Angry tales of unfair ratings dominate the criticism of DoD's pay-for-performance system, spurring fears of the program's long-term impact on employee careers and calls for a massive overhaul before a government-wide rollout. Additional feedback from federal employees converted to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) recently revealed even broader inherent system problems, such as poor communication, excessive government waste, nepotism, mistrust, and racism.

The NSPS is part of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's plan to change the way the Pentagon does business to better meet new challenges, and replaces the 50-year-old General Schedule (GS) personnel ranking system with broad pay bands.

Under the program, supervisors rate the performance of their employees...

In our weekly poll, OhMyGov! asked readers if they would recommend a career in federal service to their friends: only 48 percent responded affirmatively.

Even within an economic crisis where a government job provides security, stability, good pay and is practically recession proof, only an additional 17 percent said they would recommend federal service only during hard times.

Thirty-three percent responded strongly that they would not recommend federal service as they like their friends too much! The full results of the poll are as follows:



What does this say about our readers who work within the federal government?

With a government that is demanded to do more - to provide more personal, national, and financial security; to improve health care; to protect the environment; to build transport...

A Kentucky state lawmaker is upset that God isn't getting enough credit for keeping the homeland secure, not only because he believes the Almighty should be thanked, but because a 2006 state law demands it.

Rep. Tom Riner (D-Louisville), a Southern Baptist minister who helped usher in the law, said that the state's office of homeland security is ignoring at least one of its provisions: including an acknowledgment of God's benevolent protection in the homeland security office's annual reports. The 2008 report, issued a month ago, did not credit God.

According to the homeland security authorization law, the first duty of the state office is "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

Besides the shout-out required...

Just last week, new initiatives added $600 billion to lower mortgage rates, $200 billion to stimulate consumer loans and nearly $300 billion to steady Citigroup, the banking conglomerate. That pushed the potential long-term cost of the government's varied economic rescue initiatives, including direct loans and loan guarantees, to an estimated total of $8.5 trillion -- half of the entire economic output of the U.S. this year.

When does a private citizen cross the line from self-defense to vigilante justice? Many Texans are still grappling with this distinction after Joe Horn was officially cleared in July of wrongdoing in the shooting deaths of two undocumented Colombian immigrants.

Horn, a 62 year-old retiree, shot and killed Diego Ortiz and Miguel de Jesus, claiming that they were in the middle of burglarizing a neighbor’s property.

Family members of Ortiz and de Jesus were saddened by the jury’s decision not to indict Horn. Diamond Morgan, Ortiz’s widow said it was “horrible” especially since Horn was so “eager to shoot” and had taken the “law into his own hands.”

Stephanie Storey, de Jesus’ fiancée, expressed disbelief over the failure to indict Horn. “He shot two individuals in the back after having been...

The American public doesn’t think too highly of its federal government, according to poll results released last Monday by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Gallup . Only 27 percent of respondents rated federal departments and agencies as good or excellent while 66 percent said they were fair or poor.

Although the popular attitude of bashing the government certainly plays a role, these ratings are not based on poor PR alone. More than three-quarters of respondents could recall some type of contact with a federal agency in the past and 69 percent reported an interaction in the past six months, although it is unknown what percent of interactions involved the IRS.

Of course, those in Congress would rejoice over such numbers, as Congressional approval ratings are hovering around...

Innovative collaboration among the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs has produced a web-based network of support for wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, their families, and those who support them. The National Resource Directory was launched earlier this month and provides information on more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources across the country – all to help them more smoothly transition from recovery to ordinary living.

The information in the directory includes the federal benefits and services, but also state and local governmental agencies as well as veteran service organizations, non-profit community-based and faith-based organizations, academic institutions, professional associations, and philanthropic organizations. Service...

U.S. citizens concerned about the well being of friends and family in India may call the following number for information: 1-888-407-4747

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens about heightened security concerns in India, and advises U.S. citizens traveling to or already in India to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. This Travel Alert expires on December 31, 2008.

There are heightened security concerns in India following the November 26 terrorist attacks on hotels, a railway station, restaurant, hospital, and other locations in Mumbai frequented by Westerners. Over 100 persons are believed to have been killed, and hundreds injured. Casualties include both Indian and foreign nationals. Americans appear to have been among...

On a holiday designed for reflection, one man, historically unpopular, is heading to a remote Maryland mountaintop with his family. The other, promising change, is surrounding himself with dozens of people in a bustling city.

Images of Thanksgiving for most are football, turkey, shopping, and the inevitable holiday weight gain, but past Thanksgivings were not predicated on excess and plenty but survival, unification, and need to stimulate the economy: even today the roots of this holiday resonate.

However, for approximately 1.9 million executive branch civilian employees, is it another day off or a day of reflection and thankfulness?

Perhaps an OhMyGov! history of the holiday will provide some grounding.

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's...

If you think the annual State of the Union address is dull, long-winded, and full of grandstanding, be glad you don't live in Hugo Chavez' Venezuela.

The socialist leader hosts a weekly television program on Sundays where he expounds and pontificates on, well, anything he wants to. The program, called "Alo Presidente!" often runs between five and eight hours long and features Chavez taking questions from a live audience, conversing with special guests, singing, showing family photographs, and just rambling on.

The PBS program Frontline just released a compelling documentary on Chavez, which featured some footage of Alo, Presidente! The documentary is worth watching for the intimate portrait it provides of a nation in the grips of a socialist despot, and the most revealing...