The continuation of our 2019 retrospective.

October

Yeah, impeachment.

Iowa:

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D).

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019 (October 13, 2017)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall Q and A – on the Electoral College – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019 (October 13, 2019)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall Q and A – on Climate Change – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019 (October 14, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D).

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Climate – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Higher Education – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Medicare for All – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Closing Remarks – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

That’s a lot of coverage. She has a lot of plans.

And the weather:

Oh, it’s cold out there (October 31, 2019)

November

Yeah, impeachment. And campaign finance. We follow the money, still.

And, it got worse:

It’s all about that small government, right? (November 2, 2019)

No picture is necessary.

Birds:

A few early morning Fall visitors (November 3, 2019)

Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus (November 10, 2019)

Turf (November 26, 2019)

December

Yeah, impeachment. The Missouri General Assembly started pre-filing bills for the 2020 legislative session. And we continue to follow the money.

Impeachment:

James Staab: The Case for Impeachment is Clear (December 6, 2019)

Articles of Impeachment – Donald Trump (r) (December 10, 2019)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): Impeach (December 11, 2019)

In Kansas City:

Impeach and Remove Rally – Kansas City – December 17, 2019 (December 17, 2019)

Empty space doesn’t vote:

Neither do cows.

Impeach this! (December 20, 2019)

Okay, impeach this! (December 20, 2019)

Well, then, impeach this! (December 20, 2019)

Another bright idea from the right wingnut grievance industrial complex:

Lightbulbs, still (December 22, 2019)

Iowa:

Wrong audience (December 27, 2019)

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 1 (December 28, 2019)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 2 (December 29, 2019)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 3 (December 29, 2019)

The continuation of our 2019 retrospective.

July

In Kansas City:

Lights for Liberty immigration rally – Washington Square Park, Kansas City, Missouri – July 12, 2019 (July 12, 2019)

In Iowa:

Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 14, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 15, 2019)

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 15, 2019)

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D): – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 16, 2019)

Iowa meta (July 19, 2019)

Sen. Cory Booker (D) – “Conversations with Presidential Candidates” – Iowa Public Television – Ankeny, Iowa – July 15, 2019 (July 15, 2019)

August

In Kansas City:

On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 8, 2019)

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker (D): On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 8, 2019)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): Press Availability – On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 8, 2019)

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas: On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 9, 2019)

Judy Sherry: On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 9, 2019)

Rashid Junaid: On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 9 2019)

Damon Daniel: On Gun Violence – Kansas City – August 7, 2019 (August 9, 2019)

In Iowa:

Iowa – Meta – #ForThePeople – August 10, 2019 (August 10, 2019)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019 (August 11, 2019)

In Sedalia:

At the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia – August 15, 2019 (August 15, 2019)

In St. Louis:

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 18, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Opening Remarks – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 19, 2019)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – Press Availability – Reproductive Rights Town Hall – St. Louis – August 18, 2019 (August 19, 2019)

On loyalty (August 21, 2019)

A bit of meta:

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Iowa bus tour campaign ad (August 28, 2019)

September

Jason Kander (D):

This. (September 2, 2019)

Remembering (September 11, 2019)

Business as usual:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): Are you on drugs? (September 21, 2019)

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 1 (December 28, 2019)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 2 (December 29, 2019)

The continuation of our 2019 retrospective.

April

A good question. Asked, and finally answered.

Release the Mueller Report Protest – Kansas City – April 4, 2019 (April 4, 2019)

A candidate for Attorney General.

Elad Gross (D) in Sedalia – April 7, 2019 (April 7, 2019)

Ain’t no sunshine in Missouri?

Gov. Mike Parson (r): Sunshine Law? What? (April 26, 2019)

A rite of Spring across America.

A sure sign of Spring (April 29, 2019)

May

“…a day for organized marches and events in support of science across America and the world. Think about that for a second. People feel the need to organize marches in support of science in 21st Century America.”

May the Fourth be with you (May 4, 2019)

A powerful voice leaves the Missouri General Assembly:

Rep. Bruce Franks, Jr. (D): leaving the House (May 16, 2019)

The republican priority in the Missouri General Assembly:

HB 126: the elephant in the womb (May 24, 2019)

Their base:

Wrong individual, but someone else certainly will… (May 30, 2019)

June

Looking toward 2020:

Truman Gala in Kansas City – Jackson County Democratic Committee – June 1, 2019 (June 2, 2019)

In Kansas City:

Campaign Finance: Kansas City Mayoral Race – PACs – mostly for, one against (June 16, 2019)

Kansas City Mayoral Election: Quinton Lucas (June 18, 2019)

Jolie Justus – after the election (June 19, 2019)

Not to be.

