It takes an act of Congress...

To stop federal employees from watching porn on taxpayer's dime.

The Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act aptly shares its initials with the government agency that drew attention to the problem of staff watching pornographic videos at work, the Environmental Protection Agency.

“It’s appalling that it requires an act of Congress to ensure that federal agencies block access to these sites,” Meadows said. He is chairman of the operations subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

An Instapundit commenter muses...

I'm conflicted.

Does a federal employee hurt taxpayers more when he wastes their time watching porn, or when he is assiduously dedicated to his work?

"Let it burn..."

So says the top comment of a Politico story lamenting "Feds running out of wildfire money".

Running out of money to fight wildfires at the peak of the season, the U.S. Forest Service is diverting $600 million from timber, recreation and other areas to fill the gap.

The nation’s top wildfire-fighting agency was down to $50 million after spending $967 million so far this year, Forest Service spokesman Larry Chambers said Wednesday in an email.

Couldn't Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell get on the phone, a la Kathleen Sebelius, and ask for donations? Common Chief!
Back to the story.

Chambers says the $50 million the Forest Service has left is typically enough to pay for just a few days of fighting fires when the nation is at its top wildfire preparedness level, which went into effect Tuesday.

There are 51 large uncontained fires burning across the nation, making it tough to meet demands for fire crews and equipment.

The politico commenter I referenced at the beginning, COProgressive Class-Warrior, goes on to say...

Homeowners have insurance. People who want to get off the grid and move into the woods can't expect the Federal Government to save them. Fighting wildfires isn't in the Constitution.

passwords, Feds want 'em.

Declan McCullagh news.cnet

Feds tell web firms to turn over passwords.

Marks an escalation in Internet surveillance.

To log into accounts and peruse correspondence, even impersonate the user.

Plus encryption.

Said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

"We push back."

So there's hope!

Microsoft won't say.

Google declined to disclose

Yahoo would not say

Apple, Facebook AOL, Verizon, AT&T, Tie Warner Cable, and Comcast did not respond.

FBI declined to comment, politely, no doubt. 

Patriot Act used to demand database dumps.

The rest is codes, algorithms, costs, lengths of passwords, more costs, cracking codes, Sen Ron Wyden warns, "government authority limitless," law, legal issues, specific cases.