http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/incompetence/ en-us Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:48:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059360/posts It did not take long for Summer Spencer to learn how highly her boss, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, valued the D.C. summer youth jobs program. Shortly after she was hired last year to run the city's employment agency, Fenty (D) gave her a directive: Turn no student away. To the mayor, the work-training program was a linchpin in his bid to improve the education system and decrease crime. (snip) But over the past several weeks, Fenty's push to rapidly expand the program has backfired, with a $31 million cost overrun and organizational chaos resulting in one of the most high-profile... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059360/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:48:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051772/posts The Supreme Court ended its term this year by making a mistake in one of its most controversial cases--the case in which it held unconstitutional a Louisiana law authorizing capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12 years of age. The Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051772/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:03:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049910/posts Samantha Baskin gets paid to be patient. One of thousands of students across the District who had pay problems in the summer youth jobs program last week, Samantha, 14, said that she doesn't actually do anything at the Washington East of the River Academy. "We don't do nothing," she said. The director "holds us in a room for hours." Although she was owed several hundred dollars, Samantha was paid a nickel Friday and was finally paid in full yesterday. (snip) At least 200 of the 800 students in the academy indicated by a show of hands that they had not... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049910/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:34:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044161/posts Terminal 5 came in for renewed criticism yesterday after it emerged that passengers transferring between planes at Heathrow's troubled new £4.3bn building are losing more than 900 bags a day. "Passengers will be surprised and disappointed to learn that there is still a one in 12 chance of losing their bags," The Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044161/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:12:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023519/posts Millions of dollars behind in raising money and unlikely to meet a fast-approaching final deadline, the Denver committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is considering spending cuts. Committee sources say they are working with the Democratic National Convention Committee to consider lowering the $55 million in private cash and donated services that must be raised to bring the convention to town. The cuts would be made to the many parties the host committee is obligated to throw for the delegations and the news media, and other hospitality functions not tied to production aspects inside the convention hall. "There have been... Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023519/posts#comment Fri, 30 May 2008 14:26:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021710/posts The Pentagon cannot account for nearly 15 billion dollars in payments for goods and services in Iraq, according to an internal audit which members of Congress blasted Friday as a "shocking" accountability failure. Of 8.2 billion dollars in US taxpayer-funded defense contracts reviewed by the defense department's inspector general, the Pentagon could not properly account for more than 7.7 billion dollars. The lack of accountability of the funds, intended for purchases of weapons, vehicles, construction equipment and security services, amounted to a 95 percent failure rate in basic accounting standards, according to the report. "We estimated that the army made... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021710/posts#comment Tue, 27 May 2008 02:02:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988928/posts Attorneys in the case of a 91-year-old Palisade man accused of sexual assault spent Wednesday morning in court trying to determine whether the aging man was fit to stand trial. It turns out he wasn’t. He died nearly a month ago and has been cremated, according to a relative who contacted The Daily Sentinel. Ralph Ridenour died Feb. 22 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said Jim Snell of Snell-McLean Funeral Home in Palisade, which handled arrangements for Ridenour. VA officials said they couldn’t comment on Ridenour. “That’s a relief for public safety,” Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said... Daily Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988928/posts#comment Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:40:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984037/posts WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East resigned Tuesday amid speculation about a rift over U.S. policy in Iran. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Adm. William J. Fallon, whose area of responsibility includes Iraq, had asked for permission to retire and that Gates agreed. Gates said the decision, effective March 31, was entirely Fallon's and that Gates believed it was "the right thing to do." Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice... Yahoo / AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984037/posts#comment Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:16:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952507/posts SACRAMENTO -- — The state's ability to protect children, renters, workers and the elderly as well as California's wildlife and its land would be impeded under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals for closing a $14.5-billion deficit, state agency reports show. The proposed budget reductions, which Schwarzenegger submitted this week to the Legislature, would erode public protection programs across state government, according to hundreds of pages of assessments that agencies submitted along with the budget this week. Schwarzenegger decided to spread the pain across all areas of government, forcing most agencies to prepare to cut a tenth of their spending. Advocates for... