The old boy network is what I think of when I think of the Federal Government and elected officials. It is almost as if it is a race to get through all of the hard work and struggles of a state level politician to achieve that goal of making it to Washington. Once there all of the reasons and issues that led one there are quickly forgotten or overshadowed by the perks of an elected official in Washington.

That is how I have always viewed it and so have numerous others who have lost their confidence in Washington to look out for those of us who depend on them to do the right thing. What has happened and I venture to believe will continue to happen, is that lobbyists for Big Business will continue to shower these officials with elaborate schemes to "sweeten" the deal for their own interests and deep pockets over that of the "little guy".

This has been able to occur because of the bureaucracy and web of double speak that occurs in Washington that throws up a smoke screen to these questionable activities. Essentially it occurs under the table, radar and whatever else you can think of keeping it all out of sight of the general public.

Obama's Policy Paper attempts to address this issue through the use of Technology. His continued fight against the deceit and vagueness that occurs within government is admirable, however how much would he actually be able to achieve? More importantly, if this information is made available, how much of the voting public would actually pay attention to it and take matters into their own hands to seek out the truth in government?

I am as guilty as the next for only sticking to the headlines as published through the mainstream media. That information is also essentially the opinion or writings of others who may not have the same interests as your or I. To effectively ensure that these officials and special interest groups are held at bay will require the work of all of us. To go beyond the headlines and dig into the data that Mr. Obama intends to make technically available to all of us. I can think of one place in particular that provides an immense amount of information available today on the work being done in the halls of Congress and the Senate. It is called OpenCongress.Org and puts out there for all of us to view each and every Bill put before these governmental bodies.

The beauty of this site in particular is it also puts out there which elected officials Sponsor, support and vote on each and every one of them. The site is thorough providing you with contact information based on your district's representation in these public offices to allow you to voice your opinion directly to these official. It is a very good site for those serious about discovering what issues affect you.

So even though the goal is to create a transparent and connected democracy, it is "We The People" yet again that will have to uphold our side of this deal by taking advantage of the information that is being made transparent. Without such action these efforts are completely for naught.