The 'right to know' is more than the right to attend meetings of all boards and commissions. It extends to the records of government as well, and in this case it covers all public officials, not just those on boards and commissions.

Before I moved to Bristol, I would have to drive a long distance to get to meetings. I was so excited when I came here and found out that there was a meetinghouse here.

We're saying all the right things in our team meetings,

In my situation, I've always tried just to worry about what's right in front of me, that day's meetings, that day's practice, ... You can't get caught up in the day-after-day thing where you let it get to you. You have to make every day new, or at least try to. You start counting heads or something, you'll lose your grip on what needs to be done.

This is a decade-old pattern: assurances by the government right before donor meetings, followed by a return to the old ways afterward.

We are sending a letter right now that will arrive on Monday to request a meeting. We'll probably have meetings with them next week to explain the damage being done to the U.S. economy.