History Matters and Little Facts

All doctors are aware that records of what is done to patients need to be maintained properly, but this is not the case for veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration. They do not have a logical record keeping system in place in case there is a recall on any item they need to implant into patients. If there is a recall, which has occurred, they have to spend extra time trying to figure out where the implant went and how to track down the patient. Such a situation can be terrible if the implanted device can cause health issues or even death. GAO Report Here, via the GAO report , is what they found. “ Multiple Veterans Health Administration (VHA) offices are involved in overseeing implantable medical devices received by veterans. VHA's National Center for Patient Safety, the lead office for patient safety issues, is responsible for monitoring device safety issues. This office evaluates patient risk when safety issues are identified and collaborates with VHA's clin...

For some reason, the National Institutes of Health funds foreign research still, just as in COVID research that worked so well in China. The grants are supposed to have audits performed by the facilities within 30 days and then after 9 months. This has not been happening in the vast majority of them. It means that the NIH has lost control of millions in tax dollars, and this is to foreign entities. Looking over the grants, none of them are unable to be done by American entities, so it begs the question as to why the money goes overseas. OIG Findings Here, via the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General report , is what was found. “ NIH did not ensure that NIH foreign grant recipients completed and submitted required annual audit reports. NIH did not receive 81 of the 109 annual audit reports for foreign grant recipients that met the requirements for an audit and for which NIH provided the majority of HHS funding. As a result, NIH did not have information needed fro...

The Department of Homeland Security is quite literally tasked with protecting the United States through law enforcement and handling emergencies. That should mean that they need to maintain security in their own actions, but this is not the case when it comes to computer security. This can harm national security on several levels, which can lead to harm to the citizens of this nation. A recent DHS OIG reports on how three agencies within the Department are not utilizing necessary security. OIG Findings Here, via the OIG report , is how agencies of the DHS are not complying with computer security. “Department of Homeland Security components did not consistently apply information technology (IT) access controls to ensure only authorized personnel had access to systems, networks, and information. This capping report summarizes access control practices and deficiencies reported in three components — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEM...

While many people inside federal prisons deserve their punishment, this does not mean that they need to be in a deadly, corrupt system that is mismanaged. The amount of deaths and scandals are expected at this point, no matter what warnings the DOJ Inspector General has said. There are so many issues that have gone from fixable to lawsuits waiting to happen that one article is unable to mention them all. This article will show how bad the Bureau of Prisons has become via Congressional testimony of Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Scope of Problem Here, from the beginning of the February testimony, is the overview of what the BOP has become. “Before turning to the Deaths in Custody report, it is important to put its findings into a broader context and to emphasize the recurring, chronic nature of many of the issues we identified. I have been the Inspector General at the Justice Department for almost 12 years, and every year I have included the BOP in my annual report of the top mana...

People employed at the Department of Justice are supposed to uphold the laws of the nation, not violate the laws that have been set into place. They seem to get away with breaking the law, with the worst that happens is that they get to retire. If these same people were not connected to the government, it makes one wonder how fast they would see the inside of a courtroom. People need to be made aware of the fact that DOJ employees get away with breaking the law and not facing real consequences. Foreign National Prostitute In DOJ OIG Investigative Summary 24-001 , a senior level FBI employee was going to a massage parlor run by a foreign national and having sexual relations with employees for money. This is both a crime and an opportunity to have the employee blackmailed. The employee resigned before the OIG could question them, with both federal and state prosecutors declining to take them to court for their crimes. Unlawful Records Removal In DOJ OIG Investigative Summary 24-003 , a D...

If a regular person commits a crime, they are taken to court and have to consider how long they will be sent to jail or prison if the crime and severity fall into that realm. Companies that commit crimes do not have that worry, so management and executives can allow their companies to commit crimes and just worry about fines. Yes, there have been a few rare instances where people have gone to jail, but it is just that, rare. This needs to change. Pharmaceutical Industry I am currently reading a book called “Sickening”, which is written by a doctor who has become an expert on how the pharmaceutical industry scams doctors to make prescriptions they should not. I will be reviewing this book later, but it opened my eyes to how jail sentences would change the industry from one built on college business degree ideas of profit back to one where Adam Smith would approve. People are dying from complications, which should be considered murder, but the most that happens is a few million dollars...

  All members of the House are up for election, which happens every two years. I am attempting to get all of them to answer 7 questions. This will most likely not happen this election cycle, but there will be some, such as Mark Rice, in this article. He is running for the Illinois 8 th Congressional District , which encompasses part of Chicago and the surrounding areas. The area has been represented by Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi since 2017, who has some strong stances, but is the typical Chicago and National Democrat. Mark Rice Here, from his campaign website , is a short biography on Rice. Here is a man that can understand the energy issues plaguing this nation. “Mark was a fourth generation Texan and attended college in Austin where he graduated in 1985 from the University of Texas. Mark has served on several boards in Illinois including the Jewish Community Center of Chicago, Camp Apache, and Project Interchange. He is the passionate founder of Trevian Youth Football on...

Yesterday, we covered why the government makes it so that people are unable to leave the power grid. This is not the case in all areas, but in some places, it is not an option. Imagine living in New York City or Jersey City and disconnecting. Most areas do not have a way to generate viable power . Here is the primary concern, the National Power Grid is failing, which means that people are going to see continued mass outages and rising taxes from trying to support outdated technology. This article is to show the problem, which needs all of us to find valid solutions. Grid Failure In 2003 , there was an extreme failure of the power grid that affected people from multiple states and a Canadian province. That failure should have caused people to realize there was a problem, especially two nations were working toward a solution. By 2013 , it was proven that this was not the case, though the information and possible solutions were not clear. It is now 2024 and there has been talk, but th...