To the streets:

Everyone for Reproductive Rights – March to the Governor’s Mansion – Jefferson City – June 22, 2019 (June 22, 2019)

Everyone for Reproductive Rights – Rally and March at the Capitol – Jefferson City – June 22, 2019 (June 22, 2019)

This morning at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City (June 22, 2019)

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2019 – part 1 (December 28, 2019)

It’s been another very interesting year for us. We could all benefit from less interesting.

We took a lot of photos in 2019. Many having to do with the aftermath of the 2016 (yes) and 2018 general elections.

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere, including Iowa for some reason), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair.

We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

January

Jason Kander (D) – continues his good works.

Rosebud* (January 1, 2019)

The Missouri General Assembly opens the 2019 session in Jefferson City.

The opening of the legislative session – in the House – January 9, 2019 (January 9, 2019)

The opening of the legislative session – in the House – photos – January 9, 2019 (January 10, 2019)

Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D): at the opening of the legislative session – January 9, 2019 (January 13, 2019)

The weather.

It’s still snowing out there (January 12, 2019)

Women’s March – Kansas City.

Kansas City Women’s March – January 19, 2019 (January 19, 2019)

Rep. Sharice Davids (D) – Kansas City Women’s March – January 19, 2019 (January 20, 2019)

Jolie Justus – Kansas City Women’s March – January 19, 2019 (January 21, 2019)

Alissia Canady – Kansas City Women’s March – January 19, 2019 (January 21, 2019)

Kansas City Women’s March – January 19, 2019 – part 2 (January 21, 2019)

February

Right wingnut bills in the General Assembly, campaign finance, and weather.

Missouri: “Hold my beer.” (February 6, 2019)

Missouri: “No, really, hold my beer.” (February 7, 2019)

Icy (February 7, 2019)

Missouri: “Go ahead, you keep holding that beer.” (February 7, 2019)

Yep, it’s cold out there… (February 7, 2019)

Fun with legislation.

SB 366: that was then, this is now (February 12, 2019)

HB 858: “@&%$ Missouri voters” (February 13, 2019)

HB 927: The “you can’t deny Nazis and Fascists campus meeting and club resources, but you still may be able to call them assholes” Act (February 14, 2019)

March

The weather, boutique legislation in the Missouri General Assembly, and Iowa.

It’s freakin’ cold out there (March 3, 2019)

Spring! (March 20, 2019)

HB 573: Why? Who? (March 9, 2019)

SB 259: Really? For what purpose? (March 11, 2019)

HB 573 and SB 259: Let the army of lobbyists go forth… (March 12, 2019)

HB 573 and SB 259: What took you so long? (March 12, 2019)

HCS HB 573: if you put marshmallows and sprinkles on a mud pie it’s still a mud pie (March 13, 2019)

Iowa.

Senator Cory Booker (D):

Sen. Cory Booker (D) in Indianola, Iowa – March 16, 2019 – “Hope is the active conviction that despair will not have the last word.” (March 16, 2019)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – March 17, 2019 – keep the peace, tell the truth, obey the law (March 17, 2019)

Iowa (March 18, 2019)

The continuation of our retrospective.

November

2 days (November 4, 2018)

The new Kansas (November 6, 2018)

Back to the streets – Kansas City, Missouri – November 8, 2018 (November 8, 2018)

Who’s next (November 24, 2018)

Coexist (November 30, 2018)

December

The comet:

Searching for 46P/Wirtanen (December 9, 2018)

Finding 46P/Wirtanen (December 15, 2018)

Finding 46P/Wirtanen – again (December 16, 2018)

Campaign Finance: “…make just one someone happy…” (December 18, 2018)

Campaign Finance: Oh, Santa, you shouldn’t have! (December 26, 2018)

A fitting end. It’s always about the money.

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 1 (December 28, 2018)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 2 (December 28, 2018)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 3 (December 28, 2018)

The continuation of our retrospective.

