I hadn’t planned on blogging today during my own work hours, but I’ll take a few minutes from my lunch to shine some much needed sunlight on this. Maybe I need to shut off my email to get anything done.
From the “why can’t we have fun on the taxpayer’s dime while we are destroying the economy” department. Here’s the content of an email making the rounds internally at the EPA today:
I verified the email sender as being employed within the EPA, both by name and by email headers. That person shall remain anonymous to protect their employment status from repercussions of being a whistleblower.
I verified the phone number in the golf ad as being within the EPA 308 phone group. I also verifed the room number where the golf seminar is being held, room S-4370-80 as being in an EPA facility at:
One Potomac Yard
Conference Center South (4th Floor)
Room S-4370-80
2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202
For example, the same conference room was used for this EPA seminar: National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) Subcommittee on Promoting Environmental Stewardship (SPES)
September 8th is a Thursday, a workday, 9AM-3PM are of course work hours in the “normal” non governmental world.
And finally, the Nike Golf Learning Center at Reston National is real too, see here.
What I don’t know is who is paying for this EPA golf seminar. But, now that this has seen sunlight, I’m sure some folks closer to the EPA than me will ask.
Chris Horner of ATI comments on this revelation in context to the whining about proposed budget cuts to the EPA, he writes:
Just as EPA seeks to fill the media with stories about their dire budget situtation and the horrors to befall us all if they have to take a haircut, the poor dears.
Imagine my surprise to receive, within the span of minutes, both the following news story in Energy &Environment Daily — “EPA: Jackson summons top aides for budget pow-wow as GOP sharpens knife: In the face of drastic funding cuts and a hostile political environment, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has told her top deputies to rank which of their programs they deem to be essential and which could fall on the budgetary chopping block” — and the following invitation, just circulated around EPA headquarters.
Just keep this in mind when the results of this “pow-wow” — ritual demagoguery and a lot of talk about children, seniors and the poor — pop in the next few days. Possibly EPA officials are worried that they might have to shelve golf clinics for the bureaucracy run wild.
“Bureaucracy run wild”. Yes, perhaps it’s time to wrangle in the EPA and remind Lisa Jackson and others at the EPA that you are beholden to the citizens of the United States, not the other way around.
But, it’s all in aid of keeping vital EPA employees healthy and happy! Who could object to such a Noble Cause?
Why does that look familiar from the other side of the Atlantic.
We, too, have astonishing examples of profligacy – with tax-payers’ money – in the UK.
Awaydays for team-building for civil servants, when our soldiers were having to buy their own boots for Afghanistan – and so on.
Any nation that spends more than 20% of GDP on government and its programs is wasting some of it, I suggest.
Hey, Anthony, this is what life is like when you are on any one of the thousands of government teats. Suckle away and … well … the work can always be done tomorrow. Manana, as they say in Spanish.
But you and I, who do the real work in this world, live in a different world.
I really caught myself out the other day, and kicked myself. I said: “I have been really lucky over the last two years, as I have only been sick on my days off.” Ouch!! Now how many on the government teat would say that…?
.
Well, the way I see it, the more time they spend goofing off at work, the less damage they can do to the US economy. 🙂
Considering the damage an out of control EPA can do to the economy, I don’t find this so bad. Perhaps they could be all be encouraged to take an extended cruise as a team and moral builing exersize. I know having that entire agency on extended holiday would improve my moral.
Are ya sure we can’t save any money on the EPA’s budget
Aren’t golf courses really horrible for the environment? Shouldn’t the EPA do something about them?
Cheers!! could not have said it better myself. More people need to start speaking up
Great subliminal ad… the ball represents your money and the green represents the EPA… any question?
Ah yes… it’s the GOP sharpening the knives…[for cutting the budget]
While that sounds horrifying and reprehensible to some, to me it’s a glorious thought!
There has to be a way to train some of these nut-jobs that think being against the waste and ridiculous micromanagement of the EPA is somehow being for uncontrolled polluting and environmental destruction…
You could sure save a hell of a lot on consultants, the sort that used to work for the EPA and now seem to get loads of government work, especially on global warming.
