OhMyGov!

Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus

OhMyGov! — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:48:00 GMT

Taking the next step to remain profitable, Ford unveils its new vision for the future of Automobiles for the US. An innovative concept vehicle that meets the needs of all Americans. The car for the modern age the: 1993 Taurus.

Also Funny:

[+] The week's 10 best political jokes — November 6, 2009

[+] 17 'Nay' votes as House congratulates N.Y. Yankees on World Serie

The week's 10 best political jokes — November 6, 2009

OhMyGov! — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:36:00 GMT

10. "The only opponent to Afghan President Hamid Karzai has backed out of the planned recount. He's not going to be in the race. He says he wants to spend more time with his family and not get killed." -Jay Leno

9. "Reporters are saying President Obama has been skipping meals lately, and now photographs show he has lost a lot of weight. Folks, if this is true, then maybe Obama really has lost touch with the American people." -Conan O'Brien

8. "Some pictures of President Obama posted on the internet seem to show the President looking very thin. ... They say he looks too thin, but White House docs say not to worry, Barack Obama's one of those guys who can eat whatever he wants and still not gain weight. Yet another reason for Rush Limbaugh to hate him." -Jay Leno

7. "Former President Bush is in Japan, and he was met with protesters carrying signs that said, 'Arrest Bush' and 'Bush is a war criminal.' Yeah. When he saw the signs, Bush said, 'Thanks for making me feel at home. Appreciate it.'" -Conan O'Brien

6. "The Pentagon announced today, they have given the swine flu vaccines to every detainee at Guantanamo Bay. The detainees were like, 'Hey, whatever happened to closing this place?'" -Jimmy Fallon

5. "A year ago today, Barack Obama was elected president. It's been a year, can you believe that? Yeah. A lot's happened. Yeah. In one short year, Obama's slogan has gone from, 'Yes, we can,' to 'Wow, this is freakin' hard.'" -Conan O'Brien

4. "Now, why is there a swine flu vaccine shortage? You ever notice in this country, we never seem to run out of illegal drugs. You know, we should pay the guys who make crystal meth to start making this stuff." -Jay Leno

3. "On Saturday night, the President and Mrs. Obama had a couple thousand kids at the White House and instead of candy, they gave out dried fruit. That's great. You go to the White House, you stand in a security line for three hours, they give you a bag of prunes?" -Jimmy Kimmel

2. "Hey, the health caree bill was introduced yesterday. It's 1,990 pages long and costs $894 billion dollars. Or $2.2 million per word. That makes them the most expensive words to come out of Washington since 'Mission Accomplished.'" --Jimmy Fallon

1. "According to a report on Edmunds.com, the real cost of the Cash for Clunkers program was $24,000 per car. Every car that was traded in cost us, the taxpayers, $24,000. How many would have rather kept your old car, just get a check for 20 grand from the government?" --Jay Leno

Also Funny:

[+] 17 'Nay' votes as House congratulates N.Y. Yankees on World Serie

5 Top Stories We're Not Covering ... and Why

Mark Malseed — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:53:00 GMT

We can't cover every story out there, much as we try. But the least we can do is let you know we are paying attention to breaking news across the government sphere, and to explain our choices for bypassing these big stories.

5. Unemployment rate in U.S. tops 10%
Not to worry — at this rate, a lot of jobs will be opening up in Congress in 2010

4. Levi Johnston Posing in Playgirl magazine
Of all the people in the Sarah Palin saga we'd like to see naked, he's not one of them

3. Cheney unable to recall pivotal details about CIA leak in 2004 FBI interview
Actually, we can't recall why we decided not to cover this. It was way back on, like, Tuesday.

2. Wacky website of N.C. House candidate makes waves
Is his platform a return to 1950s-era traditional values or 1994-era Web values?

