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Latest Answers http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/latest/%2A/278/%2A/%2A a view of answers sorted by date en Rep. Cannon: In the first place the problem with classified briefings is that you don’t learn anything. But then you’re stuck with stuff that you’ve heard that you don’t want to say out of context. So I read extensively and I’ve gone to classified briefings half a dozen times – that is, I’ve only skipped two or three of them frankly bc nothing is said there that’s really important. The really important things actually are available to the public if you look and read and so I educate myself extensively on these topics. And some particulars, like the issues that are related to the lawsuits by some trial lawyers against the telephone companies for their participation in some of the data gathering that’s been done in the past. I know a lot about the lawsuits. I know something about how the procedures and practices, methods and practices work there. Uh, because I can infer that and I know what I don’t want done there. But I don’t think I need to know the particulars… when the particulars are not important except to our enemies. And the whole point here is to keep our enemies from knowing those things and to have a system that allows for the government to do these things with the right authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which is the issue that’s really important. It’s allowing our intelligence-gathering agencies to have the war authority they need to gather information. If there was an area where I needed to know something to represent my constituents, I would go. But generally there’s not much info you get about the Iraq War or what’s going on in Afghanistan from a secured, classified briefing. In fact, you get a lot more from the open sources that we have today. Johnson: It’s a striking response because of course that’s entirely counter-intuitive. And isn’t it a little risky to make that judgment a priori? I mean, you haven’t actually- you don’ know what you might hear. Cannon: Well. Remember that the people who go to these hearings are members of Congress. Members of Congress represent the people of the United States, by which I mean not only do we represent but we’re like the people of the United States. Meaning that the presentation by the people who do these classified hearings is geared toward people who are pretty normal. And so not much- I’ve been to enough to make a wise decision that’s based on information that I’m going to get more benefit from my time by reading and looking at the Internet than I’m going to get from someone who’s talking to a whole lot of people who have an IQ of about 100. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3B%2526lt%3Bb%2526gt%3Brep.-cannon%3A%2526lt%3B/b%2526gt%3B-first-place-problem-classified-briefings-you-don%E2%80%99t- Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:25:00 -0500 EW Johnson 1253 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org