Check this out: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/originals/the_un_states_epa.html
Forward to your Congresscritters! I have, including Inhofe…..
I don’t waste my time with Oregon’s blue Island reps and
senators…
Maybe they’re hoping that, if they polish up their game, they might be invited to join the Big Boss on one of his many rounds.
My first thoughts are that the seminar is promotional and therefore is put on for free in hopes of signing up some new customers for their golf instruction course. But even if there is no cost to the taxpayer this should be done after hours and off premise.
Reminds me of the time I was in DC late last fall on a rather cold. I have a picture of a security guard standing if front of the EPA building holding the door open so he could have a smoke. He held in open for nearly 15 minutes and not one entered or left through the door.
I read today one of the top women in charge of air quality testified in a congressional hearing and didn’t know what the CO2 level was in the air. Don’t sweat the little stuff.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/epa-air-chief-is-co2-clueless/?singlepage=true
Remember, it all starts at the top. Our Fearless Leader, Teacher, and Friend sets the example for the rest of the Executive Branch to follow. You never know when the POTUS will call on you for a meeting on the back 9 to discuss CO2 regulations. You need to be prepared.
Green Jobs.
No, no, you don’t understand. The grand tourney in Durban will commence soon, and the West has to cut a fine figure to impress delegates from, say, Japan or the Near East, who unfortunately may not be swayed by finagled figures (but golf they understand). This is work, and dangerous work at that (strained backs, etc.). The logical next step will be to bolster those brave guys’ tolerance to cocaine and other dire necessities these circles cannot do without.
Perhaps they could be all be encouraged to take an extended cruise as a team and moral builing exersize. … and let it sink.
It’s time to stop EPA totally: EPA just forced the city of New York to put a concrete cover over a large reservoir at a cost of $1.6 billion to prevent bird shit from getting in the water. What next? Will they require the Cities on the Great Lakes to put a cover over Lake Erie to prevent bird shit from getting into the lake which is the water supply for twenty or thirty cities on Lake Erie? The EPA is totally insane. Every water treatment system is designed to deal with some contamination,right?
I’m onboard with the team building exercise. I understand that there are still some tribes in New Guinea that would welcome the participants with open arms. They could partake in some of the tribal rituals, and in return, we might get Bon Appetite some new recipes for long pig. /sark
Uh, this is a bit over the top. Give it a rest. It’s no different than the social and hobby activities (amateur radio, car repair, softball, soccer, running and more) at other agencies on-site using government facilities such as e-mail, bulletin boards, rooms and grassy areas and at all times of the day. Just because it’s 9am-5pm doesn’t mean the government is paying for the activities. EPA employees get personal time just like everywhere else. Other than the use of room S-whatever, there’s no indication of using government funds and, for all you know, the room was rented.
And just think.
An EPA employee is more likely to die on the job than to be fired.
Since it is such a high-risk employment, you all ought to have a heart.
Those poor EPA people.
Working for Lisa Jackson would make me tense, for sure.
Publishing a steady stream of lies will do that to you.
Of course they got the science behind it WRONG as well 🙂
Here is a link to the best physics explanation of golf and how to do it I’ve come across:
http://www.kuykendallgolf.com/home/default.cfm
PS No I don’t get a penny from him for promoting the site.
Do poor golfers cause global warming?
/justkidding
Your headline says: “Your tax dollars at work…”. But later you admit: “What I don’t know is who is paying for this EPA golf seminar.” So, will you withdraw the headline until you learn the facts?
So no one where you guys work ever takes lunch or flex time?
A last chance to brush up their technique for delegates to the COP17 Durban junket?
Obama’s thankyou.
Maybe they’d just wanted to rub off each others stink on each other. EPA, the non-political but federal organization going all authoritarian political and Nike numero uno child labor organization going all green.
What could go wrong with that combination? :p
Coming to the end of the fiscal year.
