In a week when Kentuckians focused on "solutions" to what may (or may not) prove to be a manufactured pension "crisis," and the nation focused on a myriad of hitherto unimagined "crises" at the highest levels of government, the Kentucky Open Government Coalition extends its thanks to the Lexington Herald-Leader for reminding the public about the open government laws that empower them.

We thank the Herald-Leader not just for reminding the public about these laws aimed at exposing the truth behind governmental secrecy, but for seeking enforcement of the laws in the courts to vindicate the principle that "free and open examination of public records is in the public interest."

These legal battles often come at great cost in time and effort, not to mention financial resources. But they are battles that must be fought to preserve *every* Kentuckians' right to know.

Again, it bears repeating, that our open government laws were enacted on the basis of the principle that "the people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for them to know and what is not good for them to know."