Prologue to a Farce or Tragedy - James Madison

Prologue to a Farce or Tragedy 

Sunshine Week is held in Mid-March because March 16 is James Madison's birthday. 

Mark Zaid, one of the lawyers who is suing the government over the RFK papers, started the James Madison Project - and quotes Madison as saying: 

"A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives." - James Madison, 1822

http://www.jamesmadisonproject.org/index.php?page=homepage

The James Madison Project is a Washington, D.C. organization that was established in 1998, to promote government accountability and the reduction of secrecy, as well as to educate the public on issues relating to intelligence and national security through means of research, advocacy and the dissemination of information.

We are always looking for ways to better develop the laws and policies surrounding the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, and foster greater openness in our society without unnecessarily infringing upon any individual's right to privacy.

If you have any suggestions for future activities, wish to alert our attention to information pertaining to our objectives or even offer your services in some form, please contact our Executive Director Mark S. Zaid