Summertime Travel on Your Dime

Published Wed, Jul 17th, 2013   Floyd Brown, Chief Political Analyst

In May, I shared with you the details about 172 House members visiting over 90 countries and every continent except Antarctica in 2012 – all on your dime. But members of the U.S. House of Representatives actually travel modestly compared to the VIP travel undertaken by Obama’s friends and appointees.

And of course, any travel review needs to start with the travel queen of the last four years, Hillary Clinton.

Hillary traveled at a record-setting pace, journeying 956,733 miles and setting foot in 112 countries. This adds up to 2,084 hours spent flying around the world, which is equivalent to 86 whole days spent aboard her government-issued luxury jetliner. And how do we know these facts? Because she likes to brag about them.

But when it comes to costs, your guess is as good as mine. Despite repeated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, her department refuses to come clean about how much this travel cost U.S. taxpayers.

Ironically, Obama’s “most transparent administration in history” works hard to hide the details of the luxurious globe-trotting. But thanks to some hard work by lawyers using the Freedom of Information Act, some other portions of the travel details are beginning to surface.

And That’s Only the Beginning…

It’s only proper that Attorney General Eric Holder tells us how much his travels cost, since he’s the federal officer in charge of FOIA compliance. While he hasn’t been too diligent about asking others to comply, he did comply himself – to some degree.

From his disclosures we learned that, during 2011, Holder filed 62 long-distant jaunts that cost us, at a minimum, $1.45 million. However, he refused to disclose flight costs for seven major trips out, including travels to China, Hawaii and Brussels.

Holder’s travelling includes an April 2011 sojourn to Las Vegas, mixing business and personal travel, which totaled $46,358. Other “personal” trips, including visits to Martha’s Vineyard and Miami, cost us taxpayers a whopping $169,502.

And of course there’s Joe Biden. Today we learned that the vice president’s six day trip to South America and the Caribbean included one 20-hour stop in Trinidad and Tobago that cost an astounding $245,000. As has become standard, the contract was awarded without “full and open competition” because of security and logistical concerns.

Yet the scariest part is that, while the travel for administration officials sounds expensive to those of us who pay our own bills while flying coach or driving on our summer trips, these Obama appointees don’t even hold a candle to Michelle and Barack.

First, there was Michelle Obama’s 2012 President’s Day weekend ski vacation to Aspen, Colorado with her two daughters. The total cost for the Aspen ski vacation was at least $83,182.99. The bill for the U.S. Secret Service, including accommodations at the Fasching Haus deluxe condominiums and the Inn at Aspen, came to $48,950.38. The cost for the flight, per official DOD published hourly rates, was $22,583.70.  Food and miscellaneous on-flight items cost $235.44. The cost for rental cars totaled $6,442.23.

But that’s nothing. A drop in the bucket. More importantly, there‘s the first family’s recent trip to Africa, which is alleged to have cost over 100 million dollars.

Security for the trip involved military cargo planes airlifting 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines. Taxpayers even paid for three trucks to carry bulletproof glass (African trucks must not be up to the task) to cover the windows where the president stayed.

The sound of the cash register is probably sounding off in your mind as I keep giving you figures.

Ka-ching, Ka-ching, Ka-ching. And these are only the figures that the governmental watchdog group, Judicial Watch, was able to obtain. The real cost of these trips was likely much higher.

So as you travel this summer, let’s not overlook the lavish lifestyles of our not-so-humble public servants who are also traveling on your dime.

Your eyes on the Hill,

Floyd Brown

Source: capitolhilldaily

They’re Watching You

Smile…

You’re on candid camera!

And if it weren’t for recent documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), you wouldn’t even know it.

Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), ACLU offices across the United States filed nearly 600 requests for documents pertaining to a new technology…

A technology that’s emerging as the standard in “crime fighting” solutions…

A technology that the ACLU discovered to be dangerously unregulated, with no future government
conversation in the works, either…

And it’s picking up serious traction in small towns and major cities through law enforcement agencies all over the nation.

