The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog

POGO Blog Has Moved

As you can see, the POGO blog is not looking as pretty as it once did. This is because we have moved our blog to a new site. The new POGO blog can be found at http://www.pogo.org/blog/. Our new blog has lots of new features and a closer integration with our site, which also has updated navigation to make it easier for you to find all our content. In addition, you will be able to find blog posts by author, and it will be easier to share your favorite posts.

We are still transferring our content to our new system. This blog will serve as an archive of all our old content until everything is trasferred, but no new content will be posted here. For now, the best way to find old blog posts is through this blog. Old comments will not be able to be transferred to our new blog. If you would like to resubmit old comments, they will be approved and published shortly.

There are some slight design changes to our site at pogo.org, which means we have had to change the layout of this blog to a simpler design.

Thank you for your patience while we work through this transition. We are excited about our new changes, and we hope they will provide you with better access to all of POGO's content.

Time to Update Your POGO Blog RSS Feed

We are updating our RSS feed for POGO's blog as part of some exciting new changes to our blog and website.

For those of you who are already subscribed to our RSS feed, you should update your subscription to this link - http://feeds.feedburner.com/POGO_Blog.

There will be more changes coming. Stay tuned!

POGO Releases 2011 Annual Report

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

This week, we released our 2011 annual report covering some of our major accomplishments and our special 30^th Anniversary Gala. It was an amazing, and busy, year for the Project On Government Oversight. Some highlights from 2011 include:

• 

  Download a PDF of the full report here
  The release of our Revolving Door Database for the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Our report Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors, which sparked an important debate about the contractor workforce
• 8 testimonies before Congress by POGO staff
• Protecting national security whistleblower Franz Gayl
• POGO’s 30 Anniversary Gala featuring Lewis Black and a panel discussion with The Huffington Posts’s Dan Froomkin, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), former Representative Chris Shays (R. Conn.) and Wall Street maverick David Einhorn.

You can find out more about POGO accomplishments in 2011, see beautiful photos of our hard-working staff, and read what others are saying about POGO in the full annual report.  

Andre Francisco is an online producer for the Project On Government Oversight.

On POGO's Radar: The PMSC Observer

Looking for good coverage of national security issues, government contracting, and international affairs? A great new resource is The PSMC Observer, David Isenberg’s new blog.

Back in the day, Isenberg served as a research associate for the Project on Military Procurement—aka POGO—and has been analyzing these issues for around two decades.

-- Bryan Rahija

Double Down for Oversight: PayPal Will Match Your Donation to POGO Until Friday

Double Down for oversight and make a donation to POGO today through PayPal. From Tuesday, November 9 through Friday, November 12, PayPal will match all donations up to $5,000 made to POGO through PayPal.

Give $5, it will become $10. Give $10 and it will become $20. Give more and it still doubles. It’s that simple!

Take advantage of this one-time opportunity to make twice the difference to POGO. If you don’t have a PayPal account, it is easy, free, and takes only a few minutes to create one. The deck is stacked in our favor. I hope you will consider helping us before this deal expires.

-- Danielle Brian

Did Whistle-Blogging Contribute to Termination at the FAA?

Can blogging get you fired? One now-former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) attorney, who says he’s blown the whistle and is documenting retaliation on his blog, says the answer may be yes.

David Pardo, an attorney at the FAA, was fired yesterday, according to a post on Monday on his blog, FAA Lawyer Whistleblower.

BAILOUT POGO!

Ok, not really.  But if you think it's important that we're urging careful oversight of the TARP to prevent taxpayers from getting ripped off, including making sure that there's an Inspector General to oversee the process ASAP, or if you're desperate to see real whistleblower protections (we're looking at you, Axel, though in all seriousness we know of many people that really need(ed) this), or if you're concerned about the safety of our nuclear weapons, or if you're sick of seeing wasteful defense spending that doesn't improve our national security, or if you just want the Department of the Interior to FINALLY collect the royalties owed to taxpayers for drilling for gas and oil on federal lands, please donate to POGO.

But maybe you don't care about any of those issues.  Maybe what you want is Inspector General reforms that restore them to being the junkyard dogs for taxpayers they were intended to be, or you think that real contracting oversight--including considerations of contractor responsibility when awarding contracts--needs to happen, or you would just be happy if the government would be more open and transparent about what they are doing on behalf of taxpayers, or you are so excited about our suggestions for the next administration that you can't wait to see POGO give Congress the what-for (or at least remind them about how to best use their oversight powers)--then you should donate.

