The most transparent administration in history exempts itself from FOIA

Discussion in 'Politics' started by JohnnyWeedSeed, Mar 17, 2015.

  1. #1 JohnnyWeedSeed, Mar 17, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 17, 2015
    Just more hypocritical bullshit from the worst administration in history. At the end they try to save face by saying you can still get some info but not until five years after these shit bags leave office and everything is old news and no one cares anymore.
    Can't wait till we can shovel the shit around again next year and pretend that democracy works.


    http://rt.com/usa/241517-white-house-administration-foia/

    Notwithstanding claims of being the most transparent administration ever, the White House now says that an executive branch office is exempt from United States Freedom of Information Act requests effective immediately.

    As of Tuesday, the Office of Administration will no longer have to heed FOIA requests - the likes of which had for decades helped explain the inner workings of White House functions - according to a notice published in the Federal Register this week.

    Although the White House is largely exempt from having to answer FOIA requests, the Office of Administration has until now been among the few exceptions concerning the commander-in-chief. In the final rule published on Tuesday morning, however, the deputy assistant to President Barack Obama writes that the office's parent agency, the Executive Office of the President, “is removing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations related to the status of records created and maintained by the Executive Office.”

    According to the White House's reasoning, the sole function of the Office of Administration is to advise and assist the president and therefore it's not covered under the Freedom of Information Act or the Privacy Act of 1974.

    Gregory Korte, a USA Today reporter who broke the story on Monday evening, wrote that the Office of Administration had answered FOIA requests for 30 years.

    “Until the Obama administration, watchdog groups on the left and the right used records from the office to shed light on how the White House works,” Korte wrote.



    Under the last Bush administration, however, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW, filed a suit with the agency which opened the door to a lengthy legal battle.

    An appeals court said six years ago that the Office of Administration is not an “agency” as defined by FOIA since it “performs only operational and administrative tasks in support of the president and his staff,” and is therefore exempt. However, the decision was not made official until entered in the Federal Register this week with little notice.

    “This action is being taken in order to align Office of Administration policy with well-settled legal interpretations,” Beth Jones, deputy assistant to the president, explained in the Register.

    But critics have been quick to call out the Obama administration for the peculiar timing of the announcement. Not only does the Register notice come six years after an appeals court settled the FOIA issue, but also in the middle of “Sunshine Week,” in which news groups are strongly advocating government transparency.

    "The irony of this being Sunshine Week is not lost on me," Anne Weismann of CREW told USA Today. "It is completely out of step with the president's supposed commitment to transparency.”

    Speaking to The Hill, a White House official defended this week's announcement, saying, “This federal register notice does not change any aspect of the administration's FOIA policy. It simply removes outdated regulations that no longer apply to the Office of Administration and haven't applied since the Bush Administration."

    “Generally speaking, the administration has gone to great lengths to release more information on the front end so that individuals do not have to file a FOIA to get access to government data and other information,” the official added.

    Even before news of the Federal Register notice caught wind this week, reporters were calling that claim into question. In a Washington Post article concerning the Obama administration's transparency record with regards to Sunshine Week published on Monday, reporter Jason Ross Arnod wrote that President Obama's pledge to run the “most transparent” administration in US history has fallen short, according to critics, evidenced through the use of secret laws, evoking state secrets privilege and prosecuting whistleblowers, among other tactics.

    Spox says exempting White House from FOIA requests won't affect "ensuring that the administration is the most transparent admin in history."
    - Andrew Blake (@apblake) March 17, 2015
    During a Tuesday afternoon briefing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest described the notice as “a matter of just cleaning up the records that are on the books.”

    “It has no impact at all on the policy that we have maintained since the beginning to comply with the Freedom of Information Act when it's appropriate,” Earnest said. “It also has no bearing on the Office of Administration and the role that they do play in ensuring that the administration is the most transparent administration in history.”

    Meanwhile, White House correspondence can still be obtained by the American public, but only through filing requests under the Presidential Records Act - and not until five years after an administration has run its course.
     
  2. Yup, that sounds like a democratic government.  One day the American citizens will rebel, but it wont be today.  Until then I will live my life as I want and wont take shit from anyone.  Eye for an eye, you step on my toes I will step on yours.  Its how I always lived and I will continue to do so. 
     
  3. Well did you guys ever think they would do other wise?....or were you one of the drooling idiots in 2008 that was crying and screaming about "Hope and Change"? I really wish I could talk to one of those clowns from back then and ask how they feel about things now.
     
    Business as usual.
     
  4. #4 yurigadaisukida, Mar 18, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 18, 2015
    I'm one of those clowns. I voted for Obama in his first term. I was a naive young liberal idiot. Now I'm an adult

    Ask away.

    -yuri
     
  5.  
    The Great Winston Churchill said once
     
    \t“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”
     
  6. I still don't like labeling people as liberal and conservative.

    For example.

    I believe gays should be able tto get married. That's a liberal view

    I believe in gun rights and iI'm pro life. That's pretty conservative

    Fact is I do believe a lot of things need to change, which by definition would make me a liberal.

