I recently attended a family wedding in Vermont, and because I just can’t help myself, I wore a t-shirt to the next-day brunch by the lake that reads “FOIA and Find Out.”
Because people were there from all over, and because most states call their open records and open meetings laws something other than “FOIA,” there were more than a few curious looks. And a handful of people asked me how to pronounce “FOIA”1 or what, if anything, it stood for.
My forever-silly brother-in-law came up with a few responses that would get him kicked out of Sunday School, but it got me thinking, what else COULD those letters stand for?
Find Out! It’s American.
For Our Independence and Accountability
Force Officials Into Action
Files Open, Ideas Abound
Filing Often Isn’t Awful
Fear Of Inconvenient Answers
Fearless Optimism In Answerability
Focus On Inner Activities
Financial, Operational, Informational Archives
Fact Opacity Isn’t Awesome
Files Obscured, Information Absent
Fee Onus Inhibits Access
Fantastic Opportunity for Identifying Activity
Friendly Outlet for Information Addicts
Full-bore Oversight Integrity Audit
Flock Of Informed Adults
Fast Obstruction Is Annoying
Which one is your favorite? Or, what do YOU think FOIA should stand for?
- I said, “It sounds like a New Yorker saying, ‘Leave your muddy shoes in the foyer.’”