The problem at hand is an all-too-familiar reality…

These advancements in technology that increase nationwide protection come with an added cost: your privacy.

The government is abhorrently violating essential rights that are staples in America’s Constitution and criminalizing innocent American citizens in the process.

Your Own Reality Show

When out on the road, you and countless other law-abiding citizens are simply going about your daily lives – heading to  work, school, church, the grocery store…wherever.

You’re mindful of the “speed cameras” that were installed in your local area a few years back. You assume that as long as you’re going the speed limit, you’re safe… you won’t get a ticket…

But there’s something you don’t know. In fact, something sinister is happening.

You see, these gadgets — mounted on local roads, major highways, and patrol cars — are documenting the license plates of each and every passing vehicle. Including yours…

They’re called “Automatic License Plate Readers,” and they’ve been implemented in tens of thousands of locations across the United States by private companies, state and local police departments, and the federal government.

These aren’t just radar detectors or hi-tech cameras with speed trigger mechanisms. They aren’t just issuing speeding tickets, either… They’re also cataloging your license plate number, date and time stamps and GPS coordinates to boot.

Police officers can check against these “hot lists” of accumulated license plate numbers and driver records housed in the system. If a car is stolen, license plate readers can help provide thousands of extra “eyes” on the road and alert officers when they read the specific plate.

Now, we’re told this documentation is only used for specifically tracking stolen vehicles or finding criminals before they flee town. But the cameras are stockpiling a mass collection of “plate reads” and uploading the records to databases scattered across the country:

• In Grapevine, Texas: 2 million warehoused plate reads – stored forever
• In Milpitas, California: 4.7 million warehoused plate reads – stored forever
• In Jersey City, New Jersey: 10 million warehoused plate reads – deleted after 5 years

The issue is that they’re capturing and storing footage on everyone in the process… even if you’re a law-abiding citizen.

In fact, the ACLU discovered that only a tiny fraction of “plate reads” turn into “hot list hits” and an even smaller number of actual arrests.
Look at it this way…

In the state of Maryland, for every 1 million plate reads, 2,000 hot list hits are provided to police officers… 47 of which are serious criminals.

Ultimately, the technology is simply amassing a collection of personal and private information – despite proof that nearly no protection or oversight is provided.

Now, let me make sure I’m absolutely clear here…

There are no rules and no regulations in place to prevent the state and federal government from tracking everyone’s movements at all times. None.

That’s why the ACLU intervened. It simply wanted to find out how the technology works and what, if any, safeguards are in place to prevent a serious breech on personal liberty and privacy.

Location Profiling

Location data is highly sensitive information that’s extremely revealing…

It tells an observer who you are and what you do.

Are you an avid gym goer? Heavy drinker? Daily churchgoer? Medical patient? Political activist? All of the above?

In an unregulated world, this type of information can lead to targeting, the likes of which makes the IRS scandal look like a game of “tag.”

For instance, if you’re a volunteer or employee on the Rand Paul for President campaign in 2016, you and everyone else parking in the lot by the office could have your license plates read and stored by undercover cops carrying readers.

They can then start a profile on you – and you might be labeled “Tea Party Activist.”

The potential for abuse of power is overwhelming…

Anyone with access, even hackers who break into the system, can manually track specific plates. Pings on the plate from various license plate readers around the neighborhood will instantly alert the pursuer. Let’s say someone has a grudge against you… They’d have a pretty huge upper hand if they wanted to settle the score.

In fact, it’s growing increasingly possible for there to be video documentation of every place you’ve ever traveled. And this makes your future moves infinitely easier to predict.
That’s why this license plate data is not only dangerous in the wrong hands…it’s also extremely profitable. With zero regulations, your personal travel record will be sold. You can count on it.

But more importantly, as technology becomes increasingly less expensive and more powerful, the government will continue to quietly monitor the public and store your every move.

