http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/federal/ en-us Tue, 7 May 2013 20:54:49 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3016775/posts The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, located in Brooklyn, was on lockdown shortly after 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after an anthrax threat, a court official confirmed to TPM. A source in the courthouse passed along an email from the court clerk informing court personnel of the threat. “An envelope was received with an anthrax threat and a white power and was released in the main clerk’s office on the first floor. Only one staff member came into direct contact with the powder,” the email read. “At this time and until we get an all clear... TPM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3016775/posts#comment Tue, 7 May 2013 20:54:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013561/posts Republicans want to limit the number of bullets federal agencies can purchase so American gun owners can buy more. The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013561/posts#comment Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:35:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013044/posts WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to keep the Federal Helium Program, set up after World War I to guarantee U.S. dirigibles would have the gas they needed. The vote Friday was 394-1, The Washington Post reported. The helium program has been a target of small government advocates for decades. President Ronald Reagan wanted to eliminate it and President Bill Clinton put it on his reinventing government target list -- along with aid to beekeepers and wool producers. He succeeded in killing the latter two programs but they were revived a few years later, the Post... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013044/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:26:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010291/posts Lax marijuana laws may soon become a reality in the United States. ... National support is rising for this cause.[5] Cohen’s proposal comes as a bipartisan coalition of House representatives have sponsored the Respect Marijuana Laws Act.[6] It would exempt businesses that comply with state marijuana laws from federal prosecution.[7] Moreover, Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul recently supported the passage of a regulatory framework allowing industrial hemp in their state.[8][9] McConnell is a figurehead for the GOP establishment. Paul represents the rising libertarian caucus. Ergo, the Republican Party may soon change its position on pot. The Memo-Beacon of Public Policy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010291/posts#comment Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:13:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3009020/posts MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Twenty-four current and former Internal Revenue Service employees have been charged with stealing government benefits, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The IRS employees were indicted on charges that they illegally received more than $250,000 in benefits including unemployment insurance payments, food stamps, welfare, and housing vouchers, the U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said in a news release. Prosecutors say 13 of the IRS employees face federal charges of lying about being unemployed while applying for or recertifying their government benefits. They each face up to five years in prison if convicted of making false statements to receive... ap via Boston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3009020/posts#comment Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:42:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3003364/posts Markets were mostly closed on Friday. When they re-opened on Monday, investors seemed unmotivated. Neither the Dow nor the price of gold moved appreciably. Gold ended the day right on the $1,600 mark. Not much to report in other words. Here in Argentina, most things were closed on Monday… and closed again today, too. Who do these Argentinians think they are… French? snip But Bernanke? Is there any evidence than any central banker from the beginning of time until 2 April 2013, added a centime or a farthing to the wealth of the world? snip How about Nancy Pelosi or... MoneyWeek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3003364/posts#comment Tue, 2 Apr 2013 18:05:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3003029/posts The Federal Government will never be won back. Focusing effort on it is to squander time that could be spent preparing defense of state, family and freedom against tyranny of evil. Conservatives and Repubhlicans are operating from Delusions. Let it Go or Die... (Video) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3003029/posts#comment Mon, 1 Apr 2013 19:16:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002772/posts Despite deficit woes, Obama pushes forward on bizarre projectsWhile the U.S. Senate, for the first time in years, has adopted a budget, it includes $1 trillion in new taxes, adding to the record deficit. The budget also doesn’t align with a House plan that spends hundreds of billions of dollars less. Both, however, project spending more than the government receives far into the future. But even so, frogs, Uganda and pine cone projects apparently are so important to the Obama administration that it’s worth borrowing money and paying interest to fund them. WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002772/posts#comment Mon, 1 Apr 2013 00:02:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2999623/posts From the “That’s Not Already the Rule?” File: Citing figures indicating that more than 100,000 federal employees owe more than $1 billion in federal taxes, a House committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would require the firing of government workers who are “seriously tax delinquent.”The legislation, introduced by Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, advanced through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It now has to pass the full House to be implemented into law.“Most taxpayers file accurate tax returns and pay the taxes they owe on time, regardless of their income,” Chaffetz, a Republican, said during the hearing Wednesday. “Federal... