• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

U.S. CIO Saved From Media Hyenas

Vivek Kundra has been reinstated as the federal government's chief information officer, to the consternation of hyenas whimpering for his head.

Silicon Alley Insider's Eric Krangel called for Kundra's head this morning on the grounds that he is either corrupt or incapable of sniffing out corruption -- either alternative making him unfit for the job.

Frustrated that his calls for Kundra's head were ignored, Krangel got his panties into an even tighter wad after learning that, 20 years ago -- when he was 14 years old! -- Kundra was arrested for stealing something worth "less than $300."

It'd be one thing for the White House to circle the wagons around a longtime administration figure with a distinguished record. But Vivek hasn't even started. We fail to see the wisdom in spending political capital on a replaceable and brand-new figure with so much criminal baggage.

Criminal baggage?

And never mind that Kundra demonstrated the ability to promote transparency in government -- something this country sorely needs. As CIO of Washington, D.C.,

For example, he's initiated a project that combines YouTube with Wikipedia to increase government's accountability to citizens. All requests for proposals (RFPs) for city contracts are posted on a Web site in a wiki, with all bids being available as PDF attachments. Attendee lists from public hearings are scanned and posted as well, as are videos of hearings and even RFP presentations. Also posted or linked are any district communications with the potential vendors on the RFPs.

But I suspect that Krangel didn't come up with this tack on his own. SIA has become as tiresome as a Greek chorus in its calls for high-profile resignations, motivated less by moral indignation than a desperate ploy for page views.

Earlier this month, SIA's founder, Henry Blodget, called for the head of Tim Geithner, the country's Treasury secretary.

The same Henry Blodget who is barred by law from exercising his chosen profession because he spat in the face of investors.

Now that, Eric, is what we call criminal baggage.

« I Hope Red Hat Follows Oracle's Advice.... | Main | Interop Insider #4 (MP3): Arista Networks Positions Itself As "The" 10-Gb Networker Of The Clouds »