Ah, home again, home again, bloggily speaking, that is.

There were very many factors contributing to my having suspended posting here for so long, and I’ll spare you the list and details.  I’ll also indulge the pleasure of mentioning one or two, however, and not least was the magnificent 2008 election.  I put in some volunteer time for Obama, which accounts for some of the hours I wasn’t writing here.  The election results are what I hoped for, and I’m certain we will see some major, positive changes in federal bureaucracies in the near future.

I am just as certain, though, that no matter which party is in power, or which superbly ethical person is in the biggest of big chairs, wherever there is a bureaucracy there also is the opportunity for abuse of power, and, of course, people who will avail themselves of that opportunity.  However confident I may be that we’re on the cusp of a wonderful upswing, I’m under no delusions that we’ll get to astonishing levels of transparency and accountability any time soon.  I rather think that we will need to put forth considerable attention and caution to avoid being too grateful for small measures.

I’ve also been–and still am–involved in what I’ll call only a “bureaucratic situation.” It’s fairly complex, in that it involves both corporate and government bureaucracies, and it is very gratifying, for the good bureaucrats involved, while on the other side it’s sort of morbidly fascinating to see the gyrations of the not-so-good bureaucrats.  It’s not a story that I can tell in full at this point, which is no huge loss since it’s the same old same old, as far as the negative bureaucratic patterns go.  I will certainly enjoy praising the good bureaucrats, however, when the story reaches resolution.

So I’m back and trolling for stories about bureaucracies again, both good and bad.  Feel free to send them my way.  My primary focus is still paying attention to, and getting reform in, the lower levels of bureaucracies. Those are the non-sexy, non-glamorous, under-the-radar agencies and bureaucrats that I think form the foundations, and the bureaucratic breeding grounds, if you will, that give rise to such egregious bureaucratic abuses as we’ve seen the last eight years.  And aside from contributing to big abuses at upper levels, they do plenty of damage on their own, too often with absolute impunity.

I’ll be taking another, much shorter hiatus in a couple of weeks, owing to the long-planned installation of two new knees, but generally speaking I’ll be posting again a few times a week on a regular basis.  And a couple of people who have indicated an interest in posting here may also show up one of these not too distant days.

Here’s to a much brighter future (after we survive this economic crisis), with much improved transparency and accountability at all levels of bureaucracy.

Peace.

Deborah Alicen