Editorial: Whistle-blower protection

We remember well how quickly legislators sprung into action this time last year when the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for local governments to take private property by eminent domain and sell it back to others in the private sector for redevelopment and profit.

Though the high court ruled that could only happen in cases where the public stood to benefit, the fundamental belief in freedom in most of us snapped to attention.

We believe the same sort of instinct on the part of citizens and lawmakers is in order again. This time the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government employees who witness wrongdoing and come forward to expose waste and corruption have no First Amendment freedom-of-speech protection. In other words, they are liable to retaliation by their employers.

A prime local example of whistle-blower and abuse: Safety director Ernie Scott sued the Lee County School Board in 2003, saying he was let go after he spoke out about hazards such as fire code violations and exposure to asbestos and mold that were rampant countywide. In January 2005, the district agreed to pay Scott $565,000.

Syndicated columnist Ann McFeatters has compiled a list of broader revelations that citizens owe to insider whistle-blowers, including: the Department of Veterans Affairs let confidential files on 26 million veterans get stolen; President Bush signed 750 orders saying he was secretly reserving the right not to abide by congressional legislation he publicly signed; the National Security Agency engages in domestic surveillance; the administration's Medicare drug plan is costing hundreds of billions of dollars more than it was supposed to; how former lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced lawmakers; how Tom DeLay fiddled with redistricting to benefit his party; that the FBI ignored information about the Sept. 11 hijackers; and that the government knew the levees supposed to protect New Orleans were inadequate.

Dreadful.

Your tax dollars have lost a powerful ally. Those who seek to divert government's mission from its original intent of serving the public are doing happy dances.

Because U.S. Supreme Court decisions cannot be appealed, that leaves us to turn to state and federal legislators. The public needs a measure of protection at the grass-roots level for when true public servants see intimidation and manipulation and are compelled to speak out. Their speech must be protected anew.