Article Title: Triumph of the Drill
Snippet of Article: "...the federal government has pumped more than $470 billion into the oil and gas industry in the form of generous, never-expiring tax breaks. Once intended to jump-start struggling domestic drillers, these incentives have become a tidy bonus for some of the world's most profitable companies...."
Article Title: Postal Service, lawmakers clash over improving finances
Snippet of Article: "...The debate centers on which income best represents the Postal Service’s financial health: operating or net. Measured by operating income — revenue minus expenses — the Postal Service has made more than $1 billion in profit since the beginning of fiscal 2014. ..."
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| Screen Capture Identifying 'Google Shopping Express' at Staples |
Article Title: Two federal employees disciplined for bashing Obama and Romney at work
Snippet of Article: "...The messages were addressed to dozens of colleagues and sent from the employee’s work account while on duty, and the e-mails continued even after co-workers complained and supervisors warned..."
Article Title: Senate fails to advance minimum wage hike
Snippet of Article: "...The minimum wage increase is part of an economic agenda that Senate Democrats are promoting this year that they say will help boost the middle class. A bill to address pay equity between men and women likewise failed on a procedural vote, and upcoming legislation to promote college affordability and cut tax breaks for wealthy Americans is likely to meet the same fate...."
Article Title: Canada to be first G20 country to abolish door-to-door postal service
Snippet of Article: "...Currently, about a third of Canada’s approximately 5.1 million homes get mail delivered to their door, and they are not too happy about the government proposing a system of community mail boxes under its five-point plan announced Wednesday. ..."
Article Title: Federal pay raise increase faces long odds
Snippet of Article: "...Legislation that would give federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise next year is unlikely to pass, according to lawmakers. However, Rep Gerry Connolly, D.-Va, who introduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act on March 26, is optimistic about longer term success...."
Article Title: House GOP budget features cuts in food stamps, health care
Snippet of Article: "...The Ryan plan also promises cuts to the federal workforce, a termination of Saturday mail delivery..."
Article Title: The masquerade continues: Playing politics with the Postal Service's unfunded liabilities
Snippet of Article: "...The fact is that the Postal Service is in the situation it’s in today largely because Congress created funding schedules and funding levels for pension and retiree healthcare obligations that exceeded standard accounting practice. Only the most naïve or ideologically predisposed observer would believe that the way these obligations have been presented and accounted for represents anything other than an attempt to put the Postal Service in the most damaging financial straits possible. ..."
Article Title: OPM wants to retool USAJobs to make it work better with agency hiring systems
Snippet of Article: "...Some of the new features for USAJobs will include a resume-mining tool so applicants can upload their information without typing in details as well as new reporting and analytic tools for agency recruiters monitoring responses to job posts...."
Article Title: FBI won’t run background checks on pot license applicants in Washington
Snippet of Article: "...The Justice Department declined to explain why it isn’t conducting the checks in Washington when it has in Colorado. Stephen Fischer, a spokesman for the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, referred an inquiry to DOJ headquarters, which issued a statement...."
With the announcement from the news media of plans of the United States to use a new system to constantly monitor habits of federal employees and contract workers with secret clearances, you may want to educate yourself on an already developed program to do so. It is called an Automated Continuing Evaluation System (ACES). Most of you with security clearances are already familiar with the background check process so this isn't any surprise to you, but maybe it will serve as a reminder of the the importance of keeping your s_ _ _ together as well as a reminder to be careful as to what you or your significant other posts on social media.
Article Title: Automated Continuing Evaluation System (ACES)
Snippet of Article: "...The system, as it currently stands, can query over 40 different government and commercial database records to identify cleared personnel who appear to be engaging in behaviors of security concern that may indicate personal vulnerability (e.g., substance abuse, criminal behavior, or financial problems) or possibly espionage-related activities (e.g., unexplained affluence). Additional databases are currently being added or evaluated for their productivity of security-relevant information. ACES utilizes sources of information pertaining to ..."
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| TSA Photo |
Article Title: Issa Wants to Issue List of 450 Jurisdictions That Aren’t Cooperating in Clearance Checks
Snippet of Article: "...About 450 jurisdictions aren’t cooperating with the Office of Personnel Management when it asks for information about federal security clearances, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, said during a Feb. 11 hearing, citing a committee report...."
