Advice for President Obama on Secrets

Max's advice for February 6, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Max grew up as the son of a man who knew 'ALL' the answers to the problems of the world. Max's father said so! Many times, his father let everyone know that anyone who didn't know that he had the answers was a turkey or a knucklehead.

The famous Ma Bell, the second most powerful force in the world (next to God of course), thought so much of Max's father's opinions, that she made him 'Supervisor of Troubles'. This is true!

The advice Max promised you, President Obama.

Keep as few secrets as possible!

Max would like to see you reveal the things that government before you hid. Of course no one wants the country to reveal true secrets that protect our safety.

The previous government made secret things that should never be kept secret in a free society. Max realizes that, if how you treat people in detention can be kept from the public, the government can engage in atrocities like those that the most disreputable governments have engaged in. Max's father and uncles fought a war so that the peace settlement could set the stage for ending the right for governments to commit atrocaties against their own people.

Too much of our government is able to hide behind a cloak of secrecy by simply placing a stamp on documents that would show their improper behavior. Technically the secrecy stamp on a criminal action does not guarantee its secrecy. It is only when one branch, usually the administrative branch, chooses to respect the malfeasance that the truth stays hidden.

We are supposed to be a free and open society. The cloak of secrecy too broadly spread will result in a society that is neither free nor open.

There is very little about government that justifies secrecy. The military and intelligence groups have a need for secrecy, except from the bodies of government that have an oversight duty. The people in charge should have absolute access to everything.

The other parts of government, which tend to hide behind secrecy, have little real need for secrecy. The only things they could be hiding are their own performances or lack of it. All organizations that cannot prove a definite need for secrecy should make everything they are doing for the public available for public oversight.

It angers the people when they see former and current government employees claiming ignorance. If people are ignorant of their job, why aren't they being fired? In private industry if you say you don't know what your job is, or whether you have done it, you wouldn't last a minute.

Secrets that have been around too long should be de-classified along with things where secrecy's only purpose is to prevent Constitutionally authorized inquiry.

Max wishes you well in making a freer and more open nation.

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Link one an interesting history of this issue.

Link two how the classification process works.

Link three an Executive memo that demonstrates the process.