Four Senators called for the removal of the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction today in a letter (pdf) to President Obama. What’s really driving this request? Even if answered, serious questions remain about Defense Department management of contractors and legislative oversight.

For all that the BP Oil Disaster is in fact a disaster there is a little ray of sunshine in the oil clouded waters (if you’ll allow me to mix a metaphor or two). One of the things which have been missing in our nation for too long has been effective oversight by the Congress. The magnitude of the disaster has finally woken our legislators up to fact that they can and must call those who are damaging our nation to testify and to testify over and over if that is what it takes to get to the truth.

From the start of this catastrophe BP has obfuscate, soft peddle, and generally (if you will pardon the pun) muddy the waters around what led up to the disastrous explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon rig. As the information from the Congressional investigation has come to light the reasons are fairly clear why BP took the actions it did. For all of their protestations of “safety first” the reality is that BP has a culture that values the bottom line over all things. Worse the culture at BP is all about the current quarters bottom line, with no ability to balance the potential long term costs of cutting corners to save money right now.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

One of the powerful effects of Congressional hearings is to give those who are part of the company or industry under scrutiny a chance to really see who they work for and with. For the most part we all know of things that are done in our work place that make us vaguely uncomfortable. Most of the time we just shrug and think “I can’t really do anything to change this, and if I speak up too much I could lose my job” and go on, hoping that our small acts of cowardice don’t result in disaster.

President Obama held a press conference this afternoon and gave the White House press corps an opportunity to gain more information on the oil leak in the Gulf. Obama announced four key oil explorations/operations moratoriums (both temporary and possibly permanent) during the press conference. He did not, however, announce a permanent end to offshore drilling or an end to domestic oil production.

Republicans in the Senate are throwing a hissy fit over health reform, using all kinds of obscure rules to block any business from getting done. Their latest tactic is to force adjournment of all Senate committee hearings after 2 pm, using a little known Senate rule. (Don’t you just love those!)

A spate of recent news reports has called into question the objectivity of some forensic evidence and highlighted the need for effective oversight mechanisms for the nation’s crime labs. Fingerprint analysts told The Missouri Lawyer  that when police officers have access to the labs, they often pressure the fingerprint examiners to secure arrests. In December, the New York State Inspector General released a report revealing that forensic analyst Gary Veeder falsified hundreds of results over a fifteen year period. The Phoenix, Arizona Police Department announced plans to investigate claims that lab technicians in the crime lab undermine the integrity of criminal investigations by leaving evidence behind at scenes and disposing of fingerprint evidence. In December, Donald Gates walked free from prison after his exoneration for a rape and murder he did not commit when it was revealed that FBI lab technician Michael Malone provided false testimony and inaccurate testing results.

If there was ever a tissue of lies the CIA’s timetable about torture briefings is being shown to be a classic example.

Member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act asks for citizen questions