Alas, some new developments. Key White House staffers aren’t getting enough sleep. I can fix that. I’ll send over some of my writings.
And because President Bush isn’t tucking in his aides-de-camp at a reasonable hour, Senator Russell Feingold has introduced a Censure Resolution against the Chief Executive. Feingold says its because the President violated the law in approving National Security Agency (NSA) spying or surveillance (again choose the word closest to your political leaning), but I think it’s directly related to the sleep issue. After all, if these folks didn’t have to stay up all hours of the night listening to suspicious conversations, imagine how refreshed and ready-to-go they’d be every morning when they arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
There’s also debate on the size of the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2007, starting October 1, which is, when (?), right before the mid-term elections. Efforts to curb spending don’t seem to be working as well as deficit hawks would wish, yet there is considerable pressure on non-discretionary budget levels, which most impact those Executive Branch agencies working on general government operations, e.g., collecting taxes, protecting the environment, testing new drugs, etc.
Having served three decades in the federal government in staff and management posts in budget development and execution, strategic planning, and general program management, I know budget battles matter and affect the quality and activity of important government programs.
So, there you have it. Something new and different this week and not the same old drumbeat about Scooter Libby, wiretapping, Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits, etc., although I hope some enterprising journalist or non-profit organization will delve more deeply into the vagaries of the latter. Any program affecting over 40 million Americans deserves a lot of public attention and discussion.
OK, I lied. The drumbeat remains. The Chinese water torture continues. Scooter, eavesdropping, et al, again got ink this week in the press. I predict these issues will remain until the November elections. And while we’d like to think that politics doesn’t interfere with our country’s vaunted civil service system, it certainly affects top-level policymakers, their willingness and ability to move initiatives forward, and the amount of personal time they must devote to addressing these distractions or indictments (again, choose your preferred term). All this certainly affects the Executive Branch, the work it performs, and how effectively it does it.
The more things stay the same, the more interesting they become.
Fun, isn’t it?
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YETMO: “You’re Entitled To My Opinion,” A Balanced Point of View
Fred W. Apelquist, III, M. Ed.
Approximately 410 words.
© March 17, 2006