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2999623/posts#comment Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:46:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2997347/posts (CNSNews.com) - Federal spending was up $30.5 billion in the first five months of fiscal 2013 compared to the first five months of fiscal 2012, according to newly released data from the U.S. Treasury. The federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30. In the first five months of fiscal 2012 (October through February), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement, total federal spending was approximately $1,473,999,000,000.00. In the first five months of fiscal 2013, total federal spending was $1,504,547,000,000.00. Thus, federal spending was $30,548,000,000.00 more in the first five months of fiscal 2013 than it was... CNS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2997347/posts#comment Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:14:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996428/posts Not so long ago in this republic, most parents of school-age children would frequently visit grocery stores where they would use their own money to buy things like peanut butter and jelly, and bologna and cheese to make lunches for their kids to haul to school in brown paper bags. It was an American tradition. Now, like other great things about America, brown-bag lunches are being driven to extinction by politicians seeking inordinate government control over our lives. In fiscal year 1969 (which started in 1968), there were approximately 47,906,000 American children enrolled in elementary and high schools, Cybercast News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996428/posts#comment Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:42:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996259/posts Empty Boast: As we have noted before in our Issues & Insights pages, President Obama has taken credit for an energy boom he had nothing to do with. A government agency now confirms what many have known to be true. The Congressional Research Service has released a report, "U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas," that corroborates what we've said. "All of the increase (in oil and natural gas production) from FY2007 to FY2012 took place on non-federal lands, and the federal share of total U.S. crude oil production fell by about seven percentage points,"... IBD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996259/posts#comment Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:35:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995938/posts WASHINGTON - From military personnel to postal workers, federal employees are on the hook for $3.5 billion in unpaid 2011 taxes, according to a report obtained by WTOP. The amount is a nearly 3 percent increase compared to the year before. About 312,000 employees owe the government a total of $3,519,410,517, according to the Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative (FERDI) released on March 8 by the IRS. The total number of delinquent workers dropped between 2009 and 2010 but jumped more than 11 percent in 2011. The number of delinquent civilian taxpayers is the highest since 2005. Roughly 9.8 million people... wtop.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995938/posts#comment Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:59:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995046/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of federal workers and retirees who owed delinquent income taxes jumped by nearly 12 percent in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday. Nearly 312,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.5 billion in back taxes as of Sept. 30, 2011, the agency said. The year before, about 279,000 workers and retirees owed $3.4 billion. Overall, the 9.8 million workers included in the data had a delinquency rate of 3.2 percent. That's better than the general public. The IRS says the delinquency rate for the general public was 8.2 percent. MSN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995046/posts#comment Sat, 9 Mar 2013 02:02:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2994633/posts A federal judge has struck down an Idaho law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks, ruling that the so-called fetal pain law violates U.S. Supreme Court prohibitions against unduly impeding a woman’s ability to seek an abortion before her fetus is able to live outside the womb. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise declared the 2011 law -- similar to limits adopted in at least seven other states -- to be unconstitutional in a ruling that took the Idaho Legislature to task for acting against the advice of its own attorney general. “The Idaho Legislature’s enactment of the [fetal... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2994633/posts#comment Fri, 8 Mar 2013 01:17:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2989995/posts Additional clips of a United States Department of Agriculture sensitivity training class feature USDA employees being told to recite, “If we work for a federal agency, we’ve discriminated in the past.” The clips, released by the conservative government accountability group Judicial Watch Thursday evening, are the second installation of revealing footage obtained by a Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) request the organization made last May. According to Judicial Watch, the documents reveal the sensitivity training was delivered to USDA employees at least 16 times last year in an attempt to boost employees’ “emotional intelligence.” Daily Caller http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2989995/posts#comment Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:27:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2989522/posts As the final deadline for creating state health insurance exchanges passed Friday, New Jersey, Tennessee and Florida said they would not work with the federal government on establishing insurance markets required under ObamaCare. Exchanges are online markets required under the federal health care law where consumers will be able to buy individual private policies and apply for government subsidies to help