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Transparency
NYPD Will Spend Nearly $400 Million to Hide its Radio Communications
NYPD radio frequencies have been open to the public since 1932. A new encrypted system will end that.
Michigan Lawmakers Signed Nondisclosure Agreements, Can't Discuss Corporate Welfare Scheme
If states insist upon giving away taxpayer money to private companies, the least they can offer in return is transparency.
The U.S. Needs a Fiscal Commission Because Congress Won't Do Its Job
In the last 50 years, when the budget process has been in place, Congress has managed only four times to pass a budget on time.
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
Joe Biden's Email Aliases Are a Potentially Serious Transparency Problem
Multiple administrations have allowed senior officials to use alias email accounts. The practice undermines the Freedom of Information Act and encourages secrecy.
Is the Budget Process Broken, or Is Congress Just Refusing To Do Its Job?
Since Congress designed and implemented the last budget process in 1974, only on four occasions have all of the appropriations bills for discretionary spending been passed on time.
Chicago Police Raided at Least 21 Wrong Houses
But poor record keeping hides the real number.
Massachusetts District Attorney Sued for Refusing To Release Names of Problem Cops
Massachusetts reformed its notoriously bad public records laws in 2020, but reporters are still fighting to get the police misconduct files they're legally entitled to.
Spurred by Uvalde, Texas Legislature Passes Bill To Finally Close 'Dead Suspect Loophole'
Texas' public record law let police hide records of suspects who died in custody from grieving families, reporters, and lawyers.
Trump's Disregard for the Rule of Law Is at Least As Bad As Biden's
The former president reminds us that claiming unbridled executive power is a bipartisan tendency.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Refuses To Acknowledge the Government's Misrepresentation of Mask Research
Recent comments by former COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci contradict what public health officials told us during the pandemic.
Judge Rules New York State Police Must Disclose Misconduct Records
It's been nearly three years since New York repealed its police secrecy law, and departments are still fighting to hide misconduct records.
Britain's 'Lockdown Files' Reveal the Sordid Thinking Behind Pandemic Policy
Eye-opening insights into the messy motivations behind restrictive COVID-19 responses.
Want Better Journalism and Less B.S.? Demand Stronger Public Record Laws.
Even if you despise the media, you should be rooting for better public record laws.
Want Less Corruption? Try Having Smaller Government.
People can never be made incorruptible. We can, however, design governmental systems filled with checks and balances that limit the temptations.
Reason Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Bureau of Prisons for Inmate Death Records
Reason reported in 2020 on allegations of fatal medical neglect inside two federal women's prisons. The Bureau of Prisons heavily redacted reports that would show if women died of inadequate care.
Sex, Lies, and Social Media
Artist Dave Cicirelli challenges his audience to create meaning.
Alabama Dodges Police Transparency, Hiding Violent Body Camera Footage from Public
Montgomery doesn’t want people to see a police dog maul a man to death out of fear of the response.
New Video Shows Memphis Police Fatally Beating, Tasing, Pepper-Spraying Tyre Nichols
The five police officers involved in the deadly encounter have been charged with Nichols' murder.
Biden Wants Schools That Please Politicians, Not Parents
Educators should be responsible to parents and students, not to the government.
Yet Another Shady, Hypocritical Document Hoarder
Plus: The editors field a listener question on college admissions and affirmative action.
With Classified Documents, the Real Divide Is Between the Powerful and the Rest of Us
It's not Trump vs. Biden: High officials play fast and loose with government secrets, but only regular people face harsh penalties.
Biden Looks Careless, Shady, and Hypocritical After the Revelations About His Handling of Classified Material
Prosecuting Trump for keeping government records at Mar-a-Lago now seems doomed for political as well as legal reasons.
Did the House Rebellion Against Kevin McCarthy Have an Upside?
Plus: a lightning round recollection of comical political fabulists
Cameras Should Stay in Place After the House Picks a Speaker
C-SPAN has shown House proceedings since 1979 but only what the House chooses to let it show. That needs to change.
