Skip to main content

Posts

VA is risking veterans' lives by not tracking implants properly

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...

NIH is losing track of grant money to foreign entities

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...

DHS agencies found to not be handling computer security that protects national security

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...

People running Bureau of Prisons are getting as bad as criminals they are guarding

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...

Five recent instances of the DOJ allowing employees to get away with crimes

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...

Quit fining companies committing crimes and start pulling out the handcuffs

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...

Interview with Illinois 8th District GOP Candidate Mark Rice

  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...