What you can do about corruption!

Have you been following the news lately? If so, you may have noticed
how prevalent stories about fraud and corruption are, particularly involving
government and defense contractors, among others. So why is this any
concern of the average citizen? This kind of corruption does affect all of us
now, and will continue to do so in the future. This apparent pattern cannot
be allowed to continue with impunity.

O.K. So, do we not have laws to prevent a lot of the criminal and
corrupt activities going on between corporate and other interests and
our government? Yes, the answer is yes. We do have laws. Laws (and
policies) that prohibit certain activities, that are or may even
appear to be, corrupt, or a conflict of interest. For example, the
revolving door between government and industry is a continuing
problem, and using it is prohibited, however, rarely, it seems is
anyone enforcing the law or policies regarding this. [Employees who
move from positions of authority back and forth between related
branches of government and say, contractors or defense contractors,
(usually for personal gain, financial or other), not always acting in
the best interest of the American government and public are said to
be using the revolving door.]

Is it a bad idea to accept gifts or bribes, or pay-offs for services
rendered? Especially when you are a policy maker, policy implementer
or a federal employee in an oversight agency? Yes, it is a bad idea,
and it is corrupt, corrupt, corrupt. There are laws and policies
against that type of activity, if those with the authority to act,
would act in accordance with the letter and intent of the law, we
wouldn't be where we are now.

Why is no one holding the line, enforcing the rules? Good question.
We have laws, which if enforced, can take care of much of the
lawlessness right now. We have people, who are in positions of trust
in the executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch of
our federal government as well as investigations and enforcement in
oversight agencies and federal criminal law enforcement oversight
agencies and others who right now as we speak know they have the
mission and responsibility to do right by our constitution, laws, and
the American people. Some of them are trying to do what is right and
are paying in many cases heavy penalties for doing so. Others have
lost sight of their civic and moral duty to serve. Still others have
been lured away by the usual sirens of greed, power, need for
affiliation with the wrong people, to belong or are manipulated into
passivity and silence through fear and intimidation.

And is no one outing the wrongdoers? Yes, in fact there are some
responsible, loyal and authentically patriotic Americans quite
concerned about the wrong they see being done by some, often higher
up on the food chain within our government or within their
corporation. Some do report what they see and find as they do their
jobs, either officially up the prescribed channels as a part of
routine inspections, investigations and reports. Some, upon finding
something not directly related to his/her job, go out of their way to
try to find someone who cares to report it to, someone who might give
a rip and do something about it. And these ethical reporters are most
often labeled whistleblowers, or it is said they are not "team
players' and their careers and lives are ruined. Someone once called
this the choiceless choice that whistleblowers face. For the
whistleblower, it is choiceless, as due to their character, they
could do no less. These are the people who overcome fear and who
refuse to be intimidated and silenced. These people are the heroes of
our time.

I have posted quite a few "historical" pieces of information as well as current
stories on my whistleblower blogs to try to show the continuing pattern of
ugliness. It isn't new. But it sure, as heck has gotten worse over the past
decade. It seems it has come out of the closet. Is it that we can't do anything
about it? No, I do not believe that. It is that few people, particularly those with
authority to address the situations head-on, want to inconvenience or
cause trouble to themselves for doing so, and the more corrupt the
layers get heading toward the top of our government, the worse it gets.

To clean up is going to take more of us paying attention, and being
willing to stand up and try to do something about it. Getting
Congress to pass workable whistleblower protections is one thing.
This bill, S. 274, is on hold in the Senate as we speak. A version of
it passed the house months ago. It is currently stuck in the Senate.
Your emails and letters are needed to your Senators and others are
needed to get the Oklahoma Senator to take it off hold and allow it
to come to a vote.

There are many people, corporate/defense contractor employees and
federal employees who know of wrongdoing, corruption, etc. It is time
to stand up and report what you know. If you cannot do it internally
at your work place, or are afraid to do so, please contact
organizations that help whistleblowers such as POGO (Project On
Government Oversight) and GAP (Government Accountability Project)
among others, or if what you know is something related to what the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Chair Henry
Waxman), is already investigating, email or write them. POGO will
even accept anonymous reports of corruption from those of you not so
courageous. Or do all of the above. Do not "go gentle into the good
night" ducking and covering and living in fear. It only gets worse if
allowed to continue; the bad actors only become bolder. And once you
allow yourself to become compromised, and co-opted, you are dead in
the water, and if you hold a security clearance, are now set up for
blackmail later. It is a desperate road to allow yourself to start
down; resist it. Stand up and blow that whistle hard, to paraphrase
whistleblower, Steven Heller.

Elections are important. Not only do the people we elect have
authority (and often power) they can wield in writing and passing
laws and implementing policy, they can affect the other branches of
government, and as we've seen recently, even upset the balance of
power, checks and balances, cut the legs off of Justice, and severely
put a spin on the work of judges, and through precedents being set,
even affect the interpretation and implementation of Constitutional
Law now and well into our distant future. Think about what kind of
world we want to leave to those that follow us; think hard.

But, the every day things that American citizens can do are also
important. We must pay attention and read and learn as a regular
habit. We cannot allow our lives and focus to be taken over in an
Orwellian way with sports, and "reality" shows, and soap operas. We
must remain alert and we must be willing to speak up and speak out.
We must be willing to explain, and teach, and yes, even lobby if it
is necessary in order to get a problem addressed. We must be vigilant
and not allow ourselves to be buried in the small things of life,
which can take our attention away from the big things. We must be
resolute and courageous and not listen to those who would fear monger
among us, trying to keep us distracted and passive.

It will not improve until we do. It will not take all of us. It never
takes everyone. That is myth perpetuated by those that do not want
us to believe we can do anything, who want to disillusion us before
we even start. But it will take a significant number of us committing
ourselves to trying to make a difference. And I hope we will do so,
because the path already blazed and paved will continue to draw us
down if we do not.

I am not a federal or corporate whistleblower myself. My experience
in standing up for what is right and in advocating for others comes
through my union work in the education field and seeing what has
happened to a family member who has been labeled a whistleblower,
just for ethically doing his job. But I know other federal and corporate
whistleblowers and meet still more all the time, since starting collecting
information and sharing information on the topic. I hear from people regularly
and I have empathy for their situations and am committed to help them as I
can. I started these blogs in order to find and share useful information about whistleblowers and situations, which create whistleblowers, and to encourage others to stand up and to do what is right. You may find one of my blogs at
this address: http://whistleblowersupporter.typepad.com

If you are a whistleblower, bless you. You have my highest regard. If
you are experiencing things which should lead you to be a whistleblower,
please stand up for yourself and others. And if you are a family member
or friend of a person who finds themselves a whistleblower, be there for them.
Help them any way you can. Please join me in supporting the countless
others who are fighting for the good of all of us.