In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Saddam so terrified and terrorized his own generals and assistants that they always said "yes." In the end Saddam was honestly surprised that America won the war so easily ("I've been betrayed" screamed the despot who would have killed anyone who had mentioned the truth).
Bush is doing the same thing, though in a more civilized manor, in his administration. I believe he honestly thinks everything is great in Iraq, because that is what his people tell him.
Rumsfeld meanwhile continues his push to make the Department of Defense his personal playground, kicking out all who disagree.
Is It Fresh Blood, or a Putsch?
In the middle of the ongoing Iraqi guerilla war, with more military actions awaiting, the new U.S. Army uniformed leadership has forced at least six senior generals into early retirement, with another half-dozen earmarked for the same treatment in the near.
What is unusual about this development is that no Army or DoD official has cited the cause for the widespread ousters, and there has been no evidence of misconduct or performance failures indicated as a cause for the retirements. An Army spokesman on Aug. 4 declined to comment on the issue on grounds that none of the six alleged retirements had been announced formally.
If there are valid issues behind the decision of incoming Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker to mandate these retirements, it is unnerving that the personnel decisions should join the increasing ranks of "national security" secrets.
...
To fully comprehend what is going on, it is important to note that this is not the first incident of its type. Beginning last year, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld effectively decapitated the Army's topmost leadership. First, he announced the replacement for Gen. Eric Shinseki as Army chief a full year before his term was slated to end, in what many observers saw as a ploy to sideline Shinseki from the ongoing struggle over the Army's future. Then on Apr. 25, Rumsfeld fired Secretary of the Army Thomas White, subsequently announcing that Secretary of the Air Force James G. Roche would replace White.
Following that, Rumsfeld went looking for a new Army Chief of Staff from the roster of active-duty generals and came up empty. He then drafted Schoomaker from retirement for the top Army post, following the reported refusal of three active-duty Army generals - including former Central Command commander Gen. Tommy Franks and Keane himself - to take the position.
Pentagon observers have termed those promotion refusals as a "legal mutiny" by three of the Army generals who deserve much of the credit for the preparation and conduct of the war against Iraq. When senior subordinates refuse to follow their leader - in this case, Secretary Rumsfeld - something is badly wrong. One has to ask, "What do they know?"
In the end we'll end up like Texas (just what Bush promised actually), a land where even the most obvious lie has to be made to save your job.
The 'Zero Dropout' Miracle: Alas! Alack! A Texas Tall Tale
HOUSTON - ROBERT KIMBALL, an assistant principal at Sharpstown High School, sat smack in the middle of the "Texas miracle." His poor, mostly minority high school of 1,650 students had a freshman class of 1,000 that dwindled to fewer than 300 students by senior year. And yet — and this is the miracle — not one dropout to report!
...
A miracle? "A fantasy land," said Dr. Kimball. "They want the data to look wonderful and exciting. They don't tell you how to do it; they just say, 'Do it.' " In February, with the help of Dr. Kimball, the local television station KHOU broke the news that Sharpstown High had falsified its dropout data. That led to a state audit of 16 Houston schools, which found that of 5,500 teenagers surveyed who had left school, 3,000 should have been counted as dropouts but were not. Last week, the state appointed a monitor to oversee the district's data collection and downgraded 14 audited schools to the state's lowest rating.
Not very miraculous sounding, but here is the intriguing question: How did it get to the point that veteran principals felt they could actually claim zero dropouts? "You need to understand the atmosphere in Houston," Dr. Kimball said. "People are afraid. The superintendent has frequent meetings with principals. Before they go in, the principals are really, really scared. Panicky. They have to make their numbers."
Pressure? Some compare it to working under the old Soviet system of five-year plans. In January, just before the scandal broke, Abelardo Saavedra, deputy superintendent, unveiled Houston's latest mandates for the new year. "The districtwide student attendance rate will increase from 94.6 percent to 95 percent," he wrote. "The districtwide annual dropout rate will decrease from 1.5 percent to 1.3 percent."
...
A shortage of resources to track departing students? No "unknowns" allowed? What to do? "Make it up," Dr. Kimball said. "The principals who survive are the yes men."
As for those who fail to make their numbers, it is termination time, one of many innovations championed by Dr. Paige as superintendent here from 1994 to 2001. He got rid of tenure for principals and mandated that they sign one-year contracts that allowed dismissal "without cause" and without a hearing.
On the other hand, for principals who make their numbers, it is bonus time. Principals can earn a $5,000 bonus, district administrators up to $20,000. At Sharpstown High alone, Dr. Kimball said, $75,000 in bonus money was issued last year, before the fictitious numbers were exposed.
Why does George and Dick hate America so much that they want to turn us into a third world nation of corrupt officials and farsical official reports of "improvements." In George Bush's vision of America you may live in a shack in a 100 square mile shanty town, but Fox News will report the President's Better Home initiative was a success and that all Americans live in mansions; and you won't be surprised, as just yesterday you were told that the unsanitary putrid water you drink was champagne.
- rob 12:42 PM - [PermaLink] -
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