WASHINGTON — It didn't take long for the Internet to start buzzing with conspiracy theories after the Social Security Administration posted a notice that it was purchasing 174,000 hollow-point bullets.Read the rest here.
Why is the agency that provides benefits to retirees, disabled workers, widows and children stockpiling ammunition? Whom are they going to use it on?
"It's not outlandish to suggest that the Social Security Administration is purchasing the bullets as part of preparations for civil unrest," the website Infowars.com said.
Another website, The Daily Caller, said the bullets must be for use against American citizens, "since the SSA has never been used overseas to help foreign countries maintain control of their citizens."
The clamor became such a distraction for the agency that it dedicated a website to explaining the purchase. The explanation, it turns out, isn't as tantalizing as an arms buildup to defend against unruly senior citizens.
The bullets are for Social Security's office of inspector general, which has about 295 agents who investigate Social Security fraud and other crimes, said Jonathan L. Lasher, the agency's assistant IG for external relations.
The agents carry guns and make arrests — 589 last year, Lasher said. They execute search warrants and respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees and customers.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Social Security and those bullets
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3 comments:
This is what is called a "limited hangout" or "modified limited hangout":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout
The article publicly admits what has already become known. The authors try to obfuscate the issue by putting out factual but irrelevant information (Yes - every boy and his dog knows that police departments use hollow point bullets. So what? You haven't answered our questions).
The implication is: "OK. See? We've come clean! Now, go back to sleep! Move on! There's nothing to see here!"
This article still begs the following questions:
1. Why does Social Security, NOAA, Fish and Wildlife, etc. need their own police forces? I thought that is what we have the FBI for?
2. Why do agents need to practice with expensive hollow point rounds instead of clad rounds? I used to own a revolver years ago, and I practiced at the range with cheaper clad rounds. The pistol "handled" the same in either case.
3. Why do they (and DHS) need such preposterous amounts of hollow point ammmunition?
For all I know, this may be nothing more sinister than a boondoggle to keep ammo manufacturers profitable and in business. However, given all the other stuff John has posted here recently, I (and others) cannot be blamed for suspecting something much worse. After all, the "Eye of Sauron" doesn't exist for nothing.
Generally IG's are there to give the congress a way of policing the Executive branch agencies. IGs are mostly charged with ferreting out white collar crime within the agency they oversee (so the SSA's IG is tasked with policing the SSA's employees, contracts etc). They're more like a government branch's internal affairs and auditor. If all the IG's were taken under the auspices of the FBI, the agency would grow pretty dramatically.
"If all the IG's were taken under the auspices of the FBI, the agency would grow pretty dramatically."
...which would set off its own round of conspiracy theories. *sigh*
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