RSVP
May 5th, 2008 | by Craig |Right, left, center, up or down, there’s one thing we all (should) agree on, and strive toward, and that is honesty and transparency in our government, whether it be at the city level, the county level, the state level, or even the national level.
One of the things that makes Montana great is that this notion is enshrined in our state constitution as a right.
No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
Often times, we as citizens and/or bloggers are not exactly clear how our rights are exercised, and how to go about asking for documents. For example, we may not know which statute to cite, or even what to look for, or what our options are when stonewalled.
To that end, Gregg Smith of Electric City Weblog, who is an attorney and has some familiarity with the process and procedure of FOIA requests, has offered to put together a presentation on how to do a FOIA request, and some of the procedural issues around it.
Gregg, being the generous individual he is, is offering to do this on his own time, so we want to see if there’s an interest out there — from both sides of the aisle — to make it worthwhile to put the effort together.
You can drop a comment here, send me an email, or head over to Gregg’s site and drop him a note there. Let us know as quick as you can, so that if there’s enough interest, we can get moving on it. And when I say “we,” I mean Gregg.
7 Responses to “RSVP”
By DMerriman on May 5, 2008 | Reply
I’d most certainly be interested.
By Doug on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Count me in, but I do have a question: can we bring the brewskis?
By Colby Natale on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Depending on the time and location, I would be very interested in this.
By Wulfgar on May 6, 2008 | Reply
I would be interested as well, if only on behalf of my brother.
By Wulfgar on May 6, 2008 | Reply
And, I would like to point out that, as reviled as Al Gore is for his presentation on Global Warming, he travels around teaching it to others that they can teach others still. I would suggest that if Gregg is willing to volunteer to do this (SUCKER!) that he use the initial presentation to teach others how to do it. I agree. Right left up down or middle, this is a civics class that Americans and Montanans need.
By Craig on May 7, 2008 | Reply
Given the Goracle’s example, I’m pretty sure that Gregg would be on board for a piece of that action.
As would I for that matter.
Hell, I’d do it for 1/2 price!
By Moorcat on May 9, 2008 | Reply
Damn straight I would be interested. It ties directly into many of the problems I have had with my local government. Now that my family isn’t worried I will drop dead tomorrow, I am finally able to start being active again…
Moorcat