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Peter Quinn Resigns
An anonymous reader writes "Andy Updegrove is reporting on his blog that Peter Quinn, CIO of Massachusetts and focus of the recent media feeding frenzy, has decided to step down. Quinn stressed that his departure does not signal any major changes in policy nor was he forced to resign. He did say that a large part of the decision was made by the Boston Globe's unfounded (and quickly disproven) charges."
The government seems really committed to its legacy information systems. Someone in a position of power finally decides to do something and is penalized for it. This is a perfect example of what's wrong with the government at all levels.
The Boston Globe's having a bad run lately. First that false story about Homeland Security checking up on library borrowing habits, and now this BS. If anyone should be gone, it's their editor.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Now the accusations don't even need to stick. Simply whine enough and you will get your way and the other guy will cave. As this pattern is repeated over and over again the spine will become obsolete.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
Get out of the Kitchen.
As the old saying goes. Looks like he took it to heart. Smart too, it's never good to let the cult of personality interfere with policy. While I'm sad to see him go, I realize why he did it, and understand the need to step aside so the argument isn't about him. I'm sure he will be working from the sidelines as best he can. I wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
I think it would be more accurate to compare what's happening to him as a low key Swift-boating (like what they did to Kerry)
It's important to remember that it doesn't matter how true the story is, what matters is the impression that sticks with readers.
If you tell people a lie, the ones who want to believe it will, probably because it meshes with their preconcieved ideas about the subject. If you tell them later that it was a lie, it doesn't really matter, because their perception of the issue has already been colored.
That's why it is a big deal when a major print outfit cocks up a story. Most readers aren't going to see the correction/retraction/apology unless there is a big fuss over it.
I also don't think it's fair to compare a CEO to Presidents past or present. Most CEOs don't have a PR dept solely dedicated to making them look good, or dedicated to documenting the Christmas antics of their pets for that matter.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Actually, MS is VERY conencted with all this. As soon as the choice was made to go with ODF, MS was hitting all the politicians about this. And who do the pols hit? The media. They will feed them a line of crap. After all, the globe took something and blew it way out. Of course, nobody is asking the question of how did they get ahold of it in the first place? That was not public knowledge. It was obviously an inside trip job against quinn.
Oh, this has MS ALL over it.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Sharing their disgrace should be Fox News reporter James Prendergast for reprinting alarmist, baseless, claims by Microsoft front organization "Americans for Technology Leadership" about OpenDocument, further speading disinformation on the whole topic.
What Peter Quinn and others in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of Information Technology was trying to do was set a sane long-term document strategy for a state government whose records include the oldest constitution in the world (predates the US Constitution.)
If we can't read documents that were generated by proprietary formats only a few years old how can we manage laws, deeds, and other material looking forward decades and centuries? At least with OpenDocument there will be a published freely re-implementable file format that can be widely used as time goes on.
As to MS claiming their formats are "open" they've sung that song over and over yet each time it has proven to be untrue as critical portions of their formats are consistently undocumented or legally encumbered. Heck they can't even reliably read back their own material from products a generation or two prior.
MS's real fear is that by breaking the cycle of locked-in file formats they'll have to compete on a level playing field with alternative products. The truth is it would take them a few days to come up with an OpenDocument converter, the same as they've done for dozens of competing formats.
Whoever hires Peter Quinn will be getting a fellow with considerable professional integrity. Whether his replacement shows the same level of honesty and dedication is a serious concern, particularly considering Governor (& future Presidential candidate) Mitt Romney's willingness to whore out critical appointments in return for special-interest campaign contributions.
I wonder how MS will be funneling the money this time? Will they be washing it through Republican stronghold Staples Corporation or through some other ersatz 'grass roots' astro-turfing front like Americans for Technology Leadership?
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
They have attractive penguin prostitutes now? Awesome! Come on, hook me up, dude.
"I also don't think it's fair to compare a CEO to Presidents past or present. Most CEOs don't have a PR dept solely dedicated to making them look good, or dedicated to documenting the Christmas antics of their pets for that matter."
Well, CEOs don't have to stick their neck out like a president has to. CEOs can basically work in total privacy as far as the company is concerned. Also, CEOs, or rather the companies they work for, *do* have a PR department that makes the company look good.
Historically, the press (legitimate and otherwise) has been tough on the president and other politicians (they can always count on support from the opposing party), but if they are tough on CEOs, they are communists ( unless the CEO really effed up, like with Enron and so forth).
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
Good. An appointed official should not be deciding the only file format that citizens of the state are allowed to use when dealing with the state. The state should use whatever software the majority of their citizens use, and not try and force them to use something else. Public officials do that all the time when they choose Microsoft format. I can't acces the local county government website because it only supports IE.
The appearance of scandal can be just as damaging as the real thing.
Basically, the reporter didn't get in contact with the guy's boss before writing his article and (falsely) implying that there was something about the trips worth investigating.
Might seem like a tempest-in-a-teapot to us, but to the people in that teapot, it was obviously a big enough issue that the guy quit.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
He didn't have to quit.
It's unfortunate he got mistreated this way. The only people he could possibly sue are at the newspaper and they're safe unless he can prove that article was written with malicious intent.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
That's exactly what I was inferring.
It's depressing and somewhat pathetic that the political environment breeds the kind of shoddy, "investigative" journalism that seems to be running rampant, all in the hopes of gaining market share.
I really feel for this guy and the situation he was thrown into, and I hope he gives the "journalist" a nice swift kick in the sack.... financially speaking, of course.
$0.02 (CDN)
Feel free to quote Hoffman all you like because the man has no credibility.
But this highlights yet another tactic of the smear campaigns that are making a mockery of democracy in America. Start with an outlandish and dishonorable claim, such as claiming that Kerry's three Purple Hearts and Bronze medal were undeserved. Wait until the election time rather than disputing their worth in the decades since they were awarded. Then bury the counterclaims in trivia and minutiae that doesn't even have to be true; the barrage of lies and half-truths simply has to be so overwhelming that it overwhelms the common man so they tune out before the protests can be heard. The barrage of nonsense from Hoffman is simply part of this carpet-bombing media tactic.
I'm not American and I couldn't give two hoots about Kerry but I'm disgusted with the way you partisan idiots are destroying your democracy. You are turning democracy into a childish football match, with teams and cheerleaders and points to be scored. Waiting several decades before calling somebody's war record into dispute is pathetic. It is a grave dishonour to somebody who risked their life to serve your country. Everybody who defends these SBV numbskulls should be ashamed and appalled at what you've turned your political system into. Between the partisan hackery and the voting scandals your democratic process is quickly becoming the laughing stock of the world.
Pay attention to people like Jon Stewart and Stop Hurting America. Your country deserves far better than you partisan idiots are providing.
I'm a bit surprised at the thought that the Globe articles had anything to do with Peter J. Quinn's decision to resign.
I've known more than one politician to resign when they realized what really could happen. He had a front-page article explaining that he is a cheat and an embezzler. He probably also realizes that the attention that he gained with his large change to the policy would make him a target for more such stories. Why would he put up with that? I like my job, but if I had the choice to do my job well or be the target for hatchet jobs, I'd quit. I'm not going to do my job poorly just to stay under the radar, nor do I have to put up with unfounded personal attacks.
This is the reason why we only get Kerry and Bush to choose from. Those with integrity run from politics.
Learn to love Alaska