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Federal Premium Unveils New Website

ANOKA, Minn. - Federal Premium� Ammunition has redesigned its website. Hunters and shooters can easily navigate the new FederalPremium.com to find breathtaking photography, educational graphics and one-of-a-kind tools built to inspire, guide and educate.

The all-new Federal Premium website offers hunters and shooters the latest information in a streamlined and vibrant format. It makes choosing the right ammunition quick and easy, and provides insights into topics ranging from conservation to the latest ammunition technology.

Answers On The Go
In an increasingly mobile world, it�s important that websites work well on all devices. The new site was built using Responsive Design�a technique that allows optimum viewing, whether it�s accessed from desktops, laptops, tablets or mobile. It automatically resizes in real-time to fit the 

viewer�s screen size, so smart phone users see the full site, not a mobile version.

Interactive And Helpful
With specialized content and helpful resources, Federal Premium�s new site has something to offer outdoor enthusiasts of any skill level. The Load Recommendation tool provides ammunition suggestions based on the user�s interests, intended use or firearm. The tool is always accessible and includes filtering that is easy to navigate.

The site improvements are based on customer feedback, and include keyword searches, improved content organization and simplified navigation. Product detail pages now include ballistic coefficients, and product specifications appear on demand to increase speed of information. To view the new site, go to www.federalpremium.com.

'Transparent' Obama gun committee keeps secrets

Suit claims committee violates Federal Advisory Committee Act

A legal action against Barack Obama by Freedom Watch director Larry Klayman over the president�s formation of the Obama Gun Control Task Force has been expanded to demand information about the results of its work. Klayman noted Obama and Vice President Joe Biden �promised the most open government in American history.�

The updated filing added a count for Obama�s failure to release minutes of the meetings � which the advisory committee continues to refuse to produce � so the American people can see for themselves the lobbying influences on Obama and Biden with regard to gun control.

The Federal Advisory Committee Act was the same law Klayman used to take the Cheney Energy Task Force all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for having kept its meetings with energy lobbyists secret.

The The Federal Advisory Committee Act which is very much still in effect, was enacted in 1972 to ensure that advice by the various advisory committees is objective and accessible to the public. The Act formalized a process for establishing, operating, overseeing, and terminating these advisory bodies and created the Committee Management Secretariat to monitor compliance with the Act.  Executive orders and congressional revisions have further refined the extension and the application of the Act in 1993, 1997, and 1998, and the extent and nature of the Secretariat's reporting of the activities of the committees.

In particular, it has special emphasis on open meetings, chartering, public involvement, and reporting.[1] The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) oversees the process. The Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council has been suspect of the legality of the Obama committee from the beginning.

�The American people, whose rights to gun ownership stem from colonial times and are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, are being illegally shut out of the process. In this regard, on January 7, 2013, Freedom Watch demanded in writing that the 15 days notice be provided and that Larry Klayman and it be permitted to be present and participate on behalf of the American people.�

But Klayman noted that his legal demand didn�t generate a response.

�As a result our complaint demands that the meetings be opened up fully

to members of the public who request, upon proper and timely notice by

the Gun Control Task Force, the right to participate, and that if the administration fails to comply immediately that the court order that the Gun Control Task Force be shut down � be declared illegal and enjoined from implementation,� Klayman said.

He also invoked the law in a case pending against Obama for his �equally secretive Obmacare task force.�

�There simply is no excuse for the president and vice president, as occurred with its Obamacare federal advisory committee, to make gun policy exclusively with lobbyists. Open government is more honest government.�  The complaint names Obama, Biden, the task force and �John and Jane Does.�

Klayman�s complaint explains that �by designating this newly formed task force, which is a presidential advisory committee, de jure and/or de facto, defendant Obama has made the meetings subject to the provisions of FACA.�

Under those requirements, an advisory committee must �publish within the Federal Registry notice of an meeting 15 days prior to that meeting, and the meetings must be made open to members of the public who seek access pursuant to FACA, as plaintiff did herein.�

But the complaint notes that while Obama designated the advisory team on Dec. 19, its first meeting was Dec. 20.

