Rick Moran writes of the saga of John Beale, phony CIA man.
The Republicans say that his lack of credentials should compromise the air quality rules he wrote? He was just doing what the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee recommended or approved.
He worked for the EPA for almost 20 years.
Amazing story–proof that the EPA is an entrenched and incompetent bureaucracy.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/03/the_story_of_the_fake_spy_writing_air_quality_rules_at_epa_despite_no_expertise.html
What a comment!
I agree.
Wayne
The opportunities afforded by a career attract the sort of person that would abuse those opportunities, like school teachers that are more interested in “molding young minds” than educating, or police officers that are more interested in harassing or oppressing citizens than in upholding the law. Therefore, I find it impossible to separate the actions of EPA personnel from the culture and public image of the EPA. As much as some would like us to believe that the EPA, FDA, USDA and the like are scientific or at least scholarly organizations, they are, always have been, and can only be government agencies. As such the guiding principles for hiring and promotion are politics.
The fact that John C. Beale was hired because he had shaken the right hands rather than because he had the right experience should come as no surprise. I expect his situation is the rule rather than the exception. That is the opportunity afforded by a political career: the ability to progress and succeed based on attitude, personality, and networking without having to show measurable results. It is only natural that jobs which afford that opportunity attract the sort of person that finds it easier to fake their way to success than to actually achieve something.
Unfortunately the culture does not start at the highest levels of government; it starts with the people who elect the highest levels of government. As long as the country continues to elect people based on their charisma, without care for their lack of accomplishments, that culture will continue to trickle down to all lower levels. Our elected representatives will appoint like-minded individuals, who will in turn surround themselves with like-minded individuals. In the world of democratic election, it does not matter if you can prove you are correct, it only matters that you can convince enough people that they want you to be correct.
The fact that Mr. Beale lied and stole isn’t even the real issue here. He wrote laws governing science and industry he knew nothing about. If his corruption had been less interesting a story, most people would never have known. The fact is he is far from being the only person at an executive agency writing policies that will be enforced as law despite the author having no experience or relevant education concerning the scientific realities that govern the affected industries or people. Mr. Beale will be fired, and much ado will be made about eliminating corruption, but it won’t make a bit of real difference if he is replaced by another quasi-nepotistic politician whose list of connections is longer than his CV.
As a country we must continue to drag these office-bound, unelected politicians into the light so that the people can see that those would deign to tell us how to live our lives don’t actually know any better than us.
Thinking of Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
In this case it would seem that the incompetence has overruled the mendacity.
Reblogged this on luvsiesous and commented:
HOW?
Why does our progressive infrastructure attract so many crooks? Is it just the big money? Or, is it the culture and the big money?
What do you think?
Wayne
Luvsiesous.com