Recently in secretary of geek Category

So now we hear that Tom Daschle, Obama's choice for Health Secretary, somehow got away with not paying more that $100,000 in taxes he should have paid. He's now paid those taxes, plus interest (no word on whether he paid penalities), but:

The information about Mr. Daschle has come to light in different ways. He disclosed some to the transition team, including the taxes owed on the car and driver. The transition team spotted a problem with his charitable tax deductions, and the Senate Finance Committee discovered the failure to pay Medicare tax on the use of the car.

So, it wasn't just the deal with the car and driver -- honestly, who knows what the tax sitch is with one's chauffeur? -- but charitable contributions as well? And what kind of person is able to come up with more than $100,000 at the drop of a hat:

Wait. Did I just post something called "finally: a White House that understands science, technology, and the Web"?

Turns out, maybe not so much.

I learned via Avedon Carol at Sideshow that the White House Web site, which was relaunched yesterday at noon, as Obama was being sworn in, appears to have flushed the records of the entire Bush administration down the memory hole. Click on any link to the White House site in any post at any blog that has been underlining the crimes and misdeeds of the Bush adminstration -- like the link to Bush's last news conference, in which he said something horrifying about how bad a state our economy may well be in, which Tom Engelhardt highlighted at TomDispatch.com -- and this is what you get:

As the self-declared new Secretary of Geek for the Obama administration, I'm glad to see tidbits like these on the new White House Web site, under the Technology section of the national agenda:

President Obama and Vice President Biden understand the immense transformative power of technology and innovation and how they can improve the lives of Americans. They will work to ensure the full and free exchange of information through an open Internet and use technology to create a more transparent and connected democracy. They will encourage the deployment of modern communications infrastructure to improve America's competitiveness and employ technology to solve our nation's most pressing problems -- including improving clean energy, healthcare costs, and public safety.