappointed.

Quite frankly, the efforts at transparency seem to be suffering from the same malaise his efforts at reforming regulations, i.e. good intentions, but lack of follow through.

[TeyshaBlue]

"Efforts" = boilerplate election talking points. Nothing more.

[RandomGuy]

"Efforts" = boilerplate election talking points. Nothing more.

I generally take most people, even those running for office, at some grain of truth when they say what their priorities are, until proven otherwise. I don't think they were totally empty words, I just don't think they reflected overriding priorities, as they obviously don't seem to have.

This time around, given Obama's track record, I know better.

I didn't expect an Obama administration to make some huge sea change and live up to the pie in the sky stuff, but even so, the bullshit factor is high. I keep this in mind when people start talking about how many things Romney will change if he gets elected.

[z0sa]

first few replies made me :lol

[TeyshaBlue]

I generally take most people, even those running for office, at some grain of truth when they say what their priorities are, until proven otherwise. I don't think they were totally empty words, I just don't think they reflected overriding priorities, as they obviously don't seem to have.

This time around, given Obama's track record, I know better.

I didn't expect an Obama administration to make some huge sea change and live up to the pie in the sky stuff, but even so, the bullshit factor is high. I keep this in mind when people start talking about how many things Romney will change if he gets elected.

Maybe I'm ahead of the curve. I've felt this way for the last 20 years for either side.

[boutons_deux]

"how many things Romney will change if he gets elected."

If Gecko/Ryan are elected with control of the Congress, a LOT of disastrous changes will follow. Just like the Repugs in 2001.

[TeyshaBlue]

Not really.

[boutons_deux]

Not really.

How eloquent.

Gecko/Ryan budget policies have been written up and voted up twice in the Repug House. Why doubt they wouldn't pass them if they could?

[TeyshaBlue]

You're a complete idiot of you think 3% of either party's platform gets enacted. I take that back. You're a complete idiot anyway. gfy.

[RandomGuy]

You're a complete idiot of you think 3% of either party's platform gets enacted. I take that back. You're a complete idiot anyway. gfy.

He did ask a fairly cogent question. What parts of the GOP agenda would go through if they controlled two out of three (if not all three) branches of the Federal government?

What 3% of the GOP platform would they go for, if getting things past Democrats weren't an issue?

Would you support that?

[boutons_deux]

who said anything about Repug party platform.

Ryan's twice-passed House budget bill and his secret tape aren't in the party platform.

[TeyshaBlue]

He did ask a fairly cogent question. What parts of the GOP agenda would go through if they controlled two out of three (if not all three) branches of the Federal government?

What 3% of the GOP platform would they go for, if getting things past Democrats weren't an issue?

Would you support that?

Since the chances of this happening approach zero, I'm unsure as to exactly how cogent a question this actually is. More like navel gazing. The lack of any particular legislation as an example, makes this exercise even more worthless.

[Winehole23]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-09-28/obama-cabinet-flunks-disclosure-test-with-19-in-20-ignoring-law.htmllawsuit claims the DOJ lobbied against transparency and refuses to release records about its contacts with Congress related thereto:


The Department of Justice helped kill a bill intended to enhance transparency and refuses to release records on its efforts to block the legislation, the Freedom of the Press Foundation claims in court.

The nonprofit watchdog sued (https://freedom.press/blog/2015/12/freedom-press-foundation-sues-justice-department-details-about-its-push-block) the Department of Justice in Federal Court Monday, seeking immediate disclosure of its communications with members of Congress on bills that would force the DOJ to release more records to the public.


The foundation claims the DOJ has failed to abide by its own Freedom of Information Act guidelines, amended under the direction of President Barrack Obama and then-Attorney General Eric Holder.


On his first day in office - Jan. 21, 2009 - Obama issued a memo directing agencies to "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."
Despite that proclamation, backlogs in FOIA requests have more than doubled across all agencies since he took office, according to the complaint.

http://www.courthousenews.com/CNSNEWS/Story/Index/85122