TEMP_BLOG: 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Understand EMP threat? U.S. enemies do

Understand EMP threat? U.S. enemies do: A December 1998 Iranian military journal published an article titled “Electronics to Determine Fate of Future Wars,” and it detailed how an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack on the electronic infrastructure of the United States caused by the detonation of a nuclear bomb over the U.S. would be crippling.

Friday, December 28, 2012

NYPD: Metal Thieves Plundering Areas Hardest Hit By Hurricane Sandy « CBS New York

Animal rights group settles lawsuit with Ringling - The Denver Post

Local VFWs call new gambling laws 'nightmare'

Local VFWs call new gambling laws 'nightmare': Local Veterans of Foreign Wars halls are protesting a new law designed to increase their gaming, saying it could actually drown them in bookwork and drive away the players.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

State's museums see hope for future

State's museums see hope for future: The state's 1,200 museums have seen a significant decline in government funding in recent years, but the Patriot-News says there's a sign things could change.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Understanding Information Exchange During Disaster Response: Methodological Insights From Infocentric Analysis

N.C. nonprofit reconnects soldiers to civilian world

Offsets, Supplemental Appropriations, and the Disaster Relief Fund: FY1990-FY2012

Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction

The National Flood Insurance Program: Status and Remaining Issues for Congress

Chemical Weapons: A Summary Report of Characteristics and Effects

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Diagnosing the UPMC Hearing

Volunteers Find It’s Better To Give At Jubilee Kitchen

Hurricane Sandy: Disaster Aid Request Too Big

To Hell With Charity? (Part 2 of 2) - Chuck Norris - Page 1

To Hell With Charity? (Part 1 of 2) - Chuck Norris - Page 1

Monday, December 24, 2012

Red alert issued for volcano on Chile-Argentina border - CNN.com

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Oakland Zoo receives anonymous $1 million donation

Oakland Zoo receives anonymous $1 million donation:
Christmas came early for the Oakland Zoo this year in the form of an anonymous $1 million check.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Sandy aid package advances - David Rogers - POLITICO.com

PSU's request to delay McQueary lawsuit is denied

McKeesport firefighters provide coats for elementary school students

McKeesport firefighters provide coats for elementary school students: By Jennifer R. Vertullo, McKeesport Daily News
With winter on the way, McKeesport firefighters are helping George Washington Elementary students stay warm. Through the Coats for Kids Foundation and Operation Warm, International ...

More kids get trucks donated in memory of boy who died at zoo

More kids get trucks donated in memory of boy who died at zoo:
Children who lost a parent to violence will receive toy trucks donated in tribute to the boy who died at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium when he fell into the African painted dogs exhibit.

Local police officers deliver presents to kids spending Christmas at hospital

Local police officers deliver presents to kids spending Christmas at hospital:
A group of police officers loaded their patrol cars with toys on Friday and delivered them to kids spending Christmas at Children’s Hospital.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

NLRB issues complaint against UPMC

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Alle-Kiski Valley Salvation Army drives ring up donations

Alle-Kiski Valley Salvation Army drives ring up donations: By R.A. Monti, Valley News Dispatch
With only eight days left until Christmas, the Alle-Kiski Valley’s Salvation Army kettle drives are in full swing. The Allegheny Valley Salvation Army in Brackenridge ...

Goodfellows: Line for gifts a block long at Toys for Tots open house

Goodfellows: Line for gifts a block long at Toys for Tots open house: The warehouse was filled with generosity and gratitude. And toys. Thousands and thousands of toys, stacked nearly to the rafters.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Facts about Mass Shootings - John Fund - National Review Online

Saturday, December 15, 2012

U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizens - WSJ.com

Hurricane Sandy and FEMA Abuse

Hurricane Sandy and FEMA Abuse:
Last week, President Obama issued a request for $60.4 billion for Hurricane Sandy response and recovery. Yet as the fiscal cliff continues to loom nearby, many on Capitol Hill are asking exactly where that money would come from.
While House Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) has indicated that he is still evaluating the President’s request and deciding how to move forward, others in both the House and the Senate are calling for Hurricane Sandy spending to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget—and they’ve been quick to take heat for it.
Senator Dick Durbin (D–IL) has stated, “This is fundamentally unfair for some Republicans to insist on offsets for Sandy.… This notion that we have to cut money out of the budget, Medicare, you name it, to offset each of these disasters is unrealistic and unfair.”
Let’s put aside the tugging on Americans’ heartstrings for a minute and see if the facts paint a different picture.
First of all, let’s look at how we got here. At present, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has roughly $5 billion left in its Disaster Relief Fund and $5.4 billion still available under the cap put in place by last year’s Budget Control Act. Proponents of the President’s spending proposal, however, argue that this is not nearly enough.
This should be no surprise, after all. With 353 disaster declarations issued in less than two years, FEMA has been made to respond to all manners of disasters, no matter how big or small. For those of you who didn’t already do the math, that’s about one disaster every two days. No wonder, then, that FEMA’s coffers are low.
And then, of course, you have the President’s request itself, which can be called nothing less than an act of “willful fiscal negligence.”
Roughly $28 billion of the request is marked for future disaster-mitigation projects on the East Coast, including $3.2 million for erosion control projects and $15 billion for Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grants. As Heritage’s Matt Mayer explains, “[S]etting aside whether these projects have merit, a supplemental spending request to deal with a current crisis is not the appropriate vehicle to propose new spending projects.”
Among other components of the request, just to name a few:

$3 billion for federal departments and agencies to repair or replace federal assets, including $2 million for roof repairs at the Smithsonian;
$200 million for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be used freely at the discretion of the Secretary; and
$6 million to purchase food for food banks, a need that could be better met by local companies and the nonprofit sector.

Remove unnecessary items from the Administration’s request, and you’re left with a request of $12.8 billion in supplemental funds.
It is time that FEMA stop being made to respond to all manners of routine disasters, so that when truly catastrophic disasters (such as Hurricane Sandy) strike, FEMA and its pocketbook are prepared.
Proponents of looking at offsets for the hurricane supplemental have a point. As Mayer explains, “[T]oo much of the Obama Administration’s supplemental request for Hurricane Sandy includes items best left for its upcoming budget.… Because of the federal government’s dire fiscal condition, underscored by the current fiscal cliff negotiations, spending reductions should offset any additional spending.”

George W. Bush’s Truck to Be Auctioned for Charity

Thursday, December 13, 2012

FEMA Uses WebEOC Crisis Management System in Response to Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy

FEMA Uses WebEOC Crisis Management System in Response to Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy: AUGUSTA, Ga. December 11, 2012 On August 28, 2012, Hurricane Isaac came ashore on the Gulf Coast of the United States. After raging over a huge area from Florida to Texas, Isaac had knocked out power to almost one million homes and businesses and...

Interstate 77 reopens after W.Va. gas inferno

Interstate 77 reopens after W.Va. gas inferno: SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (AP) Contractors worked through the night scraping away burned asphalt and repaving an 800-foot swath of Interstate 77 charred by a massive natural gas line explosion and fire that also flattened four homes and damaged five more but...

Sandy Aid Package Includes Millions for Smithsonian, Space Center, Forests

Sandy Aid Package Includes Millions for Smithsonian, Space Center, Forests: The Obama administration’s $60-billion emergency aid package for victims of superstorm Sandy is now caught in the crossfire over the “fiscal cliff,” with some critics questioning why millions of dollars are directed to areas far from the epicenter of the storm. The request, which still...