Politics Archives

I spent eight out of 12 days of my Hawaii Christmas vacation on the island of Molokai and decided it made sense to read a biography of St. Damien, the Belgian priest who volunteered to care for lepers banned to that island.

I had vowed that I would not even think about the federal government while on vacation, but the Damien biography had an all too familiar ring.

It tells the tale of a dedicated soul frustrated in trying to accomplish a dangerous mission (Damien died of leprosy in 1889, 16 years after he arrived in Molokai) beset by petty bureaucrats who, it seemed, wanted him to do everything but care for the spiritual and physical needs of the sick.

The French church bureaucracy wanted Damien to build churches on the island (he was an accomplished carpenter) rather than focus on the lepers, and the Republic of Hawaii bureaucracy wanted him to make nice to other agencies, specifically other denominations, even though they were far removed from the scene.

Damien -- and this sounded real familiar -- also was forced to do more with the same amount of assets such as feed a population that had doubled with half the amount of food.

High ranking officials -- the Hawaiian royalty -- made a show of support for Damien, awarding him ribbons and certificates, but no real help.

After reading Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, I decided that anyone in the federal government beset by petty policies or managers would do well to invoke Damien as their saint.

The Met Office, the United Kingdom's version of the National Weather Service is on the sales block, the Times of London reported yesterday.

While the National Weather Service is operated by a federal agency - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - the Met Office is operated by the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the UK Government is considering its sale to raise some bucks.

MoD operates the Met Office on a commercial basis and has revenues of about $310 million a year. It has attracted the attention of at least one bidder, VT Group, a UK defense services company, which I guess would buy the Met Office and then sell it services back to the government on a piecemeal basis.

This seems to be as a really deep dive down the slippery slope of privatization, with the next logical step being the sale of the Royal Navy.

Bernie Skoch, an executive vice president with Suss Consulting Inc., wants you to know that he has launched his campaign for the 3rd District seat in the U.S. House. The Northwest Arkansas district, which includes Fayetteville and Bentonville, home of Wal-Mart, is currently held by Republican John Boozman, who serves on the Veterans Affairs and Foreign Affairs committees.

Skoch, a retired Air Force one star general who did a tour at my favorite agency, DISA, assures me he will continue to wear his consultant hat during the campaign, ready to provide me with insights into all kinds of cyber stuff.

But -- and this is the test -- will I be able to get him on the phone if he wins.

At the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on the nomination of Roger Baker as chief information officer of the Veterans Affairs Department on May 6, committee chairman Daniel Akaka, D-HI, asked Baker to introduce any of his friends in the audience.

Baker introduced individuals who may not be household names outside the Beltway, but definitely resonate within the relatively narrow world of the federal information technology community: Robert Guerra and Phillip Kiviat, partners in the Guerra, Kiviat, Flyzik and Associates Inc., a federal IT sales consulting firm based in Potomac, Md.

Online reports show that Guerra and Kiviat were heavy backers of President Obama during his campaign, with Kiviat more generous than Guerra. Kiviat contributed $2,000 to the Obama Victory Fund last year, but also hedged his bets with a $250 dollar contribution to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Guerra contributed $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund.

Baker, who served as Commerce Department CIO in the Clinton administration and also served on the Obama Presidential Transition Team, contributed a total of $3,800 to various Obama campaign committees in 2008.