(Dept. of Ironies) CRS: Access my A**

The Congressional Research Service puts out loads of well-researched, non-partisan reports  on just about everything under the sun. They're  Congress's in-house analysts, giving the skinny on everything from cruise ship pollution to the state of U.S. paramilitary operations.  It's the kind of work a healthy democracy is made of ... and all off-limits to you.

Presumably because Congress is operating under the kindergarten principle--"Mine! No touchies!"--it doesn't post CRS reports. A few congressmen did at one point, but they backed away.

Thankfully, a few transparency geeks have stepped in to post many of the reports.  I'm talking about guy's like FAS's Steven Aftergood, who puts up  most  CRS reports and recently came across this, unposted, doozy:

A brief overview of "Access to Government Information in the

United States

" prepared by the Congressional Research Service, newly updated January 7, 2005.