    -yuri
     
  7.  
    I think many narratives on conservatives are created by the the left.
     
    Most Republicans could care less about Gay Marriage. We just wanted it handled by the state which heterosexual marriage currently is.
     
    You cant name one politician practically for instance that wants to deport the 10-15 million illegals in the nation currently yet that is the narrative. We just want a robust border before any form of citizenship is granted.
     
    Its like the narrative that the Democratic party is the party for Blacks. There so far from it its silly. African Americans in every singular aspect have suffered more under Obama. Any measurement used is lower under his term.
     
  8. #8 forty winks, Mar 18, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 18, 2015
  9. I know a pretty good spot on the 1st and the 15th that you can check for those clowns.
     
  10. Right. But realize I'm talking about the liberal vs conservative paradime.

    Democrats are seen as liberal and Republicans as conservative.

    Conservative being defined as upholding traditional values.

    So in the case of gay marriage, it's a "liberal" view.

    I don't like lableing a group of people "conservative" for that very reason.

    Fact is most people can be either liberal or conservative depending on which issues you talk about.

    Like Republicans supporting gay marriage as you said.
    Yes this is true. Even I am guilty of strawmans and attacking people with different opinions.

    Its like that addicted to Ham troll we had saying Republicans are "anti woman".

    I agree we have a problem with demonizing the opposition. I believe Obama probly thinks he is doing tthe right thing.
    Exactly.

    And lets not forget, all of our political views across the spectrum, are rooted in our desire to change the word for the better.

    I'm anti communism. I believe communism causes destruction.

    Communists disagree.

    But one thing we do agree on, is that poor people shouldn't have to be poor. Right?

    We disagree on how to be good people. So why demonize eachother? We are just trying to be good people.

    -yuri
     
  11.  
    That's not a real Churchill quote. It's made up.
     
    Something he did say tho is that he doesn't believe the killing of natives in America and Australia were wrong because they were killed by a higher grade race.
     
     
    I'm a liberal. Not the hipster kind but the let people have what they want type of liberal. I don't like guns, but I'm not for banning them. That would be unliberal.
     
    And as a liberal I don't like conservatism. Conservatism stunts the growth of society, doesn't allow change and treats everything like a threat.
     
    Don't forget conservatives were against abolishing slavery, blacks voting, women suffrage, mixing with blacks, child labor laws, social security, rock music, still against drugs, lowering pollution and still very against gay marriage, but for how much longer?
     
    It seems conservatives always loose because progression happens whether one stands in its way or not.
     
    You can call it whatever you want but conservatism is about keeping everything as it is and treat every issue like a very personal one, even if they have no connection to it. It's pure manipulation.
     
    Let's not forget all the scandals and crimes conservative governments tend to be in around the world. In fact look at what countries have liberal ideologies and conservative ones and you'll see that liberal countries are happier, more advanced and richer.
     
    And regarding Obama. Whether he could've brought real change or not we'll never know. His opponents are doing everything in their power to prevent the Obama administration from doing nearly anything. They've harmed the country just to make this one president look bad. Most of the things they attack him for aren't even valid accusations cause other presidents did the same things and the cons didn't say anything. I didn't think anything would've been different. He's a politician, they always promise more than they can deliver. But he's not nearly as bad as he's made out to be. Whatever he's accused of is accepted by other conservatives without the use of any critical thinking.
     
    Bush was accused of screw ups his administration actually did.
     
    I'm really stoned right now so disregard any misspellings or grammar errors.
     
  12.  
    Yup Walmart. Its amazing to there there biggest lobbying group for the Food Bill legislation. A double digit percentage of there annual income is directly tied to the US Food Stamp program.
     
    The other big scam is Social Security Disability which btw runs out before the end of the decade and NO ONE is interested in renewing it. In some parts there are massive amounts on it..particularly West Virginia. It was on 60 mins I think last year. Walmart is literally cleared out at the first of every month.
     
    States pushed people to that when unemployment ran out or as a primary source since the funding comes from a different source. They have a entire lawyer appartus built up around getting you Social Security Disability for a cut every month. Its astounding actually.
     
  13. Damn that's fucking crazy.

    That's like...

    Somewhere between, 10%-99%.

    Fuck wallmart

    -yuri
     
  14. #14 BRZBoy, Mar 19, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 19, 2015
     
     
    More liberal gibberish. It was the Republican party that freed the slaves not the Democrats. Most Democrats were very anti segregation in the 60s. Look up Governor George Wallace. The President at the time had to use the National Guard to force him to allow Black students into Universities. He has a memorable quote that he gave at the time.
     
    "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!". He literally said that to packed audiences. Nice Democrat for you.
     
    As for your "advanced countries" literally all the west is on the path to fiscal destruction. Germany is sick of Greece and wants it out of the EU, Spain is still on its path and so is Italy. Once that happens the EU will dissolve. Ask the Greeks how there doing today. The media barely reports on it but literally every social program is gone and if you get anything its 10 cents of every dollar you used to get. Sweden is literally paying you to put money into there banking system. They just increased there negative interest rate return today. Japan is pouring more money then we did into there economy to try to get out of the hole there in.
     
