Monday, March 30, 2015

Attempted NSA gate crash results in shooting, one dead

Article Title: One shot dead at Fort Meade after trying to ram NSA gate

Snippet of Article: "...The incident took place near one of the gates to the complex, far from the main buildings. The FBI said they did not think terrorism was related to the incident. "We are working with the US Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted," the FBI said in a statement. ..."

Source: www.cnn.com shooting, National Security Agency (NSA),

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Scumbag politicians want to steal more from federal and postal employees by further lowering pay

Article Title: Budget Bills: Cut Postal, Federal Pay

Snippet of Article: "...Budget bills for fiscal year 2016 proposed by House and Senate committees last week would cut pay for postal and federal workers by increasing the amount employees must pay into retirement accounts – without any increase in benefits. Under the budget bills, up to 6 percent of a postal worker’s wages would go toward funding retirement programs – reducing pay by thousands of dollars each year. In recent years, Congress increased the contributions required from employees covered by FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) from 0.8 percent to 4.4 percent. Over the past five years, lawmakers have already cut federal and postal workers pay and benefits by $159 billion – and now they want more. “There is no justification for these pay cuts,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The Postal Service is ‘off budget’ and doesn’t get a dime of taxpayer money,” he pointed out, “and postal pension accounts are almost fully funded.”..."

Source: www.apwu.org

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

What Government Websites Are The Most Heavily Trafficked? ...and how many are viewing what Government websites now?

Article Title: What Government Websites Are The Most Heavily Trafficked? ...and how many are viewing what Government websites now?

If you are a data driven individual, you will enjoy visiting analytics.usa.gov which provides data on how people interact with government websites. The information is derived from a Google Analytics account for United States federal government agencies known as the Digital Analytics Program. The program helps federal agencies understand how website visitors "find, access, and use government services online". The analytics site states that the program does not track individuals, and anonymizes the IP addresses of visitors. Also, for security purposes, not every government website is represented in the data. Currently, the Digital Analytics Program collects website traffic from almost 300 executive branch government domains, across over 3800 total websites, including every cabinet department. They continue to pursue and add more sites frequently.

NOTE: If you are curious about what information your browser can provide when you visit any website, here is a website that will identify a small sampling of that information: User Agent Viewer. Although the aforementioned Government analytics website does not report your IP address, all websites can identify your IP address. If you would like to see your IP address, visit What is my IP address?

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Purposeful slowing of First Class Mail by Postal Service is harmful to the public interest, but they still want to close 82 more processing facilities

Article Title: Recent slowdown of first-class mail delivers bad news to those who rely on postal service

Snippet of Article: "... Without telling you, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has slowed down the mail. New service standards went into effect on Jan. 5, ending overnight delivery of local first-class mail. The slower delivery schedules mean that the public will now see a delay in the delivery of bill payments, greeting cards, medicines, Netflix DVDs, ballots, newspapers and checks. This cutback of such a basic service is harmful to the public interest. ..."

Source: realchangenews.org destruction of postal service, Destruction of America's infrastructure,

Thursday, March 12, 2015

U.S. probing report Secret Service agents drove car into White House barrier

Article Title: U.S. probing report Secret Service agents drove car into White House barrier

Snippet of Article: "... The U.S. Secret Service said on Wednesday that two agents were under investigation after an incident last week in which they were reported to have driven a government car into White House barricades after drinking at a late-night party. ..."

Source: reuters.com Secret Service, secret service conduct standards, President Barack Obama's protective detail, government car,

Monday, March 9, 2015

TechHire Initiative

Article Title: President Obama Launches New TechHire Initiative

#TechHire

#TechHire

Snippet of Article: "... The President and his Administration are focused on promoting middle class economics to ensure that all Americans can contribute to and benefit from our American resurgence. Part of that effort requires empowering every American with the education and training they need to earn higher wages. Today’s announcement is the latest part of that effort: In his remarks to the National League of Cities, the President will announce his TechHire initiative, including a new campaign to work with communities to get more Americans rapidly trained for well-paying technology jobs. ..."
Source: www.whitehouse.gov TechHire initiative, #TechHire,

Friday, March 6, 2015

Politicians continue to act like children as debt limit approaches again

Article Title: Treasury chief begins 'extraordinary measures' to avoid debt default

Snippet of Article: "... “Increasing the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments. It simply allows the government to pay for expenditures Congress has already approved, thereby protecting the full faith and credit of the United States,” he wrote. ..."

Source: thehill.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Iran attacks faux U.S. aircraft carrier in war games

Article Title: Iran blasts mock U.S. carrier in war games

Snippet of Article: "...Iran said the aircraft carrier target was a full-size replica of the USS Nimitz. "Iranian naval forces displayed their skills in targeting enemy vessels and destroyed a mock U.S. aircraft carrier during the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy's massive Payambar-e Azam 9 (The Great Prophet 9) ..."