If ever the time arises that they need it, they have full access to the records… always.

Your eyes on the Hill,

Martin Biancuzzo

Source: capitalhilldaily

Lying in the Shadows

Whether you’re driving your car, checking your email, texting a friend, walking through a store, or signing up for Obamacare, there’s one thing that remains constant – Uncle Sam is watching your every move.

After this past year alone, there’s no longer any question about that.

Not only has the government legislated its way into every facet of your life, but it has also silently designed countless methods to keep a watchful eye on you.

You caught a glimpse when Edward Snowden leaked procedures used by the NSA…

You got a taste when reports were filed about the DOJ spying on Associated Press and Fox News journalists…

But these aren’t the only devious lengths the government is using to shadow you. In fact, these only scratch the surface…

On any given day, the average American will be monitored and tracked in more than 20 different ways by both government agencies and major corporations.

And now, because of Kathleen Sebelius and her crew of Obamacare navigators, you can up that number to 21…

Social Insecurity

Buried deep within the abyss of Obamacare rules and regulations is a $54 million federal slush fund regulated by Kathleen Sebelius.

If you don’t recall who Sebelius is, let me refresh your memory…

She’s the Secretary of Health and Human services who’s no stranger to scandalous allegations.
You might recall her most recent accusations on abusive solicitations for Obamacare support and donations.

But her corruption runs even deeper than that…

When she was governor of Kansas, an inspector general said that Sebelius and her appointed health policy board forced the inspector to alter an audit report. When the inspector refused, Sebelius restricted access for her to seek legal advice and threatened to fire her.
Starting to ring a bell?

Now, Sebelius is involved in an Obamacare slush fund rouse…

You see, under the Affordable Care Act, there’s a section devoted to “navigators.” The reason for establishing these Obamacare navigators is so healthcare customers can have guided help when going through their state’s insurance exchange process.

On the outside, that sounds like a noble cause (despite being so complicated it actually requires guides to help educate the public).

However, if you look a little deeper, the plan is just about as insane as Obamacare itself.

The problem lies in the fact that these navigators aren’t highly trained healthcare or insurance specialists whatsoever. In fact, some of them could even be individuals without a high school diploma.
Now ask yourself, how the heck could they possibly understand your healthcare and insurance needs?
The reality of it is, any and all individuals, corporations, even political interest groups can become Obamacare navigators. All they need to do is apply.

Once signed up, they take a 20-hour course and are tapped into the $54 million navigator fund… free to spend taxpayer money at will – for “navigational purposes,” of course.

As a means of “helping the community,” Obamacare navigators are expected to use every vehicle they can. Campaigns include door-to-door, phone call, email and online advertising efforts.
But here’s the most shocking part of all…

In order for navigators to best serve you, they’re going to need access to your highly personal information.

What type of info am I referring to?

• Income level
• Social Security number
• Government assistance eligibility and status
• Address
• Personal phone number
• Birthday
• Medical records

And get this: Having a criminal record isn’t an immediate disqualifier – that includes identity theft!
Most states aren’t even running background checks.

They’ll have their grimy hands all over just about every bit of personal information you want to protect.

Now keep in mind, a navigator could certainly be some punk from down the road, but in most cases, community groups are leading the charge. I’m talking Planned Parenthood on down to socialized medicine activist organizations.

In the Dark

Let’s face it. When it comes to government surveillance, you’re fully aware of some of the harshest methods. But others? Not so much…

This is why you often hear me talking about government surveillance. It’s not to promote controversy… it’s not to harp on conspiracy…

Instead, it’s to ensure that you’re fully aware of the environment surrounding you. After all, it’s your God-given right to know everything the government is doing.

There was a time when those actions were supposed to be in favor of your rights, and not be actions worthy of hiding or exposing.

Lately, there are too many dangerous examples of the government acting above the law.
Whether it’s for authoritative knowledge or for government’s big business friends to profit, there’s always going to be some government agency or major corporation listening in, tracking your behavior and logging your personal information.

