[speechlesstx]

In my thread on Wikileaks excon said, "You guys talk about transparency, but when you get some, you don't like it."

So rather than co-opt my own thread let's start a new one on that subject. That Obama, and the Democrat Trojan Horse of 2006 promised over and over they would bring us unprecedented transparency is well documented both here and all over the place. We were going to have bills posted online for a certain length of time so we could examine them, we were going to have the health care talks on CSPAN. Heck, we were probably going to have a transparency czar for all I know.

We have gotten anything but transparency, we can't even get these Democrats to vote on an actual budget, they just deem their constitutional duty to be done and voilà, it's done.

Now comes "finance reform" and more transparency, right? Wrong.

SEC Says New Financial Regulation Law Exempts it From Public Disclosure

Under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission
No longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

The law, signed last week by President Obama, exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities." Given that the SEC is a regulatory body, the provision covers almost every action by the agency, lawyers say. Congress and federal agencies can request information, but the public cannot.

That argument comes despite the President saying that one of the cornerstones of the sweeping new legislation was more transparent financial markets. Indeed, in touting the new law, Obama specifically said it would “increase transparency in financial dealings."

Read the rest of the article for examples of why the public having access to SEC workings is crucial, such as the Bernie Madoff scandal. It's all good, right?

[tomder55]

Lol ,and your mom and pop harware store is going to have to hire a book keeper accountant to fill out all the 1099s they are now forced to file for petty cash purchases.

[speechlesstx]

You got it, when they were talking about transparency they meant from us.

By the way, have you seen the latest Obamcare diagram? That clears things up...

[excon]

Hello Steve:

I understand. Let's disclose everything about the Obama programs you DON'T like, but let's keep the lid on the one's you DO.

For example, do you want to KNOW how the NSA is spying on you or your neighbor?? Nahhhh. You don't want to know that...

Me?? I want to know EVERYTHING.

excon

[speechlesstx]

I don't believe the NSA is spying on me so I'm not concerned, but if my neighbor is doing things that are threatening national security I HOPE they're spying on him. But that's the whole point of spying, it's secret. The way our government PUBLICLY operates is not supposed to be secret.

[excon]

I don't believe the NSA is spying on me so I'm not concerned. But that's the whole point of spying, it's secret. The way our government PUBLICLY operates is not supposed to be secret.

Hello again, Steve:

We can put our cards on the table, you know. It DOES make our discussions easier.

You KNOW the NSA is spying on you. How could you not? It's BEEN disclosed numerous times. The truth is, you're just FINE with that.

I don't disagree with you at all about TRANSPARENCY. I'm just not SELECTIVE in my outrage about it, like you are

excon

[Just_Another_Lemming]

I am sorry I missed this thread.

As an FYI, I found this link last week when I was trying to find a news article that recapped the excessive expenditures of the house.

The Other Congressional Spending: How the House Spent $1 Billion on Itself

There is a link w/i the article. Have you guys heard of the Sunlight Foundation? I hadn't.
Not sure if they will be fair and unbiased in their reporting but I plan on checking their site on a regular basis to see which way the wind blows.

[twinkiedooter]

When will you EVER figure out that the "transparancy" crap was just an election come on and nothing more.

There is no way that Congress is going to let us little people in on just what's in a bill and have any say whatsoever on it. They are forever tacking on all kinds of stuff that have nothing to do with the original bill but just someone's "pork" for their home state or community.

It took what a year and voting and voting some more until the Congress finally voted the way Pelosi wanted to have the atrocious health (death) care bill passed. I'm sure that if necessary it would have been voted on daily if that is what it took to pass this baloney.

We are the last to know anything when it comes to spending our money. Why shucks they just go out and print more of the worthless paper when they need more.

If the US stopped printing worthless money to send to other countries who don't even as much as say "thank you" to us for all the millions that we have sent to them... then the US would be much better.

But then whoever is the "president" will have to pay for this bill with his life as JFK did in 1963 when he tried to curtail the Federal Reserve Bank and lost.

We are only privy to stuff that has already happened - not the stuff that could be diverted in the future. We have the best politicians big business' money can buy (and spend our money also).