Source: www.cnn.com USS Nimitz, Iran, Payambar-e Azam 9 (The Great Prophet 9), Islamic Revolution Guard, Rogue States,

Netanyahu cites what we already know, Iran is not a friend of the U.S. or Israel

Article Title: Netanyahu: Deal will pave way to Iranian nuclear bomb

Snippet of Article: "... In a dramatic speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, which has caused a furious row with the Obama White House, Netanyahu said that the proposed agreement would allow Iran’s breakout time — the period that it would take to race to a nuclear weapon — to be much shorter than the one year that the U.S. administration is aiming for. ..."

Source: q13fox.com Iran,

Friday, February 27, 2015

Where's our mail? Why is weather becoming an issue in mail delivery? Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers...

Article Title: ‘Where’s our mail?’: Snow still disrupting postal service

Snippet of Article: "...“I have lived in this house for almost 50 years, and we’ve never gone without our mail,” she said. Wednesday morning, a truck finally came through. The carrier said it might take a while to get all of the letters delivered. “She said the post office was a holy mess,” Dawson said. ..."

Source: www.kentuckynewera.com

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

FBI: 3 New York Men Arrested For Attempting To Join ISIS

Article Title: FBI: 3 Brooklyn Men Arrested For Attempting To Join ISIS

Snippet of Article: "...allegedly attempting to travel abroad to join the terror group ISIS, with one man agreeing to kill President Barack Obama ..."

Source: newyork.cbslocal.com FBI

Monday, February 23, 2015

Stingray: Feds use device that acts as if it were a cell phone tower to track phones


Article Title: Stingray: Feds use device that acts as if it were a cell phone tower to track phones

Youtube Video on Stingray
Snippet of Article: "...Details are emerging about a tracking system used by the Feds called the Stingray. This device acts as if it was a cell phone tower, and intercepts your phone's signals using pings. The Stingray determines the strength of your cell phone signal through sonar technology. ..."
Source: Youtube


Stingray, IMSI-catcher,

Friday, February 20, 2015

Number of TSP Millionaires is growing with huge market gains


Article Title: A Growing Number of Wealthy Federal Employees

TSP Millionaires
Snippet of Article: "...Kim Weaver, Director, Office of External Affairs for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has provided FedSmith with the latest data on the TSP. The number of millionaires in the Thrift Savings Plan is now up to 4,167. - See more at: http://www.fedsmith.com/2015/02/18/the-growing-number-of-wealthy-federal-employees/#sthash.nFvxuLec.dpuf ..."
Source: www.fedsmith.com TSP Millionaires

Monday, February 2, 2015

Will new PMG correct the failing path of outgoing PMG?

Article Title: New postmaster general started as letter carrier in Lancaster

Snippet of Article: "...Previously she was vice president of Eastern Area Operations, overseeing a region that included Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, and parts of New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Indiana...."

Source: www.pennlive.com

Monday, January 26, 2015

With a ‘Golden Parachute’ in Hand, Donahoe Opposes Retirement for Young Workers

Article Title: With a ‘Golden Parachute’ in Hand, Donahoe Opposes Retirement for Young Workers

Snippet of Article: "...When Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe retires at the end of the week, he’ll get a retirement package of more than $4 million. Not bad for a “civil servant.” But in his controversial farewell address to reporters at the National Press Club on Jan. 6, Donahoe made clear that he doesn’t think the union’s newest members deserve any postal retirement at all. “In today’s world, does it really make sense to offer the promise of a government pension to a 22-year-old who is just entering the workforce?” he asked. And apparently Donahoe’s views have nothing to do with the Postal Service’s manufactured “financial crisis.” He opposes government pensions on principle and wants to impose his view to the entire federal government. ..."

Source: www.apwu.org

Man claims responsibility for drone crash at White House

Article Title: Man claims responsibility for drone crash at White House

Snippet of Article: "...Many small quadcopters are essentially sophisticated toys that can also be used for..."

Source: The Drone Report

OPM website glitch: Allowed users access to other retirees' personal information

Article Title: Retiree info exposed in OPM website glitch: Allowed users access to other retirees' personal information

Snippet of Article: "...glitch in the system allowed retirees logging in to the portal Monday morning to gain access to the personal accounts of other users..."

Source: federalretiree.blogspot.com

Friday, January 23, 2015

Is a 3.8% Federal Employee pay raise really a possibility or just a political show?

