Is it too late to shut down the Blogs, cancel the Cell Phone and get off the Grid?
It would apparently seem so with the news coming out from the latest White House Scandal. NSA collecting all the data from a Free People is so 1984 and yet here we are in 2013 and only now finding out this has been going on for quite some time.
Perhaps it is too late to get off the Grid but then again where could you go in America where a Drone could not find you?
Just something to think about the next time our Liberal friends call us Fear Mongering Conspiracy Theorists for questioning this president
Lawmakers press EPA for answers on alleged ‘bias’ against conservative groups
Dozens of Republican lawmakers have joined in accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of “apparent bias” against conservative groups following a claim that it routinely showed favoritism to liberal organizations.
The allegations were first made by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank. It claimed the EPA was not being fair as it weighed whether to charge fees to groups seeking information via Freedom of Information Act requests. Its research showed liberal groups have their fees for documents waived about 90 percent of the time, while conservative groups are denied fee waivers about 90 percent of the time.
“This activity calls into question the objectivity of the FOIA employees at EPA and undermines public confidence in an agency that is charged with protecting our air and water,” a group of nearly three dozen House Republicans wrote in a letter to EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said in a separate statement that the findings are “not a coincidence” and track with the kind of targeting conducted by the IRS against conservative groups.
“Politics should not play a role in approving or denying fee waivers, and the EPA clearly crossed the line by injecting bias and favoritism into their decision making process,” he said.
In the letter, he and other lawmakers asked a string of questions on the EPA policy governing fee waivers, including who is in charge of that determination.
Perciasepe told the House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 16 that “our policy is to treat everybody the same,” and the agency is considering pursuing an investigation.
In a statement to Fox News, the EPA said: “The Office of Inspector General received from the Environmental Protection Agency the official request to look into this matter just over a week ago, so the request is currently under review by the OIG at this early stage.”
IRS turns over video of employees line dancing to Congress
In the wake of the scandal over the Internal Revenue Service‘s targeting of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status, the embattled agency has provided lawmakers with a video featuring about a dozen of its employees line dancing on a stage.
The video of the IRS workers practicing their dance moves, which lasts just under three minutes, comes weeks after it was revealed that agency workers produced two other videos parodying the “Star Trek” and “Gilligan’s Island” TV shows.
All three videos were provided to Congress Friday in response to a request issued by Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, after learning that the videos were recorded at IRS offices in New Carrollton, Md., outside Washington, D.C.
The latest recording cost about $1,600 and was produced to be shown at the end of a 2010 training and leadership conference held in Anaheim, Calif., said IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge. At a time when most government agencies are coping with across-the-board spending cuts by furloughing workers and finding other savings, that conference has become the target of a report a Treasury inspector general plans to release next week.
The report, called “Collected and Wasted: The IRS Spending Culture and Conference Abuses,” will be the subject of a hearing Thursday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, that panel said Friday.
“Whether it is the tens of thousands of hard-earned taxpayer dollars spent to produce frivolous entertainment for agency bureaucrats, or the IRS’s own admission that it targeted the American people based on their personal beliefs, the outrage toward the IRS is only growing stronger,” Boustany said in a statement.
“Clearly this is an agency where abuse and waste is the norm and not the exception. It is clear that this is a broken agency that is empowered by a broken tax code. We need to fix this and make not only the agency, but the tax code, more effective and efficient.”
In a written statement, the IRS said the video was “unacceptable and an inappropriate use of government funds.” It said the agency has new policies in place “to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used appropriately.”
In the video, various workers comment as colleagues practice their dancing in the background to music that sounds like “Cupid Shuffle,” a 2007 hit by the performer Cupid. In the version obtained by The Associated Press, IRS employees’ names have been erased.
At one point, one woman says, “And I thought doing the ‘Star Trek’ video was humiliating.”
That “Star Trek” video was produced for the same 2010 conference. The agency called the “Star Trek” video, which lasted six minutes and featured employees dressed as characters from the popular show, a mistake.
The “Star Trek” and “Gilligan’s Island” videos cost about $60,000 combined to make, the IRS said in March.
The “Gilligan’s Island” parody was used at the beginning of a 12-hour video the IRS used in 2011 to train its workers on various tax issues, Eldridge said. The entire video was used to train 1,900 workers who assist taxpayers over the phone and in offices around the country, she said.
In a separate statement, Danny Werfel, the IRS’ new acting commissioner, called the 2010 conference “an unfortunate vestige from a prior era.”
He added, “While there were legitimate reasons for holding the meeting, many of the expenses associated with it were inappropriate and should not have occurred.”
Werfel said the IRS has since instituted spending restrictions that include scaling back travel and training expenses by more than 80 percent since 2010.
“Taxpayers should take comfort that a conference like this would not take place today,” Werfel said.
In a statement, the Treasury Department — of which the IRS is part — said it puts “the highest priority on protecting taxpayer dollars.” It said it would work with Werfel as he reviews his agency’s operations and tries to “restore public confidence in the IRS.”