August

Good morning (August 1, 2018)

Proposition A – “Right to Get Paid Less” – loses big (August 7, 2018)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) and Josh Hawley (r) (August 8, 2018)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) – with campaign volunteers in Columbia, Missouri – August 7, 2018 (August 8, 2018)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D): opening day at the Missouri State Fair (August 9, 2018)

For right wingnuts “The Handmaid’s Tale” is not dystopian fiction, it’s aspirational (August 16, 2018)

Keri Ingle (D) – 35th Legislative District – retail politics (August 19, 2018)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) in Lee’s Summit – Press Q and A – August 25, 2018 (August 25, 2018)

September

Retail politics:

Suppose you organized an open public debate in the 4th Congressional District and the incumbent republican just couldn’t be bothered to show (September 19, 2018)

Fall weather brings Fall festivals (September 29, 2018)

October

Monarch (October 2, 2018)

At the U.S. Supreme Court reception after yesterday’s quickie swearing in ceremony… (October 7, 2018)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) in Warrensburg – October 8, 2018 (October 8, 2018)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) – Odessa, Missouri – October 15, 2018 (October 15, 2018)

A Saturday morning parade (October 27, 2018)

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 1 (December 28, 2018)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 2 (December 28, 2018)

The continuation of our retrospective.

May

The Missouri General Assembly ends the legislative session and open a special session to consider the impeachment of Governor Eric Greitens (r).

The Petition for a Special Session of the General Assembly to consider “disciplinary actions against Governor Eric R. Greitens” (May 4, 2018)

Jefferson City: “Ah, the Eric Greitens bill” – SS SCS HB 1558 (May 10, 2018)

Jefferson City: it still doesn’t appear to be working – May 17, 2018 (May 17, 2018)

Jefferson City: House Rule 42 – May 17, 2018 (May 17, 2018)

Jefferson City: Tikkun olam – May 18, 2018 (May 19, 2018)

Jefferson City – the end of the regular session – May 18, 2018 (May 19, 2018)

Jefferson City: the beginning of the special session – May 18, 2018 (May 19, 2018)

And then:

June

And…scene (June 1, 2018)

Lauren Arthur (D) wins in 17th Senate District special election (June 5, 2018)

Parkland.

March for Our Lives – Road to Change – Kansas City, Kansas – June 18, 2018 (June 19, 2018)

Ryan Deitsch – March for Our Lives – Road to Change – Kansas City, Kansas – June 18, 2018 (June 21, 2018)

Children in concentration camps:

Senator Roy Blunt (r): suffer the little children (June 20, 2018)

Wendy Baird, a mom, age “thirty-something”, from Independence, Missouri and Senator Roy Blunt (r) (June 20, 2018)

In Overland Park, Kansas:

Protest imitates fashion (June 22, 2018)

Performance Art (June 22, 2018)

Somebody’s grandmother (June 22, 2018)

Immigration protest at Rep. Kevin Yoder’s (r) district office – Overland Park, Kansas – June 22, 2018 (June 23, 2018)

Being a Donald Trump (r) sycophant didn’t work out very well in November for Kevin Yoder (r).

In Kansas City, Missouri:

Melania’s claim to fashion immortality (June 24, 2018)

Don’t take away my rights, I’m still using them… (June 24, 2018)

No human being is illegal… (June 24, 2018)

Cosecha KC Rally to Protect Families – Kansas City, Missouri – June 24, 2018 (June 25, 2018)

Mayor Sly James – Cosecha KC Rally to Protect Families – Kansas City, Missouri – June 24, 2018 (June 25, 2018)

Again, in Kansas City, Missouri:

No, we cannot (June 29, 2018)

Children understand (June 29, 2018)

As we are all (June 29, 2018)

Be the badass on the right (June 29, 2018)

Why here? Why now? (July 1, 2018)

In Columbia, Missouri:

That was so last century )June 30, 2018)

The triumph of privatization (June 30, 2018)

Families Belong Together – Columbia, Missouri – June 30, 2018 (July 1, 2018)

June was a very busy month.

July

Welcome to Missouri:

The only Confederate flag that ever mattered was a white rag on a stick.

Celebrating treason for the season (July 3, 2018)

Ouch. (July 6, 2018)

The fight against “right to get paid less”:

Vote “No” on Proposition A rally – Kansas City – July 10, 2018 (July 10, 2018)

Campaign Finance: less than four weeks to go (July 11, 2018)

Donald Trump (r) came to Kansas City:

Protesting Donald Trump (r) in Kansas City – July 24, 2018 (July 25, 2018)

Well, yeah.

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2018 – part 1 (December 28, 2018)

It’s been another very interesting year for us. We could all benefit from less interesting.

We took a lot of photos in 2018. Many having to do with the aftermath of the 2016 (yes) and 2018 general elections.

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair.

We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

January

The Missouri General Assembly opened its session on January 3rd.

