Baldwin’s character, exiled GE Executive Jack Donaghy, the newly minted "Homeland Security Director of Crisis and Weather Management," brightens up Broderick’s drab existence when he convinces the House Appropriations Committee to provide the department pens with actual caps. "I haven't felt this energized at work since the two weeks when they tried to teach us Farsi," Broderick enthuses.

But their enthusiasm is short-lived. Broderick explains sadly to Baldwin -- who is desperate to flee back to New York -- that "my boss wouldn't let you resign. They don't want people leaving here any more." So the two concoct a scheme of Lurita Doan-esque proportions to get themselves fired. FedBlog doesn’t post spoilers, but needless to say, the end result is a doozy. Check out the full episode on Hulu or the show’s site on NBC.com.

By the way, if you think this is a farfteched plot, consider this: Yesterday President Bush announced he would nominate Thomas D. Cairns to be the new chief human capital officer at Homeland Security. Cairns' previous position? Senior vice president with NBC Universal, responsible for human resources and labor relations. --Alyssa Rosenberg

By day, Branch works as the technical lead in the electromagnetic test engineering section of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Washington Post reports today. But at night, he becomes "DJ Scientific," cranking tunes at some of the hottest clubs in the Washington area.

"I may be the only rocket scientist hip-hop DJ in the country," says Branch. "My colleagues at NASA find it hard to believe that I spend my nights deejaying at nightclubs. The people I meet at the clubs can't believe that by day I supervise people testing instruments for satellites."

(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)

"This is not your grandfather’s FAA.”

That suggests it just might be your father's FAA, which is not exactly encouraging, is it?

By the way, the Times story concludes that the root of the agency's current problems is that it's having trouble deciding whether it should be a tough regulator of the airlines or their partner. In that respect, the FAA can join a long list of agencies plagued by the difficulty of balancing those two roles.

That's first name "In God" and last name "We Trust."

Kreuscher says he wants the new moniker because God has protected him through some difficult times. Also, he's worried that atheists will succeed in getting his chosen namesake phrase taken off U.S. currency, and wants to provide a contingency plan to keep it alive.

"Those words are an endangered species," Kreuscher said. "You might take it off the money, but you can't take away my name."

(Hat tip: OhMyGov!)

Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell told Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that "inadequate resources" may have been a factor in the missed assesments. The agency says it has completed most reviews, and is developing a system to alert top officials when they are overdue.

There's just one problem, the New York Times reports today: Apparently, the law granting the authority is unconstitutional. That's what John F. Duffy, a professor at the George Washington University Law School, discovered and described in a recent paper.

At issue is Article II of the Constitution, which gives the president the power to appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court judges and certain other public officials, and says that in regard to additional federal positions, "Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments."

The PTO chief, of course, doesn't head a department. He's an undersecretary of Commerce. One could argue that patent administrative judges aren't the kind of "inferior officers" that the Constitution envisioned, but apparently the Supreme Court has made it pretty clear in previous decisions that they are. Even the Justice Department isn't challenging Duffy's interpretation. And that means that thousands of decisions involving patents stretching back several years could be in question.

(Hat tip: BoingBoing)

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, in previous incarnations of Iron Man in the world of comics, the organization was known as Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division and, later, Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate.

The varying names highlight the shift in national attention away from Communist cold warriors to the terrorists of the new millennium. But they all add up to the same apt acronym: SHIELD.

This once again raises the question of whether the "millennial" generation -- or whatever they're being called these days -- is receptive to the "ask not..." type of call to service from on high. Pat McGinnis, head of the Council for Excellence in Government, which sponsored the survey Barr cited, is in the "yes" camp. The poll, she said, shows "the potential for the new president and administration, especially as we have the retirement wave getting under way, to ask people, not just millennials but older people as well, to serve. There's a sense that many would respond and step up, as they did when John F. Kennedy asked."

Max Stier, head of the Partnership for Public Service, which specializes in trying to attract the next generation of civil servants, is on record as being skeptical of that notion. "Kennedy's message is no longer the right one," he told Newsweek earlier this year. "It's not about what you can do for government. We need to convey what government can do for you."

To be fair, Stier's not just talking about what government can do for the younger generation in terms of pay and benefits, but in providing an opportunity to do good, rewarding work. And that's the key point: My sense is that young people aren't that different from their elders. They'll readily respond to a call to serve their fellow citizens. But they've seen government at its worst (and, as a result, also have seen it caricatured endlessly), and they want to make sure that by going into a government organization they actually will be able to make a difference.

(Hat tip: BoingBoing)

Tuesday evening, Doan said, she was summoned to her first-ever meeting at the White House, with Bush's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, and White House Counsel Fred Fielding. Here's how she described it:

Less than 30 seconds into the meeting, I was told the White House was requesting my resignation. I tell you, it was humbling and frankly, it was bizarre. Naturally, I immediately stated, "I serve at the pleasure of the president," and I immediately gave my resignation.

I was surprised to be told that from the White House point of view, I was considered, and this is a direct quote, a "distraction to progress at GSA." I know I have had a high profile, and I know I've taken very public, very vocal stands on a lot of very contentious issues. You know, I've been a tiger on procurement, of course, I love talking about telework, my passion is talking about expanding and working on expanding our ports of entry and making opportunities for small business. But I saw that as my job.

I have to say, I don't think this was about Doan's position on telework. And it's pretty clear at this point it wasn't about allegations she violated the Hatch Act more than a year ago. But that didn't stop the New York Times editorial page from pushing that notion in today's edition.

Stay tuned to GovernmentExecutive.com Monday for a full interview with Doan.

In the wake of the deaths of 81 people in the United States who took tainted versions of the blood thinner heparin, FDA has been under intense pressure from Congress over holes in its oversight and inspection processes. Yesterday, agency officials told Congress that they need $225 million annually to inspect foreign drugmakers every other year and another $100 million a year in their budget to keep up the pace of inspections with domestic plants.

But as Doan exits the public stage, I have to acknowledge that I (and, I'm sure, many of my colleagues in the media) will miss her. She is, to use an old newspaper term, "good copy."

The feeling, though, apparently isn't mutual. Doan made her feelings about reporters clear during a speech last week at a GSA expo in California in which she appeared with "arrows sticking out of her head, shoulders, arms and legs," according to an official transcript. One of those metaphorical arrows, she said, was shot at her by "the press who say: 'I’ve been covering this issue for some time. I’m the only one who really understands the issue. You need to consult me, listen to my recommendations.' ”

I really wish I knew who she was talking about here. As a general rule, the last thing those of us in the media want to do is consult with agency leaders and issue recommendations. If we did that, we might actually bear some responsibility if those recommendations turned out to be lousy. No thanks. We relish our role as outside observers.

Stewart, who had joined the PHS in 1951, pressed for the integration of the agency as surgeon general, and used the then-new Medicare program as a wedge to force hospitals around the country to integrate, too. On top of that, he was responsible for the first health warnings on cigarette packs.

As Stewart's official biography indicates, he led PHS at a time of "dramatic changes" leading to "cycles of administrative upheaval." That included two major structural reorganizations during an "era characterized by ... complicated bureaucratic maneuvering, increased public involvement, and renewed efforts to control federal health expenditures." Stewart resigned his post midway through President Nixon's first year in office.