pay their premiums. In his announcement Friday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said his administration is committed to complying with ObamaCare, but "only in a manner that is the most effective and efficient for the residents of New Jersey,... Fox News/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2989522/posts#comment Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:39:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2986958/posts The president of the American Federation of Government Employees says a one-percent increase is "absolutely unconscionable." The head of the largest federal employee union said Saturday that President Obama's proposal to increase pay for federal employees by 1 percent was "absolutely unconscionable" and "simply not enough." "It is not enough to allow federal employees to make up lost ground from two-plus years of frozen pay. It is not enough to allow workers, most of whom earn very modest salaries ranging from $24,000 to $70,000, to maintain living standards. And it is not enough to send a message with any kind... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2986958/posts#comment Sat, 9 Feb 2013 23:09:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2986916/posts President Obama will propose a 1 percent pay raise for federal civilian employees in the administration’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal, the Washington Post has learned. At the same time, the House plans to vote soon on legislation that would extend the current freeze on basic pay rates through the end of calendar 2013. The freeze was originally set for two years and scheduled to expire at the end of last year, but it was extended until a temporary budget measure expires next month. When the measure expires, federal employees will receive a 0.5 percent raise for the remainder of 2013,... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2986916/posts#comment Sat, 9 Feb 2013 19:58:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2984245/posts The Republicans are doomed. Conservatism is over. President Obama is conducting a mop-up operation at this point. That’s the basic consensus in places like New York City; Washington, D.C.; and other citadels of blue America. And let’s be fair, liberals have every reason to gloat — a little. The GOP has its troubles. Long-term demographic trends; often-irrational animosity from Hollywood, the media, and academia; a thumbless grasp of the culture on the part of many Republicans: All of these things create a headwind for the party and the broader conservative movement. But here’s the weird part. That’s all true of... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2984245/posts#comment Fri, 1 Feb 2013 17:34:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2983711/posts Mr. Lyndon Larouche, a well respected journalist and political activist received word from his sources within the United States government that President Barack Hussein Obama has been indicted by a Federal Court you tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2983711/posts#comment Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:41:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2979309/posts Paper checks will be abolished for all federal benefits, including Social Security, eventually, but people who currently receive checks will have some extra time to adjust to the new rules. Individuals who apply for Social Security, Veterans Affairs or other federal benefits on or after May 1, 2011, will have to select an electronic payment method -- either a debit card that will be reloaded each month or direct deposit to a bank account. The direct deposit option, which is safer than a check and involves no fees, is the best option for most people. But current beneficiaries who receive... Kiplinger Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2979309/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:22:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2978377/posts A Texas lawmaker says he plans to file the Firearms Protection Act, which would make any federal laws that may be passed by Congress or imposed by Presidential order which would ban or restrict ownership of semi-automatic firearms or limit the size of gun magazines illegal in the state, 1200 WOAI news reports. Republican Rep. Steve Toth says his measure also calls for felony criminal charges to be filed against any federal official who tries to enforce the rule in the state. "If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person... WOAI Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2978377/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:50:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2976959/posts RUSH: "Federal regulators for the first time are laying out rules," this is from the AP, "aimed at making sure that people who borrow money for mortgages can afford to repay them." Do you realize what this means? Do you realize what this means? "Federal regulators for the first time..." It's 2013! For the first time? This is a tantamount admission. Nobody's calling it this, except I, El Rushbo, except me. I'm telling you: It's a tantamount admission that the subprime mortgage mess was exactly what it was. It was people who were given loans that could never pay 'em... Rush Limbaugh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2976959/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jan 2013 02:56:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2974836/posts Federal agents charged four Georgia men they say are part of a fringe militia group with plotting to attack government officials with explosives and the biotoxin ricin, prosecutors in Atlanta announced Tuesday. A government informant recorded the men discussing plans to manufacture ricin, a highly poisonous substance derived from castor beans, and attack Justice Department officials, federal judges and Internal Revenue Service agents, according to court papers released Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors said the public was never in imminent danger. All four suspects were in custody and are scheduled to make their initial court appearances Wednesday in Gainesville, about 50 miles... CNN Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2974836/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jan 2013 13:24:41 GMT