Center for a New American Security

Most everyone agrees the Presidential Management Fellowship is one of the federal government's best programs, as it allows smart young Americans fresh out of graduate school a pathway to service in the federal government. Many current or former Presidential Management Fellows read this blog, and they do great things for the tax-payer and the war-fighter on a daily basis. So this blog post is not intended to attack the program or its graduates. But the federal government selected 869 finalists for the PMF this year, and just ten (10) are engineers. Ten.

The next time you wonder why our infrastructure is falling apart, or why we cannot effectively oversee defense contracts for large weapons systems, remember that fact.

(By contrast, of course, my officemate has an organization chart on the wall depicting China's government. The president, premier and eight of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee are engineers. Just sayin'.)

P.S. Are you a veteran? Are you looking for a solid career path and the ability to raise your family in the most beautiful area of the United States? Click here.

With Marvin Gaye, your celebration is just getting started...

(Hat-tip to MV)

 

Anatol Lieven has a pretty good critique of the foreign policy of a potential John McCain presidency going until he reaches this paragraph:

Mr McCain exemplifies “Jacksonian nationalism” – after Andrew Jackson, the 19th-century Indian-fighter and president – and the Scots-Irish military tradition from which both men sprung. As Mr McCain’s superb courage in North Vietnamese captivity and his honourable opposition to torture by US forces demonstrate, he also possesses the virtues of that tradition. Then again, some of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century were caused by brave, honourable men with a passionate sense of national mission.

Okay, Vladimir*, there are many things wrong with America, but the Scots-Irish are not to be included on your list. Leave us out of it or we'll show up to your door, drunk as a matter of course, with that killin' look in our eye.**

*Lieven's mom, actually, is Irish. Abu Muqawama's knowledge of this fact accounts for Lieven's continuing good health.
**A story is told in Tennessee about Jackson. Once, when he was a judge, a man accused of beating his wife failed to show up in court. Jackson was incensed, adjourned the session and stormed off to the man's house. But this worried deputies as the accused was notoriously ill-tempered and powerfully built. When Jackson went to his front door, though, the man meekly followed Jackson to the courthouse. They asked why, later, and the man shrugged and replied: "He had the shootin' look in his eye."