To start with, this is part of a two part story that covers this topic more. This is about the national power grid, which is not something the people here should be so reliant on. The problem is, that the government does not want people removing themselves from the problem. Taxes are necessary for many reasons, but they are also one of the two reasons that the government works so hard to control every aspect of people's lives. People have attempted to leave the power grid and are told that they are unable to for legal reasons. These laws are based on a building code, which states people need to be connected to a power source. Local and state governments use this to force people to stay connected to utility companies that are increasingly becoming overextended. Building Code Now, I try not to overly inject my opinion when facts matter far more, but I have read through the building code that is being used and consider it horse excrement. It literally is a document that gives a path f...

Congress passed four laws that grew the Department of Energy to unseen levels, but did not pay attention to any manner to adequately monitor where the money goes. This was put into an inspector general report that does not seem to have many people talking. While the report does seem to be about increasing funds to the Office of Inspector General, but this is the oversight arm of any executive department. It would seem that Congress is more concerned with spending tax dollars than understanding if it is a good thing. INVEST in America Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or INVEST in America Act , was a law meant to help the nation with infrastructure fixes and get jobs for people. The budget for the bill ended up being between $547 billion and $715 billion, depending on how the money is spent. For the DOE, this meant money being poured into nuclear power, green energy, innovation in several areas, and making sure the supply chain for the energy industry is more secure. CHIPS...

Here's a thought, we as a nation have allowed the government to stifle innovation in several areas to the detriment of safety and well being of the nation. Nuclear technology has advanced, but not from the country that spent the money and lives to bring the technology to fruition. It is not sexy to discuss, but it is a necessary thought process when this nation is relying on other nations for so many of the needs people have when it comes to powering their lives. Market Destruction When the Soviet Union changed to Russia, the government there took their time to learn about the free market. The United States started working with them to remove the nuclear material from their old missiles, which, at that time, the Russians started asking questions. They asked about the uranium market and what it took to get involved. The US people involved answered all the questions, while the Russians absorbed it all. This, decades later, has the Russians in charge of the world's uranium market ...

The United States government was the sole refiner of uranium for nuclear power plants for a few decades. This decision has and is costing the taxpayers billions of dollars to clean up the three sites that were involved, which means Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio have dangerously radioactive areas. Think about that for a second, the power plants were commercial endeavors that were forced to get their needed fuel from the government. The decision is lasting years of contamination and a bill that continues to grow. Current Budget The current budget is still sending enough money to keep the cleanup going. Here is what was in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. “For Department of Energy expenses necessary in carrying out uranium enrichment facility decontamination and decommissioning, remedial actions, and other activities of title II of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and title X, subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, $855,000,000, to be derived from the Uranium Enrichment ...

  Here is a question, why are we working to secure the border of Middle Eastern nations while politicians and bureaucrats are being allowed to weaken ours? $880 million was sent to various Middle Eastern nations in this budget exactly for this reason, which means that they get to protect themselves with our money. This nation is in massive debt, yet there are billions headed overseas. There is no excuse for American veterans to be treated like they are, while citizens of other nations see the benefits of the hard work of American citizens. Long Tradition Consolidated Appropriation Acts for years have been allocating money to the nations of the Middle East to make sure that they have little to worry about when it comes to their border. This is coming at a time when an entire political party wants to allow everyone, criminals, and terrorists included, into this nation. One has to wonder why this is not being stopped by the elected officials who know their constituents do not want ...

I saw the news that there is now a Defense Modernization Caucus that has been created by Representatives Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Rob Wittman (R-VA). This caused me to look into how many caucuses there currently are , and the only word to use is wow. There are caucuses from the Candy Caucus to the Electronic Warfare Working Group . In one sense, it is good there are some discussions on issues people are interested in, while it makes one wonder if they are actually effective. Knowledge Helps One good thing about the different caucuses is that they can pool their knowledge and their contact lists. Knowledge helps bring about more informed bills that can help the nation on many issues. People will know that their politicians are getting help when they have an important local issue while being able to put it into the context of larger national ones. In theory, all of this is a good thing. Corruption Chances Another way to look at the caucuses is a chance for large companies and groups to find...

People are quick to complain with the voice they're given in the modern world, but few have solutions or even study issues enough to know the complexities. There are ways to fix Congress, with the House of Representatives being the easiest to start with. It involves community, not a single voice, along with people knowing they will not get changes immediately. It involves planning and intelligence to pull all of this off. Primary Campaign Too many people vote for whichever candidate they have heard of in the primary. There is also the issue that too often the incumbent is voted back in, no matter how useless or corrupt they are. Just because a member of Congress has power does not mean they are useful to a local community. Remember, they are not your leader, they are your representative. Thus, the name House of Representatives. This means paying attention to and interacting with the candidates at the primary election is key. Community Building In the modern world, we have gotten aw...

The House GOP fought to remove questionable pet project funding from the federal budget, which included help for abortions and criminal aliens. This will save millions of taxpayers, which will also prevent voter backlash to members of the GOP who have done nothing when they have done nothing regarding their campaign promises. Some of the places that lost funding will cause an uproar within the LGBT community and their supporters, but it will also cut a bloated budget that is dragging us further into debt. Abortion Locations Congressman Robert Aderholt (Al-4) who is the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, listed several of the projects that lost funding. Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island was to get $1.8 million and is known for late term abortions. Dartmouth Hitchcock, Nashua in New Hampshire was to receive $650,000 and is also known for late term abortions. These being removed cleared away a lot of the politica...