NOT EXACTLY WHAT DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE ALL ABOUT

As Japan works to contain what could be one of the worst nuclear disasters we have ever seen much has been said about how the Japanese government has not been forthcoming with information about the magnitude of the breach and its containment efforts. If you think such government responses only happen outside the United States you are sadly mistaken. A few years after 9/11 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's falsely reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the September 11, 2001 attacks were "without question conscience-shocking." The court also found the facts "support an allegation of a violation of the substantive due process right to be free from official government policies that increase the risk of bodily harm" by Whitman's misstatements regarding the air quality of the affected area. A law suit by affected responders against Christie Whitman was thrown out of court as it appears that a judge did not want to set a dangerous precedent that would make public officials fear making public statements in the future. The second U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that even though Whitman made comments reassuring people about the safety around Ground Zero based on conflicting information and reassurances from the White House she could not be held responsible. They went on to state that legal remedies are not always available for every instance of deficient governmental performance. So today we have responders and residents sick and dying because they trusted our government. We have people dying from 9/11 cancer related illnesses that are not covered by the Zadroga Bill. So just a word of advice. If things get worse in Japan and our government says not to worry I would advise that you think twice. The courts have basically given the government permission to lie and not take responsibility for the impacts of these lies. Funny thing if people lie to the Government they go to jail. If Government lies to the people nothing happens. I don’t think that this is what Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton and crew had in mind in 1776.