American University librarians take up the mantle with government data rescue project; the Eagle, May 1, 2025

Mackenzie Konjoyan , the Eagle; American University librarians take up the mantle with government data rescue project

[Kip Currier: Thank you to all information professionals and citizen archivists who are preserving and making government data/information accessible now -- and for the future.]

[Excerpt]

"Librarians carry a professional responsibility to protect the right to non-censored open information, Nellis said. The work being done at the University is a part of a larger effort across the country by those who understand data’s value. 

Nellis added that awareness is the first step in preserving data and that everyone can get involved in saving information because the data ecosystem is vast.

“It doesn’t take that much effort to have a high impact and everyone can help,” Nellis said. 

Nellis warned that the federal government is cutting citizens out of the processes of democracy by making decisions behind closed doors and by limiting the amount of information people can access. 

“We have the right to this information, and to see it being taken down, to see it being lost, should be a moral outrage for every citizen and person living in this country,” Nellis said."

Trump turns a COVID information website into a promotion page for the lab leak theory; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, April 18, 2025

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; Trump turns a COVID information website into a promotion page for the lab leak theory

[Kip Currier: Click on covid.gov webpage and assess for yourself the accuracy and judgment of placing "a photo of President Donald Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading", adjacent to the words "The True Origins of Covid-19".

Many of the purported claims on this webpage constitute disinformation and propaganda that lack conclusive empirical scientific evidence.

The cherry-picked information about Dr. Anthony Fauci is intentionally misleading. Former Pres. Joe Biden pardoned Fauci on January 20, 2025 because of fears that the incoming Trump 2.0 administration would pursue baseless legal actions against him. The photo of Fauci used on the revamped covid.gov webpage by the current Trump administration depicts Fauci "face-palming". The face-palming picture is placed directly next to Biden's pardon of Fauci, implying that Fauci is face-palming because of shame about the pardon. In truth, Fauci famously face-palmed nearly 5 years earlier, on March 20, 2020, during a live Covid-19 briefing with Donald Trump. As The Independent reported: 

A leading expert assisting Donald Trump’s administration in its response to the coronavirus pandemic appeared to face palm during an extraordinary press briefing at the White House as the president lambasted “the Deep State Department”. 

Video of the moment showed Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, seemingly reacting to Mr Trump’s bizarre rant in real-time, standing just behind the president as he spoke about his administration’s latest efforts to slow the spread of the virus. 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-trump-briefing-dr-anthony-fauci-face-palm-a9416111.html

Watch video evidence -- available on many platforms representing diverse political perspectives -- and evaluate the face-palming for yourself.]

[Excerpt]

"A federal website that used to feature information on vaccines, testing and treatment for COVID-19 has been transformed into a page supporting the theory that the pandemic originated with a lab leak.

The covid.gov website shows a photo of President Donald Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading. It mentions that Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus first began spreading, is home to a research lab with a history of conducting virus research with “inadequate biosafety levels.”

The web page also accuses Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of pushing a “preferred narrative” that COVID-19 originated in nature.

The origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory."

How to rethink what’s ‘top secret’ for the Internet age; Washington Post, 12/16/16

Dianne Feinstein, Washington Post; How to rethink what’s ‘top secret’ for the Internet age:

"Rooted in a paper-based era, the existing classification system has become so complex and distorted that it no longer serves its fundamental goals: sharing secrets with our allies and partners while safeguarding this information from adversaries who would do us harm...

We may never fully eliminate the tendency of reviewers to overclassify information. But by working to implement these solutions, we can begin to change the dynamic. At the heart of this issue are dedicated government employees who truly want to do the right thing, and there’s an obvious natural instinct to protect secrets. But classification should shield secrets, not bury them."