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58 lines
3.6 KiB
XML
58 lines
3.6 KiB
XML
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<xml><p>THE GOVERNMENT'S MANIA FOR SECRECY
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President <ent type='PERSON'>Ronald Reagan</ent> nicknamed 1987 "The Year of the
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Reader," but throughout 1987 the <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> administration outdid
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itself in its efforts to control, interpret, manipulate,
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disinform, and censor all forms of information.
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Typical of the <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> administration's effort to control its
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own destiny and the nation's history was the <ent type='ORG'>Justice Department</ent>
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memorandum that could enable <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> to control the history of his
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involvement in the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-contra scandal. The administration is
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seeking to overturn a 1986 federal court ruling that limited
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<ent type='PERSON'>Nixon</ent>'s right to block the release of his <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> papers. The
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<ent type='ORG'>Justice Department</ent> memorandum, filed in a lawsuit, would allow
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<ent type='PERSON'>Nixon</ent> to withdraw any documentation he though should be
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suppressed. In effect, this would put <ent type='PERSON'>Nixon</ent> in control of U.S.
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history between 1968 and 1974. If <ent type='PERSON'>Nixon</ent> wins, it will pave the way
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for <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> to determine official U.S. history from 1980 to 1988.
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While alarming, this is only one small example of <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent>'s
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mania for secrecy. Following are the reports of three groups that
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tried to warn us about what was happening.
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PEOPLE FOR THE <ent type='ORG'>AMERICAN</ent> WAY. This group's report provides more
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than 100 pages of well-documented charges concerning the growing
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trend toward secrecy in government and its threat to <ent type='NORP'>American</ent>
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democracy. It "tells the story of the institutionalization of
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secrecy throughout the <ent type='ORG'>federal government</ent>...the story of
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unprecedented controls on information, not only on defense and
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foreign policy issues where legitimate secrets do need to be
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protected, but on a host of topics vital to our daily lives, from
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toxic wastes to occupational hazards, from new technology to the
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health of our children."
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THE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. This group
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issued an alert about how the <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> administration and its
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supporters restrict public access to government information. The
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50-page report lists 135 specific actions that have occurred since
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1981, including threatened prosecution of the press publishing
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classified information; expulsion of foreign journalists; proposed
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amendments to weaken <ent type='ORG'>the Freedom</ent> of Information Act; and the use
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of lie detectors.
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THE <ent type='ORG'>AMERICAN</ent> LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. The latest edition of the
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association's annual report on censorship provides a damning
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indictment of <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent> administration efforts to "restrict and
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privatize government information" such as public documents and
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statistics. The 1987 report adds 78 items to the case for <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent>'s
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secrecy mania.
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Sources: THE NATION, May 23, 1987, "History Deleted"; GOVERNMENT
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DECISIONS WITHOUT DEMOCRACY, December 1987, by People for the
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<ent type='NORP'>American</ent> Way; FYI MEDIA ALERT 1987, March 1987, "The <ent type='PERSON'>Reagan</ent>
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Administration and the <ent type='ORG'>News Media</ent>," by the Reporters Committee for
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Freedom of the Press; THE <ent type='ORG'>AMERICAN</ent> LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Washington
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Office, "<ent type='ORG'>Less Access</ent> to Less Information By and About the U.S.
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Government: IX," December 1987, by <ent type='PERSON'>Anne</ent> A. Heanue.
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From: UTNE READER, September/October 1988, pp. 86-87.
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</p></xml>
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