Oh, The Flacks, The Obstacles They Throw Up….

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

A major shout-out to my co-blogger and co-author, Dave Cuillier, for this fantastic study…and thanks to the good folks at the Society of Environmental Journalists for the tip! We’ve all felt that the obstacles that government PIO “minders” throw up have been growing in number and intensity, and now a study by SPJ proves it…it [...]

Filed under: 6. Overcoming denials, Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Irony Alert! Georgia Lawmakers Close Hearing…on Sunshine Reform!

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Because Georgia lawmakers are catching a ton of flak after a witness who equated domestic partner benefits with the End Times apparently has…well, received some less-than-flattering response, the organizers of a hearing aimed at making government more open (?) closed a hearing and banned video coverage. Seriously. Before voting Monday to advance an overhaul of [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law, Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Illinois Moves to Legalize WHat Already Ought to Be a No-Brainer: Recording Police at Work

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Illinoisans would be allowed to make recordings of police officers in public under a bill that an Illinois House committee approved Wednesday. Existing state law allows the audiotaping of a person only if both parties to the conversation give their consent. Videotaping doesn’t require consent, but only if there is no audio with the video. [...]

Filed under: secrecy, Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

This Hassle-the-Photographer Crapola Is Getting Old…

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Not really FOI, but hey, this is getting downright ridiculous: A Las Vegas police officer detained a man for refusing to walk away after taking a photo of a movie set that was completely visible to the public. The man video recorded his interaction, which doesn’t show the officer’s face or name, but allows us [...]

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PR apparatchiks running wild in Washington…

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles N. Davis

Kathryn Foxhall is a one-woman army. Her blog, PR Office Censorship, is a fresh source of outrage, compiling incident after incident of government minders straight out of a bad Banana Republic… Her latest? The Department of Health and Human Services last week released a media policywhich makes it official that staff members and reporters are forbidden [...]

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Trickle-down Fascism, Coming To A Town Near You

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Charles N. Davis

From my friends at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: A New York police officer arrested a freelance photojournalist Friday after he attempted to film a police scene on a public street, outraging First Amendment and civil liberties advocates. The department has since said it plans to drop the charge. Suffolk County police charged cameraman Phil [...]

Filed under: Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Quite possibly not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they talked democracy…

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Charles N. Davis

This story is just crazy awesome. Seems the Regents at Rutgers had a crowd fairly upset with them the other night over, well, I don’t know…an issue of university import. So their response? They built a wall between themselves and the crowd! I would have given anything to be at that meeting…and I so hope [...]

Filed under: Meetings laws, Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

News From Myanmar…er…Pennsylvania. Trickle-down Fascism Alert…

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Charles N. Davis

Not an FOI-related post, but I’d like to also use this space from time to time to highlight what I like to call “trickle-down fascism”: the inexorable creep of authoritarian tin-pot dictators in offices large and small across this great land. Consider it my occasional foray into the absurd. Today’s Banana Republic Moment is brought [...]

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