1. Bloomberg reelected as mayor of New York City
Now if Steinbrenner would only learn that money can indeed buy success!

And on a tragic note:

Horror at Ft. Hood: Nothing we can say except to express sympathy to the families and friends for the loss of their loved ones

(with a hat tip to Evan Morier)

17 'Nay' votes as House congratulates N.Y. Yankees on World Series

Mark Malseed — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:22:00 GMT

A resolution in the House of Representatives to recognize the New York Yankees for winning the 2009 World Series passed easily this afternoon, but fell short of a shutout victory as 17 members of Congress voted Nay on the ceremonial bill. Another 30 members either voted Present or fully abstained from the Friday afternoon vote, unable to bring themselves to honor the guys in pinstripes.

Philadelphia-area lawmakers were for the most part good losers, though Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional district and Jon Adler in New Jersey's 3rd district, across the river from the City of Brotherly Love, both gave the bill a giant X. Other no votes and abstentions came from all corners of the nation (Red Sox Nation, perhaps), and really, I understand the impulse. But as a Philly native, I also have to say: "do unto others." I just can't condone the actions of elected officials who would vote no on a ceremonial bill honoring a great achievement like this. Much better would be to do away with these meaningless, time-wasting bills entirely. And I'm not just saying that because Ryan Howard couldn't hit a football through most of the series.

No, if you take a good look at the resolution language below, and keep in mind the wars we're fighting, the health care reform that is needed, and the countless other matters of urgency that our lawmakers are charged with handling on our behalf (in between Congressional recesses), you'll see that statements like "Whereas this year the Yankees opened a new stadium and hope to emulate the success achieved in the ‘House that Ruth Built’" don't really belong in the Congressional record. Or should I say, "the House that George Washington built."

Here's the full roll call from GovTrack.

Map from GovTrack.us

RESOLUTION

Congratulating the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees.

Whereas the New York Yankees are the most successful franchise in the history of Major League Baseball;

Whereas prior to this year the Yankees had won 26 World Series Championships, the most in the Major Leagues;

Whereas this historic franchise is located in the Bronx and is known as the ‘Bronx Bombers’;

Whereas the Yankees franchise has included all-time great players;

Whereas for many years the Yankees played baseball in the historic Yankee Stadium;

Whereas this year the Yankees opened a new stadium and hope to emulate the success achieved in the ‘House that Ruth Built’;

Whereas during the 2009 regular season, the Yankees had the best record in baseball, going 103-59;

Whereas the Yankees finished at the top of the American League East Division;

Whereas the Yankees went on to beat the Minnesota Twins 3 games to 0;

Whereas the Yankees then faced off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Championship Series, and emerged victorious in 6 games;

Whereas that victory represented the 40th American League Pennant that the Yankees have won;

Whereas the Yankees were matched up against a valiant Philadelphia Phillies squad for the World Series title;

Whereas the Yankees were able to defeat the defending World Series Champions by 4 games to 2;

Whereas this victory represents the Yankees’ 27th World Series Championship win;

Whereas this number of championship wins is 17 more than their next closest competitor;

Whereas the contributions of the Yankees’ players throughout the season were all vital in securing the title; and

Whereas the Yankees were guided to victory by Manager Joe Girardi, General Manager Brian Cashman, President Randy Levine, and the leadership of Hank and Hal Steinbrenner: Now therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates--

(1) the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees, for an outstanding season and a record 27th World Series Championship win; and

(2) the players, coaches, staff and leadership of the Yankees organization for their great success.

Study shows importance of new media in policy-making

Evan Morier — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

A new study of Congress and European legislative bodies found that staffers are increasingly reliant on the internet to do their jobs. But, their personal use of Web 2.0 technologies outpaced their professional use of them.

Read about the use of Facebook to supplement face-to-face constituent meetings and other phenomena in the actual study (pdf).

CIA answers FOIA request... 20 years later

Evan Morier — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:39:00 GMT

A Freedom of Information Act request was recently answered by the CIA, and a few documents relating to the Iran-Contra scandal sent in response. Pretty much standard procedure, except that the request was submitted in 1989. Also, the CIA forgot about it when they reported that their oldest FOIA request was from 1992 when reporting to Congress in 2008.

For two sides of the story, you can read the critical FOIA coordinator's view and an analyst's view (which doesn't address the fact that the request took 20 years to process).

