How to use FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and state records laws to fight corruption | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 72463119 United States 08/11/2016 06:56 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72677262 United States 08/11/2016 07:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What's up with the crickets. Folks here tonight apathetic, lazy or a combo? Come on. Have fun with me. When you get a loads of free government documents as PDF attachments that show the underbelly of your local, state or federal government, and you've seen records likely never before seen by anyone other than very few individuals who wish you didn't have them ... and you know that by requesting them you may have just helped keep certain key decision makers honest -- it's a great feeling. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72771057 United States 08/11/2016 07:19 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72771057 United States 08/11/2016 07:20 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72677262 United States 08/11/2016 09:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | By requesting information? Gimme a break. Look how much information has been uncovered about corruption and see how nothing changes. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 72771057 Your FOIA won't do shit to an apathetic/subverted public. NONSENSE. You obviously know nothing about this. Public records requests definitely DO make a difference. The problem is, they are vastly underused because people like you think they don't do any good (due to disinformation) or they're too complicated (dispelled in my OP) or are afraid to use them (again, due to disinformation). If you're that afraid, either try to locate your balls, or use an anonymous email w/proxy IP. You exemplify exactly why the corrupt are taking over. It doesn't take much at all to shake up a corrupt town hall or state. Believe me. I've been rattling cages in our corrupt state by calling these officials out on their corruption right to their faces (figuratively speaking) over the phone. It's amazing how fast they get into action when you TELL THEM they are corrupt. Otherwise, they just ignore you, hoping you'll go away. Most gov't employees are lazy, but many are also corrupt. I had no idea how bad it was until I really dove into this. It's endemic at all levels of government right now. For me, submitting these requests have definitely helped our situation, therefore, your blanket statement about how "nothing changes" with them is nonsense. I'm one person and my small efforts have already made a difference. My requests just prompted a lazy state employee to finally send an email that stopped a very disruptive project that was not following the law. Prior to state records requests (not FOIA, which are federal), I had wasted many, many months trying to get that particular agency to do something they needed to do (enforcement related) and they kept saying, "Yes, we're going to do something." And that's it. They told me this over and over again across about five phone calls, yet they never did anything. However, a day or two after I sent my records request and suddenly... voila! An email finally gets sent by them and BAM! The problem project that was a foregone conclusion suddenly gets stopped dead in its tracks. To me, that is a VERY EFFECTIVE RESULT from a single records request sent via email. Again, I'm only one person. Imagine tens or hundreds of GLPers working in concert to take on particular issues that matter to them. The digital documents gathered from requests can be shared online and commented on in their own threads. Some GLPers have Internet/Radio/YouTube talk shows and it's my understanding that numerous influential people in the media follow GLP. If they see a juicy scoop here that nobody's caught onto yet because GLPers were the first to reveal important docs, they will likely be very happy to run with a story on those docs, and BOOM! We may have just made a positive impact. I find that it's cowardly and apathetic behavior like yours that allows corruption to fester and thrive. Shining even a little light on these critters and they react with fear and straighten up... or they simply scurry back into their holes where they won't cause so many problems. They don't want their mistakes and corruption broadcast on social or MSM media or elsewhere. They will take positive action or stop taking wrong action if it means staying hidden and avoiding the spotlight. |
Daniel Higdon
User ID: 69657566 United States 08/11/2016 09:31 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72677262 United States 08/11/2016 09:45 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Thanks for sharing, OP. I've thought about doing this for some time. I think it can be worthwhile, especially on a state level. I'm going to save this thread to my favorites as a reference. Quoting: Daniel Higdon Awesome! Please feel free to ask me any questions so I can help. I may not be a lawyer, but I've read quite a bit on the topic and am learning fast from experience. It's very easy to make a request, but they do try to come up with lame excuses to avoid fulfilling the requests. But so far, I've been able to win and get my request fulfilled every time I've fought back, and it doesn't take much. Anyone who gets a denial of their request, I am happy to help them respond to that denial. Any suggestions on state-level requests related to upcoming elections? If I get the ideas, I'll draft some requests, submit them, and post them and their results online so folks can see how easy it is and what can be uncovered. As GLP is full of detectives and researchers, they will LOVE the data that comes back from these requests! It's usually very interesting :) |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 12275642 United States 08/11/2016 09:53 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | So your request is only as good as the Government Employee tasked with the responsibility to comply. I don't want to rain on the parade - but its true and seems only more true as we progress in this flawed and corrupt system. