The Classifieds

Dick Cheney has a mania for secrecy. The Vice-President keeps a man-sized vault in his office. He has a personalized stamp for marking memos classified. He refuses to submit his papers to the National Archives. His openly stated goal is to restore executive power to the halcyon days before Watergate, when wiretaps roamed free and the President dabbled in criminal activities.

Moreover, Cheney was born at an undisclosed location. All of it suggests he has something to hide. But what? With the White House’s windows so tinted nowadays, public vigilance is needed. Today at 4 p.m., do your civic duty and go see Secrecy at Delray Public Library (100 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach) as part of the Delray Beach Film Festival. The documentary by two Harvard professors chronicles the system of government secrecy, from the Manhattan Project up to the warrant-less wiretaps and the Kafka novel that is Guantanamo Bay. Secrecy is one of a slew of films — feature-lengths and shorts — playing at the festival from May 6 to 11. Dozens of the films’ directors will field questions. There’ll even be surfing lessons on the beach, an adjunct not to be found at Cannes. Tickets cost $9, get them at www.dbff.us.
Wed., May 7, 2008