A little late to the game, but thank you so much for the shoutout, Joan! I am so glad that the resources I provide support your research. Government information is a part of our everyday lives, for sure!
You are quite correct that the ability to do research is important so that one can come to an understanding of what is going on in order to make up ones mind as to how to proceed. But the problem occurs when that process is restricted by gatekeepers that truncate the access to information so that all information that one might need is not available. This is an issue that has come to the fore on the internet. A venue that was designed to provide access to all sorts of information is now being restricted by those who make that information possible because they have determined that only certain information is deemed to be trustworthy. They are effectively censoring research. And you bring up the FOIA act! The notion here is that what is determined at the governmental level should be accessible to all. But I can tell you that a high-level state government official with whom I had exactly this conversation told me directly something to the effect that “do you think that I am stupid enough to put in to writing what is really going on so that anyone can see it”. Research is necessary; but it can only be valuable if there are absolutely no restrictions on the information that one can access. And censorship, of any kind, is destructive of what you want to call “research.” And what I would call the freedom to speak and to think.
A little late to the game, but thank you so much for the shoutout, Joan! I am so glad that the resources I provide support your research. Government information is a part of our everyday lives, for sure!
You are quite correct that the ability to do research is important so that one can come to an understanding of what is going on in order to make up ones mind as to how to proceed. But the problem occurs when that process is restricted by gatekeepers that truncate the access to information so that all information that one might need is not available. This is an issue that has come to the fore on the internet. A venue that was designed to provide access to all sorts of information is now being restricted by those who make that information possible because they have determined that only certain information is deemed to be trustworthy. They are effectively censoring research. And you bring up the FOIA act! The notion here is that what is determined at the governmental level should be accessible to all. But I can tell you that a high-level state government official with whom I had exactly this conversation told me directly something to the effect that “do you think that I am stupid enough to put in to writing what is really going on so that anyone can see it”. Research is necessary; but it can only be valuable if there are absolutely no restrictions on the information that one can access. And censorship, of any kind, is destructive of what you want to call “research.” And what I would call the freedom to speak and to think.