Seeking nominations for federal IT awards

Evan Morier — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:15:00 GMT

Federal Computer Week is looking for nominations for its Federal 100 awards. Candidates should have made a meaningful contribution to the federal information technology community in 2009. The deadline to nominate is December 11.

A Postal Service Makeover

Katie Wallace — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:00 GMT

The U.S. Postal Service is in a tough spot. Increasingly pushed toward irrelevance in our digital society, it is bleeding money and seeing dramatic cuts in volume of mail handled. In 2008 the USPS saw the biggest decline in mail since the Great Depression, and racked up an expected loss of $7 billion.

To reverse the decline, the USPS is looking hard at ways to revamp its identity and business model. Merely selling stamps and charging for shipping services will not keep the Postal Service afloat, especially not in the current economy.

In the past, the USPS has tried and failed to introduce and market non-postal products; some of these ventures were in retail goods, some in money order services. The Postal Service tried to work with the Mexican Postal Service and authorities to facilitate cross border transfers, but the pursuit failed and the USPS ended the attempt.

How can the Postal Service attract more business? It's looking at creating services for electronically-dependent consumers and promotions that will keep consumers from switching to private-sector competitors like the United Parcel Service.

The USPS has suffered massive financial losses in the past few years; the combined loss from 2007 and 2008 equaled roughly $8.1 billion, and current figures show that revenue is already down 8.4 percent for 2009. After implementing a routine price increase for shipping services of 5 percent as of January this past year, the USPS still needs new ways to increase revenue. Raising prices, reducing employees, and removing mailboxes and postal routes across the country leaves the Postal Service without wiggle room to cut more costs.

One new program specifically targets "smartphone" owners. The USPS is experimenting with a GPS tracking system that smartphone users can access at any time to track packages across the country. This is a good idea, but not revolutionary, and certainly not one that will recoup billions of dollars.

Any greeting cards with your stamps, today?

An idea with more promise is selling items that go well with its core product of stamps: greeting cards, for instance.

Taking the approach of today's supermarkets — which position bags of Tostitos right next to the salsa and avocados to spur impulse buys and a «one-stop shopping» mindset — the Postal Service is piloting a program to sell greeting cards in post offices.

In October, the USPS announced a year-long pilot program allowing customers to buy and send greeting cards in roughly 500 locations across the country. After the new year, the pilot program is hoping to expand to 1,000 new locations.

"Cards are incredibly linked to the mail," said Robert Bernstock, president of Mailing and Shipping Services. More than half of the 7 billion or so greeting cards bought in the U.S. are sent through the mail.

This is clever. What better time to dash off a quick note to grandmom than while waiting in line at the post office window? It's multitasking of the best sort. However, most people still buy their greeting cards at drugstores, grocery stores, and stores devoted only to paper products, like Hallmark. To be successful, then, the USPS must carry a big enough inventory for customers to expect that the card selection will be adequate.

In another attempt to increase business, the Postal Service has introduced shipping deals on high volume customers. The mailing promotion mainly targets people sending packages via priority mail. People who meet a certain volume of packages mailed will receive a discount. Think of it as the Costco of mailing; those who mail in bulk are rewarded with a price cut.

A Stormy Future

Even with the introduction of the Postal Service's new deals for customers, the financial losses the USPS has endured over the past few years have taken their toll. The Postal Service has postponed paying insurance liability to soon to be retirees from 2009 to 2010.

The Postal Service "has not settled things in the long term," said Robert Schrum from the Lexington Institute in an interview with OhMyGov. "I think that all they have done is postpone this year's obligation, but they don't have a long term fix in place. Congress will have to meet next year to determine a new payment schedule."

The futures of aging postal workers are at stake, and postponement is not a permanent solution for the USPS. Perhaps the most lucrative move the Postal Service could make would be to partner with existing government agencies to increase revenue and traffic.

In a recent article, Robert Schrum suggested that the USPS partner with government offices that handle licensing to help increase profits. Already some post offices have passport services on site. But motor vehicle departments, the Social Security Administration, and even the Internal Revenue Service could benefit from storefront presence in local post offices.