Article Title: Hoyer joins bill to give federal employees pay increase

Snippet of Article: "...U.S. Rep Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) has cosponsored federal legislation that would provide a pay hike of 3.8 percent to all federal employees in 2016 ..."

Source: www.somdnews.com

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Full Text Of President Barack Obama’s 2015 State Of The Union Address

Article Title: Full Text Of President Barack Obama’s 2015 State Of The Union Address

Snippet of Article: "...First – middle-class economics means helping working families feel more secure in a world of constant change. That means helping folks afford childcare, college, health care, a home, retirement – and my budget will address each of these issues, lowering the taxes of working families and putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets each year...."

Source: sacramento.cbslocal.com

Monday, January 19, 2015

DOT to implement NAFTA trucking provision

Article Title: DOT to implement NAFTA trucking provision

Snippet of Article: "...The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced it will permanently open the U.S. border to Mexican long-haul motor carriers, allowing trucking companies to operate beyond the commercial zones on the U.S.-Mexico border..."

Source: www.porknetwork.com

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Postal Service cuts ill-considered, threatens the very integrity and concept of Universal Service

Article Title: Postal Service cuts ill-considered

By Postal Regulatory Commissioner Ruth Y. Goldway

Snippet of Article: "...This latest round of operational cuts, however, threatens the very integrity and concept of Universal Service -- the Postal Service’s primary obligation under the law. ..."

Source: thehill.com

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Smoke fills L'Enfant Plaza Station, 1 Dead, 2 Critically Injured, Dozens Sickened

Article Title: 1 dead, 2 in critical condition after smoke fills L'Enfant Plaza Metro

Snippet of Article: "...stuck on Metro for 20 minutes as smoke built up in car. People were screaming and passing out, according to the passenger. As a precaution, DC Fire Mass Causality Units were deployed to the Metro station. The majority of injuries are smoke inhalatio..."

Source: www.wusa9.com

Monday, January 12, 2015

CENTCOM Twitter Account Hacked By Individuals Claiming To Be Part Of ISIS

Article Title: CENTCOM Twitter Account Hacked By Individuals Claiming To Be Part Of ISIS

Snippet of Article: "...The hacking took place as President Barack Obama gave a speech urging Congress to pass new measures to protect Americans from hackers...."

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Authority to Redeposit Refunds under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

Article Title: Authority to Redeposit Refunds under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

Snippet of Article: "...Section 1904 of the NDAA now provides the authority for FERS employees who took a refund of their FERS deductions to make a redeposit of the amount refunded, plus interest. FERS employees who took a re fund of CSRS deductions covering CSRS service that is credited under FERS rules may also make a redeposit fo r that service to re - establish full retirement credit for that service. The FERS redeposit for refunded CSRS service will be based on the a ppropriate percentage of the employee’s basic pay that is required for credit under FERS as noted in the table below, plus interest. Interest for a FERS redeposit begins to accrue from the date the employee received the refund of the retirement deductions. ..."

Source: www.opm.gov

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

U.S. government is discussing a range of options in response to the Sony hacking

Article Title: North Korea Websites Restored Following Outage

Snippet of Article: "...Just days ago, President Barack Obama warned the U.S. would retaliate for what Washington says is North Korea's hacking of Sony Pictures. A State Department spokeswoman, when asked about the situation, declined comment. However, she did say the U.S. government is discussing a range of options in response to the Sony hacking, some of which, she said, will be "seen" and some that "may not be seen." ..."

Source: www.voanews.com

Monday, December 22, 2014

Federal workers get Dec. 26 off but not postal workers

Article Title: Business as usual for USPS on Dec 26

Snippet of Article: "...President Obama's Executive Order only applies to "executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government." The Postal Service will treat December 26, 2014 as a normal business day. See the December 9, 2014 memorandum to Local Presidents (pdf)..."

Source: www.npmhu.org

Friday, December 19, 2014

Cyber Breach at KeyPoint may potentially expose Federal Employees personal data

Article Title: Personal information on 50,000 federal employees exposed; hackers breach contractor system

Snippet of Article: "...A company that conducts background checks for the federal government - including investigations on Alabama workers - has been breached, potentially exposing personal data of tens of thousands of federal employees...."

Source: www.al.com

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Federal workforce now has a cybersecurity job code listed in its description

Article Title: Cybersecurity codes now attached to jobs governmentwide

Snippet of Article: "...Every position in the federal workforce now has a cybersecurity job code listed in its description for more effective tracking of the lagging cyber workforce, even if the job isn’t cybersecurity-related. ..."

