Federal Advisory Committees should be regulated in such a manner that vested interests are restricted to a minority voice. FACs should be composed of educated citizens that are not in conflict of interest and in no position to make scads of money should their advice be taken.
Currently these groups are stacked overwhelmingly (if not exclusively) with those whose interests run counter to the public good - and toward their personal financial benefit.
For example how are we to trust a group advising for the addition of a particular vaccine to the required schedule if the individual group members stand to personally gain tens of millions of dollars, should their advice be heeded?
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Gotta love michellemalkin.com
from todays post,check it out ,Americore to Waulpin firing,
Well, well, well.
Michelle, Michelle, Michelle.
Guess where the First Lady will be on Monday?
Why, she’ll be delivering the keynote address at the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco.
And who is co-sponsoring the conference?
Why, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)!
Yes, that’s the same CNCS that is the parent organization of AmeriCorps.
It’s the same CNCS that last year suspended Sacramento mayor/Obama crony Kevin Johnson from receiving federal funds after then-inspector general Gerald Walpin blew the whistle on massive fraud and abuse of AmeriCorps dollars for personal and political gain.
It’s the same CNCS that then sat by and meekly watched Team Obama and the U.S. Attorney in Sacramento railroad Walpin after the November 2008 election for doing his damned job.
And now, there is no honest, independent watchdog to raise questions on behalf of taxpayers as the Obama political machine takes over the national service juggernaut. How…convenient.
By the way: The First Lady’s former chief of staff, Jackie Norris, starts her new job as “senior adviser” (translation: Michelle O’s mole) at CNCS on Monday. And from the AmeriCorps press release published yesterday:
“The First Lady has made service and volunteering a life calling, and her leadership is helping to inspire a whole new generation of Americans who are making service a part of their daily lives,” said Nicola Goren, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Her participation demonstrates the high priority the White House has placed on service as a way to help in our nation’s recovery.”
“First Lady Michelle Obama knows first-hand the power of service to transform lives and communities,” said Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute and co-founder of HandsOn Network. “We are thrilled that she chose our national conference as the platform to launch United We Serve. She has made service a centerpiece of her agenda, and her appearance will add a burst of excitement and a new significance to this gathering of service leaders as well as our larger efforts to usher in a new era of service.”
I first raised questions about the First Lady’s meddling into the AmeriCrooks mess on June 12 after following up on little-noticed reports in the niche publication Youth Today detailing Mrs. Obama’s active role and interest in staffing the top management at CNCS. As I noted last week:
Mrs. Obama’s interest is more than passing. She ran the AmeriCorps-funded non-profit Public Allies in Chicago from 1993-1996 and served on its national board until 2001. Like so many of the AmeriCorps recipients investigated by the inspector general’s office over the years, Public Allies was found to have violated basic eligibility and compliance rules. A January 2007 audit reported that the group lacked internal controls verifying that recipients who received education grants and living allowances were legal citizens or permanent residents as required by law.
Michelle Obama’s installation as the face and voice of the government volunteerism boondoggle only deepens suspicions about the role she and her staff may have played in Walpin’s sacking. So does her past exploitation of the “community service” mantle to reward Chicago politicos (see “The Obama horror story you won’t hear”).
***
You know who else was supposed to speak at the CNCS conference next week?
The supposedly dazed and confused Gerald Walpin.
Via WashTimes (hat tip - Quin Hilyer):
On Tuesday June 9, just one day before the White House first asked him to step down, the agency asked him to make a speech on June 23 in San Francisco to a conference of some 2,000 staff members and grantees. The invitation, he said, was delivered by Gretchen Van De Veer, director of the Office of Leadership Development and Training at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
“They begged me to come,” he said. “Why would they do that if they thought I am incapacitated?”
Michelle? Anyone?
***
Will the liberal media lapdogs in San Francisco ask tough questions — or will they genuflect a la the Washington Post’s Robin Givan, who gushed last week that “so many eye her with awe and disbelief.”
Will anyone press the First Lady on the financial scandal — or will we get more drool-covered coverage of her bare arms?
Well, here’s the San Francisco Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci previewing the “frenzy” over Michelle Obama’s upcoming visit:
First Lady Michelle Obama is kicking off a White House push to underscore the importance of volunteerism in San Francisco on Monday — a move that will have political figures here elbowing each other to get in the frame with her.
But step aside, folks, it’s California First Lady Maria Shriver who snags that honor before all. Volunteerism has long been her leading issue, and she’s going to be alongside First Lady Michelle for the day in the starring role.
…”During this summer, the president is renewing his call to all Americans to identify needs in their communities, engage in meaningful service to create change — and stay engaged with these projects long after September,” says the Obama Administration press release, which urges Americans to hit the website of the Corporation for National and Community Service for ideas on where to volunteer.
But having Michelle Obama on board in San Francisco to make the case is a coup, bigtime, for Shriver and California; it not only ensures that armies of TV cameras will be focusing on state and local efforts, but brings out an adoring public — and that horde of local elected officials to lend support (and get in the picture).
Despite the MSM protectionism, this scandal is not going away.
I have a terrific volunteerism project: Volunteer to do the job the obsequious professional journalists won’t do. There will be national service events involving Team Obama members on Monday all over the country. Volunteer to serve your country by showing up and asking why Dear Leader undermined the IG protection law he helped co-sponsor in cutting Walpin loose.
Beware ,,there is a picture of a wookie...