Wednesday, July 10, 2013

For my sins, I work for the federal government

And ride the Washington Metro...which decided to jazz up my evening ride by providing me with a train that broke down in a tunnel, stranding me and scores of other passengers in cars without adequate air conditioning for more than 2 hours. We spent the first 45 minutes waiting for Metro personnel to fix the train on the spot, and then another 45 minutes waiting for a recovery train to effect a rescue when the repair efforts failed. Then, once we all transferred into the new train (blissfully cool), we sat around for another 30 minutes because it, too, was having mechanical problems (a light on the instrument panel indicated that the doors weren't all closed properly). They finally got the problem solved, the train went to the next station, and then promptly offloaded us because...the doors started malfunctioning again. Another train came along shortly, however, and finally got us all to our various destinations without further trouble. A good thing, too, because I was starting to get hungry, and was observing the other passengers with an eye toward assessing potential tenderness and palatability, in case the delay ran another hour or two.

And now there's this: the Insider Threat Program. In order to prevent future leaks (or at least, those that don't make Obama look like a decisive leader), the White House wants all of us government employees to spy on each other, and report any "high risk persons or behaviors". Failure to report could result in criminal penalties.

Yeah, let's make our offices look as much like a Havana neighborhood as possible, complete with snitches and block captains. That ought to make for a more pleasant work environment. I swear, I think I'm going to put some of these up on the wall:





13 comments:

rinardman said...

...the White House wants all of us government employees to spy on each other, and report any "high risk persons or behaviors".

Would "high risk persons or behaviors" include being a evil conservative/terrorist?

Watch your back, Paco.

JeffS said...

To me, "high risk persons or behaviors" describes senior leadership. Up to and including elected officials.

But, yeah, r-man is probably right.

Merilyn said...

Yep agree with r-man.

Bet the passengers on that train were getting worried when they felt various eyes on them in regards to food!

Minicapt said...

... and bureaucrats who insist on riding the Metro ...

Cheers

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 1 said:

Government encourages citizens to use public transportation then doesn't maintain it. Perhaps, the funds were diverted to parties, dance lessons and video spoofs. First things first, you know.

Dave in Indiana said...

" Failure to report could result in criminal penalties."

So...how do they prove you failed to report? Have they ever tried to prove a negative? Oh yeah...these are Obama's people....

Paco said...

Dave: We all get waterboarded periodically.

Michael Lonie said...

Misprisiion of treason was a common charge in Elizabethan England against people who knew about Catholic plots but did not report them. The penalty was the same as for participating: drawing, hanging, and quartering. It looks to me like the Obama Administration is bringing back the concept.

Another idea that I'd bet Obama and his consiglieri would like is a charge from Article 58 of the Russian criminal code under Stalin and Kruschev (up to 1969 at least). That was "suspicion of intent to commit espionage." I think the Obama Administration could find all sorts of uses for such an ide: suspicion of intent to commit (fill in the blank).

So Paco, would reporting Major Hassan's characterization of himself as "soldier of Allah" as a suspicious indicator of teroristic sympathies be appropriate under this new dispensation? Ot is the whole thing limited to flushing out those damned, terroristic Tea Partiers? Inquiring minds want to know.

Paco said...

Sorry, I'm having evil thoughts right now, and I don't want anybody to suspect what they are and have to turn me in, so I'll just say good night.

Steve Skubinna said...

Look at the bright side - you weren't oppressed by any unsanctioned flowers today.

mojo said...

"Oh sure, go mess with the Sysadmins. There's a good idea."

Anonymous said...

Deborah .... Paco, as a veteran rider, I'm surprised you weren't prepared for such events. So while you're making sure there is sufficent cigs, pack some munchies and a bottle of water (or two). Since it's government we're talking about, one of those survival blanket, small flashlight, etc. The best thing that I carry is a "MyCharge" charger. Essential equipment that Richard and I both carry.

Jonah said...

How about a crowbar to pry the doors open and walk out? Essential equipment?