chalk one up for the phd's

We don't make unfounded accusations here at Texas in Africa. So I'm not going to join the chorus of scholars and other commentators who've accused the Bush administration of being a bit, um, over-zealous in blocking access to records that should be declassified under the 30-year rule. All I'm going to say is that I'm glad to see that the National Archives will be taking steps to correct an unfortunate situation.

Like some of the researchers in this article, I was shocked when I visited the archives last fall and found that documents had been pulled from files I was searching -- when nothing like that had been the case a year previous. There was nothing of a sensitive nature in the documents I was searching through, and it seemed really ridiculous to suddenly find all these notices that documents had been pulled.

And also that I am looking forward to 2011, when Reagan administration documents related to national security issues should be open to Freedom of Information Act requests.