Over $96 million in Afghanistan reconstruction money has independent oversight thanks to a Special Inspector General created by Congress. How much of the story would have been told without this method of transparency? Almost none.
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency: Sebelius made many trips to White House
Without FOIA this article on Health and Human Services' Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' meetings leading up to the Obamacare launch would not have been possible.
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency: Reports highlight lack of information available on 501(c)4s
Recent reporting and analysis by ProPublica and the Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group have brought a certain dark money group, the Government Integrity Fund, into the light.
The Government Integrity Fund is registered as a 501(c)4, a type of nonprofit permitted to run issue ads to influence the outcome of elections without disclosing the names its donors to the Federal Election Commission.
Thanks to a long-anticipated ruling by the Federal Communications Commission in August, broadcast stations are now required to make information about political ad buys available online. That FCC decision, along with efforts by the Sunlight Foundation’s Political Ad Sleuth and ProPublica’s Free the Files projects to aggregate the more than 30,000 filings on the FCC database so far, have helped to shed more light on the money these groups are spending and the people and interest groups behind the influence.
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency – Mobile Phone Surveillance by Police Targets Millions Annually
Earlier this year, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) released information that his Congressional Privacy Caucus received from mobile carriers indicating that they had responded to 1.3 million requests from law enforcement for subscriber data in 2011. Wired Magazine’s Threat Level blog covered the release in detail, relying on information that may have never come to light without Markey’s efforts.
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency: FCC Ruling Makes Tracking Political Ad Buying Easier
Redacted – USA Today Political Ad Buying in Denver In light of the first presidential debate held last Wednesday at... View Article
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency: Political Spending by Unions Far Exceeds Direct Donations
Redacted – WSJ Union Spending The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Unions spend more money on politics than is... View Article
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency: DEA FOIA rejections have increased 114 percent since the end of Bush administration
News Without Transparency – DEA FOIA rejections have increased 114 percent since end of Bush administration FOIA.gov can’t improve federal... View Article
Continue readingThe News Without Transparency – Region is Reshaped As Minorities Go to Suburbs
News Without Transparency – Region is Reshaped as Minorities Go to Suburbs The American Community Survey is a project of... View Article
Continue readingNews Without Transparency: Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof
News Without Transparency- Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof Lobbying is big business in New York. Earlier this year, the Legislative... View Article
Continue readingNews Without Transparency: House Passes Bridge BIll After an Earmark Debate
News Without Transparency: House Passes Bridge Bill After an Earmark Debate Matt Rumsey and Melanie Buck wrote this post. Earlier... View Article
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