A few weeks ago Colorado Watchdog posted an article exposing the high salaries paid to employees, among other things, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a facility most of us haven’t even heard of.
If you live outside Colorado, you probably haven’t heard of theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory – NREL for short. It’s the place where solar panels, windmills and corn are deemed the energy source of the future and companies who support such endeavors are courted.
It’s also the place where highly paid staff decide how to spend hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.
And the public pays those decision-makers well: NREL’s top executive, Dr. Dan Arvizu, makes close to a million dollars per year. His two top lieutenants rake in more than half a million each and nine others make more than $350,000 a year. …
NREL’s taxpayer-funded management company has seen its budget more than double since 2006. That’s when one of its most ardent supporters, Rep. Ed Perlmutter D-Lakewood, was first elected to Congress. The lab sits in the middle of his district.
But Perlmutter’s ties go beyond merely promoting green legislation and lobbying his colleagues for NREL funds. He has received $12,670 in campaign contributions from executives of NREL and its management company, MRIGlobal, a company that describes itself as “an independent, not-for-profit organization that performs contract research for government and industry.” Perlmuter’s father has served as a trustee for MRI and MRIGlobal during the past decade. Between 2003 and 2005, Perlmutter was also a trustee. These positions were unpaid. (Read More)
Certainly this story is newsworthy, and taxpayers have the right to know where their money is going. But one of NREL’s employees disagrees. Kerrilee Ann Crosby called for people to go on a murderous rampage on Colorado Watchdog on her (now protected) Twitter account.
“Have you ever felt like going on a murderous rampage? Start at @WatchdogCO ‘s offices. They perpetuate lies like this,” Kerrilee Ann Crosby tweeted last month while working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
“You guys are f***ing retarded. You are the Fox News of blogs. At first I thought I was reading The Onion, but no not the case,” Crosby continued. …
Crosby started working at NREL two years ago and now has a job in the technology department where she is a faculty member. NREL refused to elaborate on her position.
Through its own Twitter account, Watchdog Colorado responded to Crosby’s tweets over several days during the final week of November. At one point we wrote, “Wondering why you, someone from the state of Columbine/Aurora, is advocating mass murder.”
Crosby responded: “Because you deserve to die.” Watchdog reiterated the Columbine/Aurora issue and Crosby added: “I DO! Especially since you are next door! I can’t remember where I left my gun, though. Found it!” (Read More)
I guess you can count Crosby as one of those federal employees that’s dissatisfied with her job, although her now deleted Linked In profile declared “I take my job seriously.” She may have been exaggerating because according to the article above she likes to tweet about getting drunk and farting during work hours. Your tax dollars at work!
Why has she not been fired, is the question. She should be out there collecting Obama’s unemployment benefits, and then referred against her will to a psychiatrist. Oh, right, forgot—liberal female. Untouchable.
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Why do you think she’s so pissed. She’s been busted and knows she won’t be working there much longer. Buh Bye you money sucking, money sucker!!
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Rats scurrying around in the dark corners of society do not like the spotlight on them.
Apparantly, the NREL is such a dark corner, hidden away in the high Rockies of Colorado.
And their employees? Figure it out.
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This has got to be intentional salt in the wound from you, LC. I was depressed enough about the last post you did on federal employees:
http://lonelyconservative.com/2012/12/101-new-federal-employees-per-day-since-obama-took-office/
and now this. Federal workers might be from pods in your basement.
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WOW, look at that United Nations Sustainability Project! Nice U.S. government – Chinese government collaboration of taxpayer money using the Framework for Eco-Partnership and the Asia-Pacific Partnership agreement. Government employees secretly “eating good in the neighborhood”.
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The charter of all the national labs should be limited to front-end feasibility & concept studies. In no case should it include development or pre-production contracts. Contrary to what these people will claim, they are not smart enough to direct an industry effort. There is plenty of private venture capitol available to those people who are smart enough to develop and market new products.
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