Ethics my ass..........part two

Why is it that no one except the AJC and creative loafing are raising hell about this. If you want to hurt Sonny in 06 why does not someone beat him over the head with this? This guy OVERSEES an organization that includes the Public Health for the state. And Public Health does lots of prevention around teen clinics, pregnant women, HIV, STD and other health issues.

HE IS THE DAMN CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD!!!!!

oh, and they set policy for the state around health care and how it is done.



OUR OPINIONS: It's best for state that Cook choose one job

Staff Friday, February 4, 2005

When Department of Human Resources chairman Bruce Cook spoke in October at a state-funded conference on teen abstinence, he boasted of the effectiveness of his own company's line of books and videos. Conveniently, representatives from his abstinence-only publishing empire, Choosing the Best, were at the event to sign up new customers from the local schools and agencies in attendance.
The conflicts in that situation are so blatant that a blindfolded man sealed in a vault and buried 100 feet under the ground would notice them. How could Gov. Sonny Perdue not see them?
After all, Perdue himself had clearly defined the problem in an executive order issued early in his term: "An appearance of conflict exists when a reasonable person would conclude from the circumstances that the employee's ability to protect the public interest, or perform public duties, is compromised by personal interests."
As chairman of the DHR board, Cook directs social service policies and has shown a willingness to slant that policy toward his ideology and his business. In September, Cook and the DHR board even imposed a policy mandating that the counseling offered at teen centers focus in part on abstinence, which just happens to be a perfect match for what Cook markets. Those teen centers, which rely on DHR for funding, cannot help but feel pressured to use Cook's products in their work.
Cook says he won't realize any direct economic gain if a teen center chose his product, because his company will provide the material free of charge to any DHR-funded program. (The company does provide material to Georgia schools that is paid for through federal programs.) However, Cook enhances his company's prestige and reputation by adding teen centers to its client list, and effectively shuts out potential competitors in the state.
Perdue should tell Cook that he can either run his company or the DHR board, but not both.