"Though the idea is hypothetical, a lot of licensing authorities rent store space and hire workers to take photos," Schrum said in the interview. These government offices "could do licensing operations in the post offices themselves so that they wouldn't have to pay rent. They could also remove the need for the [extra] workers."

The partnership is a smart idea and would remove the need for the DOL to pay for space that the government has already built. Schrum even suggested customers could pay traffic violations and renew licenses in the post office. This move would redefine the Postal Service across the country.

The USPS knows it is not a retail store, nor a money order service. But merging with existing government agencies will redefine the postal service in everyone's best interest. Taxpayers are more conveniently served, and the government can reduce spending on superfluous businesses. It's about time the Postal Service has a makeover that benefits everybody.

Stimulus performing miracles on jobs numbers

Jenifer Reinhardt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:40:00 GMT

The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Administration for Children and Families, a department of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been using a math not commonly taught in public schools. According to the AP one such numerical miracle occurred in Georgia where the administration counted 935 jobs saved by stimulus money. Impressive until you find out they only have 508 employees.

The rest of us might think a straightforward headcount of people you didn’t layoff because of the stimulus would be the best way to find out how many jobs were saved. But that isn’t how the government directed them to do it. Instead they developed an interesting mathematical exercise that clearly was beyond some individuals capabilities.

The reason the feds are in the business of creating math puzzles (outside of the “to be expected” budget boondoggling) is that they truly believe that providing somebody with a raise is equivalent to saving a job, or at least a 1.84% of a job. “If I give you a raise, it is going to save a portion of your job,” said HHS spokesman Luis Rosero. But perhaps they weren’t as clear with their instructions as they needed to be considering the results.

According to the AP some Head Start programs counted every raise given as a job saved. Then there is the Bergen County Community Action Program in Hackensack, NJ, who received $213,000 in stimulus money that they gave out as raises to existing employees and then reported 85 jobs saved. Director of the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council Myrtis Mulkey-Ndawula said that “it was confusing at best, but we followed the instructions we were given.” This is the person who multiplied 508 by 1.84 to reach 935 jobs saved.

“It’s a glitch in the system,” said Ben Allen, the research director of the National Head Start Association. “There was some misunderstanding among some in the Head Start community about completely the reporting requirements.”

That may seem like a vast understatement but in fact getting an accurate count of the effects of stimulus money is tricky. Steven Davis, a University of Chicago economics professor says it may take a while to get a correct figure. “We will probably have a better sense two years down the road, after a number of careful studies. But even then, there will be lots of arguments.”

Visualize the NYC mayoral election block-by-block

Mark Malseed — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:03:00 GMT

If all politics is local, a block-by-block map of election results is a picture of heaven. And that's exactly my reaction to this infographic from the New York Times showing the results of Tuesday's mayoral matchup between incumbent Michael Bloomberg and challenger William C. Thompson Jr.

The interactive graphic reveals the expression of a city's politics at the most granular level I have seen (so far). The Google Maps mashup, quickly produced and elegantly rendered, does not adequately capture the three-dimensionality of New York — the high-rises blocks vs. the brownstones — but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a Sketch-Up overlay for the graphic by the time Bloomberg runs again.

As a former resident, I found myself panning and zooming through the blocks in the my old neighborhood, scrutinizing the patterns, wondering what it all meant. My block in the East Village went for Bloomberg, but most of the surrounding blocks were in the Thompson camp. I probably could have guessed that, but why? I only knew two or three other people on my street. Heading west and south, what's the deal with the little island of dark red (80% plus Bloomberg) in the heart of Little Italy? And speaking of little islands, how did Mayor Mike manage to win Lady Liberty's vote? The unofficial tally from district encompassing Liberty Island and Governors Island was 286 to 66 in Bloomberg's favor. (Can anyone on Riker's Island still vote?)

Demographers and campaign strategists may get the biggest benefit from drilling down into this data mashup. But the great thing about visualizations like this is they open up information to anyone, telling stories that would otherwise get lost in the numbers.