It’s the unfortunate byproduct of this new age we’re living in… The new age of exorbitantly oversized government reign.

Your eyes on the Hill,

Martin Biancuzzo

Source: CapitalHillDaily

Buffett Plan Would Balance the Budget… But Wouldn’t Reform Congress

There’s a spam email zipping around the internet that purports to be a congressional reform plan from Warren Buffett.

The problem is, the email – like so many internet missives – is full of misleading half-truths. So I wanted to set the record straight and give you a plan that would actually work to reform our broken system.

In actuality, the Buffett Plan would reform congressional budgeting – not Congress itself. He explained it during an interview on CNBC in 2011.

The outline of his proposal is relatively simple. Here’s what Buffett said: “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. Yeah, yeah, now you’ve got the incentives in the right place, right? (Laughs).”

Buffett understands that working with politicians is all about incentives, and today all the incentives are wrong. Buffett understands that what motivates members of Congress is re-election. If you want to balance the budget, just tie successful budgeting to re-election.

An Insider at Heart

Most Americans don’t remember him, but Warren Buffett’s father was a Republican congressman from Omaha. So when Buffett talks about Congress, he has an insider’s view of how the institution really works. And his budget reform plan creates the incentives necessary to make the institution work.

The incentives for members of Congress are currently upside-down. To get re-elected, congressmen spend nearly half their time raising money. To raise money, they spend hours making calls and attending events with the special interest representatives who grease the campaigns wheels with money.

As a result, legislation is full of crony capitalism and special interest goodies.

But with the Buffett plan, we’d get the deficit under control and likely balance the budget. And to further reform Congress, I believe we should make a few additional changes to the business of influence peddling, also known as lobbying. You see, the most popular gig for former members of Congress is to become a lobbyist.

My first reform would be to close this revolving door by instituting a lifetime ban that keeps members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.

After former member lobbyists, the next group to join the profession in droves is congressional staff. I would also ban former staff members from lobbying their former bosses. Currently, this is one of the dirtiest secrets in Washington. You see, lobbying firms target specific congressmen. And the firms love to hire the former staff assistants of their target congressmen, giving the firm direct access to the people they’re trying to influence.

If you work for Senator X or Congressman Y, you shouldn’t be allowed to come back to your old boss and lobby him or her.

To make this ban work, we’d need to require “Lobbying Entities” to report on the former members of Congress and former congressional staff whom they employ. And that could be done with a simple website.

It All Comes Full Circle

Next, we should stiffen fines for violating the lobbying regulations. Violations should be very costly so that they happen infrequently. I’d enhance the maximum fine for violating regulations to $100,000 or more.

Normally, I don’t like regulation. But in this case, we need to have clear regulations that impact the people who are standing in the corridors of Congress with their hands out.

The problem with so-called “campaign finance reform” is that the Supreme Court has ruled that rich people can spend as much of their own money getting elected as they want. So if you make it difficult for poorer people to raise money, we’ll end up with a House of Lords — which is what the founding fathers wanted to prevent.

The only effective reforms require disclosure, and they go to the heart of the rot. In this instance, the rot is special interests that are manipulating legislation for personal, private and corporate gain. My plan, by contrast, would strike a blow for clean government.
Your eyes on the Hill,

Floyd Brown

Source: capitolhilldaily

Jamie Oliver And McDonald's

Sorry McDonald's lovers yucky news!!

I knew there was a reason why I like Jamie Oliver!!

Hamburger chef Jamie Oliver has just won a battle against one of the largest fast food chains in the world. After Oliver showed how McDonald’s hamburgers are made, the franchise announced it will change its recipe.

According to Oliver, the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is deemed unfit for human consumption.

According to the chef and presenter, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry: “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.”

Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver calls it “the pink slime process.”

“Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” asked the chef, who wages a war against the fast food industry.

