Wednesday, May 31, 2006

High Court Reduces Whistleblowers to Whoosh Makers

Dear President Bush,

You must be jumping up and down for joy as the Supreme Court took the legs out from future whistleblowers. Government employees can not longer rely on historical whistleblower protections. Twenty million public service workers no longer have free speech rights as part of their jobs.

The likely impact is employee disciplinary procedures will run before the concerned worker can press their issue to resolution. The options are twofold, drop their beef and remain employed or be fired and on the street. Either way, the odds of that person pressing their concern decreases dramatically. The robber baron days are back for public workers.

The courageous American worker desiring to expose corruption is in danger of extinction. Will there be no more Serpico’s, Bunatine’s, or Deep Throat’s? What will people do now that the Supreme Court has taken away their whistle and left them with a whoosh?

They will still tell, you know. It will just be in a whisper and someone else will need to be close enough to hear. I recall you do not like leaks. Do you realize this action will shut off one of the few remaining relief valves in the system? As the internal pressure builds how will it express itself? Will it be lots of tiny little leaks or one big breach? Personally I think both will happen. That means you need to spy on 20 million public employees. I forgot, you are already doing that!

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