Bollinger v. Northrop Grumman – Bollinger has a big day in court

by Michael DeKort

On 1/12/09 the US District Court in Eastern Louisiana decided on several motions by each party. In each case the court found for Bollinger and against Northrop Grumman

Bollinger filed to Compel Arbitration and to Stay Proceedings

Northrop Grumman filed to Stay Arbitration and to Dismiss several complaints. (Wrapped up inside of these Northrop also tried to move the jurisdiction to Mississippi from Louisiana)

In other related proceeding the court agreed to a request by both parities to move the hearing on setting court dates to Feb 8, 2009

Remember the original filings by NG included a recommendation by NG for Bollinger to seek its damages from Lockheed, ICGS (which NG is half of) or even the government (for terminating the 123 contract) instead of itself – the prime contractor for Bollinger. What a ridiculous convoluted mess. It appears all sides are trying to stick the other and/or the government for the refund and blame for the 123 debacle. ICGS may even go as far as to not only deny the refund but also ask for further compensation from the government because the contract was canceled.

As I am not an attorney I don’t know what the next options are. I wonder if the governmental parties investigating the same issues are paying attention to this and how these proceeding might factor in to that. Can NG take its issues to a higher court? Does NG now sue Lockheed to recover damages in case Bollinger wins their suit with them? Do all three contractors sue the government for contract termination even though neither of these parties has taken responsibility for the 123 problems or returned the $96m?

I will keep my eye on this and post more as it becomes available.

View the court documents here.

Coast Guard Web Filtering Update

Shipmates,

As I have discussed with you in the past, we operate in a complex and dynamic environment. To maximize our effectiveness and service to the public, we have to simultaneously be as open and transparent as we can, while maximizing the integrity and security of our data networks and sensitive information. This puts us, and particularly our IT experts, in a very complicated position as described by our CIO below.

As an organization, we will continue to exercise creativity and flexibility while finding ways to serve both transparency and security. For example, though twitter is now blocked from use on the Coast Guard Data Network, we recognize the value of that and similar applications in keeping the public informed during critical incidents. Our public affairs program, working with CG-6, will find ways to maintain that capability for specific purposes that support operations without increasing the vulnerability of our network. The use of YouTube is a great example of this. Our release of the video of the “Miracle on the Hudson” through that channel has resulted in an amazing 760,000 views, making it the most viewed video of the day.

Secretary Janet Napolitano

Janet Napolitano was sworn in on January 21, 2009 as the third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Napolitano was mid-way through her second term as Governor of the State of Arizona. While Governor, Napolitano became the first woman to chair the National Governors Association, where she was instrumental in creating the Public Safety Task Force and the Homeland Security Advisors Council. She also chaired the Western Governors Association. Napolitano previously served as the Attorney General of Arizona and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.

Napolitano’s homeland security background is extensive. As U.S. Attorney, she helped lead the domestic terrorism investigation into the Oklahoma City Bombing. As Arizona Attorney General, she helped write the law to break up human smuggling rings. As Governor, she implemented one of the first state homeland security strategies in the nation, opened the first state counter-terrorism center and spearheaded efforts to transform immigration enforcement. She’s also been a pioneer in coordinating federal, state, local and bi-national homeland security efforts, and presided over large scale disaster relief efforts and readiness exercises to ensure well-crafted and functional emergency plans.

Napolitano graduated from Santa Clara University in 1979, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1983 from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school she served as a law clerk for Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before joining the law firm of Lewis and Roca.

Restoring Science to its Rightful Place

from the Blog The Commander Guy’s Lair

Quote of the Day:

“All I know is there’s water where it didn’t use to be, and it’s my responsibility to deal with that.”

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, repeating Bush Administration dogma on melting polar ice caps.

After years of first denying the possibilities of a changing climate, Bush, eventually, grudgingly acknowledged the possibility. However, he decided to do nothing about it. The Bush Administration even went so far as to alienate allies, muzzle scientists and censor government reports on the subject. Nothing new here.

So would it surprise you to learn that just days before leaving office, President Bush issued new national security directive, NSPD – 66, on Arctic Security to address the effects of global warming?

New waterways are opening in the Arctic as polar ice caps shrink, even the Bush Administration understood this fact.

Thawing of the Arctic will allow new transportation shortcuts and new energy exploration, even the Bush Administration came to understand this fact.

But what the Bush administration could not do was allow science to have a roll in understanding the changes to the Arctic and to the planet as a whole.

Let’s just add restoring science to its proper role and cleaning up the censorship and obstructed scholarship that occurred during the last Eight Years as another burden passed off to future generations.

Statement by Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, on the new Arctic policy

by Lt. Cmdr. Tony Russell, (202) 372-4528

WASHINGTON — Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, issued the following statement Monday on the new Arctic policy National Security Presidential Directive / Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD/HSPD).

