Don’t forget to check out my discussion with Lewis K. Uhler and how 5 Republican Senators may hold the future of healthcare in their hands. A must read.

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Original Post

Update: Contact Lee Ellis at 202-501-0282 and send an email to lee.ellis@gsa.gov. Provide the website URL, which is http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things and lodge a complaint against the .gov website. If he gets enough calls, I am sure someone will get the message this is getting pretty serious. I just called Senator Cornyn’s office and was very well received. The person I spoke with ensured she could reach the link for the guidelines and where the relevant sections were. I could hear a lot of typing in the background as I was talking to her. Also read White House Spy Program Violates .Gov Domain Guidelines And Privacy Act of 1974 – Updates And Who To Contact.

Here is a copy of the email I sent to Lee Ellis. I setup my email program to get a read and delivery receipt. I just received the delivery receipt:

It has come to my attention that the site http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/ violates the guidelines for use in .gov websites as outlined at http://www.dotgov.gov/program_guidelines.aspx.

In particular, the wording “No political or Campaign Information: The Gov domain is for the operation of government, not the political, political party, or campaign environment”.

As you can see from the above referenced .gov site, a request is made to provide personal information of individuals to the email address flag@whitehouse.gov who are expressing their freedom of speech in
disagreeing with the President’s health care reform. This is blatantly political and the guidelines provide for domain suspension or for the site to experience operational issues or termination based on the severity of
the issue under two levels of incidents: Critical and Administrative.

I am sure you would agree this is a direct violation and will take the appropriate steps to ensure the guidelines are enforced as they would be for any .gov website.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Best Regards

Here is the link to the guidelines:

Here is the pertinent information:

This overview of Gov Internet domain registration requirements is meant to further explain and clarify some sections of the Federal Policy about registering second-level Gov Internet domains. The Federal Policy on Gov Internet domains focuses on purpose and jurisdiction.

The Gov Internet domain facilitates collaboration among government-to-government, government-to-business, and government-to-citizen entities. The domain hosts only official, government sites at the federal-, state- and local-government levels, including federally recognized Indian tribes, known as Native Sovereign Nations (NSNs). The Gov Internet domain provides the official and trusted Internet presence for these government entities.

Every Gov Internet domain name application is carefully examined to ensure domain names requested will not create misunderstandings about the purpose of domains and their Web site content. GSA arbitrates domain name issues and reserves the right to deny domain name requests that do not adequately meet requirements.

The Gov Internet domain operates in accordance with the Interagency Management Council for Telecommunications. The policies and guidelines construct have been developed through communications with Federal, State and Local government groups to provide the most effective management of the government web presence.

For further assistance with domain names and eligibility requirements, please refer to http://www.dotgov.gov/help_qualify.aspx or call the Help Desk toll free at (877) 734-4688 or locally at (703) 306-6740.

1. Guidelines for All Second Level Gov Internet Domains

The following applies to all Gov Internet domains:

a. No non-Government Advertisements: A Gov Internet domain may not be used to advertise for private individuals, firms, or corporations, or imply in any manner that the government endorses or favors any specific commercial product, commodity, or service.

b. No Political or Campaign Information: The Gov domain is for the operation of government, not the political, political party, or campaign environment. No campaigning can be done using Gov Internet domains. The Gov Internet domain websites may not be directly linked to or refer to websites created or operated by a campaign or any campaign entity or committee. No political sites or party names or acronyms can be used. Separate webites and e-mail on other top-level domains (TLDs), such as .org, will have to be used for political activity.

Continuing:

Domain Suspension: Organizations that operate Web sites that are not in compliance with the Gov Internet conditions of use may have their domain name suspended or experience operational issues or terminated based on the severity of the issue. There are two levels of incidents:

1. Critical – Content restriction on the Gov Internet Domain does not allow criminal activities or obscene images, inappropriate sexually oriented material or material being accessed through a Gov domain URL could result in an expedient suspension. A process for resolution with escalation procedures is in place with the RRA. The RRA will contact the registratin points of contacts and the Authorizing Authority (AA) advising them of an imminent domain suspension. The AA is the CIO for Federal level domains. The Authorizing Authority (AA), for State and Local governments and Native Soverign Nations is the highest elected official that authorizes the domain to operate and contain information reference to their government responsibilities.

2. Administrative – Domains that have content with advertising materials, political or campaign information, substantial incorrect information, inappropriate web links (i.e. to sites that violate content policy), and incorrect redirects are not in compliance or not consistent with original intent or approved purpose. The domain POCs will be contacted by the RRA to get issues resolved. The expectation is these administrative compliance issues are handled in a timely manner and suspension is reserved as a last resort.

The actual suspension of a domain without concurrence of a registrant requires the internal GSA approval at the Senior Executive level. Generally, for GSA initiated suspesions, the suspension will become effective 3 hours to 24 hours after notification of the points of contacts (POCs), depending on the severity of the issue. The notification of the contacts is the time at which one of the URL points of contact is contacted or the time that the voice and email messages are sent to all contacts, which ever is first. This provides an opportunity for the registrant to remediate the issue to avoid suspension. The RRA will review the site to see if the policy violation has been remediated prior to the suspension.

Now the question: who to contact? The FCC and CIO?

While nothing may come of the matter – these are only guidelines and the language is not very stringent as sites “may have their domain name suspended or experience operational issues or terminated based on the severity of the issue”. However, it sure would draw attention to the fact Obama does not believe he is required to play by the same rules as us lowly citizens.

Related:

ACLJ Petition On White House Spy Program – Also Senator John Cornyn Joins Jay Sekulow Tomorrow

Is Obama Or Executive Branch In Violation Of The Privacy Act of 1974?

Bush Vs. Obama – Wiretapping Terrorists Vs. Spying on Citizens.

In other news and opinion:

“I hope Glenn Beck kills himself”

Thug life: Enter the unions

ACORN Watch: Louisiana investigates

Cornyn to Obama: Shut down Snitch Central