A recent Senate hearing on the subject of “secret law” drew an appreciative review today from syndicated columnist and First Amendment champion Nat Hentoff.
“So important was an April 30 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution that it should have been on front pages around the country,” he wrote.
“Titled ‘Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government’ and chaired by Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat. it focused on an issue ignored by the presidential contenders that has deeply weakened our rule of law.”
See “Let the Sunshine In” by Nat Hentoff, via The Washington Times, May 12.
“It’s a given in our democracy that laws should be a matter of public record,” wrote Senator Feingold in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. “But the law in this country includes not just statutes and regulations, which the public can readily access. It also includes binding legal interpretations made by courts and the executive branch. These interpretations are increasingly being withheld from the public and Congress.”
See “Government in Secret,” by Sen. Russ Feingold, May 8.
Congress should establish a Modeling, Analysis, and Technical Talent for Energy Regulation Hub (MATTER Hub) within the Department of Energy (DOE).
Western states functionally manage trillions in global climate risk (permafrost, forest carbon, etc.) and can do so in ways that drive state economic development.
Implementation will not be easy. Several of the plan’s critical strategies challenge established utility business models.
AI’s high-stakes outputs directly shape American economic, industrial, and technological outcomes. They must not be accepted entirely on the basis of institutional faith rather than verifiable evidence.