Posted ByAl Thorn on July 24, 2001 at 10:50:22:
That's it. I've had it. I quit. The Phargate Hearings are a freakin' joke. I have NEVER in all my years seen draconian bureaucracy taken to such an extreme. In the past week this is all that has happened: The "Definitions of Terms to be used" have been established. Official Seating Positions for those involved has been determined, as has the rotating list of restaurants to order from for the mid-day break. It took three days to compile a list of posts from the Bull Board that were relevant to the case, and these still need to be ratified. At one point, the WRPSS Rules of Procedure (volumes I-VII) was carted in, and the ground rules for the remainder of the proceedings laid down. Also, the Notes for the proceedings are written in 15 minute blocks by two stenographers. Each time a previously referenced section is called to question, EACH stenographer reads the entire 15 minute block pertaining to the question. And if there are any discrepancies between the two accounts, lord help us all.
I cannot believe that I have been wasting up to 12 hours each day for the last three weeks on this nonsense. Chad Leatherstep, at first a picture of excitement and predatory glee, has taken to only staying for half a day. Roshambollah, a prime defendant, hasn't even shown up in over a week. After the first few days he stopped wearing his suit and was seen to take frequent breaks throughout the day, sitting through most of the remainder with a glazed, distant expression on his face. The last time I saw him, he was walking out of the Hearing room, and passed by me. I think it was the first time he actually noticed me in the room. He raised his eyebrows, and with a bemused expression, patted me on the head (!) and mumbled something along the lines of "By the time this whole thing is resolved, I'll probably be out of office anyway."
So this, then, is my final report on Phartgate. Good riddance. If anyone else knows of any late-breaking, political scandal in the WRPSS and wants me to cover it, then they can go to hell. I'm through.
Al Thorn