Lots of BAD information

If there is one strain held in common by the variety of "bad things" that seem to have happened to western "civilization" this past decade, it is that decisions were made which led to "suboptimal" outcomes, and those decisions did so because of bad intelligence. At least, that is what those in positions of power responsible for the decision making always seem to point to. Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction™, Osama evaded capture for 10 years, we had no reason to believe the economy was in danger, Greece was a good place to invest... What new decisions will be poorly made based on "faulty information"? And is that an excuse I can use to avoid paying taxes? Evade personal responsibility for a multitude of sins? Explain to my kids and grandkids why we sold their future in exchange for several all-inclusive vacations, a new car, big screen TV or a hot tub that's never used? And what about the environmental catastrophe we're leaving them? Why not? I mean, the problem with this line of thinking is two-fold: we have no reason to respect, trust or esteem those in power who resolutely refuse to accept their own personal responsibility for the very serious bad judgment they exercise; and by not correctly identifying what and whom is to blame, we leave ourselves in no better position to make decisions in the future. I mean, of course, a cynic would say that that is exactly what is intended--inoculate the worst miscreants by blaming the quality of the data rather than the interpretations, or simply actions, taken by those miscreants.