June 11, 2002

10:30 AM

Special Agent Crowley Speaks Up (NYTimes link , normal rules apply) Ladies like this are the real heroes in our country and she has something to say before Congress about the new Bush agency. Ms. Dowd agrees and said, "The shape of the government is not as important as the policy of the government."
posted by nofundy (8 comments total)

Err, it's 'Rowley'... Special Agent Crowley sounds like a satanist working on the X-files...
posted by kfury at 10:55 AM on June 11, 2002

What!? Maureen Dowd agrees with a critic of the Bush administration? Absolutely inconceivable.

It's kind of funny that she uses Mueller's "every division had a separate computer system until a year or two ago." bit when Rowley brushed off computers with "I think upgrading our computer system would be nice. The capability to do these kind of searches and pull up related information would be nice. "

I watched her testimony and was amazed that she was taken seriously. Her complaints are no different than any other subordinate in any other bureaucracy at any company of any significant size. These morons on the committee were listening like this was all new to them.

It just goes to show you how out of touch our politicans are with the average working stiff.

P.S. There is some juvenille humor in the spellchecker suggesting "manure" as a replacement for Maureen.
posted by revbrian at 11:59 AM on June 11, 2002

Apologies for the misspelled name.

I have never been a big fan of Dowd (she hates everybody) but I thought she was right on in this article.

The lard reference was clever as it relates to "Crisco" Ashcroft.

The thrust of the article, in my opinion comes from these two quotes:

The blunt Midwesterner with the oversized glasses suggested that the disarray was less about modernity than the ancient flaws of ego and ambition — "careerists" with a "don't rock the boat" attitude that hampered aggressive investigations. (Mr. Bush's plan would do nothing to disempower them.)

And the quote in the FPP from Maureen. As I've often said here in Mefi the problem lies not in the agents but in the policies imposed on the agents from above. I truly believe our agents, our people in the military, our firemen, our post office workers, our policemen and our public school teachers are the heroes of America and deserve our admiration and respect. The problem lies at the top of the dogpile and it stinks.
posted by nofundy at 12:28 PM on June 11, 2002

I truly believe our agents, our people in the military, our firemen, our post office workers, our policemen and our public school teachers are the heroes of America and deserve our admiration and respect.

You running for office or something?

I think Sturgeon's Law applies to these professions as well as it applies anywhere. But I certainly do support and appreciate those who perform well in these fields with dedication, commitment and skill. I only wish they were more plentiful.
posted by rushmc at 12:51 PM on June 11, 2002

Naw, not running for office but on the flipside I could have ranted about how much I despise the greasy, greedy, pandering *&^%$ politicos that have taken charge lately and are doing their level best to hide their incompetency by dragging herrings by the whore press to distract them.

It's about the policies of the Bushit regime! That, my friend, is my point.
posted by nofundy at 1:10 PM on June 11, 2002

I agree that the basic equation of teachers/firemen/etc. > politicians is virtually indisputable; however, I think this has a lot more to do with the malfeasance tolerated in politics by the citizenry than the inherent natures of the various roles.
posted by rushmc at 2:25 PM on June 11, 2002

Rowley brushed off computers with "I think upgrading our computer system would be nice. The capability to do these kind of searches and pull up related information would be nice. "

Rowley hardly "brushed off" the computer search issue. The context was a question about whether she thought "more money and more computers will solve the problems at the FBI." She simply noted that many of the suggestions she's made (e.g., updating field manuals to give "clear, concise guidance to agents working intelligence") don't involve new equipment or large amounts of money, adding, yeah, a fix for the search function would help. Rowley is focused on bureaucratic cowardice and ineptitude; that's where she says the real problem lies. From her memo:

"It's also a well known fact that the FBI Agents Association has complained for years about the disincentives facing those entering the FBI management career path which results in very few of the FBI's best and brightest choosing to go into management. Instead the ranks of FBI management are filled with many who were failures as street agents."

Wonderful. That said, the fact that FBI agents can't do qualifed searches of two or more words in their own databases is pathetic. Or hilarious, I can't decide.

Btw, does anyone know the name of the "Supervisory Special Agent at FBIHQ" who deliberately obstructed the Minnesota agents' investigations (and was then later promoted, according to Rowley)? Seems to me that any investigation into 9/11 conspiracies should start with that person.
posted by mediareport at 9:22 AM on June 12, 2002

Found it. David Frasca.
posted by mediareport at 9:36 AM on June 12, 2002