Click here to see the graphic (free reg. may be required)

Report cards to be issued for award-fee contractors

Evan Morier — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Companies working on award-fee contracts may be getting standardized evaluations to judge their performance.

New BPA study in the works

Evan Morier — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:38:00 GMT

The debate over the health effects of the chemical BPA is heating up. Consumer Reports recently released a report which found BPA in many canned foods, prompting an outcry of objection from the food packaging industry. The results of an FDA study on BPA are expected soon, and the National Institutes of Health is pouring $30 million into studying the effects of low doses of BPA.

Will a texting generation collaborate better?

Evan Morier — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:17:00 GMT

Though some believe text messaging and other collaboration tools will make the younger generation better at collaborating in the workforce, others are more skeptical. Text messaging certainly makes communication easier, but does easier communication translate to better collaboration? Network World defends existing collaboration in the workplace as being better than text message collaboration.

Army: 75 percent of Americans unfit for military service

Evan Morier — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:51:00 GMT

The Army just finished its best recruiting year since the 1970s, but once the economy recovers, recruiting will become difficult again. Not helping is the fact that 75 percent of military-age Americans are unfit for duty, either due to weight, education, or a criminal record. Last year, OhMyGov! reported on the Army's creation of an educational program designed to get recruits into military life while earning a GED.

Voting Information Project struggles to get its good ideas adopted

Jenifer Reinhardt — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:37:00 GMT

With another election day behind us, it is time once again to examine not just the results but the process. In the past few years it has become increasingly obvious that the manner of getting information to voters is outdated and ineffective. That is why Google and the Pew Center for the States partnered to create the Voting Information Project.

Their interest is based not on the winners and losers of elections, but on whether or not the average voter was able to vote without having the impulse to pull all their hair out. According to the project website, in 2008, 56% of the phone calls to Election Protection were because voters couldn't find their polling place, while 33% had problems with registration. Those kinds of numbers look good to the wig industry.

Despite efforts by the Voting Information Project, local and state governments, and other organizations, these problems didn't just go away over the last year. In September the state of Maryland held their local elections and had to change some of their polling places at the last minute. Maryland made every effort to get that information to the voters but the changes were still "confusing people" according to mayoral candidate Josh Cohen.

In Washington state, a writer and new resident assumed that she could register to vote at her polling place on election day like she could in her previous state. In Ann Bauer's words, "Things are different here in Middle Earth: You must, apparently, register eight days in advance to enjoy the privilege of the vote." It's not an uncommon situation. If a smart politically responsible voter is unable to cast a ballot simply due to a lack of information, then this project is desperately needed.

The Voting Information Project wants to answer three basic questions that have been consistently asked over the last several years:

How do I register or find out whether I am registered?
Where do I vote?
What's on the ballot?

To that end they wish to make "official voting information provided by election officials both widely and equally available to the information providers - media, civic groups, search engines and political parties - to whom Americans turn. In this way, we can best ensure that voters will more easily find answers to these three basic questions."

The Voting Information Project has put together a Google gadget that potentially could do exactly that. The free download enables voters to plug in their address, hit search, and then be directed to their exact polling place with maps and directions included. If you want more information, just click on details to find the candidates and issues on the ballot.

Imagine that your local paper prints a story online about an issue or a candidate featured on an upcoming ballot. As you read the story, you find that they have highlighted a VIP icon (for Voting Information Project) that when clicked on provides you with all the information that you need to register and vote in your state. Wouldn't that be helpful?

Something very close to that happened in Virginia in the last few days. You won't find the gadget on local newspaper websites, but visit Virginia's state board of elections and you'll find it prominently placed. Organizations such as NARAL and the Virginia AFLCIO also placed the useful gadget on their websites along with some of the candidates.

Overall progress for the Voting Information Project has been glacial, however. So far only ten states have adopted the principles that VIP espouses, and Virginia is the only government that's managed to put the Google gadget in action. It will require the efforts of everyone to move this project forward.

