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Freedom of information advocate: State law leads to excessive waiting period

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Freedom of information advocates in Wisconsin say the state's law leaves too much room for lagging response times for those filling requests.

Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said some requesters wait months for documents. The statute says those receiving requests should fill them as soon as practicable, but Lueders said that leaves room for interpretation.

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel in his campaign said he would work to protect freedom of information. A spokeswoman said Schimel plans to host a summit to discuss holes in the law, but didn't have other details about the event.

Lueders says unless Schimel provides guidance about the maximum wait time permissible or a court rules in favor of someone seeking documents, a more definite standard is unlikely.

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Freedom of information advocate: State law leads to excessive waiting period

House Freedom Caucus hires first staffer

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The House Freedom Caucus, the nascent group of conservative lawmakers whove frustrated GOP leaders, has hired its first staff member as it gears up for upcoming spending battles.

Steve Chartan will serve as executive director of the Freedom Caucus, the group saidFriday.

Steves experience on the Senate Steering Committee makes him an ideal executive director for the House Freedom Caucus,the groups chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in a statement.

His relationships on and off the Hill will help HFC to successfully promote common-sense solutions that benefit the countless Americans who feel that they are forgotten by Washington.

Chartans hiring is yet another sign that the Freedom Caucus, which launched in January, is taking additional steps to organize ahead of looming fights within the GOP over the budget, lifting the debt ceiling and whether the Export-Import Bank should be renewed.

The Freedom Caucus, which Jordan described to The Wall Street Journalas an agile, active group of about 40 Republicans devoted to limited-government principles, helped derail Speaker John Boehners GOP plan to extend funding for the Homeland Security Department for three weeks.

House Republicans failure to pass the bill meant Boehner, an Ohio Republican like Jordan, was forced to rely on Democrats to prevent a shutdown at the agency, raising more questions about the Speakers political vulnerabilities.

The invite-only group is seen as a rival to the much larger, more inclusive Republican Study Committee, which is closer to Boehner and his team. Majority whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) had served as RSC chairman before stepping down to take the No. 3 job in leadership. And current RSC Chairman Bill Flores (R-Texas) has expressed a willingness to work with leadership behind the scenes.

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House Freedom Caucus hires first staffer

Gateway to Freedom: Historian Eric Foner on the Hidden History of the Underground Railroad – Video

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Gateway to Freedom: Historian Eric Foner on the Hidden History of the Underground Railroad
As tens of thousands gather in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic voting rights marches of 1965, we go back 150 years to look at another chapter of the freedom struggle...

By: freespeechtv

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Gateway to Freedom: Historian Eric Foner on the Hidden History of the Underground Railroad - Video

Is Hong Kongs academic freedom under Chinese attack?

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BEIJING Scholars in Hong Kong are growing concerned that the territorys cherished academic freedom is coming under renewed attack from China in the aftermath of last years student-led pro-democracy protests.

Attacks in Communist Party-backed newspapers on a leading liberal professor, reports of government interference in academic appointments and renewed calls for patriotic education to be introduced into schools have stirred up emotions in the former British colony.

Academics are concerned that China and its conservative backers in Hong Kong are trying to subtly exert more control over universities and schools in order to gradually rein in criticism and silence a source of unrest.

We are very worried about the erosion of freedom of expression in Hong Kong we see this happening in the media and it is now happening in academia, said Dora Choi Po-king, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and member of a new Concern Group of academics.

Hundreds of academics signed a petition letter this month expressing their concerns about political intervention in the territorys universities and a serious threat to academic freedom, one of the core values held dear in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong enjoys very considerable academic freedom at the moment, and any attempt to curb that freedom is likely to be both subtle and fiercely resisted.

There is no comparison to the savage clampdown that universities in mainland China faced after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, but many academics are worried, nevertheless.

This year the onslaught has been pretty substantial, said Michael Davis, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, complaining of an attempt to rein in government critics or pro-democracy voices.

Hong Kong media report that the territorys Beijing-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, has been attempting to block the appointment of a leading liberal academic to a key post at Hong Kong University.

The former dean of HKUs law faculty, Johannes Chan Man-mun, was critical of the government during last years protests. One of his faculty members, law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, was a leader of the Occupy Central movement.

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Is Hong Kongs academic freedom under Chinese attack?


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