How transparent is RTTT?

I got this link through my reader this weekend: the sentence sent along is "The grant process for this historic $4 billion program has been strengthened to ensure maximum integrity and transparency."

No, it isn't you: the link gives you a 404 error.

Darkly ironic when you consider this article from Ed Week on the identity of the judges of the applications, or rather, the lack thereof, as their names are not being released:

The rationale for not releasing the names, according to spokesman Justin Hamilton: "Race to the Top peer reviewers should be able to conduct their work without having to worry about inappropriate pressure, lobbying, or other attempts to influence the competition. To protect both the peer reviewers and the contest, we will release their names in April after their work is done."

Is the department afraid the judges will be inundated with fruit baskets, free tickets, and other tools of bribery?

As this is the same DoE that was presenting "panels of experts" that were employed by those with most to financially gain from this process, let's say that some of us are not sanguine that these are well-vetted experts.

Oh, and you can find the transparency link here.