I finally got my news on VA info loss & w/ a new law; HERE'S YOUR BAD NEWS

Yes, eventually they even let veterans in Alabama know the truth about an error in administration, which will possibly allow private information to fall into the hands of identity thieves. Now ask yourself: Did the VA suffer a public relations disaster because of this information loss? Here's another pertinent question: Do gigantic corporations, like your bank, want to avoid public relations disasters?


As HR3997 becomes dangerously close to passage by the entire House, check out a few paragraphs from today's MSNBC news article on this new law our do-nothing Congress is quietly considering...

HOW THE VA THEFT COULD HURT ALL OF US

Posted: Tuesday, June 20 at 07:20 am CT by Bob Sullivan

Last month, the VA announced an employee had lost a computer loaded with the identities of 26 million current and former GIs. The dramatic incident has inspired outrage from lawmakers in Washington D.C. Unfortunately, that outrage has taken form in legislation that could make things worse for all of us.

How? It establishes nationwide standards for data security that actually eliminate some consumer rights granted at the state level.

If The Financial Data Protection Act, already passed by the House Financial Services Committee, is approved by the full House later this month, millions of consumers could lose the right to freeze their credit reports. And all those notices consumers now receive after a company loses personal data? Many of those would no longer be required.

There are two clear problems with the bill: Under its provisions, only ID theft victims would have the right to freeze their credit; and companies that lose data would only have to tell consumers if there was a "significant risk" of harm. Guess who decides if lost data poses a significant risk?

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/06/how_the_va_thef.html

of any address changes? Was curious about that cuz there was news of how the GOP sent mail to a lot of active duty people who are deployed. Mail sent to soldiers' home addresses and marked "DO NOT FORWARD". When the mail was returned to the GOP groups that sent it, the soldiers' ballots were challenged.

It was done targeting the ballots of people in certain precincts with certain demographics. It was election fraud.

So, was wondering if this data 'theft' was likely to result in even MORE people who served/are serving being disenfranchised.

edited to add link to DU thread on returned GOP letters to deployed troops used to challenge their ballots

Article that got me thinking about the stolen data as another GOP dirty trick

or risk losing important notifications and medicines, which are routinely mailed to us. Please check your PMs havocmom.

Seem to recall something about it on the Selective Service Registration cards from the olden days too, but haven't seen the new ones.

Seems like they could challenge the ballots of every person who might not be there to check the mail at the last address various agencies may still have on file for them.

Data thefts are not just for identity thieves anymore. It's the new tool for GOP election stealing.

Struck me interesting that the data on so many vets and active duty personnel went missing just prior to Cheney assuring everybody that the GOP was gonna win in November, despite polls that show otherwise.

I'm not sure about reservists, sorry I can only tell you how this affects me. I don't want to mislead anyone. Perhaps someone once in the reserves can elaborate.

He filed all while on active reserve and then when on inactive. That was long ago. Don't know what the requirements are now, but worry many vets will get those "DO NOT FORWARD" letters from the RNC and their agents then be challenged at the polls for not being registered in the last address Selective Service Admin has for them.

Most people I know have not kept the authorities apprised of their current addresses. There could be a lot of challenges to voters all over in districts where the GOP needs to thwart the vote to hold seats.

Told me to watch my finances for shit disappearing. Duh.

why the info was "accidently" lost. This fine new law will fix things for the top 3% but who is it REALLY protecting as it overturns other state laws?

is paying for all those stamps! I take it we're on our own otherwise should someone mess with our accounts. Thanks for protecting our privacy, VA. :eyes:

in the future... You'll thank them when you get NO notifications of a more personal problem and you'll thank them when you cannot freeze your credit to protect yourself, if you do somehow get word of their mistake that is costing YOU money. As usual, cooperate interests are placed above consumer safety by your current government.

Am remembering back 3 years when many agencies had credit cards issued to fed employees. The cards were to pay for any work related travel & expenses that would be reimbursed by the departments. Interesting thing was that the cards were not issued as the government as debtor. They were issued TO INDIVIDUAL employees and were their personal liabilities.

The REALLY INTERESTING (and scary) thing was that the employees were not informed about it prior to the cards being issued and sent. So, if some did not get delivered, the employees would not have known they were missing, BUT would be liable for any purchases made on them.

Gee, that's a fine gift for banks... Payoff for industry cooperation and contributions? :shrug:

Also, as the cards are required but the federal departments employing the workers, but they are the workers' personal liability, the government has assured some lending institutions have cause to charge higher interests on some workers. When lenders go about computing interest rate increases to individuals, one of the things they consider is how many open charge accounts that individual has!. Nice, huh? The employer (the feds under bushco) require employees to have an account which can be held against them whether they use it for work expenses or not. And the cards were issued with outrageously high limits - WAY beyond what most workers would ever need for work related travel. It really seemed to many workers that it was a ploy to get them to run up extra expenses which would not be covered as reimbursable expenses--- another gift to the Bank of America and corporations selling shit?

