Unclassified federal information: agencies defy Obama open government policies

Secrecy News: Pentagon Tightens Grip on Unclassified Information

• The net loss of public access to information is a new trend that is at odds with the Obama Administration’s declared policy.  Although the President promised to create “an unprecedented level of openness in Government,” in practice new barriers to access to unclassified information continue to arise.
• Many executive branch agencies have not met their obligations to post basic agency information on their web sites, such as staff directories, reports to Congress, and congressional testimony, according to a new survey from Openthegovernment.org.

One of the basic requirements of civic engagement by the public is having unfettered access to unclassified government information.  If we, the people don't have the information we need, we can't act on it; democracy demands open and honest communication between government officials and the general public for it to function properly.