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952507/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:54:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946281/posts The Army Corps of Engineers came to the District in the late 1990s on an expensive mission: launch a massive overhaul of decrepit school buildings, which eventually included spending $80 million to replace ancient heating systems with brand-new boilers to last 25 years or more. Since then, 40 of the 55 renovated heating systems have broken down or needed major repair. Public schools officials failed to maintain the new equipment, leading to problems such as damage from mineral deposits that built up because the water was not properly treated...It would have cost just $100,000 a year to remove harmful minerals... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946281/posts#comment Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:11:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1927613/posts Tuesday/Wednesday, November 13/14 - about 4 a.m. Sources inside and outside Iran. A series of explosions rocked the Parchin Military Site (where missiles, including "cruise" type missiles, are manufactured) at Varamin south of Tehran. The Shahab 3, 4 and more recently Shahab 5 solid fuel missiles at the site are hidden in old salt mines in the mountain face in the area, further excavated and furbished for development and manufacture. The main purpose of this Ministry of Defense site, established by the late Shah's father - Reza Shah Kabir - in the early 1900's and taken over by the IRGC,... AntiMullah http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1927613/posts#comment Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:43:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926119/posts ...I've been following the trail of the Chahine Hezbollah organized crime family for years, I've learned a lot more about Hezbollah spy and FBI/CIA Agent Nada Nadim Prouty. ...she and her sister Elfat El-Aouar Chahine are not the only members of their family to defraud the federal government in immigration, tax, and Hezbollah related matters. Another sister, an OB-GYN, Rula Nadim Al Aouar {different spelling to confuse/evade U.S. authorities--a common Muslim and Arab practice), also engaged in a sham marriage and immigration fraud. ...Prouty is not Muslim. She is Druze, a secretive offshoot of Islam...her entire family is Druze. Her... Debbie Schlussel.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926119/posts#comment Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:22:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895855/posts WASHINGTON (AP) — A stockpile of plutonium and other nuclear weapons materials stored at Los Alamos National Laboratory hasn't been fully accounted for in 13 years or more, a government audit has found. The northern New Mexico lab's workers have done regular, partial inventories of the material, which the government considers to be at high risk of theft, the audit by the Energy Department's inspector general, Gregory Friedman, found. Yet an inventory of all the material hasn't been done in "perhaps 13 years or more," Friedman wrote. It wasn't even done when the lab's management contract changed last year, investigators... Assoicated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895855/posts#comment Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:57:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1881755/posts Why is the most best European fighting army, the British, losing the battle for Basra in southern Iraq? Because the UK Ministry of Defense supplied its soldiers with the wrong equipment, having invested its shrinking budget in long-term European Ego Projects to keep the military bureaucracy happy. Given soft vehicles that are terrifyingly vulnerable to IEDs and car bombs, the Brits initially claimed that "soft power" would do the job -- just as the Dutch boasted that having tea with the Taliban would ensure peace and love in their area of Afghanistan. But the British MOD was just rationalizing its... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1881755/posts#comment Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:29:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871112/posts What makes a voter a "staunch" Republican or Democrat? The definition is a matter of opinion, but undoubtedly certain minimal traits apply. Obviously that person must vote in their state Party primary/caucus and for the elected candidate in the general election. The other requirement is how they financially support candidates as well as their Party. A week ago, the Chicago Sun-Times published an article by Jennifer Hunter, "GOP lawyer sold on Dems." In the piece, Hunter writes about "attorney Jim Ronca of Philadelphia, a staunch Republican." After attending a Trial Lawyers event with Democratic Presidential candidates, Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen.... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871112/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:25:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870232/posts A $1.2 billion program to deploy new radiation monitors to screen trucks, cars and cargo containers for signs of nuclear devices has been delayed by questions over whether Department of Homeland Security officials misled Congress about the effectiveness of the detectors. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the contracts for monitors with cutting-edge technology a year ago. He said they would improve radiation scans at borders and ports, while sharply reducing the number of false alarms. Congress had allowed the five-year project to move ahead after Homeland Security assured appropriators that the $377,000 machines would detect highly enriched uranium 95... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870232/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:33:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864820/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Undercover investigators, working for a fake firm, obtained a license to buy enough radioactive material to build a "dirty bomb," amid little scrutiny from federal regulators, according to a government report obtained on Wednesday. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the license to the dummy company in just 28 days with only a cursory review, the Government Accountability Office said in a report to be released on Thursday. The GAO, which set up the sting, said the NRC approved the license after a couple of faxes and phones calls and then mailed it to the phoney company's... