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CHEERS to Karen Evans for finally doing the right thing in requiring all agencies to use GSA’s NETWORX telecommunications contract. Leveraging the combined buying power of the federal government to achieve the best value for American Taxpayers was one of the primary reasons why President Truman first created the GSA. Each time a government agency, or OMB, allows the “competition” of duplicative procurements, the power of the federal government to drive down prices is diluted. With this OMB memo, the only pieces that are now missing are the management and budget related: managing the timeliness of government agency compliance and transition to NETWORX, and budgeting that would require all agencies to carve out a portion of their FY09 and FY10 budgets to cover the cost of the transition. Still, it’s the closest that OMB has come to doing what is best for the American Taxpayer, regarding telecommunication costs, in a long time. http://www.nextgov.com/site_services/print_article.php?StoryID=ng_20080829_1382
JEERS go to out of control bloggers. Misguided bloggers are reaching new lows (if that is really possible) by zeroing in on the underage children of political appointees, and now, Gov. Palin.
Public figures, especially elected officials and political appointees, are well aware that they face extraordinary scrutiny for all of their actions. Nor is there anything wrong with that. In fact, most (but not all) governmental decision-making would be vastly improved if there was much greater transparency.
Our country has reached a new, blogging low point, and like a cancer it is spreading. Fierce political partisans have become so lost and misguided that they will giddily seize upon any trace of scandal in an effort to score political points. Sadly, these efforts are encouraged by some equally misguided members of Congress who are far more interested in maintaining privileges of power than in behaving with fairness and decency.
Congressman Waxman is a prime example. He feels comfortable attacking the children of political appointees in the hearings of the oversight committee that he chairs. Is there any wonder then, if this is the example set by a senior member of Congress, that bloggers have concluded that any kind of attack is fair game?
The real danger when partisans go too far down the shame spiral, as they are doing right now, is that honorable and capable Americans might well decide that the costs of government service is simply too high. And as a country, we run the risk that some of our best, brightest and most capable people will decide not to enter government service.
We, as a nation, have been too tolerant of bloggers that have crossed the line of decency and do unfair damage to reputations with false facts. Senator Obama has wisely said that this kind of behavior is uncalled for; perhaps he can call Congressman Waxman and any others in Congress who do not share his view.
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