I am fine with the premise that one should be able to review one's records, absent an actual investigation that might be compromised. If anyone wants to go after me for my political beliefs, it is very easy to do so. I am a registered Republican, contribute from time to time to National Right to Life (those records are public) and other causes, and show up here, and occasionally in print under my own name. They don't need a national ID.
I agree that most records should eventually be unsealed, but I do think that executive privilege has a rationale as compelling as client- lawyer privilege or therapist- patient privilege, insofar as the knowledge that certain things might be recorded and made public will impede candor and work flow, and lead to various expedients to get around official paperwork so that people can confer freely.
I am in favor of a reduction in the tax rate, and I think government should not be unduly secretive. I support the Freedom of Information Act and most sunshine laws. But I think people have to be free to do their job without fear of "gotcha" journalism, partisan witch- hunts, or purely personal embarrassment, and therefore that not everything is fair game.
Do I trust the government to help me? Yes, I do. I am right now trusting in the Administration and the military, the intelligence services and emergency planners, to attack terrorism, stop it from occurring, and plan ahead in case something gets through the dragnet. I am literally putting my life, and the lives of my family in their hands........ |