The opening of the legislative session – in the House – January 3, 2018 (January 3, 2018)

Rep. Bruce Franks, Jr. (D): comforting the afflicted, afflicting the comfortable (January 4, 2018)

HB 1817: Well, what brought that up? (January 4, 2018)

The sordid story of now former Governor Eric Greitens (r) started early in the month.

Oh, my. (January 11, 2018)

Oh, my – part 2 (January 11, 2018)

Oh, my – part 3 (January 11, 2018)

אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים and *IOKIYAR (January 11, 2018)

Oh, my – part 4 (January 11, 2018)

Oh, my – part 5 (January 11, 2018)

Oh, my – part 6 (January 12, 2018)

Sen. Denny Hoskins (r): not exactly a ringing endorsement (January 12, 2018)

Gov. Eric Greitens (r): piping (January 16, 2018)

Oh, my – part 7 (January 16, 2018)

On January 20, 2018 close to two thousand people (the organizers’ head count was over 1600) gathered at the amphitheater in the Courthouse Square in Columbia, Missouri for a rally and march to commemorate last year’s Women’s March and to protest Donald Trump, his administration, and his republican enablers.

Rally and March in Columbia, Missouri – January 20, 2018 (January 20, 2018)

Rally and March in Columbia, Missouri – January 20, 2018 – Valérie Berta-Torales (January 21, 2018)

Rally and March in Columbia, Missouri – January 20, 2018 – part 2 (January 21, 2018)

Welcome to Missouri:

Donald Trump (r) carried the county by 46.855% in 2016 (January 27, 2018)

February

Donald Trump’s (r) draconian immigration enforcement directives had inhumane and devastating effect on families across the United States.

Immigration: Syed Ahmed Jamal and many other stories like his (February 11, 2018)

Immigration: Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) – Press Q and A – Kansas City – February 11, 2018 (February 12, 2018)

Immigration: Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) – Kansas City – February 11, 2018 (February 12, 2018)

Immigration: Rev. Eleanor McCormick – Kansas City – February 11, 2018 (February 13, 2018)

Immigration: on DACA – Kansas City – February 11, 2018 (February 14, 2018)

March

Yet another demonstration after a mass shooting in a school in America.

March for Our Lives – Kansas City – in Theis Park on Saturday, March 24, 2018 (March 20, 2018)

Another sign for the times (March 23, 2018)

March for Our Lives – Warrensburg, Missouri – March 24, 2018 (March 24, 2017)

March for Our Lives – Kansas City – Theis Park – March 24, 2018 – signs (March 24, 2018)

Are we tired of 2nd Amendment overkill (and I do mean kill) yet? (March 24, 2018)

Until this changes… (March 25, 2018)

March for Our Lives – Kansas City – Theis Park – March 24, 2018 – more signs (March 25, 2018)

March for Our Lives – Kansas City – Theis Park – March 24, 2018 – getting there (March 25, 2018)

There but for the grace of… (March 26, 2018)

Students walked out of class.

Seventeen minutes of silence (March 14, 2018)

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, Kansas came to town:

A hate group, the First Amendment, and a funeral in a small town (November 23, 2010)

At noon today in Warrensburg (March 12, 2018)

It’s hard out there (March 13, 2018)

April

Everything Eric Greitens (r).

The Report (April 11, 2018)

A CAFO, a neighborhood, a botanical garden, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. What could go wrong?

Now that’s a CAFO (March 18, 2018)

Now that’s a CAFO – comments addressed to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (March 21, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? (April 3, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – photos (April 5, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Tabitha Schmidt, CEO President, Powell Gardens (April 5, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Karen Lux (April 5, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Al Weir (April 6, 2017)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Aimee Davenport on behalf of Powell Gardens (April 6, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Eric Tschanz (April 7, 2018)

Suppose you threw a DNR CAFO hearing in Warrensburg and everyone came? – Chuck Petentler (April 7, 2018)

Ah yes, the “Dick Cheney Doesn’t Want To Visit The Hague On A Really Extended Trip Act”:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 8, 2009

…Lieberman, Graham Pledge to Fight to Adopt Detainee Photo Amendment

WASHINGTON, DC — Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today issued the following statement on the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations bill:

“We strongly believe that the first responsibilities of government are the nation’s security and the protection of those brave Americans who go into harm’s way to defend it.

“The President has said that the release of the photos of detainees in US custody would ‘put our troops and civilians serving our nation abroad in greater danger.’ We agree with the Commander in Chief.

