Don't bother sending an e-mail

No, that's a different Liz Riley.

Oh please. How was this entry hard on poor Franklin? And why, oh please tell me why citizens should be cutting anyone in the Easley administration slack at this point? The Governor has all but flipped his middle finger at the state when confronted with his disregard for the open meetings and public records laws that he is supposed to be upholding.

Will Franklin Freeman's integrity produce something meaningful or will we be treated to a rehash of what is already known and practiced in state government by way of storing emails? I can see it now, Franklin standing at the flip chart featuring a cartoon character looking frustrated at an inbox full of emails. Franklin will stand there with a laser pointer, all wide-eyed and making cute jokes about how to turn computers on and off. Then this committee will produce guidelines. Then the guidelines will be disseminated. More meetings. More jokes about double-deleting, no doubt. Ha. Ha. Ha.

None of it will make a bit of difference when the Governor's Office calls the agency and gives the guy at the other end of the phone to understand that Easley wants this or that document to get lost.

Franklin Freeman's reputation, deserved or not, is a prop in this case, meant to lend dignity to a cynical charade.

Cut Franklin some slack. I served with him on the Supreme Court and consider him a close friend. I have total confidence in his integrity. One question however. Is Liz Riley, Easley's deputy counsel, the Liz Riley married to N&O editor Steve Riley?

It is important that Franklin Freeman is on the committee because he’s a virtual proxy for the governor. Franklin also has a proven track record of being able to bring consensus building on issues.

On budget and tax issues, if Gov. Easley sends Dan Gerlach, it means he’s serious about the issue.

Similarly, if the governor sends Franklin, then it’s an issue of great concern. He is old-fashioned, but no less capable of handling this.

As far as the Civitas spam goes, I encourage Civitas, in its role as a partisan organization to fully disclose its donors and pay its taxes. Until then the GOP front has no business talking about transparency.

The "committee" Freeman chairs is not representative of the interest of the people of North Carolina - it is representative of the interests of government. Easley e-mail panel eclipses Sunshine Week