Though I'd like to see Oritz fired, and think she's deserving of it, the effort to get her fired is blinding us to a bigger problem and a proper solution. The system was broken long before Oritz and Swartz, but it wasn't until it affected someone we like that we noticed. But we're in a bubble, and the vast majority of Americans do not care who Aaron Swartz is, will not be affected by this tragedy like we were, and in general think that prosecutors need all the tools they can get to put "bad" people in prison.<p>The American people love tough-on-crime policies, and it's not possible to publicly shame a public official, or get her fired, for doing something that most of the public supports. If we want to make change, we need to move the needle on the public's perception of crime. That's a hard problem, and it's not as easy as signing a petition, but it's a problem we'll never be able to solve if we're blinded by trying to exact vengeance on a prosecutor.<p>Edited to add: if Oritz were likely to be fired, then I agree it would be a great starting point for a larger movement. But my point is that changing public opinion of tough-on-crime policies is a <i>prerequisite</i> for getting Oritz fired. A prosecutor is not going to be fired for engaging in normal conduct that is loved by the public, even if the outcome in this case was tragic.
> <i>Overall, there is a feeling that Aaron Swartz’ death has to mark the beginning of a change. This petition could be a ticket and an opportunity for the administration to begin such a change, if nothing else, just by firing an overreaching prosecutor. That would be a symbolic action that would still send a message, albeit a weak one, but it would go a long way for many. In contrast, a nonaction from the administration would be a signal that vigilante justice is the only remaining option, which would be unfortunate on many levels.</i><p>This is a silly article. There are actually steps that happen before the firing of an official, most notably an investigation. But this article reads as: "We got 25,000 signatures, if the President doesn't ax her then people will resort to armed revolt"<p>(I'll skip the debate on whether it's good for a government to be directed by the popularity of an online petition, unless people favor the country renamed to 'The United States of Bieber')<p>The main point is that action in government is <i>slow</i>. And for good reason. If people want to hold onto the fantasy that when a bunch of people get angry, the government will take drastic action...then fine...but people who really want to see change should be prepared to accept that the original problem (the case against Swartz) may not be satisfactory dealt with, but that attitudes change and reform can eventually happen, as long as the people who care continue to speak up and apply pressure.
Am I the only one embarrassed by the blatant errors in that petition? The first sentence is a run-on grammatical non sequitor. The rest of the petition conveys a muddled thought process that seems blinded by outrage. Did the author even bother to proofread that thing before submitting it?<p>There are plenty of other reasons to pass on this petition. That said, this displays less polish and thought than an email I typically send to my boss. I wouldn't blame the White House for ignoring a plea that reads more like a teenager's facebook rant. It certainly appears to have involved the same level of critical thinking.
"There is also an ongoing petition to fire assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Heymann, also connected with the events that led to the tragic suicide of prodigy Aaron Swartz. That petition has yet to reach its goal." <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb" rel="nofollow">https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-...</a>
Petition to fire accomplice Steve Heymann still needs 22k more: <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb" rel="nofollow">https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-...</a>
Am I the only one that finds these petitions pointless? They marginalize any real activism down to just some signatures by loosely-connected individuals and really just provide a forum for speaking to your elected officials - something they're supposed to be there for anyway - in a format that has none of the financial "umph" that lobbyists bring.
<i>This petition could be a ticket and an opportunity for the administration to begin such a change...</i><p>Yeah, because we all know how well Obama's "change" went. How's gitmo going? What about those executive orders? Seen any drones in the Middle East or northern Africa lately? Surely there is no more cronyism in the White House or Justice Department. I realize not every promise can be kept, but I've never regretted a vote like I did the vote for him (not that I ever would have voted for McCain).<p>The point is this administration has shown it could care less about change. Don't expect anything, much less anything positive, to come of this.
