I honestly don't know what to think of this.
Anyone can go to the National Archives and get access to anything there. It's completely open to the public, free of charge.
If something was blocked from being declassified, it wouldn't be put in the National Archives.
No you can't. There's a ton of stuff in the National Archives that you cannot see. It's the "National Archives." Everything is stored there.
You can't just walk in the door and look at anything either. I've been there. It's a major hassle just to look at public documents or even microfilms. I gave up trying to look at anything and left. That's why most people hire professional researchers who are allowed to look at records.
"Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.
Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family's history, need to prove a veteran's military service, or are researching a historical topic that interests you." - National Archives FAQ
Yet, you still cannot walk in and just look at their records. There are classified records there that you'll never see. And there are public records that you'll never live long enough to access because of their procedures.
It's not that I had some problem, as if I don't know how to use a library. It was the fact that almost everything I wanted to see was behind closed doors. I suppose you've never been to a single archive anywhere. You have to know what you want beforehand and tell one of their annointed ones to fetch it and bring it to you. You cannot browse to see what's there. It takes forever to get anything. I tried it once in Pennsylvania at the state archives. It took an hour to get an item that took me five minutes to look at. On my own, I could have looked at half a dozen different source records in that same hour.
The graduate library at UNC in Chapel was the exact opposite. You could look at government repositories of records from NASA, captured WWII German records, and more. You could just walk down the shelves and pull books off the shelf that were printed in the 1700s. In the NC state archives, you can just go through books and microfilms as you please. I've been there countless times.
BTW, I never said every scrap of information in the US is stored there. The building is not nearly large enough for that. There are national repositories at major university libraries around the country. I have personally been to two, at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC and ECU in Greenville, NC.
I am a professional researcher and have done research in countless locations. The National Archives is the hardest to do research in. NC county courthouses are the easiest. You can just walk in off the street and look at almost anything. I'll walk into one and, for instance, say "where are the death certificates," and they'll point in the right direction and say "have at it."
You seem to be lacking in information or willfully ignoring it.
What ascertations have I made that you think is untrue? What I quoted came directly from the National Archives FAQ and supports my claims that the public is free to visit and access the information there. Are you saying the National Archives itself isn't an authority on what services the National Archives provide?
The entire purpose of the National Archives is for people to be able to access the information stored there.
Hell, call them up and ask them these questions.
Where are people getting the idea that the National Archives is like some huge warehouse where classified information is kept and no one can get in?
Seriously, some of the arguments I get into here are just bizarre.
if you can figure out how to read maybe you can figure out what you missed
maybe we should deport YOU? you haven't contributed anything beyond telling people "you're wrong" while providing NO information or proof of your own - sounds like a handshake
I honestly don't know what to think of this. Anyone can go to the National Archives and get access to anything there. It's completely open to the public, free of charge.
If something was blocked from being declassified, it wouldn't be put in the National Archives.
So this makes ZERO sense.
No you can't. There's a ton of stuff in the National Archives that you cannot see. It's the "National Archives." Everything is stored there.
You can't just walk in the door and look at anything either. I've been there. It's a major hassle just to look at public documents or even microfilms. I gave up trying to look at anything and left. That's why most people hire professional researchers who are allowed to look at records.
Do you seriously think classified information is stored at the National Archives?
Just because they're called the National Archives doesn't mean every scrap of information goes there.
And just because you, personally, had a difficult time finding information there doesn't mean that it's not open to the public.
Yes, there are professional researchers. Do you think that is some special job you get from the government?
https://www.archives.gov/faqs
"Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.
Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family's history, need to prove a veteran's military service, or are researching a historical topic that interests you." - National Archives FAQ
Yet, you still cannot walk in and just look at their records. There are classified records there that you'll never see. And there are public records that you'll never live long enough to access because of their procedures.
It's not that I had some problem, as if I don't know how to use a library. It was the fact that almost everything I wanted to see was behind closed doors. I suppose you've never been to a single archive anywhere. You have to know what you want beforehand and tell one of their annointed ones to fetch it and bring it to you. You cannot browse to see what's there. It takes forever to get anything. I tried it once in Pennsylvania at the state archives. It took an hour to get an item that took me five minutes to look at. On my own, I could have looked at half a dozen different source records in that same hour.
The graduate library at UNC in Chapel was the exact opposite. You could look at government repositories of records from NASA, captured WWII German records, and more. You could just walk down the shelves and pull books off the shelf that were printed in the 1700s. In the NC state archives, you can just go through books and microfilms as you please. I've been there countless times.
You seemed to have missed the page about classified records. https://www.archives.gov/research/declassification.html
BTW, I never said every scrap of information in the US is stored there. The building is not nearly large enough for that. There are national repositories at major university libraries around the country. I have personally been to two, at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC and ECU in Greenville, NC.
I am a professional researcher and have done research in countless locations. The National Archives is the hardest to do research in. NC county courthouses are the easiest. You can just walk in off the street and look at almost anything. I'll walk into one and, for instance, say "where are the death certificates," and they'll point in the right direction and say "have at it."
You seem to be lacking in information or willfully ignoring it.
None of what you just quoted actually proves any of the ascertions you have made. Deported.
What ascertations have I made that you think is untrue? What I quoted came directly from the National Archives FAQ and supports my claims that the public is free to visit and access the information there. Are you saying the National Archives itself isn't an authority on what services the National Archives provide?
The entire purpose of the National Archives is for people to be able to access the information stored there.
Hell, call them up and ask them these questions.
Where are people getting the idea that the National Archives is like some huge warehouse where classified information is kept and no one can get in?
Seriously, some of the arguments I get into here are just bizarre.
fuckin' lol bit hot headed today huh buddy
his quote DID actually address the claim he made
if you can figure out how to read maybe you can figure out what you missed
maybe we should deport YOU? you haven't contributed anything beyond telling people "you're wrong" while providing NO information or proof of your own - sounds like a handshake