‘Gag Order’

Simply trying to have ALL information come from ONE source — that’s the only way to run any business or organization – if you have 20 people making comments everything becomes confused — this is how businesses and organizations have run for many years. This is not a story, it’s a way to run a large organization efficiently.

Another federal agency RUINED by the Bush Administration and the GOP. The list grows longer: Defense Department (Halliburton, anyone?), the Justice Department (Goodling, Sampson, et. al.), F.E.M.A (“Heck of a Job” Brownie), the EPA… Top that off with a weakening of the US Constitution, Separation of Powers, an attempt to dismantle Habeus Corpus and the picture becomes quite clear. The Bush Administration came not to run the Government, but to destroy it.

just another example of the most corrupt government in the history of this countrry.

The EPA does not want the public to know
how much control over ever industry it will have if the current bill from the EPA is passed. If the public were to find out it would kill the bill. The amount of illegal actions the EPA is taking were to be exposed, heads would roll

Xianstudio is right, but only in a general sense. The problem here is that the Bush administration has gamed the system every way possible. Take today’s Justice Department partisan hiring practice revelations (well not exactly a surprise) as the latest example. Nixon was a choir boy compared to these folks.

Another day, another 5 or 6 scandals…

This is another example of the media misconstruing a policy letter. It is general policy in any government agency, and in corporate entities to insist that individuals go through the chain-of-command before trying to answer any questions relating to oversight. This isn’t an attempt to “hide” information or to “gag” employees. This is normal corporate and government agency policy in place anywhere in the world. The boss always wants to provide answers. From Boeing to Starbucks, individual employees not in management positions don’t answer questions from either the media or even higher management. The boss always answers any questions. Hogwash story, the reporter is making “news”. And I’m no Bush fan…but Bush doesn’t make agency policy where inspections are concerned. Why is everything directly his “fault”… this is just the equivalent of “bomb throwing”… get real, grow up. Get Bush on what he “really” does… there’s enough to choose from… this incomprehensible rant/chant doesn’t help anyone. Next year, it’ll be the “evil Obama” administration… Geez!!! This kind of stuff is so yawn inspiring! Tired crappola!

EPA has a history of both unduly protecting businesses and persecuting businesses.
Like with any government agency, question it. Also, do some research for yourself before you accept what they tell you.

Whatever happened to honesty in government George Bush promised? I guess he ment dishonesty because it’s so pervasive in the most corrupt/criminal administration ever!

To instruct employees to ignore the IG and GAO is wrong. The GAO was set up by the will of the people and to obstruct the job of the GAO is criminal. The people who think it is O.K. to not directly respond to the IG or GAO are the problem with our system. I guess accountability and the law are optional for many Americans. Very few have the courage to stand up to the injustice in an organization and most sell out because it is in a “policy letter”. This is not how you run a business or large organization; this is how you run a dictatorship. Even Microsoft, Exxon and GE have shareholders to account to. Transparence is the hallmark of America, but not for the Government. For those that are confused; acts of congress supersed any directive from the head of a business or governmental agency. It’s ashamed the number of people who shrug there constitutional responsible because some lawyer writes a policy letter.

Having had a good deal of investigative experience dealing with agency personnel in a government capacity, including OIGs and other outside investigative departments, I can assured you that this is not the normal mandate of any OIG body. They are supposed to be an internal unit of an agency that operates independent and without restrictions on how they conduct their internal investigations or whom they investigate. The obvious reasons is to insure unbiased, unfiltered, and proper investigations without regards to political or other considerations. Any agency head that forbids employees to cooperate with the agency’s own OIG is in fact impeading and circumventing the investigation and attempting to defeat the integrity of such investigations. They are in fact acting contrary to their responsiblities as agency heads and should be immediately removed. The excuse given is simply ridiculous.

The Inspector General’s Office needs the freedom to speak to EPA employees to understand if something illegal is happening. This directive seems to be a gag order to keep staff from speaking about recent policy decisions. In my experience, EPA staffers I’ve met are very liberal environmentalists who are trapped inside their agency. Given a chance, I am sure they would love to tell the truth about what goes on inside the EPA.

I think samiam is more in line with reality here.
The policy of ducking the IG and DAO is illegal, but has been winked at for 3 or more decades.
The EPA like most Government bureaucracies are Kingmakers– they decide which groups (businesses in this case) live or die using the rules of their realm.
What is now happening is that this and other standard practice governmental schadenfreudes are being yanked from the shadows to be used as ammunition against the GOP and the Republicans by guilt of association.
The problem is that Republican establishment is in reality by and large Democrat if not Socialist leaning.
And 90 percent of the hot potato political problems in this country are created solely by the agents of the Democratic Party covert or otherwise.

Childish Mike, Childish and inane.
Wait… that’s the stereotype most liberals rail against but ironically wind up fostering.
Bush is by deed, not by word is a
democrat… the tax breaks and war are exceptions to prove the rule.
The Patriot Act undid some of the damage of Kennedy’s, Johnson’s, Carter’s and Clinton’s reigns but added another layer of bureaucracy.
I’m no fan of Bush or Mccain. But they are far and away better than the past or remaining alternatives. Romney, Thompson, Tancredo and Hunter– I would have voted for any of the four.
But I have to Vote Against Obama out of sound judgment (Replaces Common Sense which is no longer common) because of the friends he keeps and how he keeps them.
The fact that he’s also jockeying for an exponential increase in bureaucracy he’s pushing for at the expense of some most valuable assets as a Country pounds the last nail in coffin of thought of supporting him.
The Healthcare system, financial markets, and our Armed Forces would be stripmined for the capital to support his psycho-social programs.

What do you expect from the most corrupt President in 232 years of this country’s history and the most corrupt administration in 232 years..Just be thankful this festoring, cancerous, scab of a President only has 174 more days left in the White HOuse and he will be gone..And not a day to soon.. 99 more days until election days.

Typical Bush administration ploy: eviscerate a regulatory agency, deny that you are doing same, then stonewall any agency lawfully empowered to investigate such non-feasance. To Bush and the neo-cons, laws ONLY apply to the people NOT in power – that is, to the “poor” folk. If you have enough money, laws do not apply to you in the eyes of this administration.

I don’t like the way the EPA has put this forth, but what can I as a single person do?
In this country we choose the best political candidate for the job, but we don’t ever pick the right person for the job. McCain and Obama are good candidates. This is proven by how far the two have gotten. I don’t feel, that either of the two are the right person. The right person isn’t put into office most likely for one of two reasons; he/she doesn’t have the enormous funds to get his/her voice heard by the masses, he/she doesn’t want the job entirely. There are others, such as playing the political game, and the worst one of them all, Americans wanting appeasement, and the all important American Entitlement Syndrome. The point is, the right person will never get the job because of the way the political system works now. It’s too corrupt, and secretive. But we, the American people, have made it that way, and continue to allow it to work that way. And untill the rest of the voting population actually votes, it probably won’t change, or when we become a true democratic society it won’t change. Simply because we as Americans just don’t care enough to get off our collective ##### and change it.