EPA Potomac Health Unit has a budget, as does every government agency and department. If, at the end of the fiscal year, there’s unspent monies, it’s hard to justify a larger budget for the following year. Which is why there are many spending binges in the last couple months of every fiscal year. Gotta use up that leftover money. It’s not a Democrat thing or a Republican thing … it’s a bureaucrat thing.
Then submit a larger budget request for the following year.
It gives new meaning to the expression, “Use it or lose it.”
I could use a little help with my chipping. Will they let me in if I wear a green hat?
Tom in Florida is most likely correct in that is is probably a promotional bit by a fitness company and the Agency is probably not being charged. Of course, the meeting room being used is in government space, and that means that if employees needed the meeting room for something a little more work related they do not have access to the facility any more. Plus, the meeting room is right by where people can get a cup of coffee!
Now the real funny part is that EPA got office space in a building that is located in such a way that it encourages employees to drive instead of use public transportation. Don’t worry, it’s a green building.
If this is end-of-year money, you can lose your job for not spending it, as Leon Brozyna suggested. It’s a general problem with government & non-government alike. Let’s not get started on corporate perks. I know that EPA is a pain and not the favorite of any organization around here, but, complaining about the lint in the budget drives me nuts. I’m for cutting most of their budget.
Who’s paying for it? Nike, of course; they are selling memberships and/or lessons ti the Reston NGLC, and they do so by allowing people to have their swing analyzed with software. I’ve been through the process; it took all of five minutes. “Swing. Swing. Swing. Look at the monitor. See how your left knee bends? See how your right elbow is too straight? We can fix that for you. Sign here, and one of our reps will call. Thanks!”
And you’ve really got an issue with a few dozen duffers taking a few minutes from their lunch break to do this?
Seriously?
EPA employees know more about Golf than they know about our climate and CO2.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/epa-air-chief-is-co2-clueless/?singlepage=true
With 21,300,000 government employees in the U.S. you simply must accept a “little” bit leeway in the actions of this small group. (Not sarcastic enough?)
many, many more dollars involved here:
19 July: US News & World Report: Paul Bedard: New Fears EPA Smog Rule Will Cost 7.3 Million Jobs
Lawmakers today issued a new warning that an aggressive antismog plan being pushed by the Environmental Protection Agency could cost the nation $1 trillion, kill another 7.3 million jobs, or 4.3 percent of the workforce in 2020, and halt major construction of highways and factories in employment starved swaths of the nation.
At issue: The EPA’s plan to go far beyond former President Bush’s effort to tighten ozone standards way in advance of the planned review in 2013,…
Today at the weekly Senate GOP Caucus, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming led the opposition. “People in Wyoming are also concerned about jobs, the economy…
“And even the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce has said this will cost about 330,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. I think that the — that the focus around the country is on jobs and the economy, and this administration ought to take this 9.2 percent unemployment a lot more seriously than they are taking it right now.”…
http://www.usnews.com/mobile/articles_mobile/new-fears-epa-smog-rule-will-cost-73-million-jobs-new-fears-epa-smog-rule-will-cost-73-million-jobs
Yeah…this is no different than, say, blogging on government time, like the good folks at NASA/GISS do.
(Of course, anything which forestalls the production of useless “climate data products” and shrill climate journal paper press releases is, in my opinion, a GOOD thing!).
Mike,
If these federal employees are playing golf during working hours, and they are getting paid, then tax dollars are being wasted. I hope the Republicans are sharpening their knives and the EPA is a perfect place to start.
B.Klein said: “It’s time to stop EPA totally: EPA just forced the city of New York to put a concrete cover over a large reservoir at a cost of $1.6 billion to prevent bird shit from getting in the water. ”
I gotta see a reference link for that, If the EPA really did that, we can shut them down.
*Gets golf clubs out of shed*
Anyone have a job vacancy with the EPA?
