Armed and dangerous?

Have you heard about the latest purchases of the insolvent Social Security Administration?

Neither had I, until an HCP reader brought this to my attention.

According to a relatively few media reports, the Social Security Administration – the gang that can't shoot straight and can't guarantee its future obligations – has purchased 174,000 rounds of ammunition. This adds the SSA to a growing number of federal agencies that have purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition this year.

A Fox News report references the Internet site Infowars.com as having published several stories on these taxpayer-funded purchases of large amounts of ammunition.

Other media, including Reuters, have published similar stories.

The Fox News report said the Infowars.com site noticed "a string of recent purchases – first by the Department of Homeland Security, then by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and then the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration solicitation, posted Aug. 7, called for 174,000 rounds of .357 Sig 125-grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition."

Just for the heck of it, I pulled out a box of my own .357 magnum ammunition (158-grain solid point) purchased more than 10 years ago at Town and Country in Hillsboro for comparison. The sticker price was around $15. Even if purchased at that outdated price, the Social Security Administration spent well more than $50,000 on ammo.

But they did not purchase shooting-range bullets. They bought the good stuff.

Why?

After a bit of online research, well, 5 or 6 minutes' worth, I found that several Internet "experts" are speculating that these ammunition purchases were being made in preparation for a potential period of civil unrest. That may be a stretch.

According to its own taxpayer-financed website at www.ssa.gov, the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on Aug. 14, 1935. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement.

While there is considerable information on the history of Social Security and what has become of the taxing agency, I didn't read anywhere about armed and dangerous SSA officials.

Upon further research – maybe another 5 minutes – I read that the Social Security Administration posted a statement that their agents need firearms in the course of training, investigations and responding to threats.

"SSA is processing more applications than ever, which means more traffic in SSA offices. Employee and visitor safety is the highest priority for OIG, which, together with the Federal Protective Services and local law enforcement, has jurisdiction over SSA workplaces."

Supposedly, the agency has 295 special agents across the country.

So they each need about 600 rounds of .357s – or 12 boxes apiece?

If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials are similarly armed and dangerous, it might give a whole new meaning to global warming.

And then there's this from Anthony Martin on Aug. 18 at www.examiner.com: "News reports indicating that multiple agencies of the federal government have ordered and are stockpiling multimillions of rounds of ammunition have pressured the Feds to offer an explanation.

"But the official explanation has only raised more questions. On Friday, the government stated that the hollow-point bullets it has procured are 'standard issue' and that they are used to train security agents used by each of the various federal agencies. However, according to retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Curry, a decorated Army war veteran, the Feds' explanation about the bullets fails to pass the smell test."

In an Aug. 21 column entitled "Who Does the Government Intend To Shoot?," Major General Curry (ret.) writes:

"The Social Security Administration confirms that it is purchasing 174,000 rounds of hollow-point bullets to be delivered to 41 locations in major cities across the U.S. No one has yet said what the purpose of these purchases is, though we are led to believe that they will be used only in an emergency to counteract and control civil unrest. Those against whom the hollow point bullets are to be used – those causing the civil unrest – must be American citizens; since the SSA has never been used overseas to help foreign countries maintain control of their citizens.

"What would be the target of these 174,000 rounds of hollow-point bullets? It can’t simply be to control demonstrators or rioters. Hollow-point bullets are so lethal that the Geneva Convention does not allow their use on the battlefield in time of war. Hollow-point bullets don’t just stop or hurt people, they penetrate the body, spread out, fragment and cause maximum damage to the body’s organs. …

"If this were only a one-time order of ammunition, it could easily be dismissed. But there is a pattern here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ordered 46,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition."

And then there's the granddaddy of them all – the reported 750 million rounds of hollow-point bullets that the Department of Homeland Security ordered in March. That's more than $250 million in ammo.

Surely, it's all just another one of those infamous vast right-wing conspiracies that someone used to reference whenever she got her hands on the "60 Minutes'" microphone.

Major Gen. Curry concludes his editorial: "We have local police, backed up by each state’s National Guard, backed up by the Department of Defense. So in addition to all these forces why does DHS need its own private army? Why do the SSA, NOAA and other government agencies need to create their own civilian security forces armed with hollow-nose bullets?

"This is a deadly serious business. I hope I’m wrong, but something smells rotten. And if the Congress isn’t going to do its duty and investigate this matter fully, the military will have to protect the Constitution, the nation, and our citizens."

I have no idea to the accuracy of Major Gen. Curry's assertions. One credible source did tell me some of Curry's allegations are "highly dubious."

The www.snopes.com website – which claims to be the "definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation" – had a mixed review on this story. Snopes says it is true that the SSA issued a "Request for Quote for 174,000 rounds of hollow-point bullets."

However, Snopes says it it false that the SSA is "stocking up on ammunition in preparation for civil unrest."

Meanwhile, after having only one brief encounter with a Social Security worker many years ago, all I can say is I'm glad she wasn't packing heat.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.