The problem is people can't go public with this stuff. They will be blacklisted from ever working in government again. And these are regulatory agencies that can make trouble for you in the private sector world too.

This is why I'm being so vague. I could actually give you specific details, but then my friend would be identified.

My friend said even with the small level of reforming he was trying to do, people stopped inviting him to meetings--because he was embarrassing with the way he was saying the Emperor has No Clothes, with respect to the processes being used.

Imagine a tech company where everyone basically has tenure, and promotions are based on how long you've been warming your seat. Now bake that organization for 50 years. That is your govt. IT department.

Surely all these amazing people who were pretty much hired directly by Obama himself can fearlessly go talk to him about that. Or is he simply throwing hundreds of them into a volcano, knowing that nothing lasting and significant will be achieved?

I think you misunderstand how much access to the President even high level techies in the government have. He has an enormous amount of demands on his time, and limited waking hours and political capital to spend. Reforming Fed. tech is not one of his priorities.

What you say is not the gist of the article nor how Obama, supposedly, recruited them.

What I'm requesting is that you don't believe the article hype.

Of course, don't take me at my word. Wait a year, or 2 years, or whatever you think is a reasonable time to wait for results ... and then check the USPTO website, or the FAA website, or the BIS website ... whatever your favorite govt. IT portal is, and see if its better. Better yet, ask a friend in government if things have gotten better in his/her department.

Don't even need to name names. Give me a department/division name so I can start firing up MuckRock with FOIA requests.