The Jenius commends Kevin Shockey for an incisive post concerning the recent Governor's visit to a Microsoft "event" in Washington D.C. http://www.x-cito.com/?p=63 Kevin sticks to dissecting the speech itself (to which he provides a link) and The Jenius cannot help but agree with Kevin's analysis.
In addition, Kevin is taking more steps towards Making Our Voice Heard. Here's where you can find a list of Senators, who need to be educated on just about everything, but We should stick to just casting light in their darkness about Knowledge Economy issues and its importance to Our Future: http://www.x-cito.com/?page_id=64
Linguistic notes: The term "senator" is derived from the Latin word senex, and is also the root for the word "senescence," meaning "aging, decaying, degeneration, decline" and is often applied to vegetation.
Isn't Latin precise?
The Jenius finds it interesting that 10 of the 27 Senators do not have e-mails listed in Kevin's directory. It is standard procedure for all Senators to receive an e-mail address as part of the "services" they receive in office as the highest-paid legislators in all the United States. Talk about wasted money...
Now, the problem with 10 of 27 Senators not listing their e-mails is two-fold: Either the Senator in question chooses not have it listed (and there is NO valid reason--NONE--for not having it listed) or the e-government "infrastructure" is virtually useless. (That, Jenius loyalists, is a pun. Enjoy!) It is possible, if not highly likely, that both are valid.
To you Senators with the stupid arrogance of not listing your e-mails: We pay your bloated salaries and benefits, so you work for Us. For better or for worse, We elected you, and though We may regret it every day of your term, you owe Us service. You are not "your own boss," you are not "executives," you are public servants, or in terms you can grasp, servants of and to the public.
Unlike a private citizen, who can do as he or she pleases unless forbidden by law, you, puny Senator, are forbidden to do anything except what you are allowed to do by law. You hadn't thought about that, right? Of course not. To you, thinking has an elusive quality.
As a public servant in a democracy, you are required by law to be accessible to constituents and citizens. That means going to your office, being present at public hearings, reading your mail, answering your phone (or having someone do so; just pick one of the 20-something people you employ, half of whom might actually exist) and listening to your voice mail. And, because the technology is there, using e-mail.
If you don't know how, learn. Pre-schoolers can do it so you are somewhat qualified. And surely someone in your circle of real employees can handle it. Even you can't hire a whole tribe of total incompetents, though you seem to consider this goal "The Holy Grail of Senatorial Achievement."
As for the government "infrastructure," what's the point of having an information channel without information? As a start, ALL e-mails for all personnel, from the Governor's Office down to Second Assistant Bootlicker, at the State, and Municipal levels, should be available. This is not optional. An information network demands the largest number of connections possible. Not providing this information because of personal whims, political spite or ignorance is to defeat the purpose of the whole effort, a government specialty that long ago should have been rooted out like the cancer it is.
And what is the best part of this mini-lecture? That the Senators who need it most are not likely to ever see it. That doesn't matter: they'll find out eventually.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
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