August 17, 2009

Reality Check Fail: flag@whitehouse.gov = The Inbox from Hell

watchufail.jpg

As noted today on Drudge and confirmed on Politico, flag@whitehouse.gov is in fail mode and bouncing all messages back with the neat notice:

Final-recipient: rfc822; flag@whitehouse.gov
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.1
Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550 5.2.1 ... The email address you just sent a message to is no longer in service.We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via:http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck
Last-attempt-Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:10:19 +0000

Well, okay, so we're off to Reality Check to rat out our neighbors! Once there we run straight to the "Contact Us" form:

We want to hear from you | Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

* En Espanol [Of course!]

We want to hear from you

If you have questions about health insurance reform or suggestions on what topics we should address next, please let us know.

And we read, sneaking in at the bottom:
Please refrain from submitting any individual's personal information, including their email address, without their permission.[Emphasis added]
Oops. I guess that would qualify as a retreat, a climb-down without announcing a climb-down.

It had to happen, of course, since any staffer in the White House who actually got the email from flag@whitehouse.gov forwarded to his or her terminal would quickly see they were in charge of The Inbox from Hell!

Pity, if you can, the hapless Obama apparatchik assigned to track and forward the snitches and the bitches of flag@whitehouse.gov. Every Outlook check would result in an unending staccato cascade of BING-BING-BING-BING!. The staffer would soon learn the terrifying meaning of the World War II battle alarm, INCOMING!

As in so many other fumbles in the White House of Mr. Bumble, the chief of staff might want to buy the apparatchiks this internet course....

They'll need it.

Posted by Vanderleun at August 17, 2009 9:23 AM
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Comments:

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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

I do email marketing for a living. If I violated my organization's privacy policy like that, I'd be out the door before the security guard could come to watch me clean out my desk.

The apparatchik who did this monumental foul-up will probably be promoted for his "initiative". It is government, after all, and it is led by a community organizer.

Posted by: ExurbanKevin at August 17, 2009 10:35 AM

Good point. And we see what happens to the communities he's organized.

Posted by: vanderleun at August 17, 2009 10:59 AM

They have put out a trash can. Now get busy and fill it up. Don't hesitate to toss the dog poo in it.

Posted by: Fat Man at August 17, 2009 11:43 AM

Golly, you mean they didn't want spam for viagra, enlarged organs, diets, and teeth whiteners?

Posted by: Goober at August 17, 2009 12:20 PM

Where am I going to dump all my spam now? My "foreward" button got a real workout for a couple of days.

Posted by: Pixelkiller at August 17, 2009 2:00 PM

Where am I going to dump all my spam now? My "foreward" button got a real workout for a couple of days.

Posted by: Pixelkiller at August 17, 2009 2:07 PM

Ceiling Cat sez: White House inbox iz litter box of Basement Cat.

Posted by: Connecticut Yankee at August 17, 2009 3:48 PM

I should be too flagged by the relentless Texas heat to even go here, but... big fucking surprise folks.

The country isn't left leaning, the white house got this surprise clue pretty damn quick considering their myopic mindset. A shame they never bothered to look at the demographics before they supported Pelosi's (she's the leader, she gets the lead) house healthcare plan.

Posted by: Daphne at August 17, 2009 3:58 PM

I've been using e-mail for so long that my delete box is full. Can somebody please help me clear it?

Posted by: Roy Lofquist at August 17, 2009 4:27 PM

It seems that Pres. Obama and staff are learning what Alinsky wrote about: "It is a bitch to be the guy in charge."

OT: When I was Senior Warden at my church, my response to good ideas was have that idea brought forth and ask the good idea person lead the committee to look into it.

Okay - I am a back-slid Episcopalian, and we loves us some committees, and my response was...

It felt good to do that.

Posted by: Mikey NTH at August 17, 2009 4:58 PM

A two hour on-line seminar to tell me to send everything to 'spam'?

"Oops! It went to my 'spam folder'! Better schedule me for another training session, and call IT about the hardware/software incompatibility issues I've exposed. Lucky I did that, eh? Otherwise you don't know what problems might have cropped up."

And using this technique, you will spend your work career in training sessions (some with lunch!), only emerging to retire.

I guarantee it!

Posted by: Mikey NTH at August 17, 2009 5:12 PM

Ha ha! Hilarious, Gerard!

Posted by: USS Ben at August 17, 2009 9:16 PM