Closed Door Government

As the Bush administration starts its second term, its intolerance of dissent hasn't abated. The Department of Homeland Security continues to restrict access to vast amounts of information--even when the information is clearly unclassified. This attitude has led Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, to declare that "A huge door is closing within our government" sending out a clear message that the administration doesn't "want you talking to anybody outside of government." As with so many of Bush's policies, the moves are significant for their ability to establish ugly precedents that will continue to haunt American democracy in the future. These measures have been praised by the American right. Secrecy, we are told, is necessary to build a "strong America," to protect the homeland which is constantly beseiged by bearded foreigners and their liberal ideological brethren.

It's difficult to follow the twists and turns of the right wing's logic. We're told that private ownership of guns is absolutely essential--in spite of any possible drawbacks in terms of crime or gun accidents--in order to counter a possible government take over. And yet the same rabid NRA members are found kneeling prostate when the king declares that even basic information be placed under a shroud of secrecy. Myself, I'd like to know where our tax dollar is going. Is it going to create coups in democratic countries? Is it being used to put people like Saddam in power? Is it being used to corrupt democratic processes by providing secret funding for foreign elections? Is it being used to pay bribes overseas? Our Republican sisters and brothers tell us that great countries are built on trust. They couldn't be more wrong. Great countries are places where the people have power, and this power rests on access to information.