Watching Justice

George Soros's Open Society Institute has started up the Watching Justice web site to report on the doings of the US Justice Department, drawing on a list of watchdog sources that it openly shares. The degree of commitment to transparency is inspirational and badly needed. And, naturally, the web site uses a blog-style format because it's an excellent format for regularly updating an interested community. Now they need to add RSS and Atom feeds. [via MetaFilter]

And why should transparency in government matter? As Matt Welch wrote recently:

Above all, Bush's attitude toward sensitive information has remained consistent from his pre-9/11 behavior: Transparency is overrated, secrecy is a virtue, and post-Watergate reforms curtailing the government's ability to snoop, prosecute and act freely are a serious obstacle to protecting the country.

These beliefs don't make him venal, just wrong. History has shown that a government that acts without the checks and balances of scrutiny is a government that abuses its power. Secrecy is often just another word for "it would be embarrassing for me if you saw that." And transparent examination and debate, however untidy, unlocks the genius of distributed, free-flowing intelligence—one of America's biggest competitive advantages—and gives citizens their deserved seat at the decision-making table.

Comments

[[deleted]]

I love your blog - you have a smooth writing style.

[Joseph H. Vilas]

The previous comment is spam: I got exactly the same comment.