(Washington, DC) Despite wild allegations of fraud and impropriety, dozens of whistleblowers and advocates descended on Washington, DC for an annual Civil and Human Rights conference in the Nation's Capital. ACORN 8 and Drum Major's for Truth (DM4T) co-hosted the Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights on Capitol Hill, last week.
Over the last eight years members from the Make it Safe Coalition (MISC) have arranged an assembly of whistleblowers in Washington, DC each year for an annual conference originally known as Washington Whistleblower's Week. The Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights is unique because it seeks to bridge the gap between the traditional "whistleblower" organizations, and the modern civil rights and global human rights movements.
Michael McCray, summit host and organizer explains, "Regrettably, some groups actually boycotted the Whistleblower Summit this year, which is so unfortunate because many of those people actually need the support and solidarity that the Whistleblower Summit provides.
McCray continues, "And there are other outspoken activists who reject the trans-partisan nature of the Whistleblower Summit. But the summit is not about Left vs Right, it is about Right vs Wrong-- so in addition to Liberals and Progressives, we also invite Libertarians and Conservatives to participate in the conference."
Senator John Boozman (R-AR) discussed the need for the Left and Right to come together and find common ground at least regarding waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government; and Representative Elijah Cumming (D-MD) give a rousing speech emphasizing the need for increased whistleblower protections. Also present was Robert MacLean, Whistleblower and U.S. Air Marshal, who's public disclosures of deep budget cuts embarrassed the government but thwarted plans for a second and more ambitious 9/11 attack by Al-Qaeda. MacLean is preparing for the first United States Supreme Court challenge to whistleblower rights and protections under the new WPEA.
Tom Devine, Legal Director for the Government Accountability Project, commented, "This law is a landmark paradigm shift of legal rights, but it would be dishonest to say that any government whistleblower is safe. Since the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act's passage, the Federal Circuit has ruled against whistleblowers in all final decisions. Unlike corporate whistleblowers, federal employees cannot seek justice through a jury trial. There is no legally safe option for Intelligence Community workers to challenge misconduct within the system, leaving media leaks as the only alternative to professional suicide. There is no protection against retaliatory criminal investigations or prosecutions, often more chilling than job reprisals. Our work is not over."
Honoring the 25th Anniversary of the Passage of the Whistleblower Protection Act, this year's conference theme is--Is It Right?
"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but we must take it because our conscience tells us that it is right."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
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