New Jersey Town That Sued a Woman for Public Records Requests Now Wants Lawyer Prosecuted for Same Thing
Irvington made national headlines last year when it filed a lawsuit against an 82-year-old woman for filing too many public records requests. Now it says a lawyer for FIRE should be prosecuted.
Why Take Responsibility When You Can Blame Somebody Else?
The year’s highlights in buck passing feature petulant politicians, brazen bureaucrats, careless cops, loony lawyers, and junky journalists.
Will the Uvalde Shooting Prompt Texas To Finally Close a Police Secrecy Loophole?
Texas law allows police to withhold records of suspects who were never convicted. Police abuse it to hide records from families, reporters, and lawyers investigating deaths in custody.
It's Way Past Time To Release the Rest of the JFK Assassination Files
Joe Biden just declassified another batch, but the government is still keeping some under wraps.
New York Repealed Its Police Secrecy Law Two Years Ago. Departments Are Still Trying To Hide Misconduct Files.
The New York Civil Liberties Union is fighting about a dozen different lawsuits against stonewalling police departments.
Biden Is Pushing 'Equity' and 'Environmental Justice' Into Every Corner of the Regulatory State
Will a new commission at the U.S. Department of Agriculture solve racism? We're going to find out.
L.A.'s Leaked City Council Tape Reminds Us Why 'Smoke-Filled Rooms' Are Bad
A lack of transparency doesn't make politicians better people.
Senate Investigation Finds Justice Department Undercounted Prison and Jail Deaths Last Year by Nearly 1,000
The report says the inaccuracies "deprived Congress and the American public of information about who is dying in custody and why."
Biden's Sneaky Censors
Behind the scenes, federal officials pressure social media platforms to suppress disfavored speech.
Federal Judge Blocks Arizona Law Making It Illegal To Film Cops Within 8 Feet
"The Court fails to see how the presence of a person recording a video near an officer interferes with the officer's activities," the judge wrote.
The FBI Closely Tracked Aretha Franklin's Appearances at Civil Rights Events
The FBI used a network of snitches to spy on entertainers and activists, and the Queen of Soul was no exception.
Lawsuit: New Arizona Law Criminalizing Filming Police Within 8 Feet Violates First Amendment
The lawsuit argues the new law will chill protected First Amendment activities and keep media and the public from holding police accountable.
It's Not Clear Why Trump Thinks Disclosing the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Affidavit Would Help His Case
Reinforcing the FBI's suspicions was the whole point of that document, which is likely to remain sealed.
New Arizona Law Will Make it Illegal to Film Within 8 Feet of Police
Civil liberties groups oppose the law, saying it will impede First Amendment–protected activity and protect bad cops.
Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice Briefly Hired by Small Pennsylvania Town
After community outrage and the mayor saying he wasn't told about Timothy Loehmann's policing background, the officer withdrew his application.
Texas State Police Chief: Uvalde Was 'Abject Failure,' Police Could Have Stopped Gunman in 3 Minutes
"The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children."
Texas Law Enforcement Is Aggressively Fighting Public Records Requests About the Uvalde Mass Shooting
Transparency advocates say police could invoke a notorious loophole that allows them to hide records of deaths in custody and police killings.
Florida Officials Use a Victim's Rights Law To Stop a Newspaper from Printing Deputies' Names
They shot and killed a man they were trying to evict. Doesn’t the public have the right to know who they are?
U.S. Spent Over $21 Billion on Afghan Police, Got 'Barely Qualified Mall Guards'
New SIGAR findings shine a light on America’s dysfunctional efforts to train the Afghan National Police, which “actually contributed to increasing criminality” in Afghanistan.
Free PACER! (Or At Least Free PACER Docket Searches)
The judicial conference endorses making PACER searches free for non-commercial users.
Fresno Bans Journalists—and Everyone Else—From Filming Cops Clearing Out Homeless Camps
The ACLU of Northern California is suing to overturn the ordinance.