My friend, the federal government?

[rivka]

I just spent the last couple of hours knocking out the application for a Certificate of Confidentiality from the federal government. Essentially, this will protect us from anyone trying to subpoena research data that might be damaging to our subjects, such as information about their illegal behaviors.

The application was a marvel of simplicity. No irrelevant questions, and everything was perfectly straightforward. When I called for a clarifying detail, the contact person picked up on the first ring and was both friendly and helpful.

I am pleasantly amazed. Maybe NIAID should be running the tax system.