Workers we pissed enough that their employers, various agencies of the federal government applied and got credit cards on their behalf and without their knowledge. The other details outraged many. People who may be required to travel to meetings three times a year given card limits in the tens of thousands of dollars? Most knew that was a recipe for all sorts of potential fraud.

Now, they best be considering that bushco might just be coming up with more ways to use the personal data they have and seem to lose with dangerous regularity.

"Be aware, people. The government is NOT your friend." **

** The words of an old teacher who had been OSS and CIA in the early days of that agency. The words he told us back in the 60s. He'd probably be a bit more blunt with his warning today.

My grandfather called it WORKING FOR THE COMPANY STORE. It's a concept whereby a company allows it's workers open charge accounts at a store they own outright, which generally has inflated prices and no competition.

When the workers got their meager pay-checks, they usually just signed them over to THE COMPANY STORE, so they would have food until the next pay period.

about it Tennessee Ernie recorded...

it dates back to Big RAILROADS, which were notorious for abusing workers.

and the colonies they sent out then sold supplies to ;)

Store." Do you remember penny candy?

My penny was company money called scrip.



I got my letter last week from the IRS/VA. Why the IRS?

I now remember papaw talking about it. thanks for the memories Hubert. Do you mean he wasn't mispronouncing the term?

This is about KY, but Wv coal camps looked the same!





MINERS' WAGES

This pay envelope is indicative of the wages earned by coal miners nationwide in 1895. This miner would have worked six days a week during this two week pay period. During this time he mined and loaded 79 five-ton coal cars. That averages out to mining and hand loading 32.9 tons of coal per day. His rate of pay was 40 cents per five-ton car filled which gave him gross pay of $31.60 for two weeks of work. He shopped at the company store where his purchases during this period were $17.00. His two week rent for his company owned house was $3.00. The company owned the hand tools he used but he had to pay the company 25 cents per pay period to sharpen the coal picks. While these deductions would have left him with a net cash take-home pay of $11.35, he owed a balance of $9.10 to the company physician. After deducting this amount the miner was left with $2.25 net pay for mining and loading 395 tons of coal, just a little more than half a cent per ton of coal mined and loaded.

It was common for miners in the coal patch towns to be paid on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. This meant a new employee might work as long as one to two months, depending upon when in the month he was hired, before getting his first paycheck.A miner could draw upon his outstanding wages in company scrip that could be used only at the company store. This scrip came in the form of tokens in denominations from 1 cent to 5 dollars.
Paper coal scrip was also issued. Unlike the brass, copper, nickel and aluminum tokens, the paper scrip was not re-used once it was spent at the company store. Coal company scrip continued to be used throughout the Appalachian coal regions into the early 1950s. Since scrip could only be spent at the company store the miners had to pay whatever the company charged . Some miners sold their scrip at less than face value in order to obtain hard currency to use outside the company store.


Coal company scrip was also issued as booklets with small denomination tear-out coupons that could be spent at the company store. Punch cards were also used, they were issued in a specific denomination and the amount punched was the amount spent off the card.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.kycoal.homestead.com/CoalPatchTowns.html&h=466&w=615&sz=130&tbnid=Ql7xmlgVINnICM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=134&hl=en&start=66&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcoal%2Bcamp%26start%3D60%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

My daddy used to wake me up on those frosty mornings about daylight. When I got dressed and went outside he'd show me a rabbit track and he'd say, "Now son, your breakfast is on the other end of those tracks!"

to keep it where more will notice it. It has very important information we need to arm ourselves with.

while issues that will affect our future become quickly hidden at DU with very few votes.

Too many lemmings?

:hi: and many thanks

"NOW, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING REALLY SPOOKY?" check the link on the OP you just posted EVdebs.

First off, http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm , details ALL the instances of compromising of personal data that are occurring almost daily. The current number of affected people..88,348,579.

Secondly, the Rethug who originally sponsored HR 3997 is no other than Steven LaTourette (OH-14). The 14th district covers the area from just east of Cleveland to the PA border. LaTourette also was the deciding vote in favor of CAFTA, after saying he would oppose and then switching at the last minute.

This guy needs to be defeated in November. That brings me to my 3rd point.

LaTourette's opponent is Lew Katz, a Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University.

I have met him and believe he can take down LaTourette.

Lew needs our help in his effort. Visit his website http://katzforcongress.com/index.php
and volunteer if you are local, donate if you can.

This November we can take back the House if our candidates get the support they deserve.

Lew is one of the good guys. Let's make him the next Representative from OH-14.

get that good info out there.

We gotta work our hinies off to get the Congress changed.

I have tried to initiate threads about Lew and the need to re-take OH-14 for the Democratic Party.

But with all the news of the misadministrations foul-ups, it is extremely hard to keep a post visible in GD for more than an hour or so.

So, I tag onto pertinent threads and hope for the best.