Don't peel off those "I Voted" stickers yet. There's one more campaign to decide.

What's going to be my first Freedom of Information Request to President Obama?

That's right. I'm not going to waste time. Come Jan. 20, as soon as Obama lowers his right hand and takes his left one off the Bible, I'm putting an FOIA request into the mailbox or fax machine and sending it to a federal agency in the Executive Branch.

Congratulations on reaching the White House, President-elect Obama. My colleagues and I will be bothering you a lot to find out what's going on in there.

The question is what to request? Here are some ideas I'm kicking around and some suggestions from others. But I would like your ideas and input. Type them here or e-mail me at ncarlisle@sltrib.com.

— NC

— A detailed accounting of expenses incurred during the presidential transition. How much does it cost to change the letterhead, anyway?

— Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine In Government Initiative, suggested requesting the "names of organizations and individuals participating in meetings to craft the new administration's energy task force." This is something Dick Cheney refused to disclose when he convened an energy policy. Blum says the new administration may form a similar body. Wouldn't you like to know if there's a representative from the oil shale or waste disposal industry, Utah?

— Travel expenses and reimbursements for former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt. This is a Utah angle that the Obama administration might even rush for us given the then-former secretary suddenly finds himself in the "other party." Leavitt's had a little trouble with travel.

— Ellen Smith, the managing editor of Mine Safety and Health News, recommended requesting a 2003 Department of Labor report on the Martin County Coal impoundment failure. Smith says the Bush Administration prematurely stopped the investigation into a disaster that was larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This topic might not be so far removed from Utah's own concerns about mining and industrial waste safety.

— The FBI file for late Utah Gov. Calvin Rampton. I've been meaning to send this anyway. Dead people can make for interesting reading.



Photo by The Associated Press.

Labels: Candidates, FOIA