BE BREITBART: DoIT Right To Know Request : Outbound Internet traffic summarizations – Update 2

by Skip

Well, I would say that the response we had when Ms. Gretchen Hamel (Administrator!) emailed Letter arrived could be described amongst us “Techi Groksters” was a “really, you expect us to believe that this is difficult?”.  After all, amongst us, we have a handful of degrees and upwards of 75 years of technical experience and several of us are the corporate experts in our areas for our respective companies. So, we’re asking the main technical guy of the State of NH – is this really that difficult?

Good evening, Commissioner,

Upon reading the rather sparse Letter from Ms. Hamel (April 27) concerning our Right To Know request concerning the website traffic Summarizations, we became technically puzzled.  It is our hope that you would be able to address our concern and lack of understanding of the difficulty implied by Ms. Hamel’s Letter.

Our response to that is below, as well attached to this Letter in both WORD and OpenOffice formats.

Regard

– Skip

Skip Murphy for Steve Mac Donald and Ed Naile.

*****

April 30, 2012

To:

Stanley “Bill” Rogers, Commissioner, Department of Information Technology / CIO, State of New Hampshire

Re: April 30, 2012 Request for Records Pursuant to RSA 91-A – delay of response.

Dear Commissioner Rogers,

We are in receipt of the letter by Ms. Gretchen Hamel, Administrator of April 27, informing us that it was impossible to transfer the Internet URL Summarization records that we, as citizens of the State of New Hampshire, believe that we should have access to, especially under the aegis of RSA 91-A (the State’s Right To Know (“RTK”) law). From a technical standpoint, we are extremely puzzled over two issues:

  • First, we included DES Commissioner Burack as a courtesy on this RTK simply as our first RTK dealt specifically with one of his employees abusing the Internet access afforded by your network and we requested those Summarization records specifically in that case. We accept the fact that in a case pertaining a single employee, we understand that these could be labeled as “responsive but exempt”.
  • Secondly, our latest RTK concerned these Summarization records are in toto, thus not tied to any given employee or subgroup of employees and therefore, would fall into that category of “responsive but non-exempt”.

But more to point of fact, we are puzzled as to the “additional time is needed” in delivering records that taxpayer monies have already paid for and whose existence has already been confirmed by the State.. As a technical person (although we do recognize that you are, by dint of your title, a Political Appointee, and thus mired in politics which most engineers tolerate but abhor), you must realize that we understand how such records are obtainable in short order.

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BE BREITBART: DoIT Right To Know Request : State of NH Internet Filtering policies

by Skip

You know, we are still trying to find out the root reasons why folks like Richard de Seve and “GAIA” (and others like them) were allowed to comment and blog at the Concord Monitor so often during normal work hours.  So, we continue to think of what we need from the State that would be “non-exempt” that would be available.  We just sent this latest RSA 91-A request on the filtering policies that have been put into place by the State of NH:

  • what is blocked?
  • who requested it (Department) that it be blocked?

Here is the request:

Right to Know Request
as per
RSA 91-A
April 26, 2012

To:

Stanley “Bill” Rogers, Commissioner and CIO, Department of Information Technology, State of New Hampshire

Thomas S. Burack, C, Department of Environmental Services, State of New Hampshire

In light of the final response of April 19th concerning our first Right To Know request  (re: political postings by State Employee Richard de Seve during regularly scheduled work hours contra to the policies of both the Department of Environmental Services (“DES”) and the Department of Information Technology (“DoIT”) filed on March 11, 2012), we are making the following RSA 91-A request.

As noted in that final response:

That software categorizes web sites based on historical content. Agencies establish filter policies that determine which categories are accessible or blocked. Based on a user’s login information, the software is able to associate a user with his or her IP address and based on the policy assigned to that user, determines whether the requested page is allowed or blocked. If allowed, the software permits the requested web page to be sent from the requested server to the user for viewing.

Although we were fairly sure that web sensing / filtering software was part of the State’s network, we now have further requests knowing that such filtering software is actually used by  the State.  We hereby request, in electronic digital form, those electronic Governmental records of existing (and to the extent possible, retired or disabled) filtering policies that:

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BE BREITBART: DoIT Right To Know Request : Outbound Internet traffic summarizations – Update 3

by Skip

Telephone Rotary

Well, a quick update on setting up the Commish meeting:  Got a call yesterday afternoon from the “DES Commish Lady” (Commish Burak  Administrative Assistant, but DCL sound more bloggish) – the tentative meeting with Commishs Burack and Rogers (DES and DoIT) this  Friday at 6 pm is out of the question – somehow, I was not surprised.  Here’s how the [admittedly paraphrased] conversation went (hmm, next time I should just flip on the sound board on and record such conversations):

  • She asked – how about next week?  SURE!
  • And then I aGAIN explained we all work full time day jobs – we’re located all over the state and I said I’ll have to check schedules – several of us travel for biz and that can mean country-wide rather than just state-wide.
  • Hesitation on her part: “Er, well, the only days he REALLY has is Wed or Friday.”
  • Well, that will be OK – still at 6pm, though?  Remember, we’re working stiffs.  And being computer folk, we REALLY want to ask some questions (yes, I made a point to say it that way to make it PERFECTLY clear what our intent is).
  • Another hesitation moment.  “Um, that could be a problem – you see, he has a lot of work appointments – like ground breaking ceremonies and the like”

Yes, you REALLY read that right- she REALLY did say ground breaking ceremonies.

OK, I just hate to be cynical (watch for a post a bit later this evening – you’ll understand why my outlook would be a bit “shaded”), but methinks I be getting a sniff that perhaps  he’s not all that willing to make time after his working hours even as we are after ours – having dealt with politicians personally for a while, the “is it a ‘for show’ deal meter” is starting to twitch a tad.

  • I reiterated: I’ll ask about Groksters schedules
  • Her parting words “Commissioner Burack remains committed to meeting with you”

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