.....Politics 101....How to Abuse Political Power.

Remember John Dean, Nixon's White House lawyer that
testified against the President?

Let me tell you a story about John Dean and how he became
the personal lawyer to the President of the Unitied States.

Please bear with me, as this is on-topic to all things Nasa.


John Dean failed his bar exam the first two times he took it.
So he heard that the test was easier is DC, so he went
there and finally passed it...barely. He was fired from his
very first job after college after working only months for
the firm. He had been applying for jobs at various law
firms for some time but with no success.

At this point, according to his book, he really didn't think
he would have a career in law. No one was calling and
his resume was less than desirable for even an
entry level position.

Of course, at this point, it didn't occur to him to knock on the
front door of the White House and ask if the President needed
a new personal attorney. The reason should be obvious.

Then VOILA!! Like MAGIC!

He got a phone call one evening, it was the White House.
"Do you want to be the Presidents' personal lawyer?"
the voice on the phone asked.

Ah...well...stammering a bit at the shock, Dean replied....sure!

"OK, be at the White House ....tomorrow....morning at eight.

"Tomorrow?" Dean replied in, I'm sure, complete incredulity.

"OK"

Who the heck is John Dean to have such a job????

So John Dean, in his excitement, showed up early at seven am.
Shortly thereafter a memo appeared on his desk, It mentioned
this small time magazine, Scanlon's monthly, that had been
critical of the President. The memo also suggested the magazine
was having some financial difficulty and maybe Dean could
call the IRS and ask around.

Voila! One month later no magazine. Out of business.

It was at this point, on his first day at his new job, just why
he was hired to such a prestigious position at the White House.

It was because if you're a corrupt politician, and you want some dirty
work done, you go out and hire some yes-man who is so thankful
for the job they'll do ....ANYTHING AT ALL.....to keep it.


So...who the heck is Michael Griffin????

Someone who is devoted to colonizing Mars.
Someone that has seven degrees and has
never been involved in politics.

Someone that..

.......said he would not shift "one thin dime" of funding from science to
human spaceflight, but less than six months later, in February 2006,
NASA revealed a budget that reduced space research funding by about 25%,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Griffin

Someone that...

.....In 1993, Michael Griffin wrote a letter criticizing certain problems in
the design review process for the International Space Station. According
to one report, his career suffered as a result


Someone that has learned his lesson about saying no.



Jonathan

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