I read this diary: Memo to Kundra (CIO) & Chopra (CTO)
by Press to Digitate
[Open letter to the new federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and new federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra]
Gentlemen:
Below are given 10 specific reccommentations with respect to IT policy initiatives which the Obama Administration might consider, to help make the federal government more efficient, effective, transparent, and useful.
I wrote this comment after the diary went off the list, so I think the suggestions offered for the new tech team are good ones.
However, we need to ensure the government's computer systems, at every level, are spy-free, mole-free and Cheney/Bush/Rove-free! and offer this information:
The House Judiciary Committee's website/e-mail server was built and maintained by GovTech Solutions, a company owned and operated by the deceased pal of the Bush family and Karl Rove. Mr. Connell died in the crash of his small plane while attempting to land his plane for a company Christmas party last December. May he rest in peace. Condolences to his wife and children.
This man, Michael Connell, was a witness called before the Ohio voting machine fraud case, King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell, in which plaintiffs alleged vote tampering occurred in the 2004 presidential election. At that time subpoenas were issued, Connell refused to testify and to produce documents relating to the 2004 or 2006 elections. Connell created a site for the Ohio Secretary of State that presented results of the 2004 Presidential election in real time, as the votes were being tabulated. Then those votes were sent off to another Connell site in TN in the middle of the night, where it is alleged that they were retabulated to ensure a Bush/Cheney win. Ohio's Secretary of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell also served as chair of the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in Ohio. Also, Connell provided web services for the Bush/Cheney 2004 reelection campaign. Further, his companies provided IT services to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Republican National Committee (hint, hint - the millions of missing e-mails were a task he would have likely known how to find if under court order).
To my knowledge, the HJC during its investigation of the Attorneygate matters, never attempted to subpoena Connell's back-up records when they filed the contempt case to get testimony from Rove, Meirs and Bolton. It may still be able to be done. For obvious reasons, I suggest the new tech team look into it.
In November, 2008, just before Connell's death, he merged his company with GSL Solutions, Inc. of Tampa, FL.
Here is another piece of interesting information from epluribusmedia.net at the same link:
http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/...
ANY OVERSIGHT BY OFFICE OF FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE OVERSIGHT - WWW.OFHEO.GOV? Posted Sun, 09/07/2008 - 15:03 by luaptifer Bumped. -- GH Originally posted 2008-09-07 13:11:07 -0500. Now that taxpayers are about to pick up the tab on another megabillion dollar problem of the Bush Administration, I have some questions. Note: this commentary began its life just moments ago as a comment on Taxpayers picking up the tab again. <snip> What do they do? And how'd Mike Connell get the job of running their website back in 1999? Does George W. Bush get some sort of inside information from this arrangement?
I am hopeful that they will do this very critical piece of security work because we know only a small amount of the damage that the Bushies did to our government. Yes, it's an investigation from the past that has not been resolved for years. However, it's critical to ensure that the Obama administration's e-mail and other pertinent and confidential information is secure from within and without.
They can simply turn this over to their legal team and ask them to FOIA the GSA Schedule contracts that the former GovTech Solutions had with Members of Congress, the White House and oversight committees.
I wonder to this day if HJC Chairman Conyers is aware that his website was built by a known Republican operative and a Rove/Bush buddy! I fear that if they don't spend the time to go to the GSA/DOJ for information that the Republicans will continue to have ample opportunity to read the e-mail of members of Congress, Congressional committees and who can only imagine what else they did to help Karl with his permanent Republican majority.