# You're the President tomorrow- what's the first secret thing you ask about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679 "2009-12-27T05:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shecky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shecky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shecky)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/41 "2009-12-29T12:55:46Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Garlic salt Untrue. BACON SALT! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/42 "2009-12-29T13:23:23Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > i want to know about dubya’s pretzel choking. i bet it was a fight with cheney I’m glad I’m not the only only who suspects this. But it’s not really top of my list - the “black ops” stuff seems a bit more important. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/43 "2009-12-29T13:43:08Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > B1s have never figured prominently in any of our wars or military actions, for whatever reason. Wow, it worked! B-1s have been a BIG part of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Anyway, I would ask about the alleged [Aurora](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_aircraft). I’m already certain of the answer I would get. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/44 "2009-12-29T17:28:28Z")
What are the really cool projects that DARPA and the NSA are working on? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/45 "2009-12-29T17:54:47Z")
There are plenty of DARPA funded projects that aren’t Top Secret. I suspect most of them aren’t TS. Just go to the next ACS National meeting, and you will see plenty of really cool projects. You will also see the occasional foreign national\* snapping pictures of all the slides with his/her cell phone. It’s against the rules, but it’s very difficult to enforce. It’s not like all of the things talked about aren’t in the public domain. They are so far from being put into realistic production, they wont get much out of it. - I assume they are foreign nationals, but it wouldn’t be out of character for a grad student to do this. I don’t go around asking people what their reasons for being rude are. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/46 "2009-12-29T18:56:10Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > There are plenty of DARPA funded projects that aren’t Top Secret. I suspect most of them aren’t TS. Sure. But I want to know about the ones that are. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/47 "2009-12-29T20:55:42Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Anyway, I would ask about the alleged [Aurora](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_aircraft). I’m already certain of the answer I would get. Do you mind sharing with the class, or would you have to kill us? I’d like to know what “secret weapon” Bob Woodward was talking about recently. Also, I’d want information on the careers of a family member or two of mine, that they were never able to talk much about. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/48 "2009-12-29T21:21:53Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Since the President is the highest link in the military chain of command I don’t think you CAN keep anything from him. From the president? No, you can’t keep anything from him. But a superior military or government official? Hell yeah, I can keep it from him. In fact, it’d be illegal to tell them without an official reason for them needing to know. > [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I’d want to know what all the **“Need To Know”** files are, and have complete access to the lot of them. > > I’m the Prez - I’LL decide whether I needed to know or not! What “Need to Know” files? Every piece of classified information is NtK. Everything from you social security number to the tech specs of a nuclear bomb. I mean, just a few months ago, someone that worked for my company lost said position for looking at Obama’s passport. He’ll never work in this field again. Just this morning, I had to take a Privacy Act refresher course. Did you know that it’s illegal for one, say, TSA agent to tell another TSA agent that the former saw the latter’s wife coming through the security line? So yeah, everything is Need to Know. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/49 "2009-12-29T21:39:51Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Do you mind sharing with the class, or would you have to kill us? It’s a myth. Just another kooky conspiracy theory. If it actually existed there would have been actual pictures rather than inferential hearsay that keeps people on the conspiracy circuit. The government would have long exposed its existence, like they did with the SR-71, B-2 and the F-117. Since nothing of the sort has happened, I rightfully conclude that it doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/50 "2009-12-29T21:42:13Z")
What is the official designation for the ongoing MKUltra project today? ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/51 "2009-12-29T22:09:54Z")
Some of the previous “secrets” upthread are pretty mundane and the answers will almost surely be disappointing – it was Oswald all along, no aliens, Area 51 is just a test area for weapons/aircraft, etc. What I would ask to see is a full report of everything that all my predecessors know that the American public does **not** know. I think in there I’ll find some surprises. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/52 "2009-12-29T23:01:24Z")
I’d like to see the list of things we aren’t telling the public. For their own good of course. Second is where the good cigars are kept. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/53 "2009-12-29T23:14:25Z")
War plans. Like what’s our on-paper strategy for fighting China and/or Korea. Somebody had to write that. We infamously had plans on paper for the unlikely event of a war with Canada. And NASA’s budget. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/54 "2009-12-29T23:48:44Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Sure. But I want to know about the ones that are. Well, don’t underestimate the secrets that the US is hiding in plain sight. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/55 "2009-12-30T03:55:13Z")
I want to know all about Cecil Adams. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/56 "2009-12-30T04:11:58Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > I want to know all about Cecil Adams. Okay, I’m taking notes now. Fu Lin’s Hot and sour soup; Things that I can do without needing anyone else to approve my decision; Cecil Adams. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/57 "2010-01-01T06:44:29Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Interestingly, though, I once saw Dick Morris state in an interview that the first two secret things Bill Clinton wanted to see were the files on UFO’s, and on the JFK assassination. In a (History Channel?) show on that kind of stuff, the President, whoever it was, was told he didn’t have a “Need to Know”. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/58 "2010-01-01T11:41:36Z")
“Where’s the Strangelove-type War Room?” Here, at any rate, it’s normal for the next administration to be refused access to the papers of the last administration, especially if it was a different party. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/59 "2010-01-02T06:44:30Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > “Where’s the Strangelove-type War Room?” > > Here, at any rate, it’s normal for the next administration to be refused access to the papers of the last administration, especially if it was a different party. A plot point for an episode of “Yes, Minister” (or something like that). ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679/60 "2010-01-02T13:00:13Z")
the Globe, I think, ran a story about finding love letters from Bush to Condi, and I wanna read 'em [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-tomorrow-whats-the-first-secret-thing-you-ask-about/522679.md?page=4)