10 Standout Posts from 2011

By BRYAN RAHIJA

As we've noted recently, it's been a heck of a year here at POGO. Beyond publishing reports, developing a database, and sending letters to policymakers, we also authored some 900 blog posts, which ranged from one-liners to gargantuan near-reports. Here are ten posts that, for one reason or another, stood out to me this year.

Whether you clicked or commented, tweeted or tumbled, or liked or lurked, thank you for making POGO's blog part of your 2011.

How a Red Herring about WikiLeaks Killed Whistleblower Protections Angela Canterbury | January 7, 2011 It was a historic moment, but for all the wrong reasons—in the waning hours of the 111th Congress, passage of the widely lauded Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2010 was thwarted by an anonymous senator's secret hold. It may have been one of the only occasions in history when a piece of legislation passed both chambers unanimously within two weeks and still failed to get to the President’s desk. POGO Director of Public Policy Angela Canterbury explained how it all went down in this January blog post.

Did Education Department Officials Leak Market-Sensitive Info to Stock Traders? Adam Zagorin | June 13, 2011 Most people probably don't associate the Department of Education with scandal. This June, however, POGO Journalist-in-Residence Adam Zagorin unearthed documents that gave us a reason to check our assumptions at the door.

Today's Military: The Most Top-Heavy Force in U.S. History Ben Freeman | November 29, 2011 No, it's not the latest multi-player online gaming sensation—"Star Creep," as POGO calls it, is the alarming trend in today's military towards a more and more top-heavy force. In September, POGO National Security Fellow Ben Freeman explained how our military's top ranks are ever-fattening.

Senator Who Opposed Derivatives Oversight Joins Board of Derivatives Company Michael Smallberg | March 9, 2011 As part of the investigation that led to POGO's SEC Revolving Door database, POGO Investigator Michael Smallberg identified hundreds of instances of SEC officials taking a spin through the revolving door and finding employment in the industry they once regulated. But he also spotted revolving door twirls beyond the SEC, including that of a particularly high-profile senator joining the board of a derivatives company.

Kazakhstan Family Feud Entangles Members of Congress Jake Wiens | June 8, 2011 What has shadowy international figures, a plot to overthrow an oil-rich Central Asian country, an attempted assassination, allegations of kidnapping and murder, and a battle in an American courtroom for control of billions of dollars in seized assets? Why, it's this June post by POGO Investigator Jake Wiens.

Pop Quiz: How Badly Was Boeing Ripping Off Taxpayers? Mandy Smithberger and Bryan Rahija | May 25, 2011 POGO originally exposed outrageously overpriced military items like the $7600 coffee maker back in the 1980s. So when news broke this spring that Boeing overcharged the Pentagon on helicopter spare parts, we decided to try a different approach and created an online quiz. Think you can guess just how badly taxpayers were getting ripped off this time?

FAPIIS First Impressions Neil Gordon | April 18, 2011 Back when an amendment by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) paved the way for public access to the government's contractor responsibility database, we were stoked. It took almost a year before we could get our keyboards on FAPIIS, but when we finally did, the results were, to put it politely, underwhelming. POGO Investigator Neil Gordon offered his two cents (and two thumbs) on the database in April. The government has since made improvements to FAPIIS, but at the very least, it's worth a look at Neil's initial thoughts for a lesson on how NOT to design a database.

Outsourcing Savings - Myth BUSTED! Scott Amey | September 16, 2011 One of the biggest highlights for the year at POGO was the release of our Bad Business report, which debunked the conventional wisdom about the inherent savings of outsourcing government work to contractors. That report created some major waves, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the contracting industry did its best to poke holes in our conclusions and methodology. In this post, POGO General Counsel Scott Amey offered a point-by-point rebuttal of the industry's biggest gripes about the report.

Bringing it All Back Home: An Example of How Open Government Tools Can Affect Everyday People and Public Policy Danielle Brian | September 27, 2011 Those looking for concrete, real-world examples of the importance of open government should look no further than this post by POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian, in which she points out how The New York Times used open government tools as part of its investigation into hydraulic fracturing, aka "fracking." Stories like this one show that government transparency isn't valuable just for transparency's sake—it can lead to important policy changes that affect all of our lives.

Justice's Case Against Tom Drake: Flawed Arguments and Broader Systemic Issues Nick Schwellenbach | May 21, 2011 The collapse of the Justice Department's case against National Security Agency whistleblower Tom Drake was a victory for whistleblowers and good government advocates everywhere. As POGO blogfather and Director of Investigations Nick Schwellenbach outlined in this post, there were numerous reasons why the attempt to prosecute Drake was woefully misguided. Drake ultimately prevailed—but as POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian went on to argue, it should not have taken a herculean effort to stop the government from doing the wrong thing.

 

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Images of stilt racers via The Strand Magazine.

Comments

[Curtis Walker]

You folks are simply AMAZING!

What a joy it must be to actually be able to "peel the onion" for the good of the Taxpayers and humanity, itself.

Go Git 'EM in 2012, take no prisoners.