This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
"Most Transparent Administration Ever" Rejected Record Number Of FOIA Requests
One upon a time everyone got a hearty chuckle when Obama declared, on the very first day of his ascension to the throne, that his administration would be the "most transparent in history." And if they didn't then, they certainly will now following news that it none other than Obama's own administration - made infamous for spying on everyone who uses electronic communication courtesy of one whistleblower - that it has refused a record number of Freedom of Information (don't laugh) requests on the basis of, drumroll, national security. So between the NSA, whose job is to ensure national security, and all those pesky meddlesome investigators, whose only curiosity is to peek behind the secrecy of the Obama administration, there should be precisely zero acts of terrorism on US soil. Like last year's Boston bombing for example. Oh wait...
From AP:
The Obama administration more often than ever censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.
The administration cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. Most agencies also took longer to answer records requests, the analysis found.
The government's own figures from 99 federal agencies covering six years show that half way through its second term, the administration has made few meaningful improvements in the way it releases records despite its promises from Day 1 to become the most transparent administration in history.
...
Last year, the government denied 6,689 out of 7,818 requests for so-called expedited processing, which moves an urgent request for newsworthy records to the front of the line for a speedy answer, or about 86 percent. It denied only 53 percent of such requests in 2008.
The U.S. spent a record $420 million answering requests plus just over $27 million in legal disputes, and charged people $4.3 million to search and copy documents. The government waived fees about 58 percent of the time that people asked, a 1 percent improvement over the previous year.
Sometimes, the government said it searched and couldn't find what citizens wanted.
And yes, if you were wondering, the government did spend thousands on "How to Google... for Idiots" classes for its employees.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose top official has testified to Congress repeatedly about NSA surveillance programs disclosed by contractor Edward Snowden, told the AP it couldn't find any records or emails in its offices asking other federal agencies to be on the lookout for journalists to whom Snowden provided classified materials. British intelligence authorities had detained one reporter's partner for nine hours at Heathrow airport and questioned him under terrorism laws. DNI James Clapper has at least twice publicly described the reporters as "accomplices" to Snowden, who is charged under the U.S. Espionage Act and faces up to 30 years in prison.
Likewise, Cook, departing as the editor at Gawker, was exasperated when the State Department told him it couldn't find any emails between journalists and Philippe Reines, Hillary Clinton's personal spokesman when Clinton was secretary of state. BuzzFeed published a lengthy and profane email exchange about the 2012 attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi between Reines and its correspondent, Michael Hastings.
"They said there were no records," Cook said of the State Department.
The snyde tone in the AP piece is amusing: it is almost as if the AP thinks it is justified in its berating of America's most totalitarian regime. One would almost think the AP had scores of its phone lines tapped directly by the Department of Justice. Oh wait, we did it again.
In category after category — except for reducing numbers of old requests and a slight increase in how often it waived copying fees — the government's efforts to be more open about its activities last year were their worst since President Barack Obama took office.
In a year of intense public interest over the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, the government cited national security to withhold information a record 8,496 times — a 57 percent increase over a year earlier and more than double Obama's first year, when it cited that reason 3,658 times. The Defense Department, including the NSA, and the CIA accounted for nearly all those. The Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency cited national security six times, the Environmental Protection Agency did twice and the National Park Service once.
And five years after Obama directed agencies to less frequently invoke a "deliberative process" exception to withhold materials describing decision-making behind the scenes, the government did it anyway, a record 81,752 times.
"I'm concerned the growing trend toward relying upon FOIA exemptions to withhold large swaths of government information is hindering the public's right to know," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It becomes too much of a temptation. If you screw up in government, just mark it top secret."
But why the concern citizen, and member of Congress - it is not as if the CIA was spying on you. Oh crap: there we go again.
That said, we suggest simply assuming that St. Obama of Hawaii is merely from the government and thus is here to assit. It helps when the time for the frontal lobotomy arrives. Plus all other thoughts are racist.
For all those unlucky few who still do have a frontal lobe, are able to process logic and remember how to read, the remainder of the AP article can be found here.
- 13423 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -



THEY LIE
Just as they breathe.
...It's all a "Myra/ge"...or else You being "Raciss" boy...
Yep, and the Obozo apologists here on ZH...
Will junk anyone who agrees with this article.
And oh yes, they're here - the Obozo apologists...
You better believe it!
I wear their usual junks almost every post I make...
As a proud badge of honor.
"That said, we suggest simply assuming that St. Obama of Hawaii is merely from the government and thus is here to assit"
Um, was that a Freudian slip......?
he meant hollow, not transparent
the most hollow administration ever
Surprise Surprise! Democrats are lying murdering sacks of shit.
Just like the Republicans.
A Republican will shoot you.
A Democrat, being a better person, will hire a Republican to do the job for him.
Please Stop referring to them as Government. Refer to them in their proper form: The Criminal UNITED STATES, CORP. INC. Much like the Criminal Federal Reserve uses "Federal" in their name to make it seem as their a branch of the "Government" when they are not.
