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Bush to media: 7 don *t want you reading my personal stuff By DEB RIECHMANN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — President Bush said Thursday that the public should know as much as possible about government decision making, but national security and personal privacy — including his — need to be protected. “I believe in open government,” Bush said at a meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. “I’ve always believed in open government. I don’t e-mail, however. And there’s a reason: I don’t want you reading my personal stuff.” Bush once was a prolific e mailer. But he signed off from cyberspace just before taking office in 2001 after lawyers told him that his presidential e-mail __IJ L to legal and archival requirements. “There’s got to be a certain sense of privacy,” Bush said. “You’re entitled to how I make decisions and you’re entitled to ask questions, which I answer. I don’t think you’re entided to read my mail between my daughters and me.” White House records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows reporters and others to obtain unclassified government records that officials would not otherwise release. Official presidential documents are subject to eventual release under the federal Presidential Records Act unless they are classified or otherwise exempt for reasons, including personal privacy. Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Secrecy Project, said, “Protecting the president’s personal e-mail does not in any way justify the pattern of withholding that we’ve » seen. Aftergood said classification activity is increasing, records are being withdrawn from government Web sites and access barriers are being put in place at reading rooms at federal agencies. “Information which used to be easy to obtain is now difficult or impossible to get,” he said. “Trivial things such as the Pentagon phone directory have been marked for official use only and are no longer public.” Claiming national security concerns, the Bush administration clamped down on declassification of government documents after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The trend toward keeping more government information secret began even before that and those who advocate for openness in government are worried that the freedom of U.S. citizens is eroding with every file they are not allowed to read. Just a month atter the terrorist attacks, the administration set a higher threshold for releasing information under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Clinton administration, federal agencies were urged to resolve disclosure decisions by releasing, not withholding, government information. In October 2001, however, former Attorney General John Ashcroft changed that policy. In a memo, Ashcroft required federal agencies to carefully consider national security, law enforcement concerns and personal privacy before releasing information. Ashcroft reassured the agencies that the Justice Department would defend their decisions not to release any information there was a “sound legal basis” for withholding. Bush said he knows there is “tension” about how the government decides what can be SUSAN WALSH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Bush walks onto the field for the Washington Nationals' first game of the season Thursday in Washington. The Nationals will play the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first home baseball game in Washington in 34 years. released without jeopardizing the fight against terrorism and that there’s a “suspicion” his administration is too .security conscious. He said he will review a Senate bill to create a 16-member panel that would recommend ways to speed FOIA requests, which can drag on for years. “We look forward to analyzing and working with legislation that would help put a free press’ mind at ease that you’re not being denied information you shouldn’t see,” Bush told the editors. “I will tell you, though, I am worried about things getting in the press that puts people’s lives at risk. It’s that judgment about what would put someone’s life at risk and what doesn’t is where there’s tension,” the president said. Bush refused to discuss a high profile case about a news column that disclosed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Her name was first published in a 2003 column by Robert Novak, who cited two unidentified senior administration officials as his sources. The White House has been criticized for outing Plame’s identity. Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of the New York Times have refused to disclose their sources, which federal prosecutors say have stalled their case into who leaked the information. Asked whether he thought the reporters were right not to reveal their sources, Bush said: “You think I’m going there? You’re crazy.” ■ SODEXHO Continued from page 1 Mike Scheffres, general manager of Carolina Dining, agrees with Gordon. “The key is open communication,” Scheffres said. He suggested students not only attend Food Committee meetings, but also visit the Web site, www.sc.edu/dining, or call with suggestions or opinions. Campus dining can accommodate vegetarian eating through the Grand Market Place, vegetable salads, vegetarian “grab ‘n’ go” options, vegetable burgers at Burger King, vegetable subs and more, Scheffres said. A vegetarian for two years, fourth-year sports and entertainment management student Travis Smith said he does not think dining has done a good job accommodating his eating and that of his fellow vegetarians, resulting in his only eating on campus this year about once. While he said he wishes dining offered more healthy and vegetarian choices, he said he does not completely trust the food labeled “vegetarian.” “I understand it. Most people in college aren’t vegetarians, so having a lot of choices wouldn’t make much sense,” Smith said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu ■ RHA Continued from page 1 the online music source, DCIGDC After the trial period, residents would be polled before any decisions were made to renew membership. RHA Senate would then decide whether to renew the service. In the end, renewal would result in a student activity fee increase. Hark said the resolution did not pass ultimately because financial allocations were deliberately not addressed. “The service would’ve been made available to on- and off campus students,” Ross said. He also said the goal of the resolution is to pursue music online in a legal and cost-effective way. