History Matters and Little Facts

  International trade is not a difficult concept to understand, especially when it comes to the fact that this helps the prosperity of the nation. That is a key area for the Department of Commerce, which is done through the International Trade Administration. The ITA, it seems, does not do the job it was created for, the exact opposite in fact. Even worse, the backlog is at ten years. On top of all of that, the agency has been proven to be playing favorites with whom they help. Audit Findings Here, via the Commerce OIG report , is the scale of how bad the ITA has become. “Although past and current administrations have prioritized opening foreign markets and reducing trade barriers, our review of ITA’s management of trade barrier cases found that ITA is not adequately addressing the needs of U.S. companies. Specifically, ITA does not strategically manage cases to achieve the Administration’s and the Department’s strategic goals. We found that case contributors manage their cas...

  It would seem that yet another agency of the government is impeding progress, this time the Federal Aviation Administration is the offender. The technology is vertical take off and landing craft for civilian use, which could revolutionize transportation and logistics. Basically, these are flying cars more than they would be helicopters. This would allow many changes in the way traffic patterns happen, which could alleviate many traffic jam issues and aide in medical emergencies. Yet, we have a federal agency unable to get their act together to allow the innovation. Government Findings Here, via the Department of Transportation OIG report , is the findings. “ Regulatory, management, and communication issues hindered FAA’s progress in certifying AAM aircraft, and challenges remain. Given their unique features, AAM aircraft do not fully fit into FAA’s existing airworthiness standards. For over 4 years, FAA made limited progress in determining which certification path to use. One ...

  It keeps being proven that DEI is a waste of money and is of dubious logic, but the Department of Interior DEI office went above and beyond to prove both. They decided the law was something to make up and just created their own little world. The Interior Inspector General found that this was done for three years, with the DEI department working to make sure that they would not be discovered by the Equal Employment Commission. Three Years Here via the Department of Interior OIG report , is what was happening in the Interior DEI office. “We investigated an allegation that a former Director (Director) of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights (ODICR) issued final agency decisions (FADs) containing unsupportable findings of discrimination. We also investigated an allegation that the Director, another former senior official with ODICR (Acting Director), and the former Director of ODICR’s Adjudication, Compliance & Equity Division (Division Director) backdated or...

  It would seem that the Department of Interior is quickly becoming a place where scammers are comfortable, as will be shown. The tax dollars from hard working Americans are not being managed correctly, nor is the employment and contract management handling their jobs correctly. People need to be made aware of this fact, as this means millions are going for criminal purposes. If this has been found, there could be far more hidden instances with smarter criminals. Budget Analyst Here, via a Department of OIG report , is what one budget analyst did. “We substantiated that, from May 2020 to June 2021, Robinson embezzled at least $56,000 from the FWS when she used her Government travel and purchase cards to make a series of personal purchases. We also found that Robinson altered her monthly Government travel and purchase statements by removing the personal transactions and totals in an attempt to conceal the thefts. She then digitally certified the statements and provided them to he...

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...