The 2010 conference was attended by 2,600 IRS workers from 350 offices around the country that handle tax returns for small businesses and self-employed individuals, Eldridge said.
Despite the Obama administration’s claims to the contrary, requests for information on conservative groups did not originate in the IRS’ Cincinnati office alone, attorneys representing some of the targeted organizations told NBC News.
Information requests, often with the signatures of high-ranking agency officials, reportedly extended beyond a few rogue agents in a single city and at least one letter contains the signature of Lois Lerner, the suspended director of the IRS Exempt Organizations department in Washington. NBC News reportedly reviewed some of the letters in question.
In a recent report, the IRS Inspector General fingered a few low-level staffers from the Cincinnati office as the individuals responsible for unfairly targeting conservative groups. Now that account is being challenged.
Jay Sekulow, an attorney representing 27 conservative political advocacy organizations that applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status, provided some of the letters to NBC News. He said the groups’ contacts with the IRS prove that the practices went beyond a few “front line” employees in the Cincinnati office, as the IRS has maintained.
“We’ve dealt with 15 agents, including tax law specialists — that’s lawyers — from four different offices, including (the) Treasury (Department) in Washington, D.C.,” Sekulow said. “So the idea that this is a couple of rogue agents in Cincinnati is not correct.”
Among the letters were several that bore return IRS addresses other than Cincinnati, including IRS headquarters in Washington, and the signatures of IRS officials higher up the chain. Lerner’s signature, which appeared to be a stamp rather than an actual signature, appeared on a letter requesting additional information from the Ohio Liberty Council Corp.
Additionally, ex-Cincinnati official Bonnie Esrig last week expressed serious doubts to NBC News about the claim that low-level employees acted on their own without approval from superiors. She also said she doesn’t believe there was any political motivation behind the targeting of conservative organizations.
Lerner, one of the key figures in the investigation, was placed on administrative leave with pay last week after reportedly refusing to resign. Prior to that, she pleaded the Fifth and refused to answer Congress’ questions about the IRS scandal.
Sekulow told NBC News he believes the IRS was engaged in a coordinated and deliberate attempt to intimidate conservative groups.
The White House has denied that it was aware of the targeting, claiming that President Barack Obama learned of the scandal from news reports on May 10.
There were multiple reported sightings of agents with the Department of Homeland Security at several Tea Party-led IRS protests in states like Missouri, Florida, Illinois and Indiana. The rallies that occurred across the country on Tuesday were sparked by the IRS’ unfair targeting of conservative groups — one of the several scandals the Obama administration is dealing with.
What is unclear though is why federal officials felt the Tea Party presence required more than the attention of local law enforcement.
These photos, one showing “armed” DHS guards, were reportedly taken at the St. Louis IRS protest:
In Maitland, Fla., just north of Orlando, a Tea Party-led IRS protest also reportedly attracted the Department of Homeland Security. Photos apparently snapped at that particular protest show at least one DHS vehicle at the site of the rally.
In one of the photos, a women poses in front of the DHS SUV with a sign that reads: “Hey IRS! Don’t target me, bro!”
A woman in Fort Wayne, Ind., found herself all alone at the scheduled rally outside the IRS office on Tuesday. However, she was reportedly accompanied by three visible security guards in the IRS parking lot, which included a Homeland Security officer.
Then there’s this photo of a DHS vehicle passing by that was supposedly taken at the IRS protest in Downers Grove, Ill. The vehicle reportedly passed by the protest twice.
It would be helpful to find out if DHS presence was customary during rowdy “Occupy” protests, which many times spun out of control and resulted in property damage and injuries (not to mention drug use). TheBlaze will reach out to DHS for comment on the matter on Wednesday.
The Tea Party protests on Tuesday appear to have concluded without any incidents.
President Obama telephoned professional basketball player Jason Collins on Monday to congratulate him for coming out as the first openly gay player on a major U.S. sports team.
According to a White House aide, the president called Collins Monday evening to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage.
Of all the Rumors Flying Around on the Internet, one just Refuses to Die, and it Concerns
America’s FEMA CAMPS
In a nutshell, there seems to be a solicitation of bids occurring for the staffing of FEMA camps within 72 hours of implementation by an order from either Homeland Security or the president. This situation begs to be investigated, with special consideration paid to the motives of the present administration.
I went to the source, the FedBizOpps.gov, and searched for the solicitation number HSFEHQ-10-R-0027, titled National Responder Support Camp.
A search of the history of the amendments to this Solicitation for Contract showed that it had been modified several times, with the last modification — number 0008, with an original date of letting out to bid with a synopsis of May 13, 2011 — occurring on December 16, 2011. This last modification rescinded the solicitation, with said modification’s purpose noted as follows:
1. Cancel Solicitation HSFEHQ-10-R-0027.
2. A new draft solicitation will be issued on January 2012 for industry comment.
3. A Pre-Solicitation Conference will be held approximately two week post draft solicitation.
Okay…score one for the internet and the vigilant citizens who perform an invaluable service to our nation by monitoring the actions of our government and its various agencies.