The Criminal UNITED STATES, CORP. INC uses the name "Federal" in their name to make it seem as though they are a legitimate, functioning Government by the people & for the people when they are not.
It's a Criminal Chartered Corp. functioning under UCC Commercial Code.
Use this comparison to wake up people. It works.
I just want to know how Obozo has a SS# issued in Connecticut. Am I being nosey?
No... just keep a good look out for drones.
Wutta shocker but whay else would u exprct from such an arrogant narcissistic lying illegal kenyan alien muslim who envisions itself as the tyrannical sociopathic ignorant fudge packer it is.
"Sleaziest Administration Ever..."
EDIT:
Speaking of sleaze, the Odious Paul Krugman is due down here WEDNESDAY here in Lima to talk before a business school on "New Paradigms in Competitiveness" !!
Peru, what are ya doing' ?!
Summers is sliming around Canada as well, at paid for luncheons, spreading the sleaze to the 1% of the world
http://www.esan.edu.pe/eventos/especiales/seminario-competitividad-krugm...
Pinche pendejo krugman! Chinga tu madre.
25% (de todo la propaganda) de ESA EXACTA propaganda viene el feo en mi computadora en mis visitas a ZH...
Perhaps a great venue and target for you should the need to quickly jettison any rotting fruit ior vegetable arise...
Although Dumb & Dumber would have worked just as well.
Fantastic!
Zaphod: If there's anything around here more important than my ego, I want it caught and shot now!
-- Douglas Adams
#41
I think we should start calling him the "imitation president". He sorta looked like a president there, for awhile, but it's pretty clear now; he's just an imitation president.
Edited:
Genuine failure; much better fit.
I hope our next appointed president at least looks and acts like a man.
Yeah, someone like Dianne Fienstein, or Hillary Clinton..........
Are you kidding?
We had the Dementia President - Reagan
The NWO President - Bush I
The Sexual Pervert/Stained Dress President - Clinton
The Full Retard/I'm The Decider President - Bush II
And now the Bi-Racial Flaming Bathhouse Homo President - BHO
Next up - Transgender Bi-Sexual Lesbian Transvestite Hybrid Extraterrestrial Alien President - ?????
"Next up - Transgender Bi-Sexual Lesbian Transvestite Hybrid Extraterrestrial Alien President - ?????"
You mean Hitlery?
I believe the correct phase is undocumented Alien.
"Next up - Transgender Bi-Sexual Lesbian Transvestite Hybrid Extraterrestrial Alien President - ?????"
So, you think Michelle will follow Hilary's lead and run too?
actually a Trojan Horse or a ......Trojan condom in another form
I likE it! Am puttin the steal on it.
I'd like to know what this animal wasted on entertainment and food in the whitehouse and compare that in inflation adjusted dollars to the hated Ronald Reagan.
I'd like to know what this animal wasted on transporation costs and compare that in inflation adjusted dollars to the hated Ronald Reagan.
Should I submit a FOIGRAS request for that info?
You are insulting animals the world over, sir.
The 'Most Transparent Administration' ever. Transparently bought and controlled by anyone but the People. Transparently lying bunch of douchebags. Transparently motivated by political power and accompanying greed. Transparently inept and inexperienced in global politics. Transparently disrespectful of the military and those who've served. Transparently open to unchecked immigration. Transparently blind to the Department of (In)Justice's flagrant violation of laws and the Constitution. Transparently using the 'Race War', the "1%", the 'Inequality' of wealth, etc. The only thing transparent about this Administration is how blatantly it disregards the intentions of its founders. Fuck you Blacky and the globalist lackies you serve.
Fuck you Blacky lickspittle and the globalist lackies you serve.
(there, fixed it for ya)
From urban dictionary:
(Note: Shouldn't it have said: "lick a big green greasy lumb of shit in the hope of promotion"?, after all it is St. Paddy's Day)I am reminded of the Clinton administration, aka "the most ethical administration ever".
It was ethical. (If by 'ethical' you mean 'getting sucked off in the WH and lying about it').
If you believe anything this administration says the ACA has a free lobotomy waiting for you.
300k of these requests every year were from Fox News looking for Obama's birth certificate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhFB7-w2MY8
Projection?
A Negative Liberty Constitutional Law Professor, what was expected?
Hope-n-Change...lalalaaah!...weee!
Dudes a disgrace. Why doesn't he just fucking quit.
"Dudes a disgrace. Why doesn't he just fucking quit."
------------------------------------------------------------
Oh let's see...
Sycophant MSM...
Spineless congresscritters...
Socialist Liberals...
Holier-than-thou Hollyweird types...
Liberal college proffessors...
To name a few...
Oh and last, but not least... political correctness, political correctness, political correctness, political correctness, political correctness, political correctness,political correctness,....
Bottom line...
The dude KNOWS he will never be impeached!
And acts accordingly!
Do not forget about the money. Millions upon millions in campaign donations and various legislation that is bought and paid for.
He still has the pot of gold selling Presidential Pardons, that is one cash cow he will make a killing on.
Way too much money for the taking using the Chicago style of government that is in the White House today. Why would he leave now?
Das racist. Take it back.