�It has been widely reported and disclosed by the national media that non-federal employees, including lobbyists from the video game industry, Walmart, and other private lobbyists � fully participated in non-public meetings of the OGCTF as if they were members,� the complaint said.

Obama�s failure to meet the federal requirements means that the White House has �deprived plaintiff of its right, granted by the FACA, to participate in meetings held by the OGCTF, to have advance notice of those meetings, and to have a voice in the affairs of the OGCTF on behalf of the American people.�

TSA's TWIC program doesn't work

Department of Defense says it can't use the security system

The beleaguered Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, or TWIC, has been dealt a serious blow with a determination by the Department of Defense that it doesn�t meet DoD standards, and won�t be recognized for department purposes.

The U.S. Department of the Army issued a Federal Register notice that the TWIC card will no longer be used to authenticate users for access to certain Department of Defense computer systems.

The notice states:

�The DoD PKI [Public Key Infrastructure] office has determined that the TWIC card cannot be used to authenticate users for access to DoD systems. The DoD PKI office has not established a trust relationship with Homeland Security/TSA.  �Starting January 29, 2013, TWIC certificates cannot be accepted by ETA [Electronic Transportation Acquisition] � All current TWIC holders accessing an application within ETA will need to purchase an External Certificate Authority (ECA) prior to January 29, 2013. �

The register entry essentially says that the TWIC program cannot be used to authenticate users for access to DoD computer systems and networks. The DoD will require additional credentials of TWIC holders, who need access to certain defense computer networks starting at the end of the month (now).

The TWIC program was started as a joint initiative between Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard. The purpose of the program is to provide a biometric credential to workers who need to enter �secure areas� of port facilities and vessels that fall under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.

Under the program, access to these areas is still allowed to those individuals, but they have to be escorted by someone currently holding a valid card. Individuals without those valid cards have to be kept within sight at all times.  TSA has spent $420 million on TWIC, and it has been estimated that the federal government and private sector may spend as much as $3.2 billion on TWIC during the next 10 years, not including the card readers themselves.

More than 1.9 million U.S. workers have enrolled in the TWIC program with a cost of $132.50 per enrollment.

The TWIC program has been problematic from the start. The TWIC application is a two-step process. A person has to go to an authorized TWIC Enrollment Center to apply for the card and then has to return to pick up the card and provide biometric information. This is not a problem if one lives close to a port city such as New York or Los Angeles. However, some of the facilities that fell under the jurisdiction of the TWIC program are far from the centers. In some cases, a person has to travel six to eight hours to apply for the card, and then repeat the process six weeks later to pick it up. For small facilities under the program, this caused quite a burden.

The cards themselves had a good security design, using standard �Two-factor Authentication,� an authentication method that consists of two or more of the three authentication factors: �something the user knows� (a password), �something the user has� (the TWIC card itself), and �something the user is� (their fingerprint).

To gain entry to a facility or system, the goal was for a person to present their card (something they own) for reading, enter their password (something they know), and have their fingerprint scanned and compared to the fingerprint information embedded in the card�s computer chip (something they are).

One problem that arose early on was that there were no card readers for the cards. The card�s computer chip, known as an Integrated Circuit Chip, stores the holder�s information and biometric data. The chip was supposed to be read by inserting it into a reader or holding it near a �contactless� reader.

Once the card was read, the card holder�s name was to be checked against a list of people who were to be barred from entering the facility. The list was to be updated almost in real time so that if a person was recently added to the list, they could be identified quickly and denied entry.

The problems with the card readers had been so profound that covered workers are allowed to extend their expiring TWIC cards by three years at a reduced price because federal officials are facing delays in deploying the readers. This latest development with the DoD was not surprising since the program was already plagued by delays, cost overruns and false starts.

