The attempt to crush a democratic government and stop the flow of information comes as...
to be “fake news” about the war. Doing so could mean up to 15 years behind bars. Many news organizations pulled journalists out of the country or shut their operations; the government also cut off access to major social media sites, theThe censorship amounts to an “information dark age,” according to theEditorial: Manchin killed Build Back Better. He just offered a...
In our state, we are fortunate that the Texas Public Information Act, originally known as the Open Records Act, was established in the early 1970s to ensure citizens’ right to watch over government. It gives us the ability to obtain public documents and largely forces state and local officials who want to withhold information to argue to the attorney general’s office — an umpire, of sorts — why information should be kept secret.
The law is not perfect. There has been incremental weakening of it over the years, but open government supporters work every legislative session with lawmakers of both political parties to strengthen the act. We should fight with all our might to protect it.