Sick Jokes That Are Government Policies

FEMA To Demand That Hurricane Katrina Victims Return Aid Money

"NEW ORLEANS -- Nearly six years have passed since Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans in misery, but many residents haven't forgiven the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its sluggish response to the storm. Now another delayed reaction by FEMA – a stop-and-start push to recoup millions of dollars in disaster aid – is reminding storm victims why they often cursed the agency's name.

As a new hurricane season begins Wednesday, FEMA is working to determine how much money it overpaid or mistakenly awarded to victims of the destructive 2005 hurricane season. The agency is reviewing more than $600 million given to roughly 154,000 victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and is poised to demand that some return money.

FEMA already has sent letters to thousands of victims of other disasters, asking them to return more than $22 million. Letters to victims of the 2005 hurricanes could go out in a matter of months, but it's too soon to tell how many people will be told to repay or how much money is at stake."

Environmental Protection Agency stops radiation monitoring

"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just announced that it will cease additional monitoring in the US for radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, even though no great progress has been made at the plant to halt emissions."

Utah joins Texas in fight to rein scope of TSA pat-downs

"According to station KTVX, the Salt Lake City ABC affiliate, Utah Rep. Carl Wimmer is drafting a bill that proposes the same sorts of restrictions as the Lone Star state but goes it one better. Whereas the Texas legislation criminalizes the touching by TSA officials of a person’s most intimate parts, the Utah bill would outlaw pat-downs altogether."

Groups sue FDA to stop addition of antibiotics in livestock feed

"Several environmental and public health groups filed suit against the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to try to force the government to stop farmers from routinely adding antibiotics to livestock feed to help animals grow faster."

Obama Administration Eyeing Gun Control 'Under the Radar,' Groups Warn

"The Obama administration, after keeping gun control on the back burner for over two years, is prompting concern among gun rights groups that it's slowly starting to squeeze the trigger on tighter regulation."

Adding Lithium to drinking water

"Lithium has been heralded by some experts as the next potential flouride, after scientists found suicide rates were lower in areas where the drinking water had higher concentrations of the element."