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Deep Harm commented on the blog post US Whistleblowers on Being Targeted by the Secret Security State
Here’s the last message I received from management.
Please flag any further issues with MSPB and continue to contact us
here as well if there are unresolved issues on Firedoglake itself.My chief concern is for the welfare of individuals who lack the resources of big NGOs to defend themselves. The issues I raised are fair, documented and presented in good faith. They do not, as far as I know, violate any site rules. The “source documents” you mention include personal correspondence from whistleblowers that were never intended for publication, and those are presented in a negative context that extends to material posted on other websites you run and emails you send to who knows how many people. That kind of thing can leave people feeling emotionally raped and it’s no less damaging when the material is distributed across several locations rather than one. You’re a bright person with impressive skills. Please use them for good–not to hurt not people who have been very badly hurt already. That’s all I have to say. Now, I’ll move on.
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Deep Harm commented on the blog post US Whistleblowers on Being Targeted by the Secret Security State
If I have ever, in fact, broken a Firedoglake rule, no one has said which rule that is. I was agreeable to a truce, but when you and your associate immediately began sending me nasty emails, I concluded that nothing had changed.
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Deep Harm commented on the blog post US Whistleblowers on Being Targeted by the Secret Security State
I sent you my email address and telephone number, Kevin, but you haven’t responded. One has only to read the interlinked websites, here, here, here, and here, here, to get an idea of the antipathy toward the Project on Government Oversight, the Government Accountability Project, the Whistleblower Support Fund, the NOFEAR Coalition. Some of criticisms are justified, I think; but others I know are based on misleading claims and innuendo. My observations are based on more than a decade of volunteer work with whistleblowers, whistleblower groups and NGOs like the Whistleblower Support Fund. One doesn’t put in that kind of effort without a strong and sincere commitment to helping whistleblowers.
What troubles me most is the way MSPB Watch goes after whistleblowers (here, here, here, including here), who have disagreed with MSPB Watch’s goals or tactics. MSPB Watch has even published the identity behind this username, here, after I contradicted claims he made on Firedoglake (and linked to that from Firedoglake). Additional documentation that has been published has since gone “private.”)
What you won’t find online are the emails in which MSPB Watch and associates repeatedly insult, accuse and threaten whistleblowers. I’ve been on the receiving end of those emails, and I know how unfair, even cruel, they can be. MSPB Watch accuses NGOs of being “goons>/a>.” I don’t see that. What I see is MSPB Watch and associates using public and private intimidation to try to control the speech of others. It’s fine to hold NGO’s accountable, but not when one relies on misrepresentation to make one’s case and harassment to gather a following.
Whistleblowers sacrifice a lot in protecting the public. Many lose their jobs, their homes and their marriages. They endure threats, smears and emotional abuse. Many suffer chronic illnesses. They do not deserve to be harassed because they refuse to march in MSPB Watch’s parade. I have no desire to infringe on MSPB Watch’s speech. I just want MSPB Watch to show humanity for those who don’t share his views.
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Deep Harm commented on the blog post US Whistleblowers on Being Targeted by the Secret Security State
To find people who target whistleblowers, one need look no farther than Firedoglake. Firedoglake’s MSPB Watch smears whistleblowers (including Jess Radack), attacks organizations that support whistleblowers, laughingly exposed a whistleblower’s identity, and violates site rules. But, no one at Firedoglake seems to care. Why is that?
