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Commentary
Irwin Gratz: An
American freedom threatened - If you have ever scanned a
listing of arrests and citations in your local paper, or were
part of group to challenge a new subdivision or shopping mall,
if you wondered how much a local school superintendent earns,
or if you're a business that's looked over a state or federal
agency's contract bids, you've relied on a principle of American
government called "Freedom of Information."
- More...
Monday - March 14, 2005
Paul McMasters: The
shadow of secrecy in an open society - In 1995, this nation
was churning out 3.6 million government secrets a year. Today,
we have reached a stunning pace of 14 million secrets annually
- a four-fold increase in a decade's time. - More...
Monday - March 14, 2005
Patrick Leahy: Public's
right to know is under assault - As the son of a printer
from Montpelier, I come by my interest in press freedom honestly.
And as a Vermonter I was lucky enough to grow up in a place where
our culture nourishes the love of liberty and freedom of speech,
which is why we held out joining the Union until the Bill of
Rights was ratified. -
More...
Monday - March 14, 2005
Lamar Smith: Opening
our government - The open exchange of information between
government and citizens is the essence of American democracy.
Openness brings accountability to government, promotes honesty
in official dealings, and above all, assists citizens in making
the informed choices that are necessary to a democracy. - More...
Monday - March 14, 2005
John Cornyn - Ensuring
the consent of the governed - The celebration of our nation's
first-ever national Sunshine Week is, at its essence, a celebration
of our nation's founding principles.
The Declaration of Independence
makes clear that our inalienable rights to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness may be secured only where "Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed." And James Madison, the father
of our Constitution, famously wrote that consent of the governed
means informed consent - that "a people who mean to be their
own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge
gives." -
More...
Monday - March 14, 2005
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Ketchikan: 
