Howdy,
On Wed, 25 Sep 2002, Steve Hoelscher wrote:
> The reason the discussions of the committee are kept secret are the same
> reasons that jury deliberations are kept secret in our judicial system. To
> protect the integrity of the process. A committee member may be reluctant
> to speak his/her mind or vote without prejudice if he knew that then entire
> transcript of the debate would be published. If the committee cannot debate
> freely without fear that every word spoken would be subject to endless
> debate and ridicule, in this (or any other) forum, then the process would
> cease to function.
>
> I am disappointed that anyone would suggest ignorance, embarrassment or
> "dodging controversy". That someone would suggest such a thing only serves
> to underscore the necessity of secrecy. The PC's debates were sometimes
> quite animated and never did anyone shy away from "controversy". If the
> PC's deliberations were made public, any controversial position would be
> left unspoken, much to the detriment of the sport. No one would want to
> express a controversial opinion and open themselves up to public criticism.
"any controversial position would be left unspoken" if deliberations were
made public sure as hell sounds like an attempt to dodge controversy to
me.
I'm not saying that a transcript of the deliberations should be made
public. We all come up with some half baked ideas along the way to a
resolution (and I should know! :-). What I _am_ saying is that once that
decision is reached, the reasoning behind it should be public.
Mark
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