Hightower Lowdown

Nancy Victory. Sounds like the name of a comic-book heroine, doesn’t it?
But she’s for real, and whether she’s a heroine depends on which end of the cell phone you’re on. Nancy heads an obscure federal outfit called the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Sounds boring, but it means she’s the Bushites’ point-person on telecom policy.
Now let’s all guess who Ms. Victory worked for before accepting a position inside Bush’s government. She was a lawyer with a big firm in Washington that represents such outfits as—surprise!—Verizon, SBC, and other cell-phone giants.
After Bush appointed her, Nancy was feted at a private reception by her old corporate pals. The party was hosted and paid for by the top lobbyists for—you got it—Cingular, SBC, Motorola.
Only 10 days after this gala, Nancy zipped off an agency letter to the FCC, demanding immediate repeal of a regulation that had long bothered her industry friends. In essence, this repeal would let the big players divide up territory and eliminate pesky competitors. Two weeks later, the FCC obliged, doing just as Nancy asked. Who says government is slow and unresponsive?
Nancy says it’s “ridiculous” to suggest that there’s anything suspicious about this curious chronology. She also refuses to identify the industry guests who attended her reception, saying simply, “They’re my friends.”
And that’s what’s wrong: Nancy and her friends are running the government as though it’s a private party.