Because Democracy is Not Free — we all have to work at it
Yes, Virginia, PPP’s, unlike Santa Claus, apparently do not exist, even in people’s hearts. In my article High Crimes, Misdemeanors, and Cumbersome Bureaucratic “Red Tape” I outlined my latest appeal to the Office of the Special Counsel concerning the use of PPP’s at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. As indicated in that [...]
Ah, the urgency of a “911” call. There is “blood on the street,” a call is placed, the operator quickly assesses that it is not a crank call, and help is dispatched. Government in action, with alacrity; it is satisfying. Sometimes there is no actual blood. Take the recent case of Shirley Sherrod. There was [...]
Six months ago I had never heard of the OSC, but by trial and error, via complaints to other Federal Agencies, it became apparent to me that the OSC was the “proper” agency that should address matters involving Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPP’s), especially if they are utilized on a systemic basis. Issues related to PPP’s [...]
Not exactly a new theme. I am speaking, of course, of the Department of Veterans Affairs abandoning the men and women who served in America’s Armed Forces, and to whom the Agency purportedly serves. For those veterans who served in the Vietnam War, one of the most egregious examples of willful abandonment occurred over the [...]
At least in the days of yore, when I was in school, the Study Hall was a period of only an hour. But in terms of governmental agencies, that period can be months, maybe even years, as no doubt others have experienced. As a by-product of one of my cases against the Center for Disease [...]
No, I’m not referring to the number of days since the catastrophic oil blowout commenced in the Gulf of Mexico. I believe we are now at #60 on that one. I seem to be “tracking” that event, 10 days later, since it was on April 30 that the Merit System Protection Board ruled in my [...]
A strong, independent civil service is one of the dominant themes of this website, and is an essential component to the proper functioning of any society. Over the last 30 years an anti-government ideology has predominated in numerous leadership circles, and has been reflected in the beliefs of a broad swath of the American populace. [...]
…with a bit of room to spare. Almost a week ago, on this site, I raised what is now the rhetorical question: Does the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta openly engage in Prohibited Personnel Practices? The answer has now been officially determined by the Merit System Protection Board in Denver: YES! Thanks in [...]
Does the CDC in Atlanta openly engage in Prohibited Personnel Practices? When I first applied for a Public Health Advisor position at the CDC, I had no intention of having a formal legal opinion on this question determined. In fact, I had no idea what a Prohibited Personnel Practice (PPP) is. Naively, I thought that [...]