Government secrecy (1 Viewer)

[AndrewC]

What information should governments be able to keep from its citizens? In my opinion, The US government has become overly secretive since the so-called "War on Terror" began. It seems almost everything is a matter of national security. Yet somehow my personal information is a commodity. Bought and sold to god knows who, including the US government. Citizens should demand openness from their government. Especially when the government serves the people. I thought the US government served its citizens, but I guess I was wrong.

Anyway, It appears that historical data on our nuclear arsenal is now classified. Why the sudden move to hide this data. The information is already out in the wild. Hmm, They make a big deal about the secrecy of other nations nuclear programs and ambitions, yet pull this crap. I just don't get it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000625.html

 

[Patrickt]

And, the documents pertaining to the workings of the Supreme Court in deciding Roe vs. Wade were classified and when they were due to be available to the public they were reclassified. It does make you wonder what there is there that we shouldn't know.

On another note, I was in charge of a police department's records system. We were governed by an Open Records Act which basically said everything except on-going investigations were open to the public. We were also governed by a Privacy Act which said all records pertaining to individuals were private. On many of the request for records, the two laws were in direct opposition.

 

[AndrewC]

And, the documents pertaining to the workings of the Supreme Court in deciding Roe vs. Wade were classified and when they were due to be available to the public they were reclassified. It does make you wonder what there is there that we shouldn't know.

On another note, I was in charge of a police department's records system. We were governed by an Open Records Act which basically said everything except on-going investigations were open to the public. We were also governed by a Privacy Act which said all records pertaining to individuals were private. On many of the request for records, the two laws were in direct opposition.

I had not heard that about Roe vs. Wade before. A quick search didn't reveal anything. Do you remember their reasoning for classifying these documents?

What was SOP when the two laws conflicted each other? Was the request denied outright or were the documents sanitized?

 

[Patrickt]

When the Right to Privacy Act and the Public Records Act were in conflict it was up to me. Ta-da. I made a decision and if the person wasn't satisfied he could go to court and file for an order for me to release the documents. I then had 36 hours to respond.

When I refused access to a record, I delivered the news in person and explained why I wasn't releasing the document. No one ever went to court. I would say that 98% of the time I was refusing to release to a private individual and not the press.

An example would be someone who came in and said, "I saw the police at my neighbors house last night and I want to see the report." I would review the report and if it were a family fight or a problem with their kids I would tell the neighbor I wasn't releasing the report and there was absolutely nothing in the report that would cause them as neighbors to have any concern. I would explain it was a private family matter and was remaining private.

I searched for the Supreme Court classified documents, too, and all the likely hits were from a research site called JSTOR which is by paid subscription only. As I recall, memos between justices are not a matter of historical record until a certain time period has passed. On that particular case, when the time was approaching it was extended.

 

[Muddy Creek]

And, the documents pertaining to the workings of the Supreme Court in deciding Roe vs. Wade were classified and when they were due to be available to the public they were reclassified. It does make you wonder what there is there that we shouldn't know.

On another note, I was in charge of a police department's records system. We were governed by an Open Records Act which basically said everything except on-going investigations were open to the public. We were also governed by a Privacy Act which said all records pertaining to individuals were private. On many of the request for records, the two laws were in direct opposition.

Disingenuous statement, don't you think? The privacy of the lady to whom the case was concerning was kept secret. The decision to the case is quite open. Read it? I have.

 

[Muddy Creek]

What information should governments be able to keep from its citizens? In my opinion, The US government has become overly secretive since the so-called "War on Terror" began. It seems almost everything is a matter of national security. Yet somehow my personal information is a commodity. Bought and sold to god knows who, including the US government. Citizens should demand openness from their government. Especially when the government serves the people. I thought the US government served its citizens, but I guess I was wrong.

Anyway, It appears that historical data on our nuclear arsenal is now classified. Why the sudden move to hide this data. The information is already out in the wild. Hmm, They make a big deal about the secrecy of other nations nuclear programs and ambitions, yet pull this crap. I just don't get it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000625.html

I have often thought these abuses by this government on what it considers "national security" are laughable, as well. For a government to declare a "war on terror" does not mean we are in a war. It means this administration will follow the policies of those who have held the office of president before and fight global terrorism. Course, Bush does not do a good job of it and with his family connections to those who are funding the terrorists who hate the US, the royal (coup assumption) family of Saudi Arabia and the bin Ladens of Osama fame, it appear a half-hearted attempt at best.

Many violations of the constitution have been performed by this corrupt administration. And those who applaud it are to me, the worst type of terrorist. They are here supporting the downfall of our constitutional government.