Bush and Cheney are not the only overpaid overweight white people in Washington thwarting open government. The smartest analysts of legislative action related to the rights of whistleblowers are in
Sibel Edmonds' National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (
NSWBC), and they've just released a list of the 12 worst Congress Members on whistleblower protection. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but there may be a presidential candidate or two or three in there.... Below is the press release and link.
Whistleblowers Hold House & Senate Members Responsible
Whistleblowers' Dirty Dozen
The following members of Congress, by their action or inaction, have stood against real investigations, hearings, and legislation dealing with government whistleblowers who have exposed fraud, waste, abuse, and/or criminal activities within government agencies. These representatives of the People are not only standing against whistleblowers, but against the public's right to know, effective oversight, accountability, and ultimately against the democratic processes that underpin our society (To see the list click here).
We, the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, together with whistleblower members of our partner coalitions, consider it our duty to advise Americans of these representatives' collusion with government and private interests to the detriment of the People. Our position is based on our concern for our nation's security, for accountable government, and the People's Right to Know what their representatives and government are doing in their name, all of which depend on vigorous congressional oversight. Our stand is not based on any political ideology or party - our coalition members include Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Independents. We do not ask you to vote for or against these individuals; nor do we ask you to choose a particular candidate over another. All we ask is that before you decide, you consider the true positions of these representatives with regard to their lack of candor or courage on core issues that matter to our country's well-being. Over the years, time and again we have informed these representatives about illegal government actions, agency fraud, and lying to Congress by administrators and bureaucrats. Yet these representatives have consistently refused to take any action and have instead betrayed the People they have taken an oath to serve. We hope that by appealing directly to the American people, we can help bring about needed reforms, since we have proven unsuccessful in our appeals to the following representatives: the Whistleblowers' Dirty Dozen (click here).
About National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), founded in August 2004, is an independent and nonpartisan alliance of whistleblowers who have come forward to address our nation's security weaknesses; to inform authorities of security vulnerabilities in our intelligence agencies, at nuclear power plants and weapon facilities, in airports, and at our nation's borders and ports; to uncover government waste, fraud, abuse, and in some cases criminal conduct. The NSWBC is dedicated to aiding national security whistleblowers through a variety of methods, including advocacy of governmental and legal reform, educating the public concerning whistleblowing activity, provision of comfort and fellowship to national security whistleblowers suffering retaliation and other harms, and working with other public interest organizations to affect goals defined in the NSWBC mission statement. For more on NSWBC visit www.nswbc.org