He didn’t say who was paying for the activities. Neither he nor you know. But during working hours they are getting paid by the taxpayer. Nothing in the invite says otherwise. Apparently, you approve of government workers goofing off during working hours. The taxpaying public does not.
Nothing was said about the duration of the clinic and nothing was said about lunch breaks. You cannot make the assumptions that you made. However, we do know that the EPA building where the clinic will be held is not within walking distance of their main building. If you happen to be right, which the distance makes me doubt, then the failure of the management to make that clear means they are dumber than we thought they were. I didn’t think that was possible.
Everybody, feel my pain. Whenever a comment is posted suggesting that I contact my Congressional representatives to complain about the latest outrage from the Obama administration, I suffer total frustration. My representatives are Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell’ my congressman is Jay Inslee.
A substantial cut in EPA appropriations would be a blessing for all. The good they did in the past is being overshadowed by the damage they are doing now. Those people do not know when to stop and they never will voluntarily. Only a cut in funding will do the job.
Meanwhile, improving the employees golf swing may prove useful if EPA has to reduce staff. It may also be legal and proper considering how flex-time can be used.
Paddy,
My friend, I truly feel your pain! We share Patty ‘Cakes’ Murray and Maria Catsmell as our senators. UGH! I have a spineless RINO (Dave Reichert) as my federal representative. Regardless of how little regard they may give to my inputs, I make my concerns clear and offer polite, reasoned but firm guidance on many issues to them. I encourage you to do the same… it’s important they hear from more than just their SEIU funding sources!
Maria Cantwell and Dave Reichert are both weak candidates, going into the 2012 elections. They must choose whether to listen to their constituents and support fiscally responsible legislation like ‘Cap, Cut, & Balance’.. or they can get cashiered out in 2012. There is a budding grassroots effort aiming at unseating Maria Cantwell, in particular, with those of us west of the Cascades seeking ways to help our eastern state friends achieve that most desireable outcome!
Let ’em hear from you, Paddy! Clearly and often, right up to the election!
You expect them to surf the net and watch porn all day?
DCC says:
July 19, 2011 at 4:59 pm
“Nothing was said about the duration of the clinic and nothing was said about lunch breaks. You cannot make the assumptions that you made.”
I was thinking the same thing. Assuming everyone takes the same 12:00 – 1:00 lunch break, how many
government workersgolfers could they process anyhow? Probably not too many. And why post the hours of 9 AM to 3 PM? Why not stay around after work hours for those who, in fact, wish to work their required hours? Questions, questions…Oh, and there’s this…
Corporations Favor EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases
Submitted by Paul Chesser on Fri, 12/31/2010
“Earlier this month corporate climateers including Nike and 3M were given awards — supposedly “the equivalent of an Oscar for the climate change mitigation world” — for their efforts to reduce their carbon emissions. The honors were bestowed by the Carbon War Room, which “harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to implement market-driven solutions to climate change.” The Virgin Group’s Richard Branson is one of the nonprofit’s co-founders.”
“The War Room gave Nike the Gigaton Award for the “consumer discretionary” category. The prize was named for a Clinton Global Initiative project called Gigaton Throwdown, which “encourages companies, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and investors to build big solutions to create climate stability and energy security.” Award winners are chosen by the Gigaton Academy, which consists of alarmist luminaries such as Branson, Ted Turner, UN IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri, Nicholas Stern, and a host of rent-seeking alternative energy industry leaders.”
We really need to raise our deficit limit to cover important events like this…
/sarc
Why is it that whenever something very harmful and utterly tasteless is being financed, Ted Turner is always a part of it? What makes such people tick? They’ve got it all, what else do they want?
The more they adopt the work ethic of the top boss by improving their golf game when they should be working, the more employees that will be needed to get the work done. That means a bigger budget request for next year. If you’re a big-government progressive, what’s not to like about that?
“Brian Hall says:
July 19, 2011 at 12:17 pm
But, it’s all in aid of keeping vital EPA employees healthy and happy! Who could object to such a Noble Cause?”
Sarc:/
I see a problem in promoting health and exercise.
