Senate Sources Say CTO Confirmation a Done Deal 111
theodp writes "On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will examine the nomination of Aneesh Chopra as the first-ever federal Chief Technology Officer. Senate sources said they were not aware of any debate surrounding his nomination. You'd think the hack-for-$10-million-ransom of Virginia's Prescription Monitoring Program might be good for a question or two. Or the wisdom of appointing a CTO who's no technologist. It might also be worth bringing up Chopra's membership in TiE-DC, a group which promises 'exclusive peer networking events' with government officials and Federal contractors, including TiE-DC sponsor Microsoft. Are there any other issues that might make the Confirmation Hearing more than a rubber-stamping?"
issues? really? (Score:5, Informative)
God forbid someone in the VA-MD-DC area belongs to a group used for professional networking! As we all know, most non-profit professional groups have no [cfp2009.org] sponsors [nvtc.org] whatsoever [dcacm.org].
Also, who's to say he's not qualified to do the job just because of being labeled not a technologist back in 2005? Maybe what is needed for a CTO position is someone who understands how government and policy is applied [virginia.gov] (see MPP degree reference) to solve problems, and how the application of technology is a key factor?
I do agree, though, some questions about the Prescription Monitoring Program would be warranted.
But really, with the tax problems of other appointees, maybe most of this stuff is seen as small potatoes. If you don't agree, though, feel free to contact someone on the committee [senate.gov]. The hearing starts on Tuesday. [senate.gov]
Re:Rubberstamp (Score:2, Informative)
Interesting. Why do you believe that?
Do you live under a rock?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: CIA Lied to Me [go.com]
Dems: CIA briefers may have broken law [politico.com]
After all their grandstanding on "torture", it turns out the numerous Dems were fully briefed back in 2002 on what was going on.
So now Pelosi et al are squealing "The CIA lied! The CIA broke the law!"
Conveniently for Pelosi, the person who probably briefed her died three years ago [washingtonpost.com].
We've Had This Discussion, Guys (Score:5, Informative)
We all discussed Aneesh Chopra on /. a month ago [slashdot.org], folks. No less than Tim O'Reilly has vouched for him as a technological bad-ass [oreilly.com]. Read that. Read the comments. Then return here and carry on. There's no need for us to have to re-learn who this guy is every time he's written about here.