Close Enough for Government Work

Today we have two examples of your government at work. Specifically, it's about how otherwise well-meaning bureaucrats sometimes get a little lax in record-keeping, leading to public relations gaffes with wide-ranging consequences.

• As United States passports are now required to enter Canada and Mexico (and maybe in the near future Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico), there is a backlog of applications, leading to situations where security might be compromised. Two contract workers employed by the State Department were let go for allegedly peeking into the passports of Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain (at least it was bi-partisan). Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice apologized to the presidential candidates, and the whole thing is under review. But that's not all. There are reports that the passports of Hollywood celebrities have been peeked at, too (Well, you know that most of them don't roll with the Bush administration). It sounds like somebody got a bit curious and did this just for kicks. But it's also possible that the federal government doesn't do enough to screen out employees with more sinister motives, such as using other people's Social Security numbers for their own purposes. Something to think about the next time you're planning a trip to Toronto or Cancun.
• Sara Jane Olson had been living a quiet life for two decades as a wife and mother in St. Paul, Minnesota. Then the TV show America's Most Wanted, through an FBI tip, outed her as fugitive-from-justice Kathleen Soliah--onetime member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, whose best-known captive was Patricia Hearst. Olson/Soliah skipped California in 1975 after being charged with attempting to bomb police cars, and with the shooting death of a Sacramento bank customer during a robbery attempt. She was convicted of both crimes and sent to prison. Recently, Olson was released, only to be intercepted at Los Angeles International Airport and sent back to prison. According to California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a clerical error in figuring out Olson's sentence resulted in her leaving prison a year before she was supposed to. Olson's attorney isn't buying it, citing pressure from police and victims rights groups in keeping her locked up. Olson's sentence now has another year to run. But this incident could mean she'll never leave prison again.

And what have we learned? To anyone who has been a victim of bureaucratic snafus caused by incompetent employees, you have our deepest sympathise. And a warning to everybody else.