Modernization
Specter mulls fix to surveillance law to ban secret videotaping
Change prompted by allegations from a Pennsylvania family that school administrators monitored their son by using a secret webcam embedded in a school-issued laptop.
Digital Government
Defense says monitoring objects in space becoming more urgent
The military relies on an aging system to track an ever-increasing amount of material orbiting Earth, making it imperative that it develops a network to avoid collisions that could take out satellites for communication, weather and positioning.
Digital Government
Managers might need a refresher course on hiring the disabled
Study finds federal officials have good intentions, but lack the knowledge to effectively recruit and accommodate disabled workers.
Digital Government
Obama to nominate California CIO as top Defense tech chief
Takai would be the first woman to hold the Defense CIO position and has experience in managing information as an asset, developing policies for employee use of social media and development of an enterprise information technology architecture -- all key Defense concerns.
Ideas
Fun With Math: Budget $$$
The Center for American Progress has launched an <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/discretionary_spending_interactive.html">interactive pie chart</a> that lets users zoom in to see which programs are considered discretionary versus mandatory in the annual federal budget. President Obama's budget proposes a three-year <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/responsibility.pdf">governmentwide freeze</a> on nonsecurity discretionary spending to save $250 billion over the next decade.
Digital Government
Big Brother Eyes Health Records?
The use of scare tactics to undermine health reform continues. Fox News suggested this week that efforts to expand the use of electronic medical records raise concerns "about government access to Americans' medical history ... and what the government will do once it has access to Americans' medical history."
Digital Government
Commemorating Vietnam Vets in N.M.
On March 29, a statue depicting a kneeling soldier paying homage to a fallen comrade will be dedicated at the <a href=http://www.nmvetsmemorial.org/>New Mexico Veterans' Memorial</a> adjacent to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.
Cybersecurity
Most Dangerous Attacks - Day 1
I cross paths with the world's best and brightest cybersecurity minds everyday. So, when <a href="http://www.inguardians.com/">Ed Skoudis</a>, a founder and senior security consultant with InGuardians, provided me with a list of today's most dangerous attack vectors for a project we're working on, I knew it deserved exposure.
Ideas
House Panel Clears Grid Security Bill
The Energy and Environment Subcommittee passed a bill on Wednesday to protect the nation's electricity grid from terrorism and cyber threats.
Digital Government
What Millennials Want
Federal human resources professionals have long contended that the government will be challenged by the younger generation's unwillingness to stay put at a job. Labor Department figures, which estimate that millennials will hold an average of 10 jobs before they turn 38, have backed up this belief.
People
Bill would vaccinate Tricare against reform complications
A Senate bill, introduced the day before President Obama signed the health care reform law, would change the IRS code on behalf of those in military health plans.
Digital Government
Crime Scene Investigation: Traditional Media
Anthony Zuiker drew those infamous white chalk lines around traditional media during his speech at FOSE on March 23.
People
DOD acquisition process 'fails the mission,' congressional panel says
The Defense Acquisition Reform panel concludes that DOD's mishandling of acquisitions and procurement fails to fulfill current military's mission needs and contributes to massive cost overruns.
People
Senators press for broader definition of 'inherently governmental' jobs
A contingent of 11 Democratic senators urged the Office of Management and Budget to more broadly define what constitutes inherently governmental job categories that can be performed only by federal civil servants.
People
Lawmaker wants more technology for transparency
A new House bill would require the use of technologies to increase disclosures from lobbyists and lawmakers.
Ideas