It means more CO2 being expelled during physical activity 🙂
Maybe the EPA should drop the the golfing thing afterall. Since they believe CO2 is a pollutant.
Sarc off:/
Well, there is “us” and there is “them.” You are “them,” the EPA is “us.” “Us’s” job is to spend “them’s” money. As long as “us” has control of “them’s” money, “us” is important and “them” isn’t. If “us” ever loses control of “them,” “us” will be unemployed, so the objective of “us” is to spend all of “them’s” money before “us” gets voted out of office, and “us” becomes “them” and “them” becomes “us.” Is that all clear?
So the GREEN grass…..is it real grass? Or is it plastic…..
Glad to see one country in the world can still afford to let there civil servants goof around.
Fiddling while Rome burns 🙂
“DirkH says:
July 19, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Green Jobs.”
Dirk, You need to expand your definition – as per this comment from
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/obama-to-created-five-million-green-jobs/#comments
“gator69 says:
July 19, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Does unemployment count as a ‘green job’? It does, after all, resemble government work, and they are getting paid by Uncle Sam. Obama has added roughly 3 million to the unemployment roles since he took office, so he is 60% there already. What are you guys complaining about?”
Don’t miss the comments that follow either.
Leon:
It gives new meaning to the expression, “Use it or lose it.”
This syndrome goes back a long way. I was a young state school teacher in 1967 when I read the following directive:
“Caretakers are reminded that the heating season ends on March 25th. All stocks of coal must be exhausted before this date.”
The main local industry was coal mining, of course.
Perhaps the EPA et al see themselves as a ‘media and insurance’ agency? Create the publicity stunt then insure one’s employment …. for years… and years…. And create a green police-force.
While industry moves on with R&D to improve knowledge, efficiency and safety for their workforce in [what are often] high risk work environments?
Comment on Andrew Bolt, Australia website following the Monckton vs economist debate at the Press Club <No Wonder the warmists hate debate
woolfe replied to AS
Wed 20 Jul 11 (09:08am)
Got a great deal for you, give me $1,000 per month and i will insure your cave against a direct meteorite strike.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/no_wonder_the_warmists_hate_debate/
Did anyone get a snapshot of The Australian’s cartoon in ed section Monday July 18th for Josh?
Lobbecke did a fantastic job taking Tom Robert’s wonderful painting Shearing the Rams and placing a bending Gillard (Oz’s Prime Minister) over a ram (it had horns) using a wind-turbine in place of a hand shear. The look on the shearers’ faces was classic. As was the tar-girl’s grin!
Non-Oz bloggers may not be aware of the history behind the 1891 shearer’ strike or the place that wool had in the Australian economy. We shear with electricity now- often fueled by diesel generators! And the wool bales transported from the outback is done by trucks now instead of horses and camels!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shearing_the_Rams (double click image)
Better that they play golf… they could be closing power plants, killing jobs, raising ‘fees’ aka carbon taxes,,.. yes PLAY GOLF EPA folks play LOTS of GOLF.
Federal Occupational Health (FOH) is a non-appropriated agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provides occupational health and wellness services exclusively to federal employees. FOH works in partnership with federal organizations nationally and internationally to design and deliver comprehensive solutions to meet their occupational health needs.
FOH is the largest provider of occupational health services in the federal government, serving more than 360 federal agencies and reaching 1.8 million federal employees. Created in 1946 by an amendment to the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.), FOH has more than sixty-four years of experience providing services exclusively to Federal agencies.
The Mission of Federal Occupational Health is improving the health, safety, and productivity of our Federal employees.
With regards to your concerns about “Your Tax Dollars at Work” – you should have done your research. The seminar that you are concerned about is being offered free of charge.
Improper body mechanics while playing golf can result in shoulder, knee, wrist , lower back and upper back injuries.
Employees are attending this event on their breaks , lunch time and before and after work. Each person spends about 10 minutes with the evaluator. Dude, you should have done your research, but then again, anyone can write a blog.
