Gonzales Never Let Facts Get in the Way

Via NYTimes:

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Thankfully, this monster is gone, but his actions as attorney general will give us fear of the position for years (much like Bush has done for the presidency). A completely open government is not necessarily a good idea, some things need to be kept secret, but blatant lies have come out of every partisan official in the executive and judicial (ok, and legislative too...) branches. This trend must be stopped. Blogs and online syndication of newspapers have helped keep people knowledgeable of government's missteps which should keep them more wary, but it only forces government officials to keep their skeletons better hidden. Keep politicians in line, pay attention and don't fall for their pandering and lying.