[Superman]

This talk of Homeland Security has me thinking. Again, it is my observation that the Bush "administration" (not really an accurate term, but rather just a standard title) is perhaps not made up of a bunch of guys who believe in gubmit and I think it's fair to say they have not spent their careers learning and thinking about how to manage a public agency.

Rather, they are (with the exception of Dubya himself) successful businessmen. And the thought is "Well, how hard can it be compared to private sector management?"

I have worked in both the public sector and the private sector and can report unequivocally that public sector management is MUCH more difficult. MUCH. To start, imagine having a Board of Directors (legislature or Congress) that is split between people who favor your work and those who hate your guts and are trying to kill your funding and your mandate. Add to that the fact that every document in your office and every hand note is a public record and for the price of a postage stamp, the people who hate you can send you into a pubic record search tailspin with a short time clock. Whatever else you need to do......needs to be set aside in favor of this public record request. Imagine further that your decisions impact a wide range of other organizations and businesses, and that they and their associations are well funded and have excellent attorneys in case you fail to cross a "t" or dot an "i."

And there's more. But that's a start. This is offered in a spirit of information-sharing. I suspect there is little sensitivity among a few of you as to the peculiarities of public sector administration. It's a longshot, but perhaps the above information will inform. Regardless, I'll keep trying. Won't I?