Three State Department contract employees broke into Obama’s passport file over a three month period. Beyond that simple fact absolutely nothing is known so, of course, Keith Olbermann had to spend no less than thirty minutes and three guest commentators on the subject last night on Countdown. I just covered the entire story in one very short sentence. It was actually rather awe-inspiring how many words Olbermann and company could use to say absolutely nothing.
I watch Countdown regularly and Olbermann is my favorite “journalist,” but he can be (and not all that infrequently is) a complete moron.
Today bloggers and pundits are still panting and swooning over this issue despite the fact that, beyond the initial simple fact of it, nothing whatsoever is known.
A few Very Serious pundits are conflating this Major Event with the FISA Scandal and using it as Further Evidence that our government is Spying On Americans In A Most Heinous Manner and we have to wake up to the fact that Our Government Cannot Be Trusted. They also are proving that they know how to use the “shift” key on their keyboards.
It remains “breaking news” because we still don’t know anything about it. As soon as we learn anything about it, it will no longer be breaking news, it will just be “news.”
As soon as we find out that it was not the Clinton campaign behind this, it will no longer be news.
If we learn it was the McCain campaign that was behind it, it will not remain news, it will become “left wing blogger fodder.”
One question that I have not heard asked, actually I think it’s the only question I haven’t heard asked, is “Why are there ‘contract employees’ in that position at the State Department?” Managing passports is a government function, so why isn’t it being done by government employees?
Okay, I know that was stupid. I apologize. I was trying to make a point.
This is one more reason not to subcontract government work. Why are we having all this breathlessness about why the information about the breach was not “passed up the chain”? It was passed up the chain. The chain stopped at the top management of the subcontractor. The top management of the subcontractor did not report it to the State Department, which is exactly what any person with half a brain would expect to happen.
Enough fun and games. This, too, is why we should not be outsourcing.
This isn't "breaking" news anymore, it's broken already. Or maybe it's the news media that's broken. Or the State Department.
ReplyDeleteJust like the people fired for geting into Britney Spear's medical files, anything can be gotten into if there's enough motivation. And having a subcontractor is less secure I suppose than a State employee. They ought not to be doing that.. like the TSA, no?