Monday, December 7, 2009

I Can Has Transparency?

Just in time for consideration for our 2009 end-of-the-year "top ten" lists, Team Obama provides us with another great moment in political ineptitude:

Today's workshop on government openness is closed to the public...

The event Monday for federal employees is a fitting symbol of President Barack Obama's uneven record so far on the Freedom of Information Act, a big part of keeping his campaign promise to make his administration the most transparent ever. As Obama's first year in office ends, the government's actions when the public and press seek information are not yet matching up with the president's words.

Don't worry, there's a good reason for the stunningly ironic hypocrisy:

The closed conference will provide tips for FOIA public liaisons on communicating and negotiating with people who make requests, and introduce the new Office of Government Information Services to them, said Melanie Ann Pustay, director of the Justice Department's Office of Information Policy, which takes the lead on government openness issues.

Pustay said she planned to say the same things at the private workshop that she would say publicly. She offered these reasons to explain why it was closed: She wanted government employees to be able to speak candidly, and the conference would be in an auditorium at the Commerce Department, where she said a government ID was required to be admitted.

The AP and others news organizations routinely enter government buildings to cover the government.

[emphasis added]

Now it makes perfect sense. When coaching bureaucrats on evasive tactics communicating and negotiating with the public, you want to keep the public at a safe distance.


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7 comments:

DaBlade said...

I'm getting my liberal fake urgency messages mixed up. Is it the lack of a public option that will cause San Fransisco to flood?

Mike aka Proof said...

We have to destroy transparency in order to save it. -B. Obama

Joe's New York said...

LMAO, good blog RK..

Velcro said...

I think BO has confused transparency with translucency..or maybe just plain opaqueness.

Soloman said...

And the same guy who griped about Bush and his admin not testifying before Congress is now pulling the same stunt with his "social secretary" Desiree Rogers lady...

Transparency, indeed...

Nate said...

Administration's definition of 'transparency': that's what those teleprompter screens are when the Prez isn't using them.

RightKlik said...

DaBlade: They don't really care about the coherency of their message anymore. They're going to take our money and freedom with or without any legitimate-sounding excuses.

Proof: That sums it up very nicely.

JNY: Thank you

Velcro: Maybe he missed the lesson on those vocab words when he was in Indonesia.

Soloman: The only thing transparent about this emperor is his clothes.

TW: Ouch! Good one.