Whew, we do a lot, don't we?  We count on donations from readers like you to continue to cover all of these issues well, and it is through these donations that we are able to maintain our independence by refusing funds from government, unions, corporate interests, or anyone else with a financial stake in our investigations.

POGO: Exposing problems, exploring solutions.  Please donate.  Don't make me resort to knock-knock jokes--because you know I probably would.

-- Mandy Smithberger

Reader Survey: How Has the FCMD Changed Your Life?

As POGO prepares to release an updated and expanded Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, we want to take this opportunity to ask our blog readers about how they've used the database since its July 2007 release.  If you have a few minutes to spare, we'd love to hear your anecdotes, comments, critiques, and other reactions.

We're particularly interested in examples of the different ways in which you've put the database to use.  Has it influenced a contracting decision made by you or someone in your office?  Has it helped you write a story, either as useful background info or as a central theme? Has it helped you with research projects, term papers, or other publications?  Have you used it to find dirt on a competitor?

Please post your reply in the comments section, or, if you'd prefer, send it to me at my POGO email address: [email protected].

-- Neil Gordon

Support Transparency, Accountability, and Open Government

If you've been keeping up with POGO's blog recently, you know that we've been working overtime to achieve a more transparent, accountable, and open federal government: 

• Just this week, after a judge shut down Wikilieaks, an anti-corruption website, a motion was filed on behalf of POGO challenging the lawsuit that led to the shutdown.  The judge in the case has now rescinded his earlier decision to shut the site down, and the Swiss bank that originally filed the complaint against Wikileaks has decided to drop its lawsuit altogether.
  
• POGO also made publicly available for the first time a report by the Department of Transportation Inspector General showing that a lack of oversight by the FAA and airplane manufacturers has resulted in the installation of substandard parts on both civilian and military aircraft.

We have more transparency projects in store for the weeks ahead, including a new report and database with updated information on the misconduct of the federal government's top 100 contractors.  But none of these investigations would be possible without the support of individuals like you.  Because POGO does not accept contributions from the federal government, corporations, unions, or anyone with a financial interest in the outcome of our investigations, we truly rely on the support of individuals to continue our important work.

POGO was recently awarded the highest possible rating (four stars) by Charity Navigator, the largest independent charity evaluator in the nation.  A four-star rating means that POGO, as compared to other charities in America, successfully manages its finances in an efficient and effective manner.  In other words, you can rest assured that your donation will go directly toward helping us with our investigative work.

If you care about making the federal government more transparent, accountable, and open, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to POGO today.

Donate to POGO - Make a Difference

The Project On Government Oversight is a small organization that strives to hold a very large federal government accountable to its citizens. Because POGO does not accept gifts from corporations, the government, or labor unions, donations at any level make a significant impact. In addition to foundation support, our important work is made possible through tax-deductible contributions from individual donors -- LIKE YOU.

For over 25 years, the Projec t On Government Oversight (POGO) has fought to defend the public interest against corruption and other misconduct.  We've proven that we can make a real impact on "business as usual" politics (click here to learn more about our recent accomplishments), and we will continue to work toward achieving a federal government that serves the interests of the American people.

The following are just a few examples of POGO’s plans for upcoming investigations:

• Strengthen congressional oversight by conducting monthly, bipartisan training seminars for congressional staff;
• Release an updated database on the misconduct of the government’s top 100 contractors, and publish a report with analysis and recommendations for improving taxpayer protections;
• Highlight the government’s excessive and unaccountable national security spending practices;
• Demonstrate how and why certain Inspector General offices have become weakened and politicized in recent years;
• Establish good government indicators at the state and local level by promoting a “Checklist for a Healthy Democracy;”
• Accelerate the removal of nuclear materials from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which lies in the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area; and
• Expose the government’s refusal to audit multinational companies that extract oil and other precious resources from federal and Native American lands.

POGO’s investigations and reports reach millions, appearing regularly in such outlets as NBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and National Public Radio (click here to learn more about POGO in the news). 

In order to preserve our independence, POGO does not accept any contributions from the federal government, corporations, unions, or anyone with a financial interest in the outcome of our investigations.  Because of this, individuals--like you--are the backbone of our organization, and we need your support to continue our important work.

Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to POGO. 

Thank you in advance for your support.

Happy Holidays! Come Back in 2007!

The staff at the Project On Government Oversight wishes all of its friends, enemies and those in between the best over the holidays.  See you in 2007!

Remember the poignant words of our favorite cartoon character, Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

-- POGO