Where & How to Find It

How to Unredact the Redactions

If you’ve ever submitted a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), you’re familiar with the heavy-handed redactions of some organizations.

How do you access what’s behind the redactions?

Often, the answer is: You can’t. The redactions aren’t reversible. But, sometimes . . .

Where to Find It: Where the Information is Hiding

Years ago I had the honor of working with LTG Samuel Vaughan Wilson, who was the youngest of Merrill’s Marauders. After WWII, his career led him toward the intelligence arena, which later led him to making the observation that obtaining information is less about being James Bond and more about being Sherlock Holmes. The stories he shared were of Truth being out in the open, staring us in the face. (I wrote a bit on this in 2021, in the article “Less James Bond and More Sherlock Holmes”.)

This article will share some of my go-to places to obtain information. I’ll start with a few today and gradually update the list.

How to Submit a Freedom of Information Act Request

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public access to records held by public bodies.

As FOIA.gov stated, the freedom of information act “is a vital part of our democracy.”

Learn how to write and submit a FOIA request, and learn about some of the issues that may arise in response to your request submission.

Less James Bond and More Sherlock Holmes

Obtaining information that might help you make a case in favor of helping your student—or which could prove the noncompliance of your school district—is often a matter of paying attention to what’s around you.

Years ago I had the honor of working with LTG Samuel Vaughan Wilson. General Sam was the youngest of Merrill’s Marauders and went on to have an extraordinary career in the military in the decades that followed. (Too much to include here.)

He once told me that obtaining information is less about being James Bond and more about being Sherlock Holmes. We don’t need hi-tech devices to obtain the information we need. Often, it is staring us right in the face.

Category: Where & How to Find It