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Wouldn't it be nice for a change to read a GAO report on how the Bush administration is using contractors that found reasonable performance standards were set, that there was good oversight, that contractors performed as required, and that if they didn't they were given the boot?

Well, you'll have to keep holding your breath when it comes to the State Department . . . whose Secretary would be . . . .?

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A new Congressional Research Service report - Tibet: Problems, Prospects, and U.S. Policy - RL34445 April 10, 2008 - is now available at OpenCRS.

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A new study by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and CareerBuilder.com provides new data on motives for sending US jobs abroad (and abroad can mean Canada) as well as which jobs are a likely target.

crossposted from unbossed

A couple months ago, we reported that the Bush Administration had fudged the figures on mining injuries in order to claim that they were far worse under Bill Clinton. Untrue, of course. February 06, 2008 Mining Disasters - Whose Fault? MSHA's Stickler Blames Bill Clinton. Now a new report shows that on the job deaths for 2006 were worse than claimed.

crossposted from unbossed

This is the final part in this series covering testimony at the hearing on the state of SCHIP, especially in the aftermath of the Bush Administration's August 17 directive imposing hurdles on the coverage of poor children.

The first post included testimony of a mother struggling to find healthcare for her child. The second included the Senator's introductory statements. The third included testimony from panel one and a critique of the way they were playing fast and loose with statistics, all with a goal of ensuring that insurance companies make money, even if it means that poor children have no health insurance. Links to the earlier posts, if you missed them - or just want to relive them - are at the end.

crossposted from unbossed

This is the third part describing and commenting on testimony at the April 9 hearing on the Bush Administration's August 17 directive related to SCHIP. The hearing explored the impact of the directive on providing health coverage to poor children and on usurping Congress' powers.

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Part 1 of this report may be found here. Part I included testimony by a woman about her family's struggle to provide health care to their children. For all follow-up posts, consider the testimony against this woman's lived experience. This part covers opening statements at the April 9, 2008 hearing. Statements of witnesses are in the next two posts.

crossposted from unbossed

On April 9, 2008 the Senate Subcommittee on Health Care held a Hearing - "Covering Uninsured Children: The Impact of the August 17 CHIP Directive."

Most of the witnesses were experts in this area who testified about theories and data.

One of the witnesses was the mother of a disabled child, a woman struggling with illness, accidents, and poverty, a woman trying to earn a living and help care for her children.

The pundits will be in the next post. First, let's hear the voice of this mother so we have a context into which to place the data and theories.

crossposted from unbossed

An important part of our government is the regulator process. The Administrative Procedure Act mandates public participation in key parts of the regulatory process. However, being heard means knowing that comments are invited on an issue of concern and then trying to find what you are lookinf for and then wade through the information on making your comments. Frustrating, because it is now so available on line. But keep in mind, until recently, you could only find this information by going to a law or other legal or very large library and then wade through all sorts of confusing books.

But that has changed now.

Arf! Arf! Arf!  OK, not exactly in the window, but go to Craig's List or e-bay, and you can buy enough stolen US military equipment to make your own F-14 or credibly pose as a US officer. Among the items for sale are F-14 components, Night vision goggles containing an image intensifier tube made to military specifications, Army Combat Uniform (ACU) and uniform accessories,  Body armor vests and Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI), including advanced Enhanced SAPI (E-SAPI) plates, Kevlar helmets, flak jackets, gas masks, and military meals ready-to-eat (MRE).

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In a speech Tuesday, April 8, at the American Hospital Association's annual membership meeting, David Walker, who just recently resigned as Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office, said that he supported

Providing universal coverage for "basic and essential" health care services is one part of an overarching strategy to address the financial crisis in the health care system.

crossposted from unbossed

Today, April 7, is the deadline to sign up to participate in the Pennsylvania hearings whose main purpose seems to be to go after rBST-free milk, this time via a hearing on milk pricing.

And it is also the day a letter was sent to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland by public interest groups asking him not to bar us from knowing whether rBST has been used in producing our milk.

crossposted from unbossed

You bet! And here are some links to information on this important issue.

crossposted from unbossed

When Wal-Mart decided to go rBST-free last week,  Monsanto knew it was in big trouble. So it's pulling out the big guns.

Yes, when the going gets tough, Monsanto's astroturf groups get going.

crossposted from unbossed

You read it at here months ago. Amidst the victory celebrations when the harshest form of milk labeling ban failed in Pennsylvania, I predicted that this was not the end. I predicted that Monsanto and its wholly owned subsidiary army of minions would continue to push in many and insidious ways to make the world safe for rBST.  Here are some links you will find useful if you are new to this issue. link here  and here  and here  and here

So, Pennsylvanians, get ready again. The newest attack on your right to drink milk produced by cows not injected with rBST is on.

crossposted from unbossed

On the Media again shows its value in this week's critiques of the way the press has failed to cover the war in Iraq.  If you want to know what is going on with the MSM, you must check in with OTM. Let me add, that this coverage is anything but dull.  

crossposted from unbossed

Yes, it is definitely a government of the contractors, by the contractors, and maybe even for the contractors. At least that is a concern GAO shares, according to a new report issued yesterday.

crossposted from unbossed

Utilities, especially power utilities, are not my area. However, a new report released by GAO last week is a must-read, especially if you are concerned that power companies have now found a way to excuse themselves from regulation and oversight. It appears you may be correct. One unique aspect of this report is that GAO has provided on-line access to its survey results.