    Most Native Americans also died from the lack of animal husbandry btw.
     
  15.  
    Usually you can follow the money to get a picture of things. The biggest lobbying group for amnesty are the restruants and retail sector. There dream is to replace all the bitching American workers with newly minted illegals with work visas who never will complain one bit.
     
    Do some goggling on California. There Electrical Industry is already doing that. Whats more insulting is the currernt American workers are having to train there replacements.
     
  16. Huge respect to you for making this admission....lets hope voters pay more attention to the FACTS next time and study carefully the background of all presidential candidates before they cast their vote.  This disaster we're witnessing right now in the White House could all have been avoided if more people would've realized who the Dictator and Chief really IS before he became a presidential candidate.
     
    Big mistake and now we're paying for it!
     
  17.  
    That never will happen. The vast majority of voters are low information voters. A interesting contrast in a election coming up is the election up in Chicago for mayor. There facing biblical financial events if they do not change course. Chicago is the next to go belly up. There at a point where they really can't raise taxes, owe tens of billions of dollars as a city alone. The current Mayor who is a dimwit somewhat realizes this and it requires some cuts. The guy who has a strong possibility of beating him basically wants to give it all away. You can guess who the voters are gravitating towards...the one who wants to give it all away.
     
    The social parasites strongly love Obama. Those same parasitic organisms pretending to be humans will strongly influence 2016..because what you have is enough in there eyes and belongs to them.
     
    I cant wait for all of this to come crumbling down upon us and we have some sort of fracture as a country or collapse. I am well prepared to deal with the parasites.
     
  18.  
    "As mankind becomes more liberal they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality" - George Washington
     
     
     
    I wasn't making an argument regarding the death of the natives. Frankly I don't give two shits about something if it was so long ago that everyone involved are/would've been dead by now anyway. That includes the holocaust... well maybe in a few years, some of the survivors are still alive. I had a survivor neighbor, haven't seen her since I was 15. Might have passed.
     
    Anyway, I was quoting Churchill because he said killing non-Europeans is fine because they're inferior, not because he said Europeans killed native Americans in general.
     
     
    The republicans weren't conservative back then. Back then the reps were (relatively) liberal and democrats were conservative. It's a well known fact that they both switched ideologies. They changed sometime around the 1930's.

    As a whole I don't even consider the democrats to be liberal. They're centrists. Liberals vote democrat because there are no other options.
     
     
    You conveniently write "the president" rather than JFK to make a point. Like I said earlier; conservatives are manipulative (no offense).

    You can use this one guy to make your point. Sure this guy was a huge racist and a democrat. And he wasn't the only one. There were a lot of pro-segregation dems. Does that small minority somehow make all democrats (or liberals) racists/anti-progressive?
     
    In that case the republicans must've been the re-embodiment of nazi germany (relatively speaking).
     
    Of course to make your point valid you'd have to disregard the large number of white democrats who marched or supported the struggle or the fact that democrats created the civil rights act, which the republicans fought them on.
     
    Not to scrap the plans but they kept trying to rewrite and compromise to keep some restrictions where as the democratic party wanted total equality.
     
     
     
    First of freaking all I'd like to point out that a conservative (republican) had been the leader of the most powerful economy in the world (which Europe is tied to) for seven years before the economic collapse which affected the entire world. When the U.S. fell Europe went right down after it.
     
    From a conservative view point the apocalypse is always just around the corner. Cons are infamous for their fear.
     
    But if you look at any chart depicting the world economy over the past 300-100 yrs you'll see that we always come back. After every crash we slowly move back up. Even if there's another crash... we'll recover.
     
    In my earlier post I was referring to overall happiness, health and social progress. I also said "rich", which is still applicable... for most of Europe.
     
     
     
    Who isn't sick of Greece? Greece is lazy, unproductive, unregulated and unpragmatic. They made their bed and they have to lie in it.
     
    But they still deny any blame, and instead pin it all on Germany. Greece is just an irresponsible nation. The rest of the Eurozone recovered except for Greece. By the way the majority of the Greeks are conservative.
     
    Spain (liberal) on the other hand is fine. And has been for over a year now. Portugal (conservative)... not so much.
     
    Italian economy I'm not sure about to be frank. I'll Google it later. But I know they're ultra conservative.
     
     
     
    The European union is over reaching it's authority and becoming increasingly cocky. If anything their inflated ego will cause it to dissolve before the economies do.
     
    I have a theory that the EU is trying to follow in the foot steps of the U.S. and turn Europe into one nation.
     
     
     
    This I have no knowledge of. But based on the shaky accuracy of your previous statements...
     
     
     
    Because of the earthquake. Japan was fine before that and they'll be fine in the future.
     
     
     
    Did I mention I live in Sweden?
     
    Yes, the government keeps lowering interest rates. Something about stagnating inflation. The gov is trying to "artificially" increase inflation. This is however not a fiscal issue and nobody here is worried about it.
     
     
    While on the subject of Europe. How about you compare liberal western Europe to eastern conservative Europe?
     
     
     
     

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