PRESORTED STANDARD PERMIT #3036 WHITE PLAINS NY Vol. VI, No. XXXIV Thursday August 28, 2014 • $1.00 Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly NANCY KING Confessions of a Fitness Addict Page 10 GLENN SLABY Suicide: Some Thoughts Page 11 RICH MONETTI Why Government A Perfect Red Storm Page 14 Openness Matters JOHN MCMULLEN The Future? By Hon. LEE HAMILTON, Page 2 Page 15 Outcry to Opt-Out Forms Mailed to Permit Holders Demilitarize Putnam County, Page 5 JOHN SIMON the Police and Strategic Political Women Playwrights Politics Argument Page 16 LUKE HAMILTON By Hon. RICHARD BRODSKY, Page 2 for the A Pavlovian Response A Wussbag Worldview Minimum Page 18 Wage SHERIF AWAD Sugar On the Side By Prof. OREN LEVIN-WALDMAN, Page 3 Page 20 WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM Page 2 THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN ThursdaY, August 28, 2014 Of Significance Feature Section ...................................................................................................................2 Yorktown Grange Fair..................................................................................................10 Center on Congress ........................................................................................................2 Health ...........................................................................................................................10 Politics .............................................................................................................................2 Music ............................................................................................................................12 Public Policy ...................................................................................................................3 Sports ............................................................................................................................14 Opt-Out .........................................................................................................................5 Technology/Creative Disruption .................................................................................15 Community Section ...........................................................................................................5 Eye on Theatre ..............................................................................................................16 Business ..........................................................................................................................5 Film/Cultural Perspectives ...........................................................................................20 Calendar .........................................................................................................................6 Government .....................................................................................................................18 Curent Commentary ......................................................................................................7 OpEd ................................................................................................................................18 Economic Development ................................................................................................8 Legal Ads ..........................................................................................................................19 EarthTalk ........................................................................................................................9 Mission Statement The Westchester Guardian is a weekly FeatureCENTER ON CONGRESSSection AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY newspaper devoted to the unbiased reporting of events and developments more straightforward. And failing to share that are newsworthy and significant to information can ensnare an administration readers living in, and/or employed in, Why Government Openness Matters Westchester County. The Guardian in worse problems than it was trying to will strive to report fairly, and objec- By Hon. LEE H. HAMILTON operation of representative democracy. branch of government — all too often lets avoid. Iran-contra, Watergate, the Pentagon tively, reliable information without This unwillingness to be open often the Executive get away with it. Papers: each of these had a major impact on One of the fundamental favor or compromise. Our first duty arises for the wrong reasons. In many cases, Failing to share information makes our constitutional system, and each was char- lessons of the 9/11 tragedy will be to the PEOPLE’S RIGHT officials claim they’re trying to prevent harm us weaker. It enfeebles congressional over- acterized by efforts to suppress information. was that our government TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, to the national security, but actually want to sight, which is one of the cornerstones of In short, on most issues we’re better off carried a share of blame without fear or hesitation, no matter avoid embarrassing themselves or to sidestep representative democracy and which, when if the American people know what’s going where the pursuit may lead, in the for the failure to stop the the checks and balances created by our aggressively carried out by fully informed on. Full disclosure doesn’t produce good gov- finest tradition of FREEDOM OF attacks. Not because it was asleep at the Constitution. legislators, can strengthen policy-making. It ernment by itself, but it makes it more likely. THE PRESS. switch or ignorant of the dangers that Al makes it far more difficult to maintain our To be sure, on occasion secrecy is Qaeda posed, but because the agencies So secretiveness infiltrates govern- The Guardian will cover news and system of checks and balances. It exacerbates legitimate and necessary, but representative charged with our safety did not share what ment culture. The White House has events relevant to residents and busi- become remarkably adept at making sure mistrust between branches of government government — with its systems of checks nesses all over Westchester County. they knew, either up and down the chain of the President rarely faces an unscripted or and between the government and the and balances — cannot function properly As a weekly, rather than focusing command or with each other. The attacks American people. And it chips away at the without openness and the presumption on the immediacy of delivery more were preventable with shared information. uncomfortable moment — a trend that’s been building for decades. The government foundation of our system, which rests on a should always be in its favor. If officials want associated with daily journals, we will This insight was highlighted in the classifies far too many documents at too high public that is well-informed about what gov- to keep information secret, they should bear instead seek to provide the broader, report of the 9/11 Commission — on which a cost, to the point where vital information is ernment is doing and why. the burden of explaining why. I hope you’ll more comprehensive, chronological I served — and became a key driver of the inadequately protected because of the sheer Without that information, we are join me in pushing for an era of openness in step-by-step accounting of events, reforms instituted by the U.S. intelligence enlightened with analysis, where volume of needlessly classified information. poorer in our ability to exercise discriminat- government. community over the last dozen years. Within appropriate. ing judgment on the conduct of policy and For information about our educational the government, there are plenty of people Federal agencies often keep informa- of politicians, and we lose our advantage over resources and programs, visit our website at From amongst journalism’s classic who now understand that sharing informa- tion from inspectors general, our nation’s authoritarian societies: the spread of knowl- www.centeroncongress.org. Go to Facebook key-words: who, what, when, where, tion and using it to inform planning and appointed watchdogs. They do their best to edge to people searching for a solution to our to share your thoughts about Congress, civic why, and how, the why and how will debate produces better policy: rooted in facts, put strict limits on what Congress finds out; society’s challenges and problems. education, and the citizen’s role in represen- drive our pursuit. We will use our more well-vetted, and more robust. I often get the impression that the execu- abundant time, and our resources, to tive branch would prefer an uninformed In fact, if you look at the public discus- tative democracy. “Like” us on Facebook at So it’s worrisome that today it seems get past the initial ‘spin’ and ‘damage Congress to one knowledgeable enough sion of any number of recent controversies “Center on Congress at Indiana University.” harder than ever to know what our govern- control’ often characteristic of imme- to press high-ranking officials, including — Benghazi, NSA surveillance, the IRS ment is doing, and not just when it comes Lee Hamilton is Director of the Center on diate news releases, to reach the very the President, on their understanding of rulings, reform of the VA, the subsidies going to national security. Secrecy and a wide- Congress at Indiana University. He was a heart of the matter: the truth. We will policy challenges, the steps they’re taking to solar manufacturer Solyndra — what’s spread failure to share information both member of the U.S. House of Representatives for take our readers to a point of under- to address them, and the articulation