More Transparency For Thee But Not For Me: Obama Bans Access to Visitor Lists and Keeps 44 Coal Ash Sites Secret

The hypocrisy continues…

The story of Obama banning access to White House visitor lists is still developing – the irony, however, is a judge ruled in 2007 that visitor lists are in fact public record.

The White House must release its visitor logs and cannot hide behind a shield of privilege, a federal judge ruled Monday. The Bush administration has resisted public disclosure while it fights a lawsuit over alleged political influence by conservative Christian leaders.

U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth concluded the information is part of the public record and is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as “agency records.”

And what does the Obama administration have to say about Transparency and Open Government on his White House website?

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public.

Another transparency story, granted not as large, entails the Obama administration keeping secret 44 coal ash sites.

The Obama administration has decided to keep secret the locations of nearly four dozen coal ash storage sites that pose a threat to people living nearby.

The Environmental Protection Agency classified the 44 sites as potential hazards to communities while investigating storage of coal ash waste after a spill at a Tennessee power plant in December. The classification means the waste sites could cause death and significant property damage if an event such as a storm, a terrorist attack, or a structural failure caused them to spill.

Who would want to know if they were living close to hazardous waste – I know I wouldn’t care!/sarc.

Were the liberals not screaming about transparency and open government previously?  Why the complacency all of the sudden?  That’s a rhetorical question…

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