Posted on 05/30/2012 6:59:43 PM PDT by SteelToe
A bipartisan group of Capitol Hill lawmakers is pressing EPA Director Lisa Jackson to answer questions about privacy issues and other concerns after the agency used aerial surveillance to monitor livestock operations over their home state of Nebraska.
“Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska pride themselves in the stewardship of our state’s natural resources. As you might imagine, this practice has resulted in privacy concerns among our constituents and raises several questions,” says the letter signed by Republican Reps. Adrian Smith, Jeff Fortenberry and Lee Terry, as well as Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson and GOP Sen. Mike Johanns.
Smith, co-chairman of the Modern Agriculture Caucus and the Congressional Rural Caucus, said Tuesday the operations in many cases are near homes so “landowners deserve legitimate justification given the sensitivity of the information gathered by the flyovers.”
The letter asks nearly two-dozen questions including why the inspections are being conducted, how many flights have occurred and whether they have resulted in any enforcement activities.
“Nebraskans are rightfully skeptical of an agency which continues to unilaterally insert itself into the affairs of rural America,” Smith added.
The Environmental Protection Agency uses aerial surveillance across a swath of the Midwest know as Section 7 – which includes Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri -- and has defended the practice as cost-efficient.
The agency declined to comment Wednesday. The letter gave the agency until June 10 to respond.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
EPA ping.
..they are looking for a way to fine people for some crime they conjure up.......this administration is full of crooks and thieves.
I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
I can cheat you blind
And I don’t need to see any more
To know that
I can read your mind, [looking at you] I can read your mind,[looking at you] I can read your mind [looking at you] I can read your mind
It is clear to me that we have WAY to many government employees.
Multiple auto Twin 50’s on every farm/ranch.
Boo Hoo.
Possibly Nebraskans will now be inclined to rethink putting two Democrats into the US Senate. Who would be a Democrat in Nebraska anyway? And then to elect them as senators!
Good grief, is there anybody left in Nebraska that doesn’t know that party is communist now, after already plain as the nose on their face, after decades, of being socialists?
I lot of ranchers and farmer vote for Democrats because they keep the farm money flowing.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
Obama and Agenda 21 file
http://www.nachumlist.com/agenda21.htm
Same is true in SD, ND, MT, likely KS.
How sad it would be if something happened to big sister’s toy. :(
Well surely they expect to find jihadist cows since they are using Patriot Act police state powers to spy on farms and ranches.
I think the EPA should be permitted to do this only in non-polluting, quiet electric airplanes. They are polluting the skies while using fuel that could otherwise be used for more productive purposes.
Why do you say Nebraska has two democrat senators? Check your facts next time before making such ridiculous comments.
..that’s a good question to send to their Reps....why are they using Patriot Act funds to spy on farmers?. Be interesting to see what they say...
Actually solar powered airplanes. Not coal burning electric ones.
Ben Nelson is a Democrat the other Senator is a Republican.
“Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska pride themselves in the stewardship of our state’s natural resources. As you might imagine, this practice has resulted in privacy concerns among our constituents and raises several questions,”
Nice sentiments, expressed like a gentleman; however, perhaps the EPA might have been more responsive to something along the lines of, “Get your effing spies out of our effing asses immediately or you’ll be counting cow pies instead of cows!”
We also have way, way, too many federal agencies who have acquired, way, way, too much unconstitutional powers. EPA should be the first agency closed down. It's employees should be barred from holding any future government jobs.
Someone needs to make a picture of a suicide bomber cow.
Johanns might as well be a democrat; He was for card check and the unions.
Dry run practice for when the Food Stamp President loses and tries to retain power. Predator strikes on the homeland red states?
Sorry, there bucky. My astigmatism engaged. So what’s the excuse for the ONE Democrat senator? This isn’t exactly his first term there.
Thank you. My eyes are blue. One blew that way, and one blew the other.
We live in Central Texas and a few weeks ago I saw what I thought was a drone fly over my family’s ranch. It made no sound and I watched it for some time. It was just North of me and was headed West, turned towards the South, flew a minute or so, then turned again and headed towards the direction it had come from. The turns were all made over the ranch. I wish I knew what it was and what it’s purpose was.
Shoot it down and make it talk.
why not? worked for Iran. Obama might do a little more than ask for it back though. Considering your not one of his people.
You'll probably find out some morning at about 3 AM with a flash-bang just before they shoot your dog.
They come to our county and while sitting on the side of the road in their cars and using binoculars count cow pies in our fields. Supposedly this is to make sure we are not over grazing but it is really about runoff.
I saw one of the hairy armpit chicks (no I did not inspect but assumed this is what it was) out one day so I got out the chain harrow and tractor and spread all the cow stuff on about 80 acres as fast as I could go. She soon left.
“Multiple auto Twin 50’s on every farm/ranch.”
One of those quad 50 anti aircraft mounts should do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5rD67A0UQ
IMO, we’re living in the Liberal Twilight Zone of Insanity.
Business costs seem to be always increasing. ;-)
It may be just me, but having to use “EPA” and “drone” in the same sentence is a pretty clear indicator that we’ve long passed the point where things be turned around without massive social disorder/upheaval etc.
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