Thumbs down

To the sloppy bureaucracy that would allow a disgraced state Emergency Management employee to land a cushy federal job at Homeland Security — at least until it was exposed by the media.

Sonia Pitt was the MnDOT emergency director who failed to return to the state after the collapse of the 35W bridge, instead staying on an unauthorized state trip to Washington, D.C.

An investigation by the Minnesota Legislative Auditor concluded she was a “belligerent, aggressive” employee who abused her position and billed the state for thousands of dollars in excessive compensation for airfare, hotels, mileage and personal cell phone calls.

But after being fired by the state she was hired for Homeland Security’s Transportation Safety Administration at its headquarters in Arlington, Va.

After news reports of the hiring, Homeland Security investigated and fired Pitt. How could a federal agency charged with security and supposedly adept at investigation have allowed the hiring of Pitt in the first place? It’s the kind of move that makes people lose faith in their government.

Thumbs down

Justice Department sullied by politics

To the Bush administration, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and others for their tacit approval of illegal activities in the hiring of political cronies instead of qualified attorneys.

A report released Monday by the current Republican-lead Justice Department shows that top aides to Gonzalez used political litmus test, in violation of law and Justice Department policy, in the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges.

The department’s former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, violated federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren’t Republican or conservative loyalists, according to the report.

It’s a shameful legacy and Bush is ultimately responsible for taking the top law enforcement agency in the United States and turning it into a haven for partisan politics.

Thumbs up to thumbs on wheel

Some laws are written to help people protect them from themselves. The Minnesota law that bans text-messaging while driving is one of those laws. And with several vehicle accidents related to text-messaging reported in this area alone, it’s a good idea the law has been enacted before the number grows (assuming people follow the law, of course).

Good sense just seems to evade some people, who are so used to multi-tasking that they think driving and texting are compatible. A Madelia teen found out last winter that the two don’t mix so well. She ended up crossing the median on Highway 60 and flipping her car. Comments from a handful of university students suggests that texting and driving are not uncommon.

Even the American College of Emergency Physicians has issued a warning to texters about the dangerous of serious accidents — and not just motor vehicle crashes, but walking, biking and Rollerblading, horseriding and cooking accidents.

And let’s hope that surgeon who is scheduled to do your medical procedure has both his thumbs on medical instruments.

Thumbs up

Next: A real “easy button”

To the news that researchers are working on a pill that could mimic the benefits of exercise without actually working at it. Scientists are reporting some success in a drug that, when given to mice, burns more calories and produces less fat than sedentary mice. Tests also reveal that these mice, running on a treadmill, run 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than their untreated friends.

We don’t know yet if human couch potatoes can benefit from this drug. Just our luck, the drug may not work at all, but instead might merely inject us with an unhealthy fear of cats.

But there’s hope.

Many of us smile at the television ad touting “easy buttons.” Ah, technology. The easy way out might not be so far off.