Per President Obama's March 20 directive, executive branch agencies working on stimulus- related projects have started posting their communications with lobbyists online.
The Sunlight Foundation has more on the disclosures. Not all agencies have started posting the communications and for those that are, there doesn't seem to be a uniform way of labeling the documents, which obviously will make it harder for the public to actually find them.
Go check out the Sunlight Foundation and click on some of their links to agencies. I'd be interested to see what you think about these disclosures and whether they are providing meaningful information to the public. Feel free to Email me.
--Bara Vaida
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Responded on April 20, 2009 11:56 AM
Bara Vaida
I received this email from a reader who wanted to remain anonymous: "So the Sunlight Foundation release agrees with what I was saying a few weeks ago, that the FCC has the best system in place already.
The only issue for the other agencies would be to replicate the system and hopefully find a manner in which to follow the docket system which works for the FCC.
Of course, from those claiming to be the "open government" side of the equation, the FCC does not create/report ex parte when the issue is not an open one. (That may have change though.)
And from non-biased, real open government, quite a few of the various agencies are not reporting ALL outside contact on open issues (like the FCC requires), but merely those contacts with "lobbyists".
HUGE RIDICULOUS loophole which I am currently exploiting. Not good for "transparency", but just fine for those 501(c)(3) groups which claim to be "pure".
"Purity" exists on both sides and is merely a bunch of c**p. Extremists and idealogues have always been willing to "sacrifice ...
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I received this email from a reader who wanted to remain anonymous:
"So the Sunlight Foundation release agrees with what I was saying a few weeks ago, that the FCC has the best system in place already.
The only issue for the other agencies would be to replicate the system and hopefully find a manner in which to follow the docket system which works for the FCC.
Of course, from those claiming to be the "open government" side of the equation, the FCC does not create/report ex parte when the issue is not an open one. (That may have change though.)
And from non-biased, real open government, quite a few of the various agencies are not reporting ALL outside contact on open issues (like the FCC requires), but merely those contacts with "lobbyists".
HUGE RIDICULOUS loophole which I am currently exploiting. Not good for "transparency", but just fine for those 501(c)(3) groups which claim to be "pure".
"Purity" exists on both sides and is merely a bunch of c**p. Extremists and idealogues have always been willing to "sacrifice for the cause" and not be "monetarily driven". It doesn't mean that they are not representing a particular point of view shared by far less than a majority of the population.
The issue of non-profit lobbyists wanting an exception raises the same concern as the loophole in agency disclosure. No one really cares downtown though. Either its their own side and they're willing to overlook it because "those folks are just on the side of good government", or its the other side and "Obama's liberalism is coming out more and more. He'll find a way to let those folks in and claim that its making his WH even stronger and more independent from the filthy corporate lobbyists."
Further Rs don't care about who works in the WH because the examples being shown by Treasury's inability to find qualified personnel to lead their very key roles is exactly why the next R President will quietly strike all of these inane, counter-productive rules.
Sorry, but this issue is just so knuckleheaded. The purpose is fine, the execution is so biased and purposely blind to its own loopholes its sad and frankly disappointing. If they're going to do these things, just do them right and apply them equally across the board. Its just creating huge opportunities for people to exploit and purposely creating blind spots which are immediately being exploited by every operative in town. "
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