Här återger jag ett mail som Gary North erhöll för ett par veckor sedan. Det går inte att verifiera om det är sant, men man kan fråga sig om det är på detta sätt som moderna byråkratier fungerar idag? Helt omöjligt är det inte.

Det är alltså inte Gary North själv som skriver, utan en av hans läsare.

The information I provide here is not my chief concern, it is that I believe it to be systemic throughout the Federal Government.

I am the Project Manager for an InfoSys Company at a Navy Base. We are responsible for the maintenance and operation of the entire base's network, computing, satellite, and hardware cable plant - over 3,000 network nodes, 120 servers, etc. The story begins one year ago today - I asked the government to allow my engineers to evaluate systems for Y2K as they did their routine service calls. Identify those noncompliant, advise users of the avenue to take for compliance, e.g., upgrades, new systems, bios updates, whatever.

Apparently by making this proposal, I tread on someone's rice bowl and was immediately and severely admonished for sticking my nose in where it did not belong and was not welcome. The government person in charge of Y2K for the base absolutely exploded at me in an email. He stated among other things, that the users on that base were plenty smart enough to download tests and develop their own remediation plans.

Time marched on, and we watched helplessly as the "plan" for the base unfolded and was "implemented". I was allowed to do the menial task of registering all the "servers" and network hardware components into the government Y2K database. As you register the component, you have to pick from one of three DOD approved types of applicability 1) Mission Critical System, 2) Mission Support System, and 3) Infrastructure - failure of which would produce minor inconvenience.

Now this is a military base, although home to some 1400 civil serpents. When I registered all of the equipment I used class 2, Mission Support, since without the servers and the network system no communications could transpire between the base at-large, and the fleet operations. My favorite government "toad", the Y2K man, came to visit me in person this time, to raise holy hell that I had classified the systems as Mission Support, instead of Infrastructure. That meant that they would have to have the systems remediated by November 30, 1998. He demanded that I go back in and change all of the classifications. I refused. Told him that it was "his" database, he had access to it, and should the classifications be changed, he, not I, would have to do it.

The entire base Y2K Assessment plan was never implemented until mid November when it was discovered that the whole program had fallen down around their collective ears. The base commander was demanding action and the civil serpents were groaning against the wheel of their overpaid inertia. Finally, the entire base (3,000 systems, plus ancillary equipment), was "assessed" in 7 days in late November. I personally watched as some of the "key government personnel" signed off on equipment without ever testing it (shock of all shocks). Equipment that I had secretly tested previously and knew to be noncompliant.

Things have lain dead since then with the exception of a meeting I was at just before XMAS. The IT Manager told his staff that the systems on the base were not really Infrastructure but were, in fact, Mission Critical.

That certain units within the fleet had been unable to deploy the last time we had an outage at the base for several days due to Hurricane Georges. A fact bemoaned by all the government attendees. Hand wringing, what we gonna do, guess we'll just have to keep our paperwork the way it is and work on that stuff when we have time. There is no doubt in my military mind (retired Col.), that the base will not be fully compliant by the Year 2000. That at least some of the mission critical systems will, in fact, fail. Again, as I said in the beginning.... I really don't care about this base system going down (would probably improve productivity DOD wide for the duration). My concern is that it demonstrates an attitude which is pervasive throughout the Federal government. Lies, deceit, protection of the position.

For this reason, there is no question in my mind that most major governmental systems will fail before or during Y2K. The positive part of it for me is that I will be staying home with my family. That will be my notice of resignation.

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