On Open-ness

Sorry I have been away for a few weeks. It feels good to be back, particularly knowing that Alabama's AG gives me no shortage of new material.

I read this past week that an opinion from the AG's office has allowed a state banking board to conduct meetings in private. This is the same board which supposedly regulates our economic structure in a time of crisis. That's ironic, since Troy King campaigned in 2006 on his success with open meetings laws.

This summer, the New York Times featured a disturbing story on some of the cronyism in the federal bailout which Congress passed last fall. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had far more contact with Goldman Sachs (the financial firm he led before joining the Treasury) than any other bank CFOs. These phone conversations were held in private and made public only long after the legislation had passed. Fortunately, both of our Senators, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, voted against bailing out our banks.

However, here's the problem. In a time of financial crisis, true conservatives are pushing for openness in our dealings. It seems like Troy King wants to close the door. Perhaps that's due to the fact that he himself awards secret contracts to lawfirms, but either way, it's definitely bad for the state of Alabama.