If your government agency's Inspector General keeps nagging you about being corrupt, fire him!

In 1978, Congress decided some government agencies needed their own individual watchdogs to ensure that agency personnel didn't waste money or behave unethically. As a citizen, you might think the ability and character to do the right thing was part of the reason the leaders and underlings of various federal agencies were appointed/hired. Apparently not so according to an article in today's New York Times. Instead, a number of inspectors general are getting grief from the heads of their agencies for doing their jobs.

Section 2 of the act outlines the purpose of an inspector general as:

§ 2. Purpose and establishment of Offices of Inspector General; departments and agencies involved

In order to create independent and objective units--

(1) to conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the establishments listed in section 11(2);

(2) to provide leadership and coordination and recommend policies for activities designed (A) to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of, and (B) to prevent and detect fraud and abuse in, such programs and operations; and

(3) to provide a means for keeping the head of the establishment and the Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies relating to the administration of such programs and operations and the necessity for and progress of corrective action;

The Times article cites complaints from the very people inspectors general are required to report to: heads of the establishment (agency). It seems the heads of federal agencies have been effected profoundly by the Bush presidency. They seem to believe that everything they do or order done is right because they say so.

More later,
Russ

Government Corruption is bad for Business: Quick, somebody tell the Republicans!

The Financial Express, an English language daily in Bangladesh covering international, regional and national business, ran an editorial yesterday (Dec. 26) citing government corruption as the primary reason investors are reluctant to invest in Russian ventures.

The piece, labeled an editorial and written by Arkady Ostrovsky in Moscow, cites reports by Paris-based think-tank the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation, Transparency International, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog, and a joint study by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has also recorded an increase in the number of "unofficial payments" for licences and state procurement contracts. Unofficial payments? Those would be bribes.

Why worry about what a financial newspaper in Bangladesh has to say about the Russian government? First of all, it's not just The Financial Express saying it. It's several international groups that study business and government corruption. Someone arguing the other side can question their credibility, their data, and their methods, but two of the groups are directly related to international business. Second, a fairly sound argument can be made that government at all levels in the United States is more corrupt than it's been in a while (can't say it's all the Republicans' fault, but it has happened on 43's watch), and more business friendly that it's been in a while.

It can't happen here? It can if we let it.

More later,
Russ

Young people don't follow the news. Duh!

Having a PhD doesn't make a person wise or even knowledgeable. Take Dr. David T.Z. Mindich, author and chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at St. Michael's College in Vermont, says that young people are "more tuned out than we think," even though a Knight Foundation survey of high school students suggests that just over half of the students surveyed (much higher than I would have guessed) check the mainstream news at least weekly. Of course, Dr. Mindich is the author of Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News (Amazon.com Sales Rank: #416,912), and book sales won't go up if he admits that young people do follow the news.

Mindich spoke at Plattsburgh State's (NY) annual Media Ethics and Law Conference, this year's theme was bringing young audiences back to the news. Mindich and his cronies: Plattsburgh State's Center for Communication and Journalism Co-Director Ron Davis, and vice dean and professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism David Klatell, seem to be purveyors of conventional wisdom when it comes to young people and the news. Their suggestions for news improvements included such things as bringing passion to the news with Fox News cited as a prime example (although it also was referred to as a "terrible propaganda factory," and praising The Daily Show for treating viewers intelligently.

The PhDs involved may or may not deserve the criticism suggested here, but coverage in the Plattsburgh Press Republican and at PoynterOnline does what modern media coverage often does: dumbs down the debate.

The final quote from Dr. Mindich in the Press Republican story gets to the heart of the matter. He says that young people should insist on quality journalism. Unfortunately, the definition of quality journalism is up for debate. The two extremes seem to be giving the audience/readers lowest common denominator news to get a big audience, or spinach news - what the editor thinks is good for you.

What's really happening to news is that we have many more sources and many more definitions of quality. News is no longer a homogenized product with - more or less - the same thing on every channel and on every front page. Too many academics are invested in what was, and so can't see clearly what's happening. Not unusual, just sad.

More later,
Russ

Bush Working to Make Domestic Spying Legal After the Fact

The Bush administration has spied on Americans. There's no doubt about that; Mr. Bush addmitted and even bragged about it. It's legal, say Mr. Bush and his advisors. So why does the administration need a bill to make domestic spying without FISA court approval legal? At least the bill may not pass.

Daily Kos: How Very Nixonian Of You, Mr. Bush:

How Very Nixonian Of You, Mr. Bush
by georgia10
Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 08:55:11 AM PDT

Do you remember that MoveOn ad, the one where Nixon's face morphs into that of President Bush?

When the domestic spying scandal broke, there was a huge focus on the President's lawyers ("he was just following their advice"), or on General Hayden ("it was his idea!") or on Vice-President Cheney ("it's just another step in Cheney's quest to restore executive power").

Well, let there be no doubt now. The President himself is leading a cover-up.

First, let's talk about recent developments with the Arlen Specter's bill. The bill, as you recall, does not require the President to submit the program for review to the FISA court. But, according to Specter, the President pinky-promised that he would seek approval of the program, so apparently, that makes everything better.

One bright spot, even if the bill passes to give the president permission for domestic spying, it seems to me that the courts could declare it unconstitutional.

More later,
Russ

Technorati tags: George W. Bush, NSA, domestic spying

Inhofe: Global Warming Is a Hoax

I don't get it. How can adults ignore scientific evidence? I haven't researched global warming extensively, but the only people who to deny its existence seem to be those with conflicts of interest about slowint or stopping global warming.

Think Progress � Sen. Inhofe: ‘Gore Is Full of Crap,’ ‘All Recent Science…Confirms This Thing Is A Hoax’:

Sen. Inhofe: ‘Gore Is Full of Crap,’ ‘All Recent Science…Confirms This Thing Is A Hoax’

Yesterday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) attacked Al Gore and global warming science, claiming that Gore was “full of crap” on global warming.

Appearing on Glenn Beck’s radio show and CNN television program, Inhofe said that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which concluded that global warming was real and caused by humans, used “one scientist.” Inhofe added: “[A]ll of the recent science…it confirms that I was right on this thing. This thing is a hoax.”

More later,
Russ

Technorati tags: Gore, global warming, Inhofe, greenhouse gasses, lies