“The new Arctic policy signed by the President today re-affirms our Nation’s obligation to protect the Arctic domain, its environment, and those who work and live in it. The retreat of annual sea ice has created new areas of open water where the Coast Guard has statutory responsibilities. The new policy is recognition of changing conditions in the Arctic region and the implications for our Nation. This directive will guide our current operational activities in the region and guide the allocation of current and future resources to meet mission demands. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our interagency partners, the people of Alaska and the Arctic nations to ensure safe, secure and sustainable activities in the Arctic region.”

Webster Smith: Dear Mr. President

Dear President Obama,

I am really enthused to witness these times. I was and will be with you ALL the way. So will my parents and siblings (even though my father voted for Secretary of State Clinton in the primary). As you know, many of your supporters are Christians. Some devout, some young and impressionable and some born again…like me. Well, even born again Christians feel that they are worthy to speak out about religious issues, when the times warrant them. See, I strive for righteousness and to do the right things, even when they are unpopular. I am trying to walk the walk, I suppose you can say. You sound like that kind of guy, too. My name is Webster Smith and I have had a handful of life-changing experiences. I think God knew what he was doing. Because of a few of those experiences I want to go to law school at Howard University or GWU, next fall. I want to be a Civil Rights attorney (kind of like you); I want to work toward achieving the increasingly attainable goal: equal rights, for all. That being said, there is a group of people that we tend to exclude from the whole civil rights argument. Civil Rights should be about moving toward gender, socio-economic and racial blindness; it should be about decisions being made without considering preference or the comforts of familiarity.

I was sort of hoping that you would reconsider your stance on Pro-Choice advocacy. Please pray about it, would you? The way I see it, it is a matter of spiritual faith. People seem to give up on their lives when they are feeling an overwhelming sense of despair, unless they are at peace with the fact that their trials are for a reason and that God will get them through. I am one of those that believe that God prepares us, if necessary, with struggle and pain. Analogous to precious metals and crystals being forged out of rock and carbon by heat and pressure. Take for example, my daughter. For those that know my lovely wife and me, our ‘timing’ was not at all optimal. I was just getting on my feet again and my wife and I had the gall to work for the same failing company. Talk about frightening, some pay days had to wait three weeks. I was starting school again and I had some serious things on my mind. All of this is to say, I want every person to experience the amazing feeling that is God showing them favor in times of stress and duress. It is truly faith building! The birth of our daughter brought me closer to God because I observed God demonstrate His power during our tough times. Everyone deserves to feel the warmth of God hugging them and protecting them from the storm.

President Kennedy, one of your most significant sources of inspiration, and our first Catholic President, was wildly opposed to the Government being involved in these issues. Perhaps, you can consider the same stance? I want you to go down in history as the greatest President and you are more than capable. I just don’t feel that it’s possible without God’s grace. We can’t possibly call on God to protect us as a nation while facilitating an international movement that excludes 3,000 souls a day from that protection.

In closing, thank you for all that you have done to lift the spirits of many of us. Americans have searched long and hard for the pride in this country that has dwindled since September 11, 2001. It seems that America is back! You will surely encounter bouts of unfathomable stress trying to pull America back atop the proverbial mountain. May I suggest that you let God guide you in ALL of your decisions? Let your relationship with God take precedence over special interest, friends, political ally or foe. You will feel at peace, you will stand tall when crowds jeer, you will smile in public when others are wondering how you could even muster the strength. By most accounts, your leadership and intellectual ability bests that of the 43rd president but take note of the peace that he had when it seemed the whole world was against him. If you exhibit that sort of discipline, resolve and comfort, that only God can provide, you will soar above all presidential legend. And our struggling country may land on its feet.

Respectfully,

Webster M. Smith

*Postmarked January 21, 2009

NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.

We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.

On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright — it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.

So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

Inspiration found, and kept by a reluctant Coastie

This comment on a fitness website hit my feed this morning and is a great read for parents, children and leaders.  The writer talks of parents and teachers who told him he could not achieve his goals, and the writers on personal desire to try anyway.  The impact of words are strong and the weak even stronger.  Fortunately this young man was stronger than the words he heard.

I think I’m making some good progress with Keto. I’ve decided not to weigh myself every week like most do since I tend to retain A LOT of water during certian times of the month (ahem) and it simply aggravates and discourages me. So, no scale until I start seeing major changes. I can easily put on 14 lbs of water during that time of the month, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem now. It IS that time of the month and my pants are fitting looser, not tighter which is so strange for me. There were basically no PMS symptoms either. So while it sucks to not be able to eat chips and salsa with my family during game day, I am very much enjoying being more comfortable at the moment. Yet another plus to Keto!

Plus, my pants are fitting looser and I have a nice bicep hump emerging! This seems to be happening faster than I ever imagined which is great since I only have 3 full months left to get ripped. At this rate I’ll be he hottest, meanest, most moto female Marine in Quantico! So pumped.