I'm not sure what this petition is trying to accomplish. Do you think, should the President fire Ms Ortiz, she would be replaced by someone completely different? Her actions are a reflection of the <i>entire</i> justice system; the person who replaces her will continue with the same bullying, "String 'em up in Town Square"-style tactics as she did. Everything will continue as it has been, but now the affluent, Bay-area 20-somethings who were originally so outraged will kick up their feet and go back to not caring about the justice system because they <i>think</i> they effected some sort of change.<p>I was so surprised with the HN community's response. So many people saw that Aaron had committed suicide and thought, with their ninja-rockstar-hacker intelligence, that we should go on a witch-hunt and burn Ms Ortiz at the stake. Doesn't that seem like the worst possible thing to do in a time when we have very little facts?
Let me point out every prosecutor threatens the accused. Whether you were caught stealing gold or chewing gum.<p>I doubt this "prosecutor" even knew the details of the "crime" or cared. I doubt she was ever briefed on the details of Aaron's life or cared too hear it. That's what she has assistants for.<p>And that's the problem with the system. Prosecutors don't take time (except on TV) to learn about the accused. They just go straight for the throat. Be dammed the circumstances.<p>It's not enough to go after one prosecutor. Change the system.
I think this whole petition is a mistaken diversion. This issue is bigger than Ms. Ortiz. The fact is that she was only doing her job in the way that the Congress and the Administration very much expected her to do. Take this up with those who gave her the weapons: the laws she was using and the common procedures she was using. Take it up with those who very much wanted those weapons ready and used to silence an activist.
I seem to recall a story about a Pepsi employee who made a bad decision that cost Pepsi over 10 million dollars. The CEO called him into his office, and the employee shuffled in saying, "I guess you are gonna fire me now." To which the CEO Exclaimed, "Fire You?! I Just Spent 10 million dollars educating you!"<p>Just something to think about here.
Why is there not this type of outpouring of rage and internet hate the last few days for someone who is seriously being railroaded: Bradley Manning.<p>This is a person who has been locked up into solitary for months now and is being treated very inhumanely. Is it because he hasn't written any Python libraries and isn't visible in Silicon Valley?
Ortiz was nominated to her position by Obama in 2009. She resides in Milton, MA where it just so happens Gov Patrick, Obama's close personal friend also resides.
She's well-connected and a double diversity quota. She's going nowhere.
Aaaand they just raised the petition threshold to 100,000: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57564203-93/white-house-raises-petition-signature-threshold-to-100k/" rel="nofollow">http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57564203-93/white-house-rai...</a>
It's a sad day when the mob campaigns to end the career of someone who's simply doing there job, rather than causing change to the actual law that defines how they do the job.<p>But this particular prosecutor was just a bully, right? Who had it out for Aaron out of personal hate, perhaps the Illuminati are involved also?<p>The only other reasoning is she was just doing her job and prosecuting a man who broke the actual law, and showed traits of an activist who could be a repeat offender, and was trying to deter him from getting into more serious trouble in the future.<p>A suspended sentence and a felony doesn't seem too bad if she was deterring him from something that could see him in jail 10 years with a plea bargain.
It is a shame that the petition to pardon Swartz has 1/10th of the signatures that the petition to fire Ortiz has. Let's advocate for a government that forgives (alleged) crimes as strongly as we advocate for a government that punishes people like Ortiz.<p><a href="http://twitpic.com/bvjjvz" rel="nofollow">http://twitpic.com/bvjjvz</a>
<a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/posthumously-pardon-aaron-swartz/DVpdmSBj" rel="nofollow">https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/posthumously-pardo...</a>
What if she gets fired and kills herself? Will they go after us?<p>It's a never ending war. We're all trying to punish people to give the exemple. Us trying to fire Ortiz is similar to Ortiz trying to prosecute Aaron Swartz.
This witch hunt is incredibly disturbing. Not only do these petitions blatantly exclude some fundamental principles of government and society, but they distracts greatly from where our focus should lie.