Extrajudicialsuperautocraticdespotism (again )
They can do anything to you -> What are they doing? -> Everything they do falls under national security secrets.-> They can do anything to you. The circle is complete. The only way to stop the chain is to declassify everything, disband the MIC. Otherwise, expect more of the same forever.
Can it get any worse than the present blanket surveillance/blackmail/industrial espionage corporatist dystopia? Probably, but my imagination has run out of evil things they haven't done already.
Which is why I have chosen a more descriptive term for the Entrenched Establishment, regardless of their supposed political affiliation; Robbertarians. The only freedom they are interested in is the freedom to promote the status quo; unabated, ad infinitum..........
And it all started with "That cop acted stoopidly."
Time for a beer summit.
Well, actually, BHO was hoping for a 'ménage à trois'
in an undisclosed location but the cop said no way so they settled on a beer summit.
Can't forget the first "victory" lap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgL_Y5zpt8
Wait..... Obama lied? Get the fuck out?!
Guess what if he was running for a third term, the dumb fucks in this nation would re-elect. Dumb fucks out number everyone else.
That's the sad truth of things. A 38% approval rating yet at the same time they say they would vote for him again.
its the only card they got left. they pissed everything else away
dr engali, poll numbers in the MSM generated by what result you seek for a $..I put as much faith in diebold spanish/soros counted usa votes as a poll on the MSM. it's a lie good dr his rating is close to the % population of blacks and muslims in the usa..
Isn't democracy grand?
It only takes one more stupid fuck than an intelligent population can muster to counter him.
And voila!...democraceee without fraterniteee ;-)
Let it burn.
"The most transparent administration".....
Fix it or fuck it!
Well after all we can't start our first term as "Hope and Change" with hundreds of never before seen pictures of Iraqi civilians being tortured, raped and murdered by U.S. soldiers... Can we?
Or close an illegal jail house in Cuba that I promised I would before I "won"... If I did that my financial backers might be going to jail which might force them to blackmail me with stuff about my past I don't want anyone to ever know about like, where I'm originally from, and who my real "Daddy" is...
I know what I'll do?
I'll sign a bill before my second term in office (which I've already been told I'll win) with no impediments from Congress that will exonerate me from any crimes I might commit while faithfully executing the laws of the United States that doesn't require ratification that will keep all those bad secrets "secret".
Just where do the American people hide their shame?
I don't hide my shame. He sits in the whitehouse, when hes not playing golf or on vacation.
Let's hope Russia and China keep seeing it your way as well!
You don't understand how these dipshits work. Obama is the Messiah that has come to save us all from evil Whitey and if Obama says it is the most transparent administration in history it must be true. It's a fucking CULT complete with their own God (Karl Marx) with Obama as Christ, Trayvon Martin as the Martyred saint, they have their own deadly sins (racism, homophobia, mysogyny, being white, being male, they have their own Mary (single motherhood), their own communion (abortion), their own devil (white Christian male) etc etc ad nauseam.
You will never get through to them. Obama is their religion.
Okay then PZ how do you make it stop?...
Because you know and understand they won't be volunteering the change themselves when our subservience and inaction have made them into teflon?
Am i right???
"there should be precisely zero acts of terrorism on US soil. Like last year's Boston bombing for example. Oh wait..."
Easy-Peasy. I have decided to classify it as "workplace violence". Now, what act of terror were you referring to? Huh? Well? See, no actual terroristic event occurred to those "workers" out running to entertain the good citizens of Boston.
Easy-Peasy. I have decided to classify it as "workplace violence". Now, what act of terror were you referring to? Huh? Well? See, no actual terroristic event occurred to those "workers" out running to entertain the good citizens of Boston.
Have I gotta job for you as a replacement for the "titular head" at the DOJ /sarc
Shame on the journalists for not calling this guy out.
He has wiretapped the Associated Press. He's had the IRS target conservative groups for political purposes. He lied about people's ability to keep their doctors and their health plans and now continues to rewrite Obamacare without congressional approval. He said he was going to go after the 15% tax rate paid by private equity guys, but was clearly bought off and has done nothing. He seems to be on vacation all the time. He continues to deem things into law and pass executive orders. He continues to master the art of recess appointments. He continues to draw red lines and then not do anything substantive when they're crossed. He continues to preside over the largest buildup of debt in America's history. The list goes on and on.
Obama was not referring to the Administration. Maybe a teleprompter mistake.
He was referring to the American Public and others around the world
As one can see you, with the NSA now, your accounts, your bedroom life, your business life , your habits, your friends and your soul are very very transparent. ( Thank you Snowden- and Thank God our eyes were not yet transparent to see the truth).
I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is the most transparent administration ever. I thought it was just another lie myself at first. With all the denied FOIA requests, the hiding of all sorts of records, the constant bait and switch, the open attacks on journalists and dissidents, this administration has indeed become the most transparent ever.
When Comrade says 'most transparency' he mean us.
Questions for government will say no.
witness to america's hitler.......
this interloper hasn't spoken TRUTH from day zero.......
take the opposite to the hot air emanating from his pie hole and you are close to TRUTH.......