Missoula County denied information from U.S. Forest Service

It's not just journalists who are getting their FOIA requests denied or not fully filled. Missoula County in Montana requested information from the U.S. Forest Service about the agency's discussions with Plum Creek Timber Co. The excuse for the only "partial" response? To protect against "public confusion that might result from disclosure."

Many workers keep little secrets from their employers — how much time they spend on private e-mail, for example, or how many pens find their way home in pockets.

But it's less likely that they have a lot of big secrets — such as contracts or deals with other organizations that alter the way they do business in significant ways — ways that may adversely affect the employer.

There's one organization, though, where large secrets are routinely, head-shakingly, kept from the boss: the government of the United States — more important, the bureaucrats who run it.

More here.