In one of his initiatives, Oliver demonstrates to children how nuggets are made. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.

The company, Arcos Dorados, the franchise manager in Latin America, said such a procedure is not practiced in the region. The same applies to the product in Ireland and the UK, where they use meat from local suppliers.

In the United States, Burger King and Taco Bell had already abandoned the use of ammonia in their products. The food industry uses ammonium hydroxide as an anti-microbial agent in meats, which has allowed McDonald’s to use otherwise “inedible meat.”

Even more disturbing is that because ammonium hydroxide is considered part of the “component in a production procedure” by the USDA, consumers may not know when the chemical is in their food.

On the official website of McDonald’s, the company claims that their meat is cheap because, while serving many people every day, they are able to buy from their suppliers at a lower price, and offer the best quality products.

In addition, the franchise denied that the decision to change the recipe is related to Jamie Oliver’s campaign. On the site, McDonald’s has admitted that they have abandoned the beef filler from its burger patties.

 

Source: Internet

Gotta Love Texas

**The City of Dallas, Texas passed an ordinance stating that if a driver is pulled over by law enforcement and is not able to provide proof of Insurance, the car is towed.

 

** To retrieve the car after being impounded, they must show proof of insurance to have the car released. This has made it easy for the City of Dallas to remove uninsured cars.

 

** Shortly after the "No Insurance" ordinance was passed, the Dallas impound lots began to fill up and were full after only nine days. Over 80 % of the impounded cars were driven by illegals.

 

** Now, not only must they provide proof of insurance to have their car released, they have to pay for the cost of the tow, a $350 fine, and $20 for every day their car is kept in the lot.

 

** Guess what? Accident rates have gone down 47% and... Dallas ' solution gets uninsured drivers off the road WITHOUT making them show proof of nationality.

 

** I Wonder how the Justice Department will get around this one.

 

** Just brings tears to your eyes doesn't it?

 

Source: Email

Believe It Or Not

Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu that you could  have an order of 6, 9 or 20 Chicken McNuggets.
I asked for a half dozen  nuggets.
"We don't have half dozen nuggets", said the teenager at the
counter. "You don't?" I replied. "We only have six, nine, or twenty,"
was the reply. "So I can't order a half-dozen nuggets, but I can order
six?" "That's right." So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets.

*************

I was checking out at the local Foodland with just a few items and the
lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one
of those dividers that they keep by the cash register and placed it
between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the cashier had
scanned all of my items, she picked up the divider, looking it all over
for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she
said to me "Do you know how much this is?" and I said to her "I've
changed my mind, I don't think I'll buy that today". She said "OK" and
| I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just
happened....

*************

A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive
and  pulling it out very quickly. When inquired as to what she
was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept
asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy".

**************

I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car.
"Do you  need some help?" I asked. She replied,
"I knew I should have replaced  the battery to this remote door unlocker.
Now I can't get into my car.
Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store)
would have a  battery to fit this?" "Hmmm, I don't know.
 Do you have an alarm too?" I asked.
 "No, just this remote thingy," she answered,
handing it and the car keys to me. As I took the key and manually
unlocked the door, I  replied, "Why don't you drive over there
and check about the batteries?  It's a long walk."

*****************

Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift.
One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said,
"I'm almost out of typing  paper. What do I do?"
"Just use copier paper,"  the secretary told her.
With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put
it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five "blank" copies.

*************

I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor home was
 towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle  was in dire need
|of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in "Twister".
I asked the  manager what had happened. He told me that the driver
had set the cruise control and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

*************

My neighbor works in the operations department in the central office
of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have problems
with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman
in one of the branch banks who had this question:
 "I've got smoke coming from the back of my terminal.
 Do you guys have a fire
downtown?"

***************

Police in Radnor, Pennsylvania, interrogated a suspect by placing a
metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. 

The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the
copy button each time they thought the
suspect wasn't telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector"
was working, the suspect confessed.