In December 2011, the Department of Homeland Security�s Transportation Security Administration said that the 26,000 already issued TWIC cards were missing a digit in the �Federal Agency Smart Credential Number.�  In another case, TSA lost the passwords that were associated with the card and a user had to apply for a new TWIC card if they ever needed their password.

Not that it would matter since the bug-ridden card reader program reduced the TWIC card to merely a �flash card� at most ports as the card reader program has been riddled with glitches and continues to lag behind its implementation schedule.  It also made it impossible to identify cards that have been reported as lost, stolen, revoked or suspended, while the lack of an updated threat assessment could compromise the security of a port.

The future of the program seemed suspect when the Transportation Security Administration opted this year to extend the expiration dates of some of the current cards. With the first round of five-year expiration dates bearing down on TWIC holders, the TSA offered a three-year extension. U.S. citizens with current TWICs that are to expire on or before Dec. 31, 2014, can opt to pay $60 to extend the expiration date for three years.

This latest announcement is making people covered by the TWIC program wonder why a program deemed not suitable for security in the U.S. Army Supply Chain is still being used for security in protecting civilian freight transportation venues from terrorist attack.  According to a December 2012 statement issued by Todd Spencer, the executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, �At one time we thought TWIC would be it, but it does not appear so now. The promise of secure credentials to identify truckers authorized to work the ports is no closer to reality than ever.�

�The TWIC program seems to exist only for the benefit of those who collect fees for generating the card at the expense of the time and money of professional drivers.�

Michigan Diver�s body found years after Going Missing

Perfectly Preserved In His Dive Suit
Door County, MI � The body of a diver reported missing 13 years ago in Lake Michigan was found still inside his wet suit, his body perfectly preserved. Dirk Kann disappeared in September 1991 while exploring the Lakeland shipwreck site, approximately 225-feet below the surface. The Lakeland shipwreck site in Lake Michigan is reportedly as popular as it is dangerous.

Dirk Kann�s remains were discovered along Whitefish Bay on Saturday, according to reports from the Door County Sheriff�s Office republished by the Daily Mail. The Lakeland shipwreck occurred in 1925. The iron steamer was traveling loaded with a cargo of new cars when it sank in Lake Michigan. The Lakeland�s original cargo is still visible to Lake Michigan shipwreck divers. Dirk Kann was a successful businessman and inventor. In the 1980s he founded a recumbent bicycle company, Linear Manufacturing, in Iowa. Kann, 52, was from Guttenberg, Iowa.

Two divers found Dirk Kann�s preserved body while exploring the Lakeland shipwreck. Rose Kann, the diver�s widow, told the Daily Mail that the discovery of her husband�s body was a �great relief� to the family. Dirk Kann and his diving partner, a 49-year-old man, were reportedly having

trouble while attempting to leave the bottom of the lake to reach the

surface, the Door County Advocate reports. Kann was last seen decompressing at the 80-foot dive line mark. Kann�s Lake Michigan Lakeland shipwreck diving partner moved onto the 40-foot dive line mark to decompress again before swimming to the surface, Fox News 11  notes.

A 60-year-old third diver tugged on Dirk Kann�s dive line without response. Decompression bottles were all that were attached to the dive line when it was pulled to the surface of Lake Michigan. Inclement weather conditions reportedly prohibited the two surviving divers from going back into the water to search for Kann. Several years ago Dirk Kann�s body was believed to have been caught by a fisherman, but the snag was lost and the body sunk back into the water.

In addition to the initial search near the Lakeland shipwreck for Dirk Kann�s body, more recent searches were conducted as well. When technological advances aiding in deep-diving location offered renewed hope of finding the body, the Lakeland shipwreck site was searched more thoroughly.  The extremely cold waters which surround the Lakeland shipwreck in Lake Michigan are credited with preserving Dirk Kann�s body.

Illinois Concealed Carry Ban Challenged

Illinois is currently the only state in the nation that does not allow concealed carry by law, but that may change soon.

