The Freedom of Information Act.
That phrase is one of the most beautiful in the English language, and one that every American should know about and use almost as often as we breathe.
Right before Andrew Breitbart passed away in March of 2012, I had taken a class that encouraged people to file Freedom of Information Act requests, with local government entities close to home. I did this not because I was particularly looking for anything at the time or something going on in the local government in the city that I lived in, but because it was a subject that had come up in a conversation with some of Andrew's closer associates at Breitbart inc. They made it sound easy and peasy, and something that anybody who did any reporting or commentating should have in their arsenal.
Those folks in Andrew's circle were 100 percent right.
In a little over a decade since I attended that seminar, I have filed between 60 to 100 Freedom of Information Act requests, the latest just a couple of weeks ago for the school district here in Fraser, Michigan. There was an incident that occurred at the local Junior High School; some ammunition rounds were found in the boys' bathroom but no gun.
Of course, this put the town on edge, and a rumor started that the cameras in the bathroom area were not operating that day, reminiscent of Jeffrey Epstein hanging out in a cell by himself with the camera not working.
Instead of waiting for the officials to either confirm or deny this rumor, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out if the cameras in the building, and in particular, around the bathroom near the entrance door, are working.
The superintendent was not necessarily pleased and pushed back on the request, saying it couldn't be fulfilled. Still, after reassuring her that she had to honor this request, she finally relented and admitted that the cameras were indeed working.
The authorities were looking at footage from the camera positioned in the hallway, at all the people who had walked in and out of that door. With that confirmation, I stopped the rumor from spreading that the chances were that whoever brought that ammunition into the school would NOT be caught, and the equipment was not working.
Since that event, the authorities have found the individual they believed did this, and they have charged this person.
Now, this is just one small example of what this tool can do, but in this instance, I was able to squash a rumor that could have spread very quickly. This put a lot of people at ease, and it cut off several conspiracy theories from blossoming. As we all know, the authorities are not always eager and willing to share what they know, even though it is in their best interest to do so.
Believe it or not, here in the Great Lakes State, the Michigan legislature and the governor have exempted themselves from these beneficial acts meant to keep them in line and figure out what they're doing behind the scenes.
I'm thrilled that Mackinac Center is again covering this critical legislation, and helping it gain traction and passage.
The Senate Government Oversight Committee on Wednesday will have a second hearing on two bills that would make Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act apply to lawmakers and the governor, just as it applies to local and county government boards and executives.
But the hearing won’t come fast enough for its sponsors to win a Sunshine Award. That award, granted annually by the Michigan Press Association, will not be given in 2024. Sunshine Week 2024 runs from March 10 to March 16.
John Elchert, president of the association, wrote in an op-ed that “there are no Sunshine Awards being given” this year.
Elchert, who is also publisher of the Leelanau Enterprise, added: “Michigan continues to linger in the basement statistically on matters of openness when compared to other states. Despite this fact, truly little has been done to shine the sun on government activity in our state.”
Now, I'm a realist. I understand that in a state currently ruled by Democrats, where all three top positions—governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State—are held by people with a D after their name, the chances of the legislation passing is slim.
Yet, now that the Michigan state Republican Party is in competent hands (see story clip, below), I think this could be an issue to bring up leading into 2024. Then we can watch the Democrats scramble over why they don't believe this is a great idea.
Well, Pete Hoekstra, the new Michigan GOP chair (after some wrangling), and his new legal counsel, former Congressman Mike Bishop, have decided to drop a Karamo-led lawsuit to find out who actually owned the building.
I caught up on that part of the story right here.
New Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra has abandoned a lawsuit, launched by former chairwoman Kristina Karamo, who sought to take control of the party's past headquarters building in downtown Lansing.
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, who is the party's general counsel under Hoekstra, signed a document, agreeing to dismiss the suit Friday, three days after a Kent County Circuit Court judge ruled that Karamo was no longer the chairwoman of the state GOP.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Wanda Stokes then ordered the building lawsuit dismissed with prejudice and the litigation closed on Monday, according to court records.
"One more step towards normal/unity and winning in November," Hoekstra said in an email on Wednesday.
The order from Stokes concluded a bizarre legal effort by Karamo's leadership team, which had eyed selling the Michigan GOP's former headquarters on Seymour Avenue in a bid to alleviate hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding debts.
READ MORE: OPINION: Michigan GOP Does the Right Thing and Drops Lawsuit Filed by Former Chairperson Karamo
The time to bring sunshine to the legislature process in Michigan is now, and I'm all in for this fight.
