Letters to the Editor
walter_map
Published Letters: 1883 Editor's Choice: 20
-
Old news.
[Read the article: The war on whistle-blowers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This sort of thing has been going on since prehistory, so I consider this article to be in the nature of a status report. The report is highly negative, and rightly so. I suppose there may be some government agencies which have not been severely corrupted in the last few years, but I doubt any of them are in the US government.
All organizations are corrupt and incompetent to some degree, but because these represent internal costs none can tolerate more than a certain degree of corruption and incompetence without serious risk. Once these long-term costs exceed the short-term advantages the organization goes into decline, and eventually fails. History is replete with examples, and acquires more all the time.
The problem with the Bush administration is that it has openly adopted corruption as one of its main tools, knowing that those who cheat to win have an edge over those who don't, and those who cheat most tend to prevail over those who cheat less, at least in the short term. It's a very simple calculation. Incompetence naturally requires corruption to preserve itself, but more than that, corruption invites incompetence, and causes it. Incompetence is always seen in the company of corruption, and a corrupt organization cannot remain competent for long. There is a little honor among thieves, but not much.
This administration is as incompetent as it is corrupt, and it is determinedly corrupt, so it is hardly any wonder that it embraces stupidity, and it was bound to fail. But it remains to be seen whether this corruption and incompetence will bring down the rest of us with them. And how far down, and when.
In some respects, whistle-blowing represents an effort to correct the deficiencies of an organization. An organization that cannot address its problems honestly cannot correct its deficiencies either. Corruption and incompetence are destructive on many levels, but it's always possible to get away with it, which only makes it destructive to the victims, and not the perpetrators. The perpetrators profit, and that is always the motive.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
John 3:20
The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the State."
Josef Goebbels
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
-
Mitch191
[Read the article: The war on whistle-blowers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As the Special Counsel of the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC), I am charged by law with protecting especially those who have blown the whistle and are reprised against. I take special pride in this job and am very pleased to have protected many whistleblowers and others in government in my nearly four years in office.
The problem is that we see corruption increasing, in business, in the people, and especially in the federal government under Bush. We also know that the tools of the corrupt against whistle-blowers are powerful, and we know they are usually effective.
Possibly, all that you say is true. There is no reason for us to disbelieve that you do protect whistle-blowers and fight corruption. What you don't say is how effective you suppose your efforts really are, and we can suppose from the evidence that they're not effective enough. Not that this is any fault of yours, because you can only do only so much, and are therefore falling behind.
Good luck to you, and do what you can. You can appreciate yourself, even if others won't.
-
The best thing to do
[Read the article: Col. Boylan's implosion accelerates]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When the adversary who hates you has dug himself into a hole, is to offer him a bigger shovel.
Boylan lacks the skill at derogation possessed by Cheney and Rove, but I must say that he does dig well.
-
Ah, the benefits of socialized medicine.
[Read the article: Rudy's bogus healthcare stats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Giuliani claims he might not have survived prostate cancer under "socialized medicine," yet he was covered by a government-provided plan.
The fact is, Giuliani survived because of socialized medicine.
The fact is, hundreds and even thousands of right-wing politicians enjoy the benefits of socialized medicine. And they very much seem to be for it. All have availed themselves of the services of socialized medicine when they needed it and none turned it down. Not a single case. Not one.
It should be obvious to anybody that right-wingers are well-paid by their sponsors in the overpriced medical industry to say they're against it, when they're really all for it, because the overpriced medical industry wants to protect their profits and can game the system, just like a lot of other sectors of the economy: the oil cartels, the insurance industry, the banks, the military-industrial complex.
Medical industry: "Your condition is fatal, but only in poor people." Maybe poverty should be considered to be a medical condition.
They've found a legal way to say "Your money or your life", and don't need to use a gun. As usual, the euphemism is "free markets", meaning the freedom to indulge in unregulated rapacity so they may prey on those in need and on those who have no choice.
-
Everybody has limitations. Some more than others.
[Read the article: How Oprah ruined the marathon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And so.
Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk. So if you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.
And when you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do.