Steve Heymann Should Be Fired • Hacker News Board

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#31

Post by scarmig » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:44 PM UTC

diminoten wrote: post #22

driverdan wrote: post #9

I'm so sick of these useless White House petitions. Yes, they can bring a small amount of attention to issues but otherwise they accomplish nothing other than making people feel good for "signing" a petition. Has there been a single White House petition that resulted in anything other than an official comment?

I actually think the Whitehouse petitions are harmful to causes, precisely because they give those who participate a false sense of accomplishment.

Should be conceptually simple to resolve that question empirically. Has anyone done studies on whether people who sign a petition are more or less likely to engage in future actions (and if so, of what types)?

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#32

Post by davemel37 » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

twoodfin wrote: post #19

Heymann saw Aaron as a scalp he could take. He thought he could lock Aaron up, get high-profile press coverage, and win high-fives from his fellow prosecutors in the lunchroom. Aaron was a way of reviving Heymann’s fading career. Heymann had no interest in an honest assessment of whether Aaron deserved any of the hell he was being put through. Is there any evidence for any of this seeming mind reading?

Did you stop reading after that paragraph? The next paragraph says, "I believe that Heymann is guilty of prosecutorial misconduct on several levels, but I can’t prove it until we have a proper investigation."

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#33

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

twoodfin wrote: post #19

Heymann saw Aaron as a scalp he could take. He thought he could lock Aaron up, get high-profile press coverage, and win high-fives from his fellow prosecutors in the lunchroom. Aaron was a way of reviving Heymann’s fading career. Heymann had no interest in an honest assessment of whether Aaron deserved any of the hell he was being put through. Is there any evidence for any of this seeming mind reading?

[deleted]

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#34

Post by qschneier » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:46 PM UTC

FYI the petition link is here https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-...

To me signing the petition is simply to let others know my attitude, and to let those who hold the same stand know that they are not alone.

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#35

Post by davemel37 » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:48 PM UTC

driverdan wrote: post #9

I'm so sick of these useless White House petitions. Yes, they can bring a small amount of attention to issues but otherwise they accomplish nothing other than making people feel good for "signing" a petition. Has there been a single White House petition that resulted in anything other than an official comment?

They also serve a very important function of reaffirming a belief you want to behave consistently with.

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#36

Post by sylvinus » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:53 PM UTC

she mentions 11k signatures but the current count is 2,737. What happened? Did they remove duplicates? https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-...

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#37

Post by gyardley » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:57 PM UTC

sylvinus wrote: post #36

she mentions 11k signatures but the current count is 2,737. What happened? Did they remove duplicates? https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-...

That's signatures needed - the amount remaining before in theory it gets a response from the White House.

It means people have been signing the petition like gangbusters. Probably thanks to BoingBoing.

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#38

Post by jlgreco » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 5:59 PM UTC

diminoten wrote: post #22

driverdan wrote: post #9

I'm so sick of these useless White House petitions. Yes, they can bring a small amount of attention to issues but otherwise they accomplish nothing other than making people feel good for "signing" a petition. Has there been a single White House petition that resulted in anything other than an official comment?

I actually think the Whitehouse petitions are harmful to causes, precisely because they give those who participate a false sense of accomplishment.

I agree. They facilitate evaporation cooling of causes and movements.

Let the less dedicated participants feel that they have done their part, and numbers will dwindle. As numbers dwindle only the extreme remain, and in few enough numbers that the entire cause is then written off as fringe.

It is a phenomena usually seen when cults start ejecting their more moderate members, but in this case it is harnessed by a separate party.

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#39

Post by luser001 » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 6:00 PM UTC

twoodfin wrote: post #19

Heymann saw Aaron as a scalp he could take. He thought he could lock Aaron up, get high-profile press coverage, and win high-fives from his fellow prosecutors in the lunchroom. Aaron was a way of reviving Heymann’s fading career. Heymann had no interest in an honest assessment of whether Aaron deserved any of the hell he was being put through. Is there any evidence for any of this seeming mind reading?

Second sentence of the paragraph that follows the one you pasted.

Re: Steve Heymann Should Be Fired

#40

Post by idm » Fri, Feb 08, 2013, 6:03 PM UTC

I finally created an account so I could sign this. I didn't sign for Ortiz because I thought she may have had a distant relationship to the case. However, as Heymann's direct supervisor, I thought she erred in that role. Heymann, on the other hand, really does sound like he has a history of throw-the-book-at-them antics, and I think there's a strong need for greater scrutiny of his career and trajectory.