by Bureaupat  Jul 02 2009, 10:15 AM Comments: 0

Dear Bureaupat,

I’m interested in applying for a job with the federal government, but the whole application procedure is a bit daunting. I’m used to just submitting a resume and cover letter for private sector jobs, so I’m hung up on the “Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities” questions. What is this about? How seriously do they take this? Do you have any tips for me? I’m not much of a writer so I’m really intimidated.

Dear Job-Seeker,

The Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities questions are known in govspeak as KSAs, and your answers to these questions are supposed to prove that you are indeed qualified for the advertised jobs. Trust me, you aren’t the only one who finds them intimidating.

In fact, KSAs will soon be a thing of the past. The Office of Personnel Management will ask agencies in...

by Alex Salta  Jul 02 2009, 06:32 AM Comments: 2

With his recent election to the United States Senate, you would think that former Saturday Night Live stalwart Al Franken is a shoe-in for "Funniest Member of Congress." Before he can claim victory, he will first have to fight Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn for the distinction; the main difference between the two legislators being that Franken tried to get laughs for most of his career while Coburn has spent his redefining the Unintentional Comedy Scale . A recent announcement by Coburn has done little to change this.

Coburn, who enjoys spending his time railing against pork barrel spending and hating that "Silent Spring" lady you remember from 11th grade Biology, recently introduced an amendment creating a new federal "Office of Unborn Children's Health." Coburn, who has made it something of...

by Nemat Sadat  Jul 02 2009, 06:14 AM Comments: 0

When terrorists strike and harm or kill innocent civilians in the name of Islamic jihad, there’s a perception that they do so because they hate Western liberties and all that America stands for. But what do the Taliban hate about determined school children?

Last November, Taliban extremists in Kandahar sprayed acid on a group of schoolgirls who were on their way to the Mirwais School for Girls. The culprits drove up on motorbikes and squirted acid on dozens of girls’ faces, leaving several badly burned. In response, the Obama administration proposed to negotiate with the Taliban.

What the Taliban fear most is the flourishing of modern education in Afghanistan. Educated women pose a far bigger threat to the Taliban than American or NATO bombs.

When the Taliban ruled (1996-2001), there were...

by Timothy Page  Jul 02 2009, 05:48 AM Comments: 0

After a friendly fire incident left a cop dead last month, the New York Police Department has its sights set on futuristic technology that may help officers in the field avoid accidental shootings.

Omar J. Edwards, 25, was killed on May 28 as he chased down a burglary suspect while dressed in his off-duty street clothes with his service weapon drawn. When three plainclothes detectives came upon the scene and yelled for him to stop, Edwards turned with his weapon and was shot according to the NYPD in an AP article.

Because the bad guys never look like they do in the movies, with capes and a devious look in their eyes behind a mustache that’s as crooked as their smile, confusion between officers in different departments occurs all too often. Since 2006, five New York City police officers have...

by Eva Marie Stahl  Jul 02 2009, 05:25 AM Comments: 1

First Lady Michelle Obama was the first to announce a broad and sweeping grants program for community health centers (CHCs) this week. The Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program will dole out over $850 million dollars in funding to CHCs nationwide that demonstrate a need for capital improvement projects such as new equipment, infrastructure, and most importantly, the adoption and implementation of electronic health records.

Over 1,500 community health centers in total will receive funding—of those, 400 will use funds specifically for EHRs. The first lady notes that these improvements will touch the lives of over 2.8 million patients that rely on CHCs for primary care. Mrs. Obama states that these “ grants will mean new diagnostic equipment, renovation of facilities that need repair, expanding...

by OhMyGov!  Jul 01 2009, 11:27 AM Comments: 0

"[I] didn't cross the sex line"

--- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, in spelling out the exact geography, or anatomy, where he most definitely did not tread in various extra-marital affairs above and beyond his relationship with Argentine mistress Maria Belen Chapur.

In a wacky interview with the AP, Sanford also said he had "crossed lines" with other women but "never crossed the ultimate line." Is he talking about crossword puzzles? The Equator? Col. Ghaddafi's Line of Death? Here we thought it had something to do with bikini waxes.

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford told the AP. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

Forgive us if this sounds like a nominee for the worst opening line to a novel .



...

by Bureaupat  Jul 01 2009, 08:50 AM Comments: 0

Dear Bureaupat, I just received a new SF-50 indicating I have completed the service requirement for career tenure (from June '06 - June '09). What does this mean? Also, I soon will be moving to a different state and transferring to a new Government agency, still within the same series and grade. Will my 3 years of service transfer? What about my S/L and A/L? Does the new agency have to pay me at least what I'm making now?

Dear Careerist,

Congratulations! You have navigated through the good, the bad and the ugly and made varsity squad. As a bona fide federal employee with career status, you can now loosen your belt a bit and enjoy the perks of being inducted into federal society.

So what is career tenure and what does it mean for you?

After serving three years of substantially continuous...

by Jaime L. Hartman  Jul 01 2009, 07:57 AM Comments: 0

Last week, the House approved a measure as part the 2010 Defense authorization bill that would allow workers in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to count unused sick leave toward their retirement annuities like their colleagues in the older Civil Retirement System (CRS) have always been able to do. Not to be outdone by their Congressional counterparts, this week the Senate introduced its own version of the defense bill without the FERS provision.

Supporters are hopeful that the sick leave amendment, as well as a provisions that would move employees in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories few know about into the locality pay system, will see new life during floor debate after the July 4 holiday or in conference committee.

Another provision that did not make it into the Senate...

by Mary Jane Egan  Jul 01 2009, 06:01 AM Comments: 0

In the spirit of fiscal conservatism, Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) office released a report on June 16 claiming that about $5.5 billion in stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has already been allocated towards unworthy projects. Furthermore, the report estimates that a total of at least $55 billion will be considered wasteful as all $787 billion of the allocated funds are spent.

Entitled “ 100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion ,” the report served as a direct response (in format and number) to the Obama administration’s late May release, “ Recovery Report: 100 Days 100 Projects ”. The administration, however, quickly regained its footing. The same day Coburn released his report, the White House had compiled a response to each of the 100 accusations of waste...

by Rebecca Fiss  Jul 01 2009, 05:24 AM Comments: 0

In an outrageous fit of complete reasonableness, the federal court has ruled that online classified ads are not that much different than the kinds you might be able to turn pages with, or might see posted to a coffee house cork board. The message is clear. The technophiliac activism of the federal judiciary is clearly spiraling rapidly out of control.

As if there wasn’t enough suspicion surrounding Internet personal services and Craigslist.org already, we’ve been recently nudged even further along the path toward utter fear of communication technology by news pieces such as that of the so-called “Craigslist killer,” who was accused of bumping off a 26-year-old masseuse that he met in the “exotic services” section back in April.

Clearly, the blame rests with the provider of the ad, as opposed...