Article Title: Federal Guidance Provided To Permit Financial Institutions To Provide Services To Marijuana-Related Businesses
Snippet of Article: "...All of this basically relates to issuing guidance to clarify Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) expectations for financial institutions seeking to provide services to marijuana-related businesses. This FinCEN guidance clarifies how financial institutions can provide services to marijuana-related businesses consistent with their BSA obligations, i.e. due diligence. ..."
Article Title: Federal retirements may not come in a wave
Snippet of Article: "...The GAO report similarly tied economic conditions to retirement decisions. It noted that the overall retirement rate averaged about 3.5 percent in 2004-2007, fell to 2.5 percent in 2008-2010, then rebounded to pre-recession rates starting in 2011...."
Article Title: Premature motion: PRC dismisses bid to view non-public Amazon docs 
Snippet of Article: "...The deal to deliver for Amazon on Sunday thus raises several questions. Why is the deal being offered only to Amazon and its customers? How is it appropriate for a government monopoly and a giant corporation to broker a secret deal? Why should the Postal Service be making special deals like this one — or the NSA that gave Valassis special breaks — that favor certain large commercial entities? How does this NSA conform to the promise of uniform service under the universal service obligation? ..."
Article Title: OPM undecided whether to suspend, debar USIS after DoJ complaint
Snippet of Article: "...DoJ's complaint alleges USIS began "dumping" or "flushing" cases — transmitting cases to OPM and falsely representing them as completed — in 2008 to maximize the company's revenues and profits. ..."
Article Title: Obama to raise minimum wage for some federal workers
Snippet of Article: "...I'm proud to have a president who will stand up for a living wage because the workers themselves decided to take a stand."..."
Article Title: Military Deposits
Snippet of Article: "... the payments for the military deposit have to be made to the agency and they can be done in a lump sum or installments, and again, I will be harping on this -- because this has to be made at the agency, you cannot walk in the month before retirement and expect to do installments on a military deposit. It will not work out. If you are moving into retirement, or you're within six months of retirement, you will have to make a large installment, or lump sum payment, because it has to be finalized before that date...."
Article Title: Fewer Jobs, Longer Wait Times: The New Postal Service Slogan?
Snippet of Article: "...The proposal would keep the Monday delivery day for mail dropped off on Thursday. But mailed dropped off on Friday at such post offices would be delivered on Tuesday, while the Postal Service would deliver Saturday drop-offs on Wednesday...."
Here is a horrific story about an agency that pretends to support veterans. The Postal Service employs a huge number of veterans, of course only because they are forced to do so due to military veteran preference rights afforded veterans seeking employment. However, the agency is obviously veteran unfriendly and non-supportive. Here is just one example of that:
Article Title: Postal Service ordered to reinstate Purple Heart recipient fired for ‘excessive military leave,’ report says
Snippet of Article: "...The U.S. Postal Service was reportedly ordered by a federal board this week to reinstate a National Guardsman and give the man $2 million in back pay after he was fired from his job for taking "excessive military leave."..."
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| Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War |
Article Title: 35% Think U.S. Government Should Consider Selling the Postal Service
Snippet of Article: "...The U.S. Postal Service has been plagued with financial problems for years, but fewer adults now believe the federal government should sell the Postal Service...."
Article Title: VIDEO: American held hostage by Al Qaeda for two years begs U.S. for help
Snippet of Article: "...“Nine years ago I came to Pakistan to help my government and I did so at a time when most Americans would not come here,” said Weinstein, sporting a beard and appearing lethargic. “And now when I need my government it seems I’ve been totally abandoned and forgotten.”..."
Article Title: Brothel tax breaks and $124,995 pizza: How your tax money was (mis)spent this year
Article Title: Residents report late mail deliveries
Snippet of Article: "...Willard Lemonds of Cape Girardeau has not seen his mailbox flag pushed down over the last couple days because his mail has not been delivered. He recalled seeing a mail truck broken down on a road near his home during the recent winter weather. Lemonds worried about the delivery of his bills and leaving undelivered mail in his mailbox overnight. ..."
Article Title: Federal Employee Unions Gain Members Post-Shutdown
Snippet of Article: "...The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, gained about 1,100 members in November, after suffering a net membership loss during the shutdown itself...."
Article Title: Federal employee advocates: No pension hikes in budget deal
Snippet of Article: "...one proposal involves hiking federal employees’ share of their pension contributions by 1.2 percentage points over three years...."
