POGO: The silence of the hams

POGO, the Project on Government Oversight, a self-styled "watchdog" group dedicated to the promulgating of suspicion and distrust about the world of government contracting, has never been known for being publicity shy. Indeed, the group sort of lives for and by the media. (To my knowledge, the organization has no members.) They are combative to the point that many regard them as shrill. Furthermore, they never let pass anything I write that mentions their name (and sometimes things I write that don't mention their name) without rebuttal.

Until now, that is.

A while ago, POGO responded testily to an FCW column I had written on "buying commercial." I commented that their response possibly suggested that we could actually agree on two things: l) it was important for government to have access to commercial items, and 2) the FASA (Federal Acquisition Streamling Act of 1994) standard for receipt of certified company cost data on commercial items was a good one. At the end of my comment, I asked specifically if we could agree on these two points.

For once, silence.

At the risk of not sufficiently appreciating the opportunity actually to experience silence from POGO, I repeat my request that we signal our agreement with each other.