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72677262 United States 08/11/2016 10:22 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | For a brief period in my career I was the FOIA Officer for my Military Base - thats when I realized I was in complete and total control and could simply deny I even had recored of said incident. NOW I never had a request - but it made me lose faith in the FOIA process as a whole. Quoting: Starbird So your request is only as good as the Government Employee tasked with the responsibility to comply. I don't want to rain on the parade - but its true and seems only more true as we progress in this flawed and corrupt system. Thanks for sharing your unique perspective. Despite what you may think, you were definitely not in control. If I had a strong enough belief that you had the records I sought, I would throw the kitchen sink at you, up to and including a lawsuit, until you complied. In short, I would have made your life a living hell and gotten my way, or at least made such a huge issue over your withholding that you would definitely not feel you were in control anymore and you probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night wondering what I was going to do next. That's the level at which I fight when I feel someone is being corrupt with me. I know someone who has filed more open public records requests than probably any American in history. He has made life a living hell for hundreds of corrupt politicians. Let me tell you, those who wrongfully denied him the records he requested lived to regret their decision terribly. His attacks never stop. He just keeps going after them, publicly, for years, bombarding them with requests, getting state records boards after them, suing them, etc. Even if they sent him the docs at that point, he'd consider them corrupt for good and would probably never stop exposing them as corrupt. And that is what can happen when you deny the lawful request of the wrong person. So, the system does work. Just sometimes it takes a little elbow grease to get the results you seek. Fortunately, I'm not afraid to work hard if it's for a good cause. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 58855070 United States 08/16/2016 07:26 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 72677262 United States 08/16/2016 08:15 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What do you recommend when you get a reply back that says it's classified information? Quoting: Anonymous Coward 58855070 Is this a rhetorical question or did you receive such a response back? If you received this response to a FOIA or other state public records request, please post it here. We might be able to help if it was done improperly, as usually they would just redact the classified portions. |
Alpacalips
User ID: 57210108 United States 08/22/2016 11:30 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 72463119 United States 08/22/2016 04:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | My mom is good friends with a gal that is pretty high up in the government. This person does reports on the Freedom of Information Act. She was supposed to go spend a week with my mom but as been unable to because she has been so busy working over-time collecting data. She told my mom something big is coming down the pike and it will be a hard pill to swallow. She, of course, could not talk about it until the news about it comes out later this year. Quoting: Alpacalips What branch of government is she in? |
Alpacalips
User ID: 57210108 United States 08/24/2016 06:03 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | My mom is good friends with a gal that is pretty high up in the government. This person does reports on the Freedom of Information Act. She was supposed to go spend a week with my mom but as been unable to because she has been so busy working over-time collecting data. She told my mom something big is coming down the pike and it will be a hard pill to swallow. She, of course, could not talk about it until the news about it comes out later this year. Quoting: Alpacalips What branch of government is she in? She works for US Fish and Wildlife Service. Department of interior. FOIA Freedom of information Act. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 39865333 United States 12/21/2017 04:00 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | By requesting information? Gimme a break. Look how much information has been uncovered about corruption and see how nothing changes. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 72771057 Your FOIA won't do shit to an apathetic/subverted public. NONSENSE. You obviously know nothing about this. Public records requests definitely DO make a difference. The problem is, they are vastly underused because people like you think they don't do any good (due to disinformation) or they're too complicated (dispelled in my OP) or are afraid to use them (again, due to disinformation). If you're that afraid, either try to locate your balls, or use an anonymous email w/proxy IP. You exemplify exactly why the corrupt are taking over. It doesn't take much at all to shake up a corrupt town hall or state. Believe me. I've been rattling cages in our corrupt state by calling these officials out on their corruption right to their faces (figuratively speaking) over the phone. It's amazing how fast they get