Remember that airline commercial that asks “Want to get away?” In the Internet age, there is no getting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous, or just plain bad idea.
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Bad economy? No problem
1| One-fifth of fed workers now make six figures
The details: Even as private-sector workers suffered the first 18 months of recession, USA Today reports the number of federal employees making $100,000 or more, not counting overtime and bonuses, jumped from 14 to 19 percent. The number of Defense Department employees making more than $150,000 increased five-fold, to 10,100. The Transportation Department went from one to 1,690 employees making over $170,000.
It pays to be the boss’s girlfriend
2| Baucus’s best
The details: Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D, Mont., gave a $14,000 pay raise to Melodee Hane, his girlfriend, in summer 2008, Politico reported, as his relationship with her intensified. Baucus, who divorced his wife in April after moving out of their home in spring 2008, had also put Hane’s name forward to be appointed U.S. Attorney in Montana.
Oh, no, Canada!
3| Columnist calls for birth-limits
The details: Diane Francis, a columnist for the Canadian National Post, suggested worldwide adoption of China’s compulsory one-child population-control policy. Francis wrote that none of the environmental reforms under consideration in Copenhagen will work “unless a China one-child policy is imposed,” and that “China has proven that birth restriction is smart policy.”
Any real guarantee?
Something rotten in Denmark
5| Expect hot air at warming conference
The details: Climate scientists and skeptics alike said the Copenhagen conference will produce no mechanism for enforcement or measurement of compliance with new carbon limits. Danish economist Bjorn Lomberg said that after politicians make such deals, “the targets are almost never kept.” As one environmental lawyer told USA Today, “There’s no hammer, no nothing.”
5| Ginnie Mae’s shady loans
The details: The Washington Post reported Thursday that Ginnie Mae, a government agency that purchases government-guaranteed mortgages from banks and sells them to investors in bundles as government-guaranteed securities, has enlisted some three-dozen shady mortgage underwriters. Among them was Lend America, where an executive continued to work after being convicted of mortgage fraud, and other companies with unusually high default rates.
‘Lip service’
6| Mikulski slams Metro safety
The Details: An angry Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-MD, took Metro officials to task for their “pattern of laxity, passivity and lip service” during a Senate transportation subcommittee hearing on the fatal June 22 Red Line crash that killed nine people and injured dozens more. As a result of the fatal crash, the Senate is considering establishing federal safety standards for public transit systems nationwide.
The company he keeps
7| Salahis’ fave congressman: Jim Moran
The Details: Rep. Jim Moran was the only member of Congress to receive a 2006 campaign donation from Northern Virginia’s favorite White House-crashing, creditor-stiffing, wanna-be-celebrity couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, even though they don’t even live in his district. Chief of staff Austin Durrer told Capital Eye that Moran has “no plans to return the [$1,000] donation.”
Maryland’s housing slump
8| New construction down two-thirds
The Details: Construction of new homes in Maryland are at the lowest level since the 1940s, costing the state $1.1 billion in new revenue and 67,822 jobs, a study by the National Association of Homebuilders found. The economy and restrictive zoning laws were cited as two of the main reasons for the dramatic downturn in housing construction.
‘Intentional destruction’
9| Police official saw missing log
The Details: DC Councilwoman Mary Cheh says there are “clear indications” that a missing police log compiled on Sept. 27, 2002 during the mass arrests of World Bank protestors in Pershing Park may have been deliberately deleted. Rai Howell, former acting director of the Metropolitan Police Department’s quality assurance program, told independent investigators that he had seen a copy of the missing document.
Rats running wild
10| Rodents roam city building
The Details: D.C. employees at the Reeves Municipal Center on 14th Street, which is undergoing major renovations, are complaining about rats they regularly see roaming hallways and offices. The city’s Board of Health admits it receives several calls a day about the rodent infestation, and promises to continue its “integrated pest management program” until the vermin are gone.
