Re-Depositing Retirement Contributions

Article Title: Re-Depositing Retirement Contributions and Your Federal Annuity

Snippet of Article: "...This article is for CSRS employees and the few (very few) FERS employees (often known as FERS transferees) who had withdrawn contributions from CSRS and not re-deposited them when they returned to federal service as a FERS employee, or elected to transfer from CSRS to FERS during one of the two open seasons...."

Source: www.fedsmith.com Re-Depositing Retirement Contributions

How wealthy U.S. companies avoid paying taxes

Article Title: How U.S. companies learned to relocate their official addresses overseas and avoid taxes

Snippet of Article: "...The first corporate “inversion,” as Carroll’s maneuver came to be known, was obscure then and is all but forgotten now. Yet at least 45 companies have followed the lead of Carroll’s client, New Orleans-based construction company McDermott International, and shifted their legal addresses to low-tax foreign nations. Total corporate savings so far: at least $9.8 billion—money that otherwise would have gone to the U.S. government...."

Source: www.bloomberg.com Corporate Inversion, Zachary Mider,

The Standards of Conduct as Applied to Personal Social Media Use

Article Title: OGE Issues Legal Advisory on the Standards of Conduct and Social Media

Snippet of Article: "...Use of social media has become prevalent among Federal executive branch employees and agencies. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is aware that agency ethics officials have an interest in understanding how the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees (Standards of Conduct), 5 C.F.R. part 2635, apply to the use of social media. This interest is reflected in the increased volume of questions that OGE receives from various agencies seeking advice in this area...."
Source: www.oge.gov U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Standards of Conduct and Social Media,

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House (Hardcover Book)

Article Title: The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House

Snippet of Article: "...A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas. America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family...."
Source: www.amazon.com The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House

House Budget Committee Suggests Curbing the Rate of Return on the G Fund

Article Title: Congress Doesn’t Have Appetite For Messing with the G Fund, Senator Says

Snippet of Article: "...House Budget Committee’s fiscal 2016 blueprint targets federal retirement benefits, among several other areas, for more than $280 billion in budget savings over the next 10 years. Those recommendations include aligning the G Fund “with an appropriate risk profile,” according to the committee report on the concurrent resolution, which the House passed on March 25..."

Source: www.govexec.com

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),

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

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?

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,

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,

TechHire Initiative

Article Title: President Obama Launches New TechHire Initiative

#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,

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

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,

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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