Transparency

Here's a not-so-tiny tidbit of data that's getting lost in the White House-driven public frenzy over healthcare legislation this month: The White House Democratic administration of Barack Obama, who denounced his presidential predecessor George W. Bush as the most secretive in history, is now denying more Freedom of Information Act requests than the Republican did. Transparency and openness were so important to the new president that on...

California university foundations would have to disclose more information on fundraisers such as one headlined recently by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin under a measure that passed the Legislature on Thursday. The measure was one of dozens that state lawmakers sent to the governor. Others would bar the provision of electronic cigarettes to minors, ban elected officials from receiving unemployment benefits and require state pension-board candidates to provide more detail about their campaign funds in the wake of recent scandals.

Until recently, David Ferriero's favorite artifact at the National Archives was the canceled $7.2-million check -- "an actual check!" -- that was used to purchase the territory of Alaska back in 1868. But this month, Ferriero, the archives' new director, saw an old American Indian treaty in a secret vault. It was etched on parchment and festooned with ribbons and, he recalled, "a string of the most beautiful cobalt blue and white beads." "Wampum!" he exclaimed in a recent interview.

In the divided world of American politics, it's not easy to find an issue on which the legal affairs correspondent for the Nation and the former chairman of the American Conservative Union agree. But we've found one: the crucial importance of transparency in government, especially when the president claims the power to kill us without charges or trial, by directing the launching of a remote-control drone. As this is Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote dialogue about the importance of open government, what better time for the president to make good on his promise to lead the most transparent administration ever and tell us what's up with the drone policy?

The presiding judge of Los Angeles County's Juvenile Court is preparing to open child dependency proceedings to the public in an effort to improve accountability and transparency in child abuse, neglect and foster care placement cases. Currently, members of the media and the public are barred from entering dependency courtrooms without court permission. But Judge Michael Nash is proposing a blanket order that would make the hearings open unless someone objects and a judge decides to close the proceeding.

As the watchdog of the government's massive bailout of the financial sector, Neil M. Barofsky had a simple question: What had the nation's banks done with all their bailout money? Can't be answered, said the Treasury Department, because of the way banks move money internally. The department declined to put the question to the banks.

The Tour de Fraud, Lance Armstrong version, continues. Tighten your helmet chinstraps and grab your handlebars. Armstrong apparently has 'fessed up. To Oprah. Please, just spare us. Was Dr. Phil booked? PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong through the years How you do something is often as revealing as what you do. Armstrong took a deadly serious moment, an international news story, and made it into Hollywood. Is this guy real or is he Memorex? He taped a show Monday, which won't appear until Thursday, and allegedly told all. Or at least 'fessed up to a lot. Who knows?

Re "Maywood employs police officers with a history of trouble," April 1 Acting Maywood Police Chief Richard Lyons said: "It's OK to give a person a second chance if you learn from your mistake." Does Lyons think he is running an elementary school, where students get warnings before recess privileges are revoked? There is nothing wrong with second, even third, chances, but the Maywood Police Department is an inappropriate place for second chances. Men and women who are allowed to carry leather-encased, lead-filled hand weapons should not be given second chances.