http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2318145/posts
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http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/issa-wants-answers-from-white-house-on-emails-2009-08-17.html
“Issa wants answers from White House on e-mails”
By Eric Zimmermann
Posted: 08/17/09 03:34 PM [ET]
SNIPPET: “The ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants more answers from the White House about its e-mail policies.
In a letter to White House counsel Greg Craig, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Monday raised questions about the White House’s request for supporters to forward “fishy claims” about healthcare.
Issa says such a request could have a “chilling” effect on free speech and asked the president to ensure that the e-mails will be stored properly but not used for political purposes.
“To help ease these concerns, please tell us what actions take place or have been discussed in regard to e-mails deemed ‘fishy’ and what safeguards the White House has put in place to insure [sic] no retributive steps are taken against those who express dissent,” Issa wrote.
Earlier on Monday the White House announced it was changing its e-mail policies to ensure that advocacy groups could not sign people up to White House e-mail lists without the recipients’ permission. It also disabled the e-mail account that had caused the problem, but Issa still wants answers about the stored e-mails it had already received.
Some conservatives have suggested the White House was trying to sign people up for e-mails against their will, or was trying to compile an “enemies list.””
“White House Makes Security Changes to Web Site Following Complaints Over E-Mails”
FOXNews.com
Monday, August 17, 2009
SNIPPET: “It’s unclear whether the White House pulled the plug on the controversial account, flag@whitehouse.gov, or whether there is a bug in the system.
But the error message that shows up indicates it is a permanent change.
“The email address you just sent a message to is no longer in service,” the message says. “We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck.";
Through the “reality check” site, set up last week to address what the White House said were health care reform rumors, the White House is still asking people to send in their “myths” on health care. But that site now includes a warning that says, “please refrain from submitting any individual’s personal information, including their e-mail address, without their permission.”
The administration has heard mounting complaints from the public in the past week about the way it is collecting and sending out e-mails.
The request for “fishy” information led to charges, which the White House denied, that it was trying to compile some kind of “enemies list.”
Addressing another complaint about its e-mail system, the White House also has implemented two new changes to its Web site that could reduce the number of people who receive unsolicited e-mails.”