Transparent And Open Government?

The new administration now has fifty days of controlling this nation under its belt. But, what of it? The economy is still in a desperate, downward slide and with the actions and legislation set in place; do we really see any relief in sight? Well, I believe that should be determined by each and every American based on their situation. I can tell you, as a matter of fact, that most would say that things are getting tougher.

I feel blessed to be in an employment position where the risk of becoming unemployed is minimal at best. However, close acquaintances have not been so fortunate. One such acquaintance lost his job after seventeen years of dedicated employment. Oh, just to make a point, he was not employed in the private sector; he was a public servant, a very good public servant.

Now, to the meat of this post.

We have all heard all the hub-bub from our current administration about running and open and transparent government. On January 21, 2009 a Presidential Memorandum was signed by President Obama which was addressed to the “Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies”. The subject: “Transparency and Open Government”.

The “Memorandum” begins:

“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.  We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”

It seems as though the opposite is the reality. The “… unprecedented level of openness in Government” is becoming the largest con job this country has ever experienced. Obama’s lip service to  “… ensure the public trust”, “transparency”, “public participation, and collaboration” and “strengthen our democracy” ranks right up there with one of our most well know political lies, “I did not have sex with that woman!” Sorry Bill, that was a big one.

Let’s continue. The body of the memorandum defines three specifics. The “Government should be transparent”, “Government should be participatory” and “Government should be collaborative”.

As we take a deeper look at these, we find that “transparency” will be used to “promote[s] accountability and provide[s] information for citizens”. But, look out, there’s a disclaimer here. “My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, …” And who’s policy might that be? The document directs “… to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use.” Humm, “rapidly find and use”? Interesting to say the least. I don’t know about you but, I have found it difficult to following any of this fast track spending until after it has been put in place. Even in this document there is indication of even more spending. “Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies …” New technologies? Even a third grader can scan a document into a PDF and post it on the internet. I see this turning into another “Earmark” in somebody’s budget request.

The “Participatory” part of the memorandum speaks of how “public engagement enhances the Government’s effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions.” This has obviously slid off into the political black hole because, so far, the public’s outcry against the last two major spending bills have been totally and completely ignored. One of the best examples would be that of Rep. Fienstein’s address to the House, where she stated that she had received about 90,000 phone calls, faxes and emails with about eighty five percent being against the passing of HR-1. But, she will vote for the bill, because she knows better than the citizens she serves. So, I ask you Mr. President, where is it that our input means a damn? It adds that “Executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking …” and that “[they] should also solicit public input on how we can increase and improve opportunities for public participation ..” So when is this going to happen?

The “Collaborative” section of the memorandum is truly meaningless and hinges on the first two specifics.

The final paragraph (actually, second to last) reads as follows:

“I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive.”

Hold on just a minute here! 120 days? Interesting how that falls outside the first 100 days of anarchy.

As you can see, his is no more than attempt to subdue the American people into thinking that THIS President will be open and honest with full disclosure of his administration’s doings. But, if examined closely, the wording is deceptive and offers an escape route at each turn. First, the time limit to implement this “Open Government Directive”, 120 days. This leaves the administration more than enough “wiggle room” to push through as much spending and pork as the possibly can within that time fame. Additionally, Obama protects his “Executive Departments and Agencies” by using language which does not bind them to being a “Transparent and Open” part of “Government”. He does so by using the word “should” instead of “will” when defining an action. Again, more wiggle room.

This is just one example of what the Obama government thinks of our insight, knowledge and life experiences. On the one hand, Obama looks to “his” government to be “our” government buy soliciting our input, then, takes it back to being “his” government with full control and dismisses any and all citizenry input.

Call it what you will but, this is not the government that our Founding Fathers had a vision of.

The full Transparent and Open Government memorandum can be found HERE.

I ask you all to define “Transparency and Open Government” in your own words and under your own terms.