I have been following the investigation into the OJJDP grant practices very carefully. Frankly, I have been sulking.
As many of you know, J. Robert Flores, administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is under investigation by the Justice Department. The allegations are that he subverted the peer review process and awarded grants to contractors who shared his ideological viewpoint.
This is not meant to be a bash of the Republican Party as I know that this type of bias can arise under any administration. My concern is that the baby will get thrown out with the bath water. What will happen to all the grants that are being held up because of this investigation and will this impact other departments of the Justice Department?
Here is a link to one article on ABC News.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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4 comments:
It's funny that you said that about not wanting to bash the GOP. I was thinking the same thing yesterday about my Justice Department post. Bias, nepotism, and corruption can happen (and has happened, and does happen, and will continue to happen...) among red and blue administrations/governments/campaigns alike. Unfortunately, the incidents of corrupt (or at least ethically dubious) practices particularly relevant to crime and justice issues happen to be occurring under a Republican administration. Does this mean that the GOP has sole claim to political shenanigans? Of course not. But between the US Attorney scandal, the OJJDP grant scandal, the uproar over the Supreme Court's decision to *gasp!* protect Gitmo detainees' due process rights....well, let's just say that the Democrats aren't giving us quite as much to write about at the moment. Or am I just too blinded by my own liberalism to see clearly? ; )
When one side (either side) is in control for 8 years, I would think a halo effect develops for the other party. The GOP looks bad because the latest scandals have been on their watch.
The GOP in no way has ownership over patronage, corruption, bias, and political pandering. Things manifest themselves in different ways (i.e, pushing faith-based programs) depending on the current administration, but there's plenty of blame to go around. There's been a marked decline in allegations of oral sex in the oval office for the past 8 years (insert your own joke here...the punchline will depend on your political leanings).
Your discussion of the halo effect is spot on. If someone else tells me that '(the environment, poverty, etc)' will be solved come the next administration, I might have to poke my eye out with a stick.
I am just pissed that I spend a lot of time reviewing grants (for a lot of different agencies) and then the scores may be wholy ignored.
Velma, are your projecting anger at a certain member of your family who is rather vocal in his politics (did he and Scooby play nice at the beach)?
I agree whole-heartedly on your second point. Why waste the time and money on sneer-review if you are going to play politics in the end? The ruse of neutrality is more offensive than open bias.
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