According to The Southern Illinoisan, State Representative Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) introduced the Family and Personal Protection Act to the Illinois legislature on Tuesday to allow residents the right to carry concealed handguns. This comes not long after a federal appeals court declared the state�s ban unconstitutional.

�Since taking office, I have constantly stood up for Illinois citizens� right to bear arms and this year will be no different,� Phelps said. �With this added pressure from December�s federal appellate court�s ruling, I think we are the closest we have ever been, and I remain focused on ending the

practice of punishing law-abiding citizens by denying them their right to concealed carry.�

If passed, the bill will allow permits to be purchased for $25 that are good for five years before they have to be renewed. Any such licenses will be subject to background checks and requires the permit holder to be at least 21 years old as well as possessing proof of firearms training and a FOID card. Public places such as government buildings and schools will remain closed to concealed carry unless specific permission is granted.

Although Illinois stands out as the only state with a personal carry ban by law, many other states have no-issue jurisdictions �in practice.� New Jersey, Maryland, and Hawaii are examples of such states.

"Vaccine" Court tacitly admits Vaccines cause autism

Without admitting it, the United States �vaccine court� has admitted that vaccines cause autism.

The Federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has awarded millions of dollars to two children with autism-related disorders. It�s a tacit admission that the vaccines administered to them caused their symptoms, which the court determined fell within the bounds of autism spectrum disorder.

One child suffered a �severe and debilitating injury to his brain� following a round of vaccinations from 2003 to 2005. The vaccine linked specifically to the injury was the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the court ruled.  The other child was afflicted following a severe reaction to the

DTaP vaccine given when she was 15 months old. At the time she also received the MMR, HiB and Prevnar vaccines.

The US Health Resources Services Administration [HRSA] admitted: "We have compensated cases in which children exhibited an encephalopathy, or general brain disease. Encephalopathy may be accompanied by a medical progression of an array of symptoms including autistic behavior, autism, or seizures.�"

The children were each awarded multimillion dollars in damages. But most of the information in these two cases is being blocked by the government. What little has been made public is available here: www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4257

Spring Youth Turkey

Spring Youth Turkey Special Hunt Area online permit applications will be accepted online until Feb. 18.  For more info on 2013 spring turkey hunting:

www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/turkey/Pages/SpringTurkeyHunting.aspx. Spring Youth Turkey Season County Permits will be available over-the-counter from IDNR license/permit vendors beginning on March 5.

Spring Turkey Applications
Hunters may apply for 2013 Illinois Spring Wild Turkey Season permits online. Go to the IDNR website for more information at this link:

www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/turkey/Pages/SpringTurkeyHunting.aspx.  The application deadline for the third lottery for spring turkey permits is Feb. 11

Illinois Concealed Carry Ban Challenged

Illinois is currently the only state in the nation that does not allow concealed carry by law, but that may change soon.

According to The Southern Illinoisan, State Representative Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) introduced the Family and Personal Protection Act to the Illinois legislature on Tuesday to allow residents the right to carry concealed handguns. This comes not long after a federal appeals court declared the state�s ban unconstitutional.

�Since taking office, I have constantly stood up for Illinois citizens� right to bear arms and this year will be no different,� Phelps said. �With this added pressure from December�s federal appellate court�s ruling, I think we are the closest we have ever been, and I remain focused on ending the

practice of punishing law-abiding citizens by denying them their right to concealed carry.�

If passed, the bill will allow permits to be purchased for $25 that are good for five years before they have to be renewed. Any such licenses will be subject to background checks and requires the permit holder to be at least 21 years old as well as possessing proof of firearms training and a FOID card. Public places such as government buildings and schools will remain closed to concealed carry unless specific permission is granted.

Although Illinois stands out as the only state with a personal carry ban by law, many other states have no-issue jurisdictions �in practice.� New Jersey, Maryland, and Hawaii are examples of such states.