..nuff said….
I wonder, wouldn’t it be more healthy for EPA employees to plant bazillion trees on the golf courts rather ‘an using ’em for practice swings? What with EPA being politically pro carbon tax to reduce, or offset, carbon dioxide emissions one would think the reduction of trees to make golf courts are bad for the environment and ought to then be reclaimed in the name of all greens. :p
I wish I’d had a seminar like that when I was working for government! My golf swing could have used it! /sarc
The event got cancelled.
Goofing off/Golfing off on the taxpayer dollar, what’s the difference?
Bobby says:
July 20, 2011 at 5:59 am
“Federal Occupational Health (FOH) is a non-appropriated agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) . FOH is the largest provider of occupational health services in the federal government, serving more than 360 federal agencies and reaching 1.8 million federal employees. Created in 1946 by an amendment to the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.), FOH has more than sixty-four years of experience providing services exclusively to Federal agencies. ”
Thanks for identifying yet another bloated federal agency that severs public sector employees, while fleecing the private sector taxpayers, to support essentials services like golfing clinics. Based on your kind and informative submission, I’ll send new emails to both of my Senators and my Representative, urging them to cut this agencies budget by at least 50%, as part of our essential federal spending reductions, deficit reductions, and debt reductions efforts! I ask the other readers of this blog to do likewise!
Thanks for the insider info, Bobby!!! Care to ‘TEA Up’ another one for us?
The Leaker says:
July 20, 2011 at 11:23 am
“The event got cancelled.”
Really? Is there is link to this news??
There is no link (yet), but I am the source. Mr. Watts can tell that my post of 11:23 AM came from an EPA IP address.
The original note was not sent to all EPA Headquarters employees, but to EPA employees and contractors who work at the Potomac Yards facility in Arlington (which I estimate is about 1,000 people). The original subject did say “golf swing.” Today, a cancellation note was sent. As usual, the Agency does not do well under public scrutiny. Apparently, they can’t defend what they are doing in this case (though it wouldn’t be too hard for them to try). Someone was consciously unaware of the press that the President’s golf game has gotten. Then again, you should have seen what happened several years ago when they offered a course called “White Folks and Diversity.” That ended rather badly also.
Here is the note sent today (blind copied, not openly to groups like the first time around):
To:
Date: 07/20/2011 02:09 PM
Subject: Improving Posture Event Announced Yesterday is Cancelled
EPA Potomac Yard Employees:
The subject event is being cancelled. If you have any questions, please contact me at 202-xxx-xxxx.
[Name edited out]
Safety, Health, & Environmental Management Division
Think about this statement from a previous entry:
“With regards to your concerns about “Your Tax Dollars at Work” – you should have done your research. The seminar that you are concerned about is being offered free of charge.
Improper body mechanics while playing golf can result in shoulder, knee, wrist , lower back and upper back injuries.”
What would have happened if an EPA employee was hurt while having their golf swing evaluated? Ticket to Workers Compensation? You bet. Injured while on the job.
Often we tax payers forget, that the best performance we will ever get from govt is mediocre.Thats it, their best performance with ruthless and unrelenting pressure from taxpayers. Left unchecked the bureaucracy will expand into the real ecomomy and have the same helpful effect as a bag of sand in an engine.Here in Canada we are bogged to near standstill by our helpful authorities and it is near impossible to comply with the regulations as they often contradict and the people paid to enforce these regulations are commonly incompetent. Attempting to run your own business is to identify yourself as permit fee donor (before you earn a dollar) and condemn yourself to working far too many unpaid hours to comply with the whims of witless wonders. Who then complain that productivity in Canada is falling. No sarc sadly.
I would want to hear an explanation from the EPA before making any judgements.
Even if it is what it seems to be, that doesn’t invalidate the EPA’s work, nor does it justify cutting its budget. It’s just an extragavance that needs to be eliminated so that all of the EPA’s budget can be concentrated on enforcing the law and catching polluter, not to mention reducing the nation’s carbon footprint.