The closing of Gitmo within a year is a great move on the part of Hopey; so’s this:
Emphasis added.Excellent news indeed, especially in light of the struggles of Eva Golinger and Jeremy Bigwood to break the news of interference in Latin America by the so-called National Endowment for Democracy (which Hopey might want to think of closing for good, if he’s a committed small-d democrat). Secrecy plays majorly into the NED’s activities, and no wonder: it covers a multitude of antidemocratic sins. Would the US public like to know that their tax dollars were being put not toward hospitals, schools and highways, but into the subversion of democracies abroad, specifically the healthiest democracies in South America? Which brings me to another point: Hopey really, REALLY needs to get to know Chavecito and Evo better. A LOT better.It’s only his first day in office, but President Obama has already signaled a serious commitment to transparency and accountability in government. The President ordered federal agencies in a memorandum released today to approach the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) “with a clear presumption: in the face of doubt, openness prevails.”[…]This statement is almost certainly meant to address a controversial memo issued by John Ashcroft in the wake of 9/11, which ordered agencies to disclose information only after considering all possible reasons to withhold it, and assured them that government lawyers would defend their decisions in court unless they had no “sound legal basis.” Many open government advocates believe Ashcroft’s policy effectively gutted the FOIA over the past several years. Today’s memo doesn’t explicitly reverse that policy, but directs the incoming attorney general to issue new FOIA guidelines to agencies “reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency.”