Source: fedscoop.com cybersecurity job code

Friday, December 12, 2014

Spending Bill protects banks again, does nothing to save Postal Service mail processing network, permits extremely large political donations

Article Title: Congress Deal to Avoid Shutdown Includes Victory for Banks

Snippet of Article: "...The measure would allow a tenfold increase in donations that individuals can give national political parties each year, to $324,000 from $32,400, according to a statement by Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21. The non-partisan group advocates for changes to campaign finance laws. ..."

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Obama's decision to replace Goldway as PRC Chair raises a couple of important questions

Article Title: Prez throws PRC Chair under the bus, WaPo misses the bus completely

Snippet of Article: "...Obama's decision to replace Goldway raises a couple of important questions. Why did Obama replace a Democratic chairman with a Republican? And why has the president not taken care to give the PRC a Democratic majority? The PRC normally has five commissioners, so Obama could have easily made sure three of them were Democrats. Instead, he has made appointments giving the Republicans the majority. ..."

Source: www.savethepostoffice.com Destruction of US Postal Service Mail Processing Network

Executive Order: ...Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2014

Article Title: Merry Christmas to Federal Employees: Extra Paid Holiday Announced for Dec. 26

Snippet of Article: "...President Obama signed an executive order late this week that reads: “All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Friday, December 26, 2014, the day after Christmas Day….”..."

Source: www.fedsmith.com

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Federal employees will pay an average of 3.8 percent more for their health insurance plans in 2015

Article Title: More than 25,000 federal workers to lose their health plans next year

Snippet of Article: "...OPM announced last month that federal employees will pay an average of 3.8 percent more for their health insurance plans in 2015, marking the fourth straight year of increases in that range...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Monday, November 24, 2014

Cyber Warfare: Regin spyware stealing data from ISPs, energy companies, airlines and research-and-development labs

Article Title: Security firms uncover 'sophisticated' Regin spyware

Snippet of Article: "...With a "degree of technical competence rarely seen", Regin had probably taken years to develop, Symantec said. ..."

Source: www.bbc.com Regin, Cyber Warfare,

Friday, November 21, 2014

Detekt app scans devices for government surveillance software

Article Title: Is Big Brother Watching? Amnesty's New App Scans For Spyware

Snippet of Article: "...Worried that the government is spying on your computer activity? A new anti-spyware tool from Amnesty International released Wednesday scans devices for government surveillance software...."

Source: Android and iPhone Apps and News Detekt app

Executive Actions on Immigration: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Article Title: Executive Actions on Immigration: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Snippet of Article: "...On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation. These initiatives include:...Preliminary estimates show that roughly 4.9 million individuals may be eligible for the initiatives announced by the President. However, there is no way to predict with certainty how many individuals will apply. USCIS will decide applications on a case-by-case basis and encourages as many people as possible to consider these new initiatives."

Source: www.uscis.gov Executive Actions on Immigration

The man who called the last stock crash is already blaming the Fed for the next

Article Title: The man who called the last stock crash is already blaming the Fed for the next

Snippet of Article: "...This time around, Peter Schiff, the chief executive officer of Euro Pacific Capital who memorably predicted the collapse of the housing market in 2008 and the global financial crisis of 2010, is speaking out against the Federal Reserve, which, he claims, has inflated the prices of stocks and bonds with its ultraloose, unconventional monetary policies...."

Source: www.marketwatch.com Federal Reserve

Friday, November 14, 2014

Postmaster General to Step Down

Article Title: Postmaster General Donahoe to retire in February

Snippet of Article: "...Patrick R. Donahoe will retire Feb. 1 after 39 years with the Postal Service. Megan J. Brennan..."

Source: www.usatoday.com Postmaster General Donahoe,

Monday, November 10, 2014

Half a Million Post Office Employees' Data Could Be Compromised

Article Title: Half a Million Post Office Employees' Data Could Be Compromised

Snippet of Article: "...Customers who contacted the postal service customer care center with an inquiry via telephone or e-mail between Jan. 1, 2014, and Aug. 16, 2014 are also at risk. The intrusion compromised names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other information for those customers who may have provided this information, according to the statement. ..."

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Time off to vote for federal employees

Article Title: Do federal employees get time off work to vote on Election Day?

Snippet of Article: "...Here are the guidelines that the government’s Chief Human Capital Officers Council laid out for excused voting absences prior to the 2012 election..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Excused Absence for Voting

Sunday, November 2, 2014

From where did the idea of destroying the U.S. Postal Service evolve? ...and how was it set in motion?

Article Title: War on Democracy (Op Ed)

Snippet of Article: "In the 1980 presidential campaign David Koch announced his candidacy as the Vice President on the Libertarian ticket. It was during this campaign he announced the agenda of the Libertarians:..."We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service." Result: Congress forced them into debt by mandating they pay into their pension plan 75 years ahead - $5.5 Billion annually. ..."

Source: www.opednews.com