The National Christmas Tree lighting lottery now open

Jaime L. Hartman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:22:00 GMT

The 2009 National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony will be held on December 3, 2009. The ceremony is a time honored holiday tradition which includes the illumination of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse just south of the White House. The United States Marine Corps Band and other nationally known entertainers will perform, and the President will deliver a message of peace to the nation and the world.

For the first time, tickets to attend the lighting will be distributed through an online lottery that is open through Friday, November 6. Also new this year, those not fortunate enough to attend in person can watch a live webcast at 5PM on December 3.

Is the Thrift Savings Plan website changing?

Bureaupat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:18:00 GMT

Dear Bureaupat,

I was told the www.tsp.gov website was changing, but when I last checked my TSP account it was the same site I've come to love. Is it true that the TSP website is changing?

Dear Thrift Saver,

You're not the only one who loves the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) website. It is one of the of the top 50,000 most visited sites in the world and is currently ranked 3,316 out of millions of websites in America. And yes it's true that the TSP website will be revamped early in 2010.

The upgraded site will be a major overhaul of the current version (shown below) which has not changed since its debut in 1997.

The new website (shown below) will feature more interactive features, a new layout, and better-organized information and charts.

Rest assured, your money will be safe, what's left of it after the prolonged slump anyway. My job answering your questions may not be safe, however, since the coming TSP upgrade will enable participants to submit questions about their accounts via a secure online messaging service, a the current system lacks. Today, questions are answered by a call center that handles about 15,000 inquiries each day.

When participants first log on they will be taken to a page that provides and overview of their account balance and the rate of return for each of their funds and the current rate for each share of a particular fund.

The site won't drastically change its content and is expected to be fully operational in February or March, unless there are major changes recommended.

Some TSP participants will get an early view of the site. About 1 in every 500 TSP participant who logs onto the site will be invited to test-drive the updated site. Once your tour is completed you'll be asked to complete a survey to comment on the changes.

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] Can I give access to my employee records to verify employment?

[+] What goes in my federal personnel records?

[+] If terminated from federal service, can I apply for a contract position?

National parks free on Veterans Day

Evan Morier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:09:00 GMT

In honor of the nation's armed forces, all national parks will be fee-free Veterans Day, next Wednesday.

VA plan will try to reduce number of homeless vets

Evan Morier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:57:00 GMT

The Dept. of Veterans Affairs will soon unveil a five year plan to combat homelessness among veterans. While the new GI Bill is expected to help in prevention, $17 million in immediate assistance will be doled out to build transitional housing for vets.

W.H. borrows Virginia program to solicit ideas from feds

Evan Morier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:39:00 GMT

The White House's online contests for feds to submit ideas for cutting waste in government came from Virginia, where the program has been hugely successful.

NIH sees social media as bio-med research tool

Evan Morier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:18:00 GMT

The National Institutes of Health awarded a $27 million contract Monday to develop social media technology into a research collaboration tool.

Confusion reigns on declassifying intelligence

Mark Malseed — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:29:00 GMT

There was a bright spot this week in the drive to clear up the mess of what national security information can be declassified and what should remain secret. And with that bright spot, blurred vision too.

The fiscal 2009 budget for the National Intelligence Program (NIP), a number previously kept classified, was revealed by the Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair last week to be $49.8 billion.

“I’m hopeful that this information will give the American people a better understanding of how their tax dollars are being used to help protect the country and keep Americans safe,” DNI Blair said.

But his statement confuses the matter, because the dollar figure represents only one part of the total intelligence budget. Excluded is the Military Intelligence Program (MIP). The Secrecy News blog helpfully notes that the budget of the National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and others, comes from a combination of both the NIP and the MIP. So the American people still don't know what is being spent.

Nor do they have a better understanding, since disclosure of "any and all subsidiary information" about the NIP could harm national security, the office of the DNI said.

The last year for which the combined intelligence budget has been declassified is 1998, not a proud year in intelligence annals incidentally. And while the NIP portion of the intel budget has been declassified for 2008 ($47.5 billion) and 2007 ($43.5 billion), the figure for 2006 apparently remains too dangerous to reveal.

