Commit a crime, Take a class
Remember, I think it was back in November of last year, when Harriet Miers was to conduct ethics classes for the white house staff concerning handling of classified information? To the best of my recollection this happened after Scooter Libby was indicted.
After the incident in Haditha the entire military in Iraq was to receive a refresher class on how to handle themselves in the time of war. I would suppose these also could be called ethics lessons.
Yesterday Mr. Pop received a letter from the VA telling him in all likelihood his personal information was on the disc of the recently stolen computer. The letter also stated that the employees of the VA would be receiving classes.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs has directed all VA employees complete the ‘VA Cyber Security Awareness Training Course’ by June 30, 2006….”
This administration seems to think the most fitting response to grave errors and crimes is to administer a class giving instructions as to how to not do it again.
After the incident in Haditha the entire military in Iraq was to receive a refresher class on how to handle themselves in the time of war. I would suppose these also could be called ethics lessons.
Yesterday Mr. Pop received a letter from the VA telling him in all likelihood his personal information was on the disc of the recently stolen computer. The letter also stated that the employees of the VA would be receiving classes.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs has directed all VA employees complete the ‘VA Cyber Security Awareness Training Course’ by June 30, 2006….”
This administration seems to think the most fitting response to grave errors and crimes is to administer a class giving instructions as to how to not do it again.
posted by pissed off patricia at 4:17 AM
33 Comments:
Funny how quickly after the fact the zillion letters were all delivered to Veterans. Hmmmmmmm.
The name of the class is "Closing the Barn Door 101."
Well, really though, it's not a bad idea, is it? It was assummed the soldiers involved in the Haditha incident would not engage in this kind of atrocity, but look what happenned, I guess they are just wanting to make sure nobody else goes off the deep end. Most of these soldiers are not much more than kids, how mature can they possibly be?
I received that letter in the mail, too. I wonder if they have any classes that will teach me how to act when my government stops being a democracy and becomes a fascist dictatorship. Oops, my mistake. I forgot about Fox News.
Seems to follow the pattern of talking a good game, but failing to take any meaningful actions. Much easier to execute than actually doing the right thing
ok- so mr. pop takes the class? so what? how does that help him when it wasn't his fault that his info was stolen from a supposedly secure system? ridiculous.
Tieing yesterday and today together, a reporter recently used a counterfeit matricula consular ID with the wrong birthdate on it to gain admittance to an NSA office even though the NSA had his real information on file. When it was brought to NSA attention, the response was, "We are taking steps to make sure this does not happen again.
Your government at work.
call me daft
(not being from this country)
but letters? classes? really?!
and so quickly....
perhaps I'm not as cynical/knowledgeable/clever as I thought I was. sheesh.
Forget "No Child Left Behind" now we have "No Idiot Left Unattended."
It is all PR BS. The guy who took all that info home knew it was against the rules to do it. The troops who committed the atrocities at Haditha were trained in boot camp not to kill innocent civilian, but they lost it under stress and did it anyway.
Punishing these people is the answer--not another class that they have already had.
I used to work for Computer Associates. A few years ago, some executives there were doing some funny bookkeeping, something like Enron. The joke was that these CA execs invented the 5-week month to make revenues look bettter than they actually were.
After they were caught, the company kept them out of jail and avoided some other punishments by making all the employees take ethics classes -- all 15,000 of us -- as though we were the damn crooks.
Hehe, I got the letter too. I have better security n my kids computer than The VA does.
How do we get them to schedule a "Democracy 101: Eliminating Election Tampering & Fraud" class?
Only people who work for the VA have to take the course, not all the veterans.
Patricia, are they making arrangements with the credit bureaus to provide free bureau reports on a regular basis for the next few years and / or provide identity theft insurance and assistance?
Senor Horsedooty got out of the USAF in 1970. I do get my health care via the VA. I wonder if I am on that hard drive that got stolen.
yo soy Horsedooty!
"Closing the Barn Door 101."
* ha ha ha ha * ;)
I got stupid the stupid letter too...
Am I supposed to write back?
"Thanks, VA, for your prompt and polite warning about something one of your idiot employees did"
Just one "stupid" in the first sentence, if you please.
Many great comments...I have nothing to say that is positive,wise or enlightening...I want my country back....
As if you can teach an individual moral right from wrong in a classroom. Espically when the teachers are part of the attitude that led to the neglect in the first place.
Well, to be fair, Bush did do really well after his "Stop Snorting Coke and Driving Drunk Class."
I blame Clinton.
this isn't fair. I'm sure you're the same people that have said the current administration lacked "class" of any kind.
Sigh.
Ya, I got that letter too,...grumble...grumble...
I committed a crime once. A crime most people have committed at least once or twice, Depending on how high an office you hold.
I did have to take a class... at my expense... and spend the night in jail and do 5 months of community service one day a week.
And if it wasn't done on time.. off to the pokey!
I have learned my lesson.
I got my letter.
I am amazed I wasn't a lot angrier. All I could think about was how much "safer" I am these days. All that wonderful "security."
Well - it seems I am in good company here! My hubby got his letter too - as did oh so many it seems! Did you know Dark Wraith joins our number? And the upshot of this marvelous communication form the oh so powerful Office of Veterans Affairs? You're on your own, Charlie! Figure it out for yourself - we may have screwed up, but we won't help. Yeah - right!
They also give classes to police officers who shove lamp shades up black guys asses. I think if you need a class to tell you not to do some of this stuff, you might be too fucked up to be in that position
I have offered to teach ethics at the White House! I know you have a hard time believing (as do I) they didn't take me up on it.
Not only was the VA incident stupid, it's illegal. All of that stuff is confidential. The reason those guys aren't supposed to take hose computers home is to maintain the integrity of the information. I'm glad there's a lawsuit.
Mr. Cracker also received one of those letters from the VA. Class action suit anyone?
Ahh, the age of Bush administration information privacy. Hey, where are all the pro-privacy anti-big government Republicans these days? Blowing themselves in an alley somewhere?
Morons...makes you wonder why this guy had this stuff on his home computer...I would think that to be a bad thing...the possiblility of home theft. At least the work place such as it is...should have been more secure. But in a private residence...foolhardy. Seems fishy to me.
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