Posted on 05/28/2008 12:07:26 PM PDT by anymouse
A NASA employee has been suspended for soliciting donations and writing politically partisan blog posts and sending e-mail messages while at work, violations of the Hatch Act.
Office of the Special Counsel officials said a Johnson Space Center employee promoted local and state political candidates in 2006 and 2007 through his Internet writings.
The officials also found the employee solicited small campaign donations two times in 2006 through blogs.
The employee has been suspended for 180 days without pay. The suspension started March 30.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch said the suspension is part of an effort to crack down on Internet- and technology-based Hatch violations.
“Today, modern office technology multiplies the opportunities for employees to abuse their positions and — as in this serious case — to be penalized, even removed from their job, with just a few clicks of a mouse,” Bloch said.
Space ping.
Yes, but did he FReep from the Mission Control Center? ;)
We be smarter, ya, ya.
>> I’m guessing it was a Democrat (Republicans are too smart than to do this.
Might’ve been an ElRon supporter.
Space Democrats: "We need someone on every major Democratic/Liberal community site"
Many of the people here know me, and know of my blogging over at dailykos.com.
I started blogging there about 2 years ago. for a couple of reason, one of them being that I didn't feel that there was enough knowledge/attention about space, and space issues, within the liberal blogosphere. I know many people here have their own blog, and occasionally post on one of the major blog sites. However, I don't feel that there is anybody really pushing space on any of the other major blog sites, like MyDD.com, or openleft.com, similar to what I've done with Dailykos.
I think it would be really beneficial if people would start cross-posting anything they do on their personal sites, on some of the major liberal blog sites. And don't limit it to just Dailykos - look to sites like Mydd.com, and openleft.com, and any others you can find.
I know this is impractical for blogs like Nasawatch, but for the smaller blogs, that don't have multiple postings in one day, I think that this is entirely practical.
Further, it would be even better if there were one or two people, who could commit to really pushing space in the diaries of those blogs. Much like how I started the Space Revolution Weekly News (which is on hiatus, but I hope to bring back soon), if there were 1 or 2 people, who could commit to doing a weekly diary about space, on those sites, I believe it would help a lot.
Otherwise, we risk just talking to the same people. I won't say I've convinced a lot of people, but I do know I've convinced more than one person about the importance of space, by posting at the larger liberal blogs.
“a Johnson Space Center employee” could be someone who worked in the cafeteria, etc. The fact that they cited only two small donations makes me think it was some average Joe with a generic job rather than someone of any high position.
GlobeHoppin Blog: Announcing the Space Policy Panel at Netroots Nation / Yearly Kos
I’m very pleased to announce that for the first time, The Netroots Nation (Yearly Kos) Convention will feature a panel on space policy, July 18th or 19th in Austin, Texas. The panel, entitled, “Progressive NASA & Space Policy Under a New Administration,” is an opportunity to bring critical space policy issues to light within a potent progressive political constituency– the Netroots– that hasn’t historically paid much attention to space. It is also an opportunity for the Netroots to weigh in on what a new progressive space policy agenda could be under a progressive Administration in 2009.
I will be moderating a panel comprised of prominent progressive bloggers, leading space advocates, and space policy advisors to national Democratic campaigns, including Chris Bowers, Managing Editor of OpenLeft.com, Lori Garver, space policy advisor to the Presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, Patti Smith, recently retired as the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation for the FAA, and George Whitesides, Executive Director of the non-profit National Space Society. The discussion will address space policy from the following perspective:
“NASA is in crisis–overburdened, under-funded, and inefficient. Yet the progressive legacy of space, which dates back to JFK, is being quietly reborn: NASA can reinvent itself as a critical resource in climate change mitigation; the UN and some in the U.S. military are collaborating to prevent space weapons from becoming an arms race with China; progressive “NewSpace” entrepreneurs are creating new domestic high-tech jobs. Before 2009, a new progressive space policy needs to be devised and advocated beyond the traditional space constituencies, to upgrade Bush’s failing space exploration vision. Who better to initiate this work than the Netroots?
While traditionally a niche constituency on the national political radar, space policy takes on particular importance during the General Election, as 100,000s of aerospace jobs are at stake in the key swing States of Florida and Ohio. This year, NASA’s policy of returning humans to the Moon has come under fire from the Left since it is generally thought of as one of George W. Bush’s signature policy goals– his “Vision for Space Exploration.” Progressives in the space community are working hard to dissociate this policy agenda from the failed Bush Presidency so that it may be considered on its own merits. They are also formulating new space policy goals more central to the Progressive agenda, such as expanding NASA’s role in understanding Earth systems to mitigate climate change, as a bulwark against declining science and technology education in the US, and as a diplomatic tool for peaceful international collaboration with Europe, Russia, and even China. The panel will provide their perspective on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the candidates in the realm of space policy in the General Election, and will weigh in on their vision(s) of a progressive space policy under a new Administration in 2009.
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