News Highlights FISA Court Proposes New Court Rules SEC FOIA loophole tightens GAO access to intel in dispute MSHA refuses to release Massey probe documents New report details loss of Bush-era e-mails Contractors resist US disclosure effort Opinion: A Gulf Science Blackout Nod to national security advances whistleblower protection bill Opinion: Leaking for Democracy Opinion: Accountability for CIA's covert acts Contractor database to go public by year's end Of Interest
NEWS: U.S. Nuclear Stockpile Secrecy: A View from 1949 NEWS: NASA opens photo-sharing site NEWS: FDA unveils performance management site NEWS: Interior Posts Only Half of a Scientific Integrity Policy NEWS: Government ethics office reorganizing site to make policies easier to digest NEWS: Report says Congress needs lots of help with Web sites COMMENTARY: 'Pentagon's cybersecurity plans have a Cold War chill NEWS: Earthquakes are HUGE on Data.gov NEWS: Fairs help job-seekers with security clearances connect with intelligence firms NEWS: Military Denies Having a Secret Afghan Torture Jail NEWS: ACLU Sues FBI In SF Over Muslim Surveillance NEWS: New Order on State, Local Access to Classified Info RESOURCE: Sharing THOMAS Legislative Content with the Share Tool NEWS: Leaks Aren't 'In,' Clapper Tells Intelligence Community
[Secrecy News, September 2, 2010]
[Federal News Radio, September 1, 2010]
[Washington Post: Top Secret America, September 1, 2010]
[West Virginia Gazette, August 30, 2010]
[Washington Post: Federal Eye, August 30, 2010]
[Boston Globe, August 30, 2010]
[New York Times, August 24, 2010]
[Washington Post, August 27, 2010]
[Huffington Post, August 26, 2010]
[Politico, August 26, 2010]
[Washington Technology, August 25, 2010]
[Secrecy News, 9.2.10]
[Federal Computer Week, 8.31.10]
[Government Executive, 8.31.10]
[Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, 8.31.10]
[NextGov, 8.30.10]
[Federal Computer Week, 8.30.10]
[Washington Post,8.26.10]
[O'Reilly Radar, 8.26.10]
[Washington Post, 8.24.10]
[Wired: Danger Room, 8.24.10]
[CBS 5, 8.24.10]
[Secrecy News, 8.23.10]
[BeSpacific, 8.29.10]
[The Atlantic, 8.28.10]
Let's Reverse the Pattern of Secrecy
Concerned that our government keeps from the American public information that we need to make our families safe, secure our country and strengthen democracy, a broad-based set of organizations formed OpenTheGovernment.org. We hope you'll help.
Read our 2009 Year End Report.
Read our 2010- 2012 Strategic Plan.
The Open Government Directive required agencies to develop and publish Open Government Plans by April 7th. OpenTheGovernment.org, our partners, and others used the requirements in the Directive to evaluate the strength of the Open Government Plans.
Our initial audit found that many of the Open Government Plans produced by the agencies failed to fulfill the basic requirements outlined in the OGD. In light of the ample room for improvement, OpenTheGovernment.org invited revisions to the plans by June 25 for re-evaluation.
On June 20, the coalition released the updated results, and an updated ranking of the plans, from strongest to weakest. The updated results also include evaluations of plans created by agencies that were not required to do so, but did anyway.
Read our press release here
Later this year, we will begin evaluating the implementation of open government in the agencies.
As part of the effort to make the federal government a more open place, OpenTheGovernment.org works with our coalition partners and other advocates to highlight important issues and correct systemic problems. Keep up with our latest:
On March 10th, OpenTheGovernment.org and 45 organizations concerned with transparency and accountability sent a letter to the Information Policy Subcommittees in the Senate
and House
to hold hearings on the apparent destruction of
emails in the Department of Justice to determine how the e-mails could be missing despite the requirements of the
Federal Records Act (FRA), and if the FRA needs further strengthening.

Click on the links for OpenTheGovernment.org's Sunshine Week program and for a hand-out, "The White House on Transparency." For details, including a full list of panelists, click here.
On Tuesday, September 9,2009, OpenTheGovernment.org released the 2009 Secrecy Report Card. Read the press release here. Also, download the FOIA Risk Assessment Chart, an assessment of changes in FOIA practices by the Bush and Obama Administrations, and the expanded fiscal transparency section.