I began the laborious task of reading the Invitation to Bid — this tome is 116, pages with many canned and boilerplate requirements for doing business with Uncle Sam duly enshrined amongst the pages. The Task Order Request (TOPR) under Scenario I & II under Section J of the Appendix made for another 42 pages. The required size of the camps was fluid, though they had the required capacity of 301 to two thousand, including security and camp cadre.
The staffing requirements or cadre for FEMA personnel for these camps — which are identified as being located in five (5) distinct regions throughout and within the borders of the USA, with camps located in each and every state — was three to fifteen each. The size of these camps will vary around 5 acres per 1,000 inhabitants, though they will never be less than 3 acres for populations of 500 or fewer inhabitants within the camps’ boundaries.
This requirement also had a minimum square footage for each inhabitant: either the camp’s cadre and first responders of 63 square feet, or approximately 8 feet on each side. This is slightly less than current Federal Court(s) requirements for housing prisoners, which is approximately 72 square feet. Perimeter fencing or barricades is required to be six feet high, enclosing the camp, with all traffic in or out to be recorded on a daily log and with security restricting all traffic and access. The contractor shall also provide fencing and barricades around areas which are “off limits” to occupants. ID Badges are required and are either blue or red, depending on the carrier is temporary or considered an occupant of the camp.
The first of several anomalies in the solicitation for bid was in the contractor staffing requirements, which puzzlingly required staff to be fully operational within 72 hours. Furthermore, “[w]henever practical, displaced citizens will be given the first opportunities for employment within the camp, assuming skills and capabilities are pertinent for the open positions.”
This led me to question the stated purpose of these camps, considering that the successful contractor would need to have personnel ready to go on such short notice, with notification from FEMA, Homeland Security, or the president within 72 hours. So the question arises: how could the camp utilize “displaced citizens” in the initial staffing unless the contractor knew where and when a disaster, man-made or otherwise would occur beforehand?
Another anomaly was the requirement that the “off limits” area was to be enclosed before anything else:
The contractor shall also provide fencing and barricades around areas which are “off limits” to occupants. Fencing and barricades are required within 36 hours for “phased” setup timeframes, and 72 hours for the rest of the initial setup timeframe.
Next question: just what is this “off limits” area to be used for, since the bid proposal specified only two (2) classes of occupants of the camp — temporary or occupant as first responder? Furthermore, it indicates that there may be a camp within the camp, or an area that is to be utilized by another group that is not revealed in the bid solicitation…your guess is as good as mine. Most Americans would not like the ambiguity of this area’s function!
Another question arose on the Term of the Contract (F.3), which reads as follows:
The contract shall be effective as of the execution date of the base contract, and shall continue up to five years if all four one-year options are exercised, except that delivery orders placed prior to the expiration date shall remain in full force and effect until deliveries have been completed and payments, therefore, have been made. The final delivery order shall not exceed two years.
The nature of the duration seems to belie a long-term use for these camps, which is also not fitting the transitory nature of natural disasters, with most communities being habitable again after a relatively short period of time. We’re talking months, not years.
Under the Principal Place of Performance (F.4), this solicitation implies that all of the areas outlined below must be staffed:
The effort required under this contract shall be performed in the United States. Task Orders will designate the exact locations where services will be provided. The five (5) areas of coverage are broken down as follows:
Area 1: Includes the states of CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, PA, VT, NY, WV, VA, RI
Area 2: Includes the states of KY, TN, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, FL
Area 3: Includes the states of CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, OH, SD, UT, WI, WY
Area 4: Includes the states of AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Area 5: Includes the states of AZ, CA, ID, NV, OR, WA
The language is specific in that all requirements are performed in the United States. However, the language does not specify that it would be a phased approach or even a localized area that experiences a natural disaster — simply the entire nation.
In the Task Order Proposal Request, there is a specific requirement for large vehicle parking:
Special Requirements:
- Outsized Vehicle Parking within Security Area (> 2.5 ton vehicles): Estimate required space and add to acreage requirement.
- Outsized vehicle parking outside security area (> 2.5 ton vehicles): Estimate required space and add to acreage requirement.
- Mission Support Work Area(s): Minimum square footage, Accessibility
These requirements suggest that the type of vehicle(s) will be either solely high-occupancy (i.e., buses) or large trucks or heavy equipment combined with buses. The interesting point about this section is that the authors allude to a “Security Area”and an “Unsecured Area” with no specific requirements coming forth.
To sum up: the solicitation to bid for the staffing of FEMA camps within 72 hours is a curious proposition, since it appears to predict a calamity that will affect the entire nation simultaneously –completely unlike a location-specific natural disaster.
This may be nothing more than a preparedness exercise by Homeland Security to see if anyone besides the military would be able to meet these stringent requirements for rapid deployment. However, what I found most striking was the “off limits” areas within each camp and staffing with “displaced persons” and the “Mission Support Work Area(s),” all undefined. As citizens, we need to know the exact purpose of these camps, given President Obama’s propensity to bend our constitutional republic to his own purposes!
(All documents can be found at this website for the GSA Federal Business Opportunities.)