“We will employ all the legislative means available to us including opposing the supplemental war spending bill and attaching this amendment, which was unanimously adopted by the Senate, to every piece of legislation the Senate considers, to be sure the President has the authority he needs not to release these photos and any others that would jeopardize the safety and security of our troops.

“The release of the photos will serve as propaganda and recruiting tool for terrorists who seek to attack American citizens at home and abroad. We should strive to have as open a government as possible, but the behavior depicted in the photos has been prohibited and is being investigated. The photos do not depict anything that is not already known. Transparency, and in this case needless transparency, should not be paid for with the lives of American citizens, let alone the lives of our men and women in uniform fighting on our behalf in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

“Let it clearly be understood that without this legislation the photos in question are likely to be released. Such a release would be tantamount to a death sentence to some who are serving our nation in the most dangerous and difficult spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. It is this certain knowledge of these consequences of having the photos released that will cause us to vote against the supplemental and continue our push to turn our important amendment into law.”

-30-

[emphasis added]

Rough translation – Joe will hold his breath until he turns blue red if he doesn’t get his way. Filibuster! All in response to a court ruling:

Leading Rights Groups Call On Obama To Release Prisoner Abuse Photos (6/1/2009)

ACLU Calls On Court To Adhere To Mandate Requiring Release Of Abuse Photos

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…

“…The disclosure of these photographs serves as a further reminder that abuse of prisoners in U.S.-administered detention centers was systemic,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. “Some of the abuse occurred because senior civilian and military officials created a culture of impunity in which abuse was tolerated, and some of the abuse was expressly authorized. It’s imperative that senior officials who condoned or authorized abuse now be held accountable for their actions.”

Also today, the ACLU asked a federal appeals court to uphold its earlier ruling that the government must release the photos. On May 28, the government filed a motion asking the court to recall its mandate ordering their release, and today the ACLU filed its opposition to that motion.

“The public has an undeniable right to see these photos. As disturbing as they may be, it is critical that the American people know the full truth about the abuse that occurred in their name. The government’s decision to suppress the photos is fundamentally inconsistent with President Obama’s own promise of transparency and accountability,” said Amrit Singh, staff attorney with the ACLU. “The government has failed to show any good cause for the court to recall its mandate that the photos be released, and we are confident the court will uphold its original order.”

In September 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the government to turn over the photos in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The Obama administration originally indicated that it would not appeal that decision and would release the photos, but abruptly reversed its commitment to do so shortly before the agreed-upon deadline…

The letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (and other groups) to President Obama:

June 1, 2009

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

We write to express our profound disappointment with your decision on May 13 to block the release of photographs depicting abuse of detainees by U.S. personnel overseas. We urge you to reconsider that misguided decision and to renew your commitment to our nation’s most fundamental principles.

On your first full day in office, you eloquently proclaimed your administration’s commitment to the principle of open government. You said: “A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency.” That is exactly right. The hallmark of an open society is that we do not conceal information that reflects poorly on us – we expose it to the light of day, so that wrongdoers can be held accountable and future abuses prevented.

These photographs will no doubt be disturbing, as they should be. And we understand your concern about reaction to them overseas. But suppressing information to prevent public anger is inconsistent with democratic principles. The Pentagon should release the photos while reaffirming to the world that the U.S. repudiates such barbaric behavior and is committed to dismantling the culture that allowed it to occur. In the end, full disclosure of the crimes committed by our government will make us all safer.

The last eight years have demonstrated all too painfully that excessive secrecy creates a fertile environment for grave abuses. Those abuses have tarnished our nation’s reputation and damaged its security. We will restore our standing as a leader on human rights not by hiding images of our failures, but by demonstrating that those failures will not go unpunished.

As you yourself have stated, “the Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.” Suppressing photographs of abuse places your administration on the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of history. We hope you will reconsider your decision.

Sincerely,

Alliance for Justice

American Civil Liberties Union

Amnesty International

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Center for Constitutional Rights

Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU School of Law

Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

CREDO Mobile

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Feminists for Free Expression

Government Accountability Project

Human Rights Watch

International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)

Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA)

Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School

National Security Archive

OMB Watch

OpenTheGovernment.org

PEN American Center

Physicians for Human Rights

Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG)

Reporters Without Borders

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

Veterans for Common Sense

Veterans For Peace

cc: Gregory Craig, White House Counsel
Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense

Eric Holder, Attorney General

[emphasis added]

Public disclosure of the evidence of systemic wrongs allows the public the opportunity to change the system which allowed such. Once that information is public, what we do with it is an ultimate test of our worth as a society. Maybe that’s what scares some people so much.