Bush Admin: What You Don't Know Can't Hurt Us, 2007 Version; The Bush War on Govt. Transparency

[ProSense]

Our Secrets List: The Bush War on Govt. Transparency

We first compiled our list of "disappeared" information last year. Our 2007 version shows that Administration's assault on government transparency grinds ahead. From global warming to sex education, from national security to environmental policy, the instances of stifled information run the gamut. We've made our list and checked it twice. Have we missed anything? Check it out and let us know.

Flashback: Our 2006 List

Bush Admin: What You Don't Know Can't Hurt Us, 2007 Version

By Paul Kiel - November 23, 2007, 1:16PM

Another year has almost passed under the Bush Administration, and so it's time to review how much less we know.

Last year, we launched the insanely ambitious project of recording every significant instance of this administration stifling government information. As we said then, "they've discontinued annual reports, classified normally public data, de-funded studies, quieted underlings, and generally done whatever was necessary to keep bad information under wraps." To be sure, the list will continue to grow through January, 2008.

TPMm research hounds Adrianne Jeffries and Peter Sheehy set to updating our already extensive tally, and those items have been added below (don't miss our new section on global warming!). But TPMm readers made the list what it is, so if you see something else that should be on there, let us know, and we'll update it accordingly.

So, without further ado, the list! Some notable additions:

* Does the intelligence community disagree with the administration's take on Iraq, Iran, or al Qaeda? Don't expect to hear about it. In October 2007, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell reversed the practice of declassifying and releasing summaries of national intelligence estimates.

* In July 2007, Richard Carmona, President Bush’s first Surgeon General from 2002-2006, testified to Congress that when he attempted to speak publicly about stem cell research, he was “blocked at every turn, told a decision had already been made, stand down, don’t talk about it.” He also testified that political appointees vetted his speeches “in such a way that would be preferable to a political or ideologically pre-conceived notion that had nothing to do with science.” Carmona was precluded from speaking openly with reporters.

* On June 2007, the New York Times reported that Dick Cheney's resistance to "routine oversight of his office’s handling of classified information" is so intense that he has "suggested abolishing" the National Archives unit that monitors classification in the executive branch. Because Cheney has repeatedly refused "to comply with a routine annual request from the archives for data on his staff’s classification," "the Information Security Oversight Office, a unit of the National Archives, (has) appealed the issue to the Justice Department, which has not yet ruled on the matter." In a related effort to prevent the release of information about his office, Cheney has also instructed the Secret Service to destroy copies of visitor logs.

more

Bush Admin: What You Don't Know Can't Hurt Us

By Paul Kiel - December 18, 2006, 11:46AM

<...>

Here's Steve's list:

* In March, the administration announced it would no longer produce the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which identifies which programs best assist low-income families, while also tracking health insurance coverage and child support.

* In 2005, after a government report showed an increase in terrorism around the world, the administration announced it would stop publishing its annual report on international terrorism.

* After the Bureau of Labor Statistics uncovered discouraging data about factory closings in the U.S., the administration announced it would stop publishing information about factory closings.

* When an annual report called “Budget Information for States” showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of fiscal crises, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

* When Bush’s Department of Education found that charter schools were underperforming, the administration said it would sharply cut back on the information it collects about charter schools.

Our list continues, after the jump. Update:

more

Worst president ever!

Bush vetoes bills, claims "Congress is not getting its work done"

[caseycoon]

1. What did we ever do to deserve these %#@&%$#s? n/t

[peacetalksforall]

2. Exactly - I feel like they are torturing us. Our precious rights - poof.

Taken in by criminals. Add to that the tears of Sr.