Sunday, December 23, 2012

Fart-Fest 2012 cause for letter of reprimand

Article Title: Federal Worker Reprimanded for Flatulence

Snippet of Article: "...Although the employee presented evidence that he suffered from “some medical conditions” the manager who wrote the letter notes that “nothing that you have submitted has indicated that would have uncontrollable flatulence.”..."


Source: www.slate.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Sequestration: As a fed worker or retiree, may be on the side that gets the short end of the stick

Article Title: Pay, bonus holiday, retirement: Scrooged again?
Snippet of Article: "... You, as a fed worker or retiree, may be on the side that gets the short end of the stick. A compromise that avoids sequestration and a cliff dive would spare feds from the worst-case scenario: furloughs of up to 20 nonconsecutive days. But it is likely that the two-year pay freeze will be extended beyond next year's March 31 cutoff spelled out in the stopgap continuing resolution that expires on that date. ..."


Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Monday, December 17, 2012

Was $85 million DOE study "an irresponsible waste of time and taxpayer money"

Article Title: DOE report on Hanford cleanup draws fire from citizens group

Snippet of Article: "...The study and resulting document, which Hanford Challenge counted at about 10,000 pages, cost $85 million...."


Source: seattletimes.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Friday, December 14, 2012

FBI Data: Gun Sales In 2012 Set Record

Article Title: Gun Sales In 2012 Set Record, FBI Data Indicates
Snippet of Article: "...The Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded more than 16.8 million background checks for gun purchases in 2012, the highest number since the FBI began publishing the data in 1998. A record number of requests..."


Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

2013 TSP Contribution Limits Increase

Article Title: 2013 TSP Contribution Limits Increase
Snippet of Article: "...The limit applies to the combined total of your tax-deferred traditional and Roth contributions.(This is an increase from the 2012 limit of $17,000.) If you are a member of the uniformed services, you can..."


Source: News for Federal Retirees

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, 2013 TSP Contribution Limit [/tag]

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Federal Employee Salary Data [Employee, Agency]

Article Title: Federal Employee Salary Search
Snippet of Article: "...Want to know how much your federal boss makes? Want to know what your personal federal employee salary is? You can search for federal employees by name, or agency; or you can look up the names and salaries for each federal worker by location or federal agency. Take a look by clicking the title of this article...."


Source: DataUniverse: The Asbury Park Press

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, Federal Employee Salary Search, [/tag]

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Fiscal Cliff Dangerous for Federal Workers

Article Title: For Federal Workers, a Fiscal Cliff Deal Carries Dangers
Snippet of Article: "...Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has offered his own deficit reduction proposal that includes cuts to the federal workforce. His plan would extend the pay freeze through 2015, reduce federal hiring, move new employees off the existing defined benefit pension plan and convert the federal health plan to a voucher system. ..."


Source: www.rollcall.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Friday, December 7, 2012

Polygraphs on the rise for federal employees

Article Title: Federal agencies increasingly using polygraphs on employees
Snippet of Article: "...But polygraphers at a growing number of U.S. agencies are asking employees and applicants about their personal lives and private thoughts in the name of protecting the country from spies, terrorists or corrupt law officers..."


Source: www.star-telegram.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Postal Service awards $30m contract to firm it is suing for $390m

Article Title: USPS awards $30m contract to firm it is suing for $390m
Snippet of Article: "...The US Postal Service has awarded a $30m contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation at the same time it is attempting to sue the company over breaches of another contract, seeking a nine-figure sum...."


Source: postandparcel.info

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Reluctant whistleblowers, stepping out over nuclear plant issues

Article Title: Nuclear Power Whistleblowers Charge Federal Regulators With Favoring Secrecy Over Safety
Snippet of Article: "...where nuclear plants stood in relation to upstream dams or the height of flood walls designed to protect safety equipment. Threats of varying significance were identified in Perkins's analysis at the Ft. Calhoun station in Nebraska, the Prairie Island facility in Minnesota and the Watts Bar plant in Tennessee, among more than two-dozen others...."


Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Petition: Federal employees want to get day off on Christmas Eve


Article Title: Federal employees petition to get day off on Christmas Eve
Snippet of Article: "...Employees have taken the matter into their own hands by creating an online petition on the White House's "We the People" platform. ..."


Source: www.bizjournals.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Federal Employee Health Plan Advice

Article Title: Advice on choosing a federal employee health plan
Snippet of Article: "...Time for federal employees to choose health insurance plans from within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The open season for making that choice runs through Dec. 12...."


Get the CHECKBOOK's 2013 Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Friday, November 30, 2012

Corker, a Tennessee Republican, proposes pay freeze through 2015

Article Title: Senator proposes pay freeze through 2015
Snippet of Article: "...Federal employee unions are blasting Sen. Bob Corker’s proposal to extend the federal pay scale freeze through 2015 and revamp pension benefits for new hires...."


Source: www.federaltimes.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Are majority of Postal Service losses fictional?

Article Title: USPS losses expected to decline- but you won’t read about it in the news media
Snippet of Article: "...impressive $15.9 billion “loss” that Congress has arbitrarily slapped on the agency’s books. You would be hard pressed to find a major news outlet that would report that $13.5 billion of that “loss” is completely fictional, given that the money never changed hands, and never will!..."


Source: postalnews.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Monday, November 26, 2012

Civilian employees on Army contract for Stryker vehicles received layoff notices

Article Title: 98 Anniston workers face layoffs as Army contract for Stryker vehicles nears completion
Snippet of Article: "...ANNISTON, Alabama - Almost 100 civilian employees working on Stryker combat vehicles have received layoff notices as their employer, General Dynamics Land Systems, nears the end of its contract with the U.S. Army, according to..."


Source: al.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Shirtless pic of boney FBI agent causes stir

Article Title: Petraeus Affair: Shirtless FBI Pic Appears to Be Playful
Snippet of Article: "...FBI Special Agent Fred Humphries sent out this shirtless picture of himself to numerous people, including a Seattle Times reporter...."


Source: abcnews.go.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, FBI Special Agent [/tag]

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

CIA Mexico Attack Update

Article Title: High-ranking Mexico police officer arrested in CIA attack case
Snippet of Article: "...a high-ranking federal police officer had been arrested in the case of two CIA operatives who were attacked south of Mexico City in August. He is the 15th member of the federal police to be detained in the incident...."


Source: www.latimes.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Monday, November 12, 2012

Taxes for the wealthy at heart of sequestration

Article Title: Is Sequestration Deal DOA After Boehner Comments? Obama Invites Hill Leaders To White House
Snippet of Article: "..."Speaker Boehner is sending a message that nothing has really changed in the approach that House Republicans will take to averting sequestration. They may agree to kick implementation down the road a few months, but they will not agree to tax increases..."


Source: aol.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Sequestration was staved off by lack of layoff warnings - Issa not happy

Article Title: House GOP vents after sequestration threats fizzle
Snippet of Article: "...House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) launched an investigation last week into the White House’s role in persuading Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors to abandon their plans to send layoff warnings to hundreds of thousands of workers across the country...."


Source: www.politico.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, Sequestration, [/tag]

Monday, November 5, 2012

U.S. Border Patrol 'friendly fire' shooting

Article Title: Border agents in contact before deadly shooting
Snippet of Article: "...Phoenix • A new report into a shooting that left a U.S. Border Patrol agent dead says three agents responding to an alarm were apparently in radio contact as they approached from opposite directions before opening fire on each other in the Arizona desert...."


Source: www.sltrib.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]