This is about as close as we'll get to what Clinton knows about y2k. His failure to exercise leadership will result in.........well just read below. She makes some unbelievably strong statements here.

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The Y2K and Embedded Systems Crisis ~ Why Isn't the Crisis Being Treated as a Crisis as Yet, Nationally or Globally?

by Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D. August 18, 1999

Introduction

The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) sent an Open Letter to Congress on June 9, 1999 expressing the perspective of that organization concerning the seriousness of Y2K. The letter includes a description of Y2K and the embedded systems crisis as "non-solvable" and as a "crisis". It also states that the crisis has not begun to get the attention it deserves. (A copy of the Open Letter can be seen at ( http://www.ieeeusa.org/FORUM/POLICY/99june09.html.)

The IEEE's admonitions seem to have fallen on deaf ears, particularly when it comes to the President and the present Administration.

The letter may not have come to the President's attention. Copies have been sent to the head of the President's Council. The letter does not appear to have changed the perspective of either the President or the head of the President's Council.

What accounts for the current approach that Administration has been taking concerning Y2K? It may be that the President has not taken to heart the concerns that have been expressed to him regarding the seriousness of the problem. On the other hand, he may have some recognition of the seriousness of the problem, but he may have determined that substantially increasing Federal efforts to address the problem now is not the best policy.

Could it be that the President has purposely decided to wait until around the time of the December 31st rollover to bring substantial resources to bear on the problem? If so, why would he have made such a decision? and could it be that he has made such a determination based out of concerns for the economy and political concerns?

In June 1999, someone told me off the record that the President told some acquaintances of hers that he is indeed waiting for the December 31st rollover and the aftermath before committing more substantial resources to the Y2K. On July 28, at the Y2K Conference at George Washington

University, Congressman Dennis Kucinich revealed that he viewed the President's actions in just this way. (See the Appendix of Part 4 for the transcript of the excerpted exchange between Congressman Kucinich and Paula Gordon. The excerpted exchange is also available at ( http://www. gwu.edu/~y2k/keypeople/gordon/1999conference.html .)

From my vantage point, by delaying action that would help safeguard the public good, the President is abrogating his responsibilities as President. WAITING UNTIL THEROLLOVER TO ACT WILL BE TOO LATE AND WILL RESULT IN UNTOLD HARDSHIP AND SUFFERING FOR MANY. Waiting will also mean substantially adding to the long term costs of recovery.

If the President were to exercise real leadership on this issue, he would persuade the public to begin to begin to make necessary preparations now.

Impacts could be substantially minimized if concerted actions were also taken now to avert numerous technological disasters that can be expected. This includes disasters of the magnitude of Chernobyl and Bhopal. The U.S. and the U.N. (and related global institutions) simply have not treated the Y2K and embedded systems crisis as a crisis and, with extremely limited exceptions have not organized efforts and brought necessary resources to bear in minimizing technological disasters. Part of the reason that international organizations have failed to treat Y2K as a crisis may well be the absence of US leadership and dedicated resources.

If the President continues to pursue his present course of restrained activity and if he fails to engage in crisis-oriented action and problem-solving, the Y2K crisis could well go down in history as the worst instance of malfeasance in public office in the history of the nation.

One thing is clear: the President's failure to take adequate actions now to encourage the public to take adequate preparations and to minimize the impacts of Y2K and the embedded systems crisis will cost the nation and the world dearly. For whatever reason or set of reasons, he is in effect failing to place the public good first. It is my hope that the President will realize his errors in judgment and depart immediately from his current plan which from all indications is to wait to act until the rollover before bringing needed resources to bear. The Y2K and embedded systems crisis is most assuredly an instance where "an ounce of prevention" is worth far,far more than "a pound of cure".

http://www.gwu.edu/~y2k/keypeople/gordon/part4.html

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), September 20, 1999

Answers

"His failure will cost the nation and world dearly."

Every time I read this it gets worse.

If history books are still being written ten years from now, this guy's legacy will read like Nero's...."Fiddlin' around in the oval office while the world burned around him."

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), September 20, 1999.

If history books are still being written ten years from now....

Yep. But I think historians, psychologists, sociologists, computer scientists, and philosophers are going to spend decades trying to figure out what happened to the human race in the 1990s that we allowed this to happen to us.

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), September 20, 1999.

It's a mystery to me that people out there still pooh-pooh all of this. I like the Embedded Failures Casebook . What more do we need to convince people?

It's the same ol' story, one that I'm familar with. It doesn't matter how much experience you have (as I have 20 years as a programmer), you don't get listened to. It's doom and gloom and that's the only reason the polly's need to discount whatever you say. Catastrophes can't happen, because they just can't.

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), September 20, 1999.

anyone interested in a GROUP-PRAYER?

-- born to die. (dogs@zianet.com), September 20, 1999.

"Yep. But I think historians, psychologists, sociologists, computer scientists, and philosophers are going to spend decades trying to figure out what happened to the human race in the 1990s that we allowed this to happen to us. "

Lane, I try to read every word you write when I see it. I don't think you've ever scared me until today : )

Mike

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-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), September 20, 1999.

Lane, I try to read every word you write when I see it. I don't think you've ever scared me until today : )

Thanks, Mike. (By the way, I'm sorry I get a bit testy on the forum: I should have learned by now that I'm better at discourse than I am at debate.)

Some people expect somebody to have a crystal ball and be able to forecast what's going to happen after the turn of the year. But, just look at our situation today: we don't really know what's going on with remediation, we don't really know why decisions are being made as they have been. My assumption, right or wrong, is that they are being made -- not in all cases but in many -- with the very same motivation as many other policy/business decisions are made: shortsighted self-interest. That is, in a business setting, the short- term bottom line. And we don't know just how prevalent it is.

The Y2K disclosure act last year, and the liability act this year, have only served to further muddy the picture. And I think that the first quarter next year is going to see more finger-pointing than ever before in history. (Reminds me of something Chuck Lanza wrote recently: that finger-pointing is the first thing that happens after a natural disaster. Look at what's going on in the Carolinas right now, in the aftermath of Floyd, and we see how right he is.) Which is only going to make FOF a harder task. (Ed Yourdon's comments in the Greenspan letter about the recent MCI/Lucent problem are a good explanation of why this is so, I think.)

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), September 20, 1999.

Who'd of thought that WJC would be able to do something that would completely overshadow the Monica affair and his impeachment? Yet, if Y2K goes as many of us fear, THAT will be what he is remembered for!

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 20, 1999.