into action when you TELL THEM they are corrupt. Otherwise, they just ignore you, hoping you'll go away. Most gov't employees are lazy, but many are also corrupt. I had no idea how bad it was until I really dove into this. It's endemic at all levels of government right now. For me, submitting these requests have definitely helped our situation, therefore, your blanket statement about how "nothing changes" with them is nonsense. I'm one person and my small efforts have already made a difference. My requests just prompted a lazy state employee to finally send an email that stopped a very disruptive project that was not following the law. Prior to state records requests (not FOIA, which are federal), I had wasted many, many months trying to get that particular agency to do something they needed to do (enforcement related) and they kept saying, "Yes, we're going to do something." And that's it. They told me this over and over again across about five phone calls, yet they never did anything. However, a day or two after I sent my records request and suddenly... voila! An email finally gets sent by them and BAM! The problem project that was a foregone conclusion suddenly gets stopped dead in its tracks. To me, that is a VERY EFFECTIVE RESULT from a single records request sent via email. Again, I'm only one person. Imagine tens or hundreds of GLPers working in concert to take on particular issues that matter to them. The digital documents gathered from requests can be shared online and commented on in their own threads. Some GLPers have Internet/Radio/YouTube talk shows and it's my understanding that numerous influential people in the media follow GLP. If they see a juicy scoop here that nobody's caught onto yet because GLPers were the first to reveal important docs, they will likely be very happy to run with a story on those docs, and BOOM! We may have just made a positive impact. I find that it's cowardly and apathetic behavior like yours that allows corruption to fester and thrive. Shining even a little light on these critters and they react with fear and straighten up... or they simply scurry back into their holes where they won't cause so many problems. They don't want their mistakes and corruption broadcast on social or MSM media or elsewhere. They will take positive action or stop taking wrong action if it means staying hidden and avoiding the spotlight. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 75948893 United States 12/21/2017 04:06 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | That's right, we were denied access because we didn't know the name for every page of the budget. We hired a lawyer and LOST! To this day its still being fought. The mayor has since retired in the Virgin Islands and swears he was only paid 98k a year. Right, and I have never seen the sun. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 74752921 United States 12/21/2017 04:11 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | A group of us in our small city went to records to see if money was being stolen or misused. We were told the records were available, however, we needed to know the name of the exact document name that we wanted. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 75948893 That's right, we were denied access because we didn't know the name for every page of the budget. We hired a lawyer and LOST! To this day its still being fought. The mayor has since retired in the Virgin Islands and swears he was only paid 98k a year. Right, and I have never seen the sun. It sounds like you had a crappy lawyer or something was very corrupt. What state are you in if you don't mind my asking? I'll check out their records request laws. |
SpringLeak
User ID: 75632946 United States 12/22/2017 12:01 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Off the top of my head: Any info related to either the government, or non government entities targeting or persecuting (cointelpro style) persons based on blood type or race. Social services: How many blond haired children are in custody of non blond people, by hair color. How many blonds percent wise work for social services in the area that takes care of children. Lots of demographics showing weather Blonds are represented in government. A list of all property confiscated by the FBI that belong to me and a copy of all records, on DVD delivered by fedex signature requested. SpamSpamSignatureSpamSpam Force Ghost Void God Zombie Wookie King From Beyond The Stars - Also I'm modest and understated. "Those who know, don't teach. Those who teach, are fucking with you." "When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him." Jonathan Swift "Whenever possible be more compassionate. It is always possible to be more compassionate." "Four hearts combined are one." "There is a reason we use brains for thinking and concrete for sidewalks." "God is love. All you need is love...and GALAXY BLASTING SPACE WEAPONS." (I knew there was something wrong with this one, it just took me a while to figure it out) "Women are evil, men are dumb, somebody pissed in the beer." "The thing about smart people is: they seem like crazy people... to dumb people." "He who says it cannot be done should not interrupt he who is doing it." "Humanity has driven off the cliff, now the military is holding their hands over our eyes so we don't see the ground coming." "Some of what you read is wrong because the people who wrote it also did not have a very good education and were groping around in the dark when they wrote it. Lets thank them for trying because without people like them we would have a lot more groping to do in a much darker world" |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 76019149 United States 12/22/2017 12:07 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |