... and one more thing

Another tidbit from the "Conclusions" of the SIGTARP report:

"Second, the now familiar argument from Government officials about the dire consequences of basic transparency... once again simply does not withstand scrutiny.
Federal Reserve officials initially refused to disclose the identities of the counterparties or the details of the payments, warning that disclosure of the names would undermine AIG's stability... and the stability of the markets.
After public and Congressional pressure, AIG disclosed the identities.
Notwithstanding the Federal Reserve's warnings, the sky did not fall..."
[emphasis added]

I'd really love to see a similar analysis of the 'state-secrets' privilege as it is used to conceal from We the People what our Government is doing in our names!

But wait, I get ahead of myself. This bit from the "Conclusions" includes a powerful coda:

The lesson that should be learned - one that has been made apparent time after time in the Government's response to the financial crisis - is that the default position... should be that the public is entitled to know what is being done with Government funds."
[emphasis added]

Again - I'd really like to see this be the default position in all MY Government's dealings - whether financial, military, foreign policy, intelligence... ALL my Government's dealings:

The public is entitled to know what is being done with Government funds.

Is this too much to ask?