The Most Transparent Administration in History is Rather Cloudy.

 By D.C.

 In this highly critical L.A. Times' editorial,"Obama's secrets",they point out how the Obama administration is seeking a change in regulations that would allow the government to deny the existence of documents sought through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

 I reckon it is left up to us Libertarians to report on Civil Liberty issues (As I do here and here) because Conservatives do not seem to care about them and liberals,who moaned and howled about the Bush administration's secrecy,for the most part have been silent on these issues since Obama was elected.(Yet another example of liberal hypocrisy.)

 The President,who claimed his administration would be the most transparent in history,has not only continued the Bush era secrecy polices,he has greatly expanded these policies,as the L.A.Times points out;

"One of the most disappointing attributes of the Obama administration has been its proclivity for secrecy. The president who committed himself to "an unprecedented level of openness in government" has followed the example of his predecessor by invoking the "state secrets" privilege to derail litigation about government misdeeds in the war on terror. He has refused to release the administration's secret interpretation of the Patriot Act, which two senators have described as alarming. He has blocked the dissemination of photographs documenting the abuse of prisoners by U.S. service members. And now his Justice Department has proposed to allow government agencies to lie about the existence of documents being sought under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA."

Here the L.A.Times explains how Obama is trying to go beyond only subverting the Freedom of Information Act to rendering it useless;

"At present, if the government doesn't want to admit the existence of a document it believes to be exempt from FOIA, it may advise the person making the request that it can neither confirm nor deny the document's existence. Under the proposed regulation, an agency that withholds a document "will respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist."

 If a person requests a document and the government tells you that the document exists but it is secret so you can't see it,at least you do know the document exists.Then you can take the government to court and let a judge decide if you can or cannot see it.If the government lies to you and says there is no document,then you have nothing to take to court.

 The L.A.Times' piece goes on to cite several instances where the government has tried to keep documents secret and mislead the courts on the existence of those documents.They conclude with this;

"The government should be free to withhold those documents, subject to review by the courts, but it would be unacceptable — and deeply undemocratic — to pretend they don't exist. The Justice Department should discard the rule and start over. And Obama should reread his pronouncements about transparent government."

 The increase in government secrecy is a direct result of the massive expansion of the security state brought about by the Patriot Act.The Patriot Act is proof that anytime the government is granted a new power,it will always expand it,institutionalize it,and abuse it.

 The government has used the Patriot Act to literally violate millions of American citizens Constitutional rights,especially the Fourth Amendment.There is a very high chance that the government has violated your right to privacy and you don't even know it.And now you cannot even find out because the government can lie to you about it.

 This L.A.Times' editorial is yet another piece on the mountain of evidence proving why the Department of Homeland Security should be dismantled and the Patriot Act repealed.Given that small government,low tax,Conservatives in Congress or running for President have no problem with the Patriot Act's massive expansion in the size,scope and cost of government or it's abuses and Obama's track record on these issues,I won't be holding my breath waiting on that repeal.