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE i. Efficiency $525 One Bedroom $585 Two Bedroom $620 * Rent includes all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University Of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capital, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET I l^^^COLUMBIA^SC 29201 ^^^ ft vr ■ PREACHER Continued from page 1 wouldn’t lump all Christians into a group with Thursday’s campus visitors. “It sucks,” he said. “People will look at that and think, ‘well, if that’s Christianity, then I don’t want to be a Christian.’” On his Web site at gospeljohn.com, Duncan describes himself as a born-again, Trinitarian, Holiness Pentecostal, and describes mission trips to 93 campuses in 33 states. The site includes articles on a variety of subjects, including freedom of speech, evolution and love advice. First-year print journalism student Grace Bowles said she had also been offended by the tirade, and that USC students had only congregated to mock the speakers. “Everybody’s yelling at him, and there’ve been several Wendy’s cups thrown at him,” she said. Undeterred, Duncan accused a man in the audience of murder and drunkenness. “What are you going to do when you stand before judgment?” he asked. “Probably drink,” the man replied. Third-year journalism student Anna-Marie Prete explained the haranguing her peers had received before USC police moved Duncan to the Russell House patio. “It’s because we all live in Preston, and we’re all sinners, because Preston is the gay dorm,” she said. “That was sarcasm.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknerwMgwm.se. edu ■ FUGITIVES Continued from page 1 victims —- that a fugitive with a rap sheet is more desperate, more predatory, and more likely to commit the crimes that plague citizens and communities,” he said at a news conference with U.S. Marshals Service director Ben Reyna. The dragnet was the largest ever in numbers of arrests and involved local, state and federal authorities, said Marshals Service spokesman David Turner. For all of last year, marshals arrested more than 36,000 people wanted on federal warrants, and worked with .state and local authorities in catching another 31,600 fugitives, according to the Marshals Service’s Web site. Congress gave the Marshals Service more money and authority to go after fugitives when it refocused the FBI’s mission toward stopping terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Turner said. The Marshals Service now has five permanent regional task forces to search for fugitives, he added. higher r test scores guaranteed - or your money back Attend all required classes or make-up sessions, complete all scheduled tests, and do your homework, if your score doesn’t improve on test day from your Kaplan diagnostic or a prior official test score, you can choose to repeat our program for free or get a full refund of your tuition.** It’s that simple. Classes starting soon: LSAT 4/23-5/23 MWSa 6p/1 Oa World Leader in Test Prep LSAT S/3-6/2 TTHSu 6p/1 p and Admissions MCAT 5/21-8/13 T/TH6D *>M raws are ndMnMki of Aatf lespectwe amen. j | •*To be eligible for this offer, you must be enrolled in Kaplan’s full classroom, tutoring. or online courses, in addition, you must 1 -800-KAP-TEST I present a copy of your official score report . and your course materials within 90 days. kaptest.com Stanko confesses murders, assault after 1 -day spree FROM AP REPORTS MYRTLE BEACH — In the book he co-wrote from prison, the man charged with two murders and a sexual assault along the Grand Strand never mentioned the attack that put him behind bars. But Stephen Stanko’s victim remembers the washcloth soaked in bleach over her face and how she was bound and left in their home as he drove off. Now authorities say Stanko, who was arrested in Augusta, Ga., Tuesday after a three-day nationwide manhunt, killed the woman he was living with, sexually assaulted a 15 year-old girl in the home and killed a man who befriended him all within 24 hours this past weekend. Stanko waived his right for a bond hearing Thursday in Georgetown County for several lesser charges, including kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He will have a bond hearing on the murder charges at a later date. otanko was releasea rrom prison in July after serving 8 1/2 years of a 10 year sentence. He had been living with a woman in Goose Creek for six months until they got into an argument about Stanko being involved with theft and fraud, according to police reports. At the time, he was on probation for grand theft auto charges. The woman asked Stanko to move out. During a fight, Stanko put the rag with bleach over his girlfriend’s mouth and tied her wrists behind her back and tied her ankles together, according to court records. He then placed her in a bathtub so she couldn’t call police while he took a shower, according to a Berkeley County incident report. He left her in the living room still bound, stole a car and drove to Greenville. Police later found him in a Greenville hotel room. Stanko pleaded guilty to all charges. While in prison, he co-wrote a book with Wayne Gillespie, an assistant professor of criminology at East Tennessee State University. Gillespie said Stanko never mentioned the details of his kidnapping charges. “He was very selective in the information he revealed to me. He presented it as domestic situation, nothing hardcore,” Gillespie said. “He kind of said they were having problems because of problems with ♦v work. He was very general in his description, and that’s why I was led to believe his main crimes were fraud and breach of trust.” Apparently, the woman Stanko has been charged with killing trusted him too. Stanko met 43-year-old Laura Ling during a book signing at the Socastee Library, where she worked as a research librarian. The two lived together in Murrells Inlet. Henry Lee Turner, 74, of Conway, met Ling at the library. When he had computer troubles, Ling came to help him and brought along Stanko, said Turner’s daughter, Debbie Turner Gallogly. “He’s a very trusting person, a very welcoming person,” Gallogly said of her father. “He loved inviting people into his home for meals.” Stanko left the Grand Strand after the second killing and spent time in Columbia and Laurinburg, N.C., before traveling to Augusta, police said. t____• j cv_l_:_r_ j aaiu ouuuvu 1 uui^ivu with Masters golf fans in Augusta and bragged about being the rich owner of several restaurants. Calling himself Stephen Christopher, Stanko met 30-year old Dana Putnam at a popular v oyster bar. Stanko said he had expensive cars and an engineering degree from The Citadel, said Putnam’s father, Charles Putnam. Stanko and Putnam’s daughter spent the weekend together and attended church Sunday. “She said he was the nicest, most courteous young man,” said Pauline Putnam .Hicks, Dana Putnam’s grandmother. “You would never know he was a fraud.” Dana Putnam did not know Stanko was a fugitive until Tuesday morning, when her mother saw his picture in the local newspaper, Charles Putnam said. She then went to the Richmond County Sheriff s Office and helped ^ authorities find him. Stanko appears to be someone who preys on those he forms relationships with once he has no more use for them, according to one criminal expert. “This guy is unique, especially given the timeline. To develop all these relationships is pretty extraordinary,” said Michael Polakowski, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Arizona. ♦