Money and Computing
A Baseball Story You Might Not Have Heard About an American Catcher and Spy for the OSS
Editor's Note: I began listening to baseball when I was five years old on the radio ... there was no television at that time. Being an only child, I went to New York Giants baseball games at the Polo Grounds in the borough of The Bronx with my father regularly. We continued to listen to games if we didn't have a seat in the stands. When I moved to San Francisco in the '60s friends said they knew why I was going there ... to follow my team. Now after many years back East, I am again in the Bay Area and watching Opening Day for the SF Giants on television; we'll be attending some games at the newly named Oracle Park this season. Morris “Moe” Berg (1902-1972) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball from 1926-1939. He later became a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. more »
So You Think You Have Outfit Problems? Spacesuit Availability Limits an All-Female Astronauts Spacewalk
Astronaut Christina Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut Anne McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk. However, after consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station. McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it. more »
GAO Found: There Is No Single Source of Publicly Available, Comprehensive &Timely Data on Executive Branch Appointees
There is no single source of data on political appointees serving in the executive branch that is publicly available, comprehensive, and timely. Political appointees make or advocate policy for a presidential administration or support those positions. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and two nongovernmental organizations collect, and in some cases, report data on political appointees, but the data are incomplete. For example, the data did not include information on political appointee positions within the Executive Office of the President. The White House Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) maintains data but does not make them publicly available. more »
Foiling an Elder Fraud Scam; Former FBI Director Webster Assists Investigation
Persistent calls in 2014 to William Webster and his wife, Lynda, followed the familiar arc of scams that target the elderly: The caller promises riches but requires some form of payment to move the process forward. The caller demands more and more, and then resorts to intimidation when the cooperation tapers off. In the Websters’ case, the former judge was told he had to pay $50,000 to get his prize. When the money wasn’t forthcoming, the frequent calls escalated to scary threats, which led the couple to contact the FBI. “I don't know how the conversation turned sour,” said Webster, 95, director of the FBI for a decade beginning in 1978. “But it did. And at that point, he shifted gears. Instead of sweet talk, he began to threaten her.” more »