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Navy steps up drug testing

by Mary Jane Egan Sep 09 2009, 12:28 AM The U.S. Navy recently altered its drug testing program in an effort to enforce its zero-tolerance drug policy and eradicate illicit drug use. The new program, launched on July 30, requires a monthly minimum of four drug tests that represent 15 percent of a command’s members. This replaces the yearly random test for 100 percent of a ...

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Study finds coal mining a financial burden to communities

by Mary Jane Egan Jul 28 2009, 06:21 AM A study in the latest issue of Public Health Reports finds that costs associated with coal mining far exceed its economic benefits. The peer-reviewed publication is an official journal within the Department of Health and Human Services. According to authors Michael Hendryx and Melissa Ahern, coal mining contributes over $8 ...

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Obvious but interesting: Americans not very happy

by Mary Jane Egan Jul 13 2009, 07:27 AM Can environmentalism be the key to health and happiness? According to a report from the New Economics Foundation, eco-friendly Costa Rica garners the top spot of the Happy Planet Index (HPI). The United States checks in at a somber 114 on the 143-country list.  The report’s author, NEF, was founded in 1986 in Great Britain with a mission to ...

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Sen. Coburn, White House square off in stimulus showdown

by Mary Jane Egan Jul 01 2009, 06:01 AM 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 ...

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Just like the drugs they deal, Florida prisoners headed to other states

by Mary Jane Egan Jun 29 2009, 05:41 AM Future inmates of Florida may take an unexpected road trip after incarceration. According to a new bill signed by Governor Charlie Crist, prisoners may be shipped out of state to serve their time. The legislation comes during a moment of crisis convergence between a devastated economy and a burgeoning prison population, and while ...

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DARPA developing translation device

by Mary Jane Egan Jun 18 2009, 10:39 AM The Tower of Babel may at last be crumbling. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), inventors of the Internet and other sometimes useful technologies, is developing a handheld two-way translation device. Part of a larger project called Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use, or TRANSTAC, the ...

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In Daniel Hauser Case, Liberty Suffers Too

by Mary Jane Egan Jun 17 2009, 05:44 AM From the OhMyGov! Opinion Page... In defense of his monarchy, King James VI proclaimed that the state “is rightly compared to a father of children.” Today, many in the United States consider the family as a microcosm of government. But what happens when family and state disagree? The story of Daniel Hauser has chilling implications for ...

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NASA "super plastic" saves lives of cardiac patients

by Mary Jane Egan May 21 2009, 09:18 AM A NASA-developed super plastic now comprises a crucial element of devices employed to treat patients of heart failure. In a superb example of well-used tax dollars, the NASA resin will ease the difficulty of implanting cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices in patients around the world. The plastic, Langley Research Center’s Soluble ...

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Federal government to go on a hiring blitz

by Mary Jane Egan May 19 2009, 02:11 PM Looking for work? Then you may want to head to the nearest government office, because they will soon be hiring. If President Obama’s 2010 budget passes Congress in it's current form, the number of civilian employees in the executive branch will increase by about 140,000 to a total of over 2 million workers for the first time since President ...

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Study reveals government printing waste

by Mary Jane Egan May 19 2009, 06:43 AM Imagine printing out an unnecessary extra page every time you print a two-page document, and then having someone else pay for it. In so many words, this process describes the extent of waste involved in federal government printing. According to a study released by Lexmark International, $440.4 million of the annual $1.3 billion spent on ...

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