What's evident is a "wide variance in application of classification levels,” as the office of the DNI noted itself in an internal January 2008 study (pdf) obtained by the Secrecy News blog. “The definitions of ‘national security’ and what constitutes ‘intelligence’ — and thus what must be classified — are unclear,” the study found.

In all the hubbub to open up government data, let's not forget that reforming the practices around classification and declassification of intelligence is a key part of government transparency. Time to get it right.

Flu travels: Following an infection

OhMyGov! — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:12:00 GMT

Flu viruses constantly mutate, making it tough for our immune defenses to recognize the virus and combat it. Since the current strain of the H1N1 virus (known as swine flu) is relatively new, it may be more contagious than seasonal flu, although it seems no more virulent and most cases should be resolved without significant medical intervention. Here is a look at how flu infections spread:

For the printable version click here.

[+] Health and Human Services targets kids in flu prevention

[+] Could school closures prevent spread of H1N1?

OPM chief proposes bold reform to federal hiring

Caren Sachs — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:12:00 GMT

The motto of the Office of Personnel Management is "Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce." John Berry, OPM's new director, believes that recent years have proven that motto to be inaccurate, and has made it apparent that he will waste no time in his new role to do something about that immediately.

On Tuesday, Mr. Berry unveiled his innovative new ideas to revive the broken civil service system in front of an audience of students at his alma mater, Syracuse University's Maxwell School. (Video)

The focal point of Berry's proposal centered on the core principal of merit. "It's time to reinvigorate merit for the 21st century," he said. "We must make changes now if we are to maintain the quality of our civil service, and we've got a lot of work to do."

The GS, or General Schedule, has 15 grades, and has been the primary government employee pay scale for over 60 years. Berry asked his audience to consider doing away with the current GS system and replacing it with something entirely new. "Our hiring system is quite frankly broke. Five decades after the last major attempt at pay reform, the cracks are showing," he says. Though he opined that the system will not crash any time soon, he believes that it certainly cannot last another five decades.

"How do we practice the principle of merit in the 21st century?" Berry asked the students, and then offered what he calls "the 4 pillars of civil service reform," suggestions for improving our current system. They are: defining and appraising merit today; making the system flexible yet fair for both workers and employees; motivating and rewarding good performance while addressing poor performance in a tactful and productive way; and properly training, educating, and developing workers over the entire course of their career.

For the first pillar, Berry suggested replacing the GS system with climbing a ladder of three stages: apprentice, journey-level, and expert, all of which would have an incredibly high bar in order to achieve the next level of your career. For the second pillar, he asked that we consider a results-only work environment where time clocks are thrown out and there are fewer restrictions on employees, which he feels will likely boost morale and increase productivity and performance.

The third pillar is that good performance should be rewarded with a bonus that is reviewed by a panel, voted upon by employees, and finally published for the sake of transparency. Berry also believes that there should be only 3 levels of reviewing an employee's performance: in good standing, outstanding, and finally not in good standing, for 5% of workers who need improvement or be removed.

For poor performances, he suggests that rather than just suddenly firing someone, give the managers gradations to remove someone, and when firing is necessary, train managers how to have those difficult conversations with their employees.

For the last pillar, Berry strongly suggests focusing on education, taking course related to the job, and adding training into the budget. He notes that "the federal government does a pathetic job of training. . . It's shameful. Training is always the first thing to get cut from the budget and the last to get put back," he said.

Berry emphasized that the problem mainly lies with the system itself, not the people, and that the OPM does not need to be reinvented, but rather make the best use of its employees. He believes that people are assets and need to be treated just so. "People aren't a piece of the equation; people are the equation," he said. Though he is aware of the challenges ahead, Berry said that he aims "to get it achieved before Christmas."

Diplomat's blog disappears... was State Dept. involved?

Evan Morier — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:36:00 GMT

An anonymous dimplomat/blogger has vanished from the internet, prompting suspicions of State Department muzzling. State is known for its media-shy policies and weak embrace of social media tools.