Posted on 11/01/2015 7:40:24 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Even those of us who have worked in Washington for many years and become accustomed to the inner workings of government can still be amazed by what lurks behind the curtain sometimes. Case in point: the Environmental Protection Agency.
Most Americans have at least heard of the EPA, even if they have only a dim notion of what the agency actually does. It tends to skate along under the radar, unless something unusual happens, such as the toxic spill that turned the Colorado’s Animas River orange last August. Of course, what really made the spill unusual is that the EPA itself caused it.
Otherwise, Americans don’t hear much about the agency. So many of them would probably be as unpleasantly surprised as I was by a new report by Open the Books, a nonprofit group that promotes government transparency. Its look into the EPA’s spending habits is alarming, to put it mildly.
The first thing that strikes you is the EPA’s spendthrift ways. Even if times were flush and government coffers were overflowing (which is far from the case), the agency spends money like it’s expecting the Second Coming next week. The Open the Books audit covered tens of thousands of checks the EPA wrote from 2000 to 2014, with hundreds of millions going toward such things as luxury furnishings, sports equipment, and “environmental justice” grants to raise awareness of global warming.
The second thing that hits you is where the rest of the money goes. The headline of an op-ed by economist Stephen Moore in Investor’s Business Daily sums it up well: “Why Does the EPA Need Guns, Ammo, and Armor to Protect the Environment?”
And not just a few weapons. Open the Books found that the agency has spent millions of dollars over the last decade on guns, ammo, body armor, camouflage equipment, unmanned aircraft, amphibious assault ships, radar and night-vision gear, and other military-style weaponry and surveillance activities.
“We were shocked ourselves to find these kinds of pervasive expenditures at an agency that is supposed to be involved in clean air and clean water,” said Open the Books founder Adam Andrzejewski. “Some of these weapons are for full-scale military operations.”
Among the EPA’s purchases:
The list goes on. It’s filled with the kind of equipment you’d expect to be purchased by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, not an agency ostensibly designed to protect the environment.
But as it turns out, armed, commando-style raids by the EPA are not unheard of. One such raid occurred in 2013, in a small Alaskan town where armed agents in full body armor reportedly confronted local miners accused of polluting local waters. Perhaps the agency is gearing up for more operations like that one?
If so, the EPA wouldn’t be all that unique. According to the Justice Department, there are now 40 federal agencies with more than 100,000 officers authorized to carry guns and make arrests. They include the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The EPA audit underscores the need for serious budget cuts at the agency. In July, before the Colorado spill and the Open the Books report, environmental policy expert Nicolas Loris called on Congress to shrink the EPA’s budget, outlining several specific cuts that could be done immediately and with no detrimental effect on the environment.
“The proposed cuts outlined here merely scratch the surface of a rogue agency that has wildly spent and regulated outside its purview,” Loris concluded. After reviewing the Open the Books report, who can disagree?
Each agency has certain emergency preparedness programs for various programs. I doubt the EPA needs the guns to enforce EPA regulations, more like for a SHTF plan where they get vacuumed up into a big ball of armed Feds.
But as such, they’ll still shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
http://web2.utc.edu/~John-Tucker/Courses/esc430/esc430mat/darter/tellico.html
You're right, things are working out exactly like he planned, aren't they?
Disarm all non-military gummint agencies, then cut their funding by at least the amount they spent on weaponry and ammo, if not down to zero.
The Founders feared standing armies, and for good resaon. Now we have Library of Congress and Department of Education SWAT teams? Say what?
What possible reason could the Social Security Administration have for being armed? I dare say there are no good reasons, only bad ones.
LOL, 300 mm = (if I figure this right) one foot in dia.
That would be, hmmm, 1200 caliber!
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That said, an armed EPA is, indeed, scary.
If (if) this is true, might a Congressional investigation be warranted?
.
Well; I can tell you right now, “I want one of both”.
I picked up a Jotul 8 in mint condition for $250. I firmly believe that sooner or later the environmental nuts will make them unavailable.
You got to wonder, with all these fed alphabet agencies getting tooled up, however ridiculous it is considering their charter. Obozo would be one to consider such a thing, considering his rhetoric.
Could there be some overall plan to quickly integrate this mess?
Considering how inept the BATF is, the rest like the EPA, IRS, DOE, etc. ought to make for a target rich environment.
Obama’s front man (agent) for restricting the availability in the retail market of rifles of certain calibers and ammunition to make them functional. The amount of our money he expended in pursuit of that objective is astounding.
To shoot the sheep’s ass for one thing.
That’s roughly 12 inches. As in obsolete naval guns. It doesn’t *have* to be the full 300mm I suppose, the specification would include much more utilitarian things like 155mm artillery.
[They have 300mm guns? I guess they will be doing some long range raiding?]
This would be the size of a Krupp railway gun.
Did you read the story about the Aussies war on the emus? Machine guns failed. Maybe the 300 mm boom boom was needed.
From your cold dead fingers? Come get them.
Think that's bad? Wait'll they order $3 billion worth of body bags.
“They have 300mm guns? I guess they will be doing some long range raiding?”
Let’s see, 25mm into 300mm = 12 inches. Does the US Military even have artillery this large anymore? I’m sure there’s an old “Cannon Cocker” somewhere out there who will know :)
Why is the EPA buying guns?
Perhaps because the GOP Congress is appropriating funds for this purpose. Ask Mr. McConnell, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Ryan, and your Republican Senators and Representatives why they continue to fund the insanity.
Im sure it has become an entity in itself and is controlled by outside influences blessed by the regime against the American people
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