Transparency Era Ends at the People’s House
By Thom Hartmann A...
The Trump administration is waging an almost unprecedented war on transparency.
But do voters actually care?
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer today defended the Trump administration's decision to break with the Obama administration and stop releasing White House visitor logs.
"We're following the law as both the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act prescribe it. So it's the same policy that every administration had up until the Obama administration."
This is a different rationale than the White House initially gave on Friday - when it said that it would no longer release visitor logs due to "national security reasons".
So the lurch away from transparency continues. But do voters as a whole actually care?
There were these tax returns protests this weekend - but is this issue something that speaks to the country as a whole or just the liberal/democratic base?
Comments
#2
I am appalled by Trump in every way. The lack of any information including things which were obvious in other people holding the same position. Taxes, Russia, visitors to the White House and all the other things we know nothing about. It's atrocious!
#3
There should be a special prosecuter that can legally obtain his taxes and review them. This does not have to be public. But why this is not done in lieu of releasing them to the public is beyond me.
#4
Basically, I have pulled the plug on the whole political scene. Trump is in office for the next four years and there is nothing we can do about that except prepare for the 2018 elections, and pray that people will turn out in sufficient numbers to vote all of the money addicts out of Congress, replacing them with people who can't be bought and have no use for war. This would set the table for 2020. What is really needed is a plan to get at those who are supplying the money and the Deep State Shadow Government. These are the ones driving this whole mess. But, once again, I will say that none of this will stop until We, the People, get off the couch, turn off the TV, and go do something about it. Until then, it's a losing proposition. The best thing that could ever happen would be for the police and the boots-on-the-ground military to refuse to be a party to things like the Standing Rock debacle, and all of the murdering that is going on with our imperialism overseas. This would pull things up sharply. But Americans are like herding cats, and who knows what they will settle for, accept, or fight against?
#5
I agree Erin, except with..."Trump is in office for the next four years and there is nothing we can do about that...". Impeachment for treasonable acts has not yet been ruled out by the several ongoing investigations.
#6
I ask myself that a lot. Thank you for expressing our wonder.
#7
I think voters cannot keep up with the military & other failures, Russian entanglement, regulation changes, his weekend golf and resort vacations, the excessive costs of security for this family, & lack of transparency. Its shock & awe everyday.
BUT we cannot give up, saying "we're stuck with him for 4 years." That is the reason why we have to make him know that his being elected president is just the beginning not the end. Let him know our expectations and disappointments. He needs to get into his head: He is our public servant. We are not his serfs. Citizen participation, protests, and marches must continue so he is forced to be accountable to us, The People.
#8
voter apathy is america's downfall. until the voter wakes up and smells the coffee, this country will continue into eclipse as have all other superpowers in history.
#9
If our opposition to Trump and his fascist lackeys flags in less than four months then we deserve the oligarchy that they are solidifying. Our first best response is to drive Republicans from office whose seats are up for election in 2018. This will not be easy as so many districts are Gerrymandered.
Removing fascists from office makes it all that much more difficult form them to enact law, change rules and support crony capitalism .
We also need to take over the Democratic Party from the neo-liberal Clintonites.
This all requires each of us to become active participants. Since Trump's coup I have been active in at least four actions protesting bad gun legislation, giving hell to our Republican lackey Congress person at a town hall and demanding Trump reveal his taxes.
I'm an old geezer now, but it is my hope that those of you who don't want to live in some form of feudalism will really understand that this nation is at a cross roads that is of critical import to the live of people for at least the next three generations.
Let's take back our nation from these fascists. We still have the means to do it.
#10
As with his tax returns, Donald Trump's attempts to hide what he has been doing only leads to massive (ugly) speculations as to what he has been doing. His history so far reinforces the "ugly" part of that. It is too bad, because if he had kept his campaign promises (rather than doign the opposite of what he had promised), he COULD have been widely popular by now.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a literary descendent of Ben Franklin and Tom Paine. His unflinching observations and deep passion inspire us to explore contemporary culture, politics, and economics; challenge us to face the facts of the societies we are creating; and empower us to demand a better world for our children and grandchildren."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann seeks out interesting subjects from such disparate outposts of curiosity that you have to wonder whether or not he uncovered them or they selected him."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical research with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel."
I can understand privacy, but then one gives up much privacy to be the President of these United States. And his tax filings might prove his proclaimed innocence to any Russian business ties and such.