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864820/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:11:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864588/posts GREENSBORO, N.C. - Detailed schematics of a military detainee holding facility in southern Iraq. Geographical surveys and aerial photographs of two military airfields outside Baghdad. Plans for a new fuel farm at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The military calls it "need-to-know" information that would pose a direct threat to U.S. troops if it were to fall into the hands of terrorists. It's material so sensitive that officials refused to release the documents when asked. But it's already out there, posted carelessly to file servers by government agencies and contractors, accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. In a survey... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864588/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jul 2007 02:53:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1854714/posts WASHINGTON — Democrats pledged to take Congress in a new direction when it won control in November 2006, but less than six months after taking the reins, Americans aren't pleased with the results, giving lawmakers an all-time low public confidence rating. In a Gallup poll released Thursday, only 14 percent of Americans have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress, a Gallup poll reports. The poll shows an all-time lowest confidence rating and one of the lowest ratings for any institution in 30 years. The lowest confidence rating for Congress was 18 percent during 1991 to... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1854714/posts#comment Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:17:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1850732/posts Politics: When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls America's top brass "incompetent," one wonders if he's not really using what psychologists call "projection" — attributing to others what you most fear about yourself. 'Incompetent" is how Reid, talking to liberal bloggers on Tuesday, described outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Marine Gen. Peter Pace. He should talk. IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1850732/posts#comment Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:39:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1846780/posts Judge Charles Elloie, the embattled jurist at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court who was temporarily suspended from the bench eight months ago over his practice of reducing bail bonds for felons accused of violent crimes, is retiring July 1 for health reasons. In two sentences written to the Louisiana Secretary of State in a letter dated Tuesday, Elloie ended both his decade-long, checkered judicial career and the state investigation into his pattern of freeing suspects from the confines of the Orleans Parish Prison -- even one man accused of raping his own 10-year-old sister. Elloie received approval from the Louisiana... NOLA.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1846780/posts#comment Fri, 8 Jun 2007 02:31:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1837741/posts Leadership: So Jimmy Carter calls the Bush administration "the worst in history." This from the man who wrecked the world's greatest economy and made a nuclear Iran and North Korea possible. Profile In Incompetence: First In A Series We didn't think we'd see the day when a president-elect of France would be more appreciative of America's role in the world than one of our own former presidents. But here is Carter telling the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that President Bush's "administration has been the worst in history," one that has "endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war even when our own security is... Investors Business Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1837741/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2007 13:33:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836795/posts When I was assigned to the U.S. Pacific Command in the mid-1980s, we military officers would often discuss the ambassadors in our theater of operations – a huge area embracing more than 30 countries and most of the Pacific -SNIP- One name came up constantly as one of the best -SNIP-: then-U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Wolfowitz. He understood the culture, the people and the special circumstances of the world’s most populous Muslim country, and he did a superb job in dealing with that country within the context of U.S. national-security interests. Understand, then, my wonder over the last few... Los Angeles Times, via Nashua Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836795/posts#comment Sun, 20 May 2007 18:40:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1827173/posts Dozens of fire hydrants across the District are not in working order, including the two closest to Monday's fire at the D.C. public library in Georgetown. Fire and union officials say the faulty hydrants often aren't discovered until a fire breaks out, as was the case in Georgetown.... The city has struggled for years to keep hydrants in good working order, firefighters said. With nearly 9,300 hydrants citywide, keeping up with inspections can be difficult, they said. Some broken hydrants are clearly marked, but only those that have been identified as needing repair. The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority oversees... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1827173/posts#comment Wed, 2 May 2007 15:13:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823396/posts SPENCER, Mass. (AP) -- Dozens of residents were taken to hospitals Wednesday with burns or rashes after the town's water supply was accidentally treated with too much corrosive lye, officials said. People in Spencer were advised not to use or touch the water until further notice, said Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Residents started complaining of skin irritation and moderate burns after showering early Wednesday, police Sgt. John Agnew said. He said officials determined that a malfunction at the town's water treatment plant had released too much sodium hydroxide into the water supply. Sodium... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823396/posts#comment Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:12:54 GMT