Monday, February 21, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Monday, February 21, 2011


You've gotta wonder... did George Bush's toppling of Saddam Hussein lead to what's happening now in the Middle East?

6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

* NO COMMENT NECESSARY. (SEE TODAY'S NEWSBITE FRONT PAGE POST.)

William R. Barker said...

http://maciverinstitute.com/2011/02/teacher-sick-outs-to-cost-taxpayers-more-than-6-million/

As Milwaukee Public School teachers left their classrooms to march in Madison Friday, they likely earned more than $3 million to not teach students in Wisconsin’s largest school district.

(*SNORT*)

In Madison, the school district was closed for three days after hundreds of teachers engaged in a mass sick-out so they could attend protest rallies at the State Capitol. That could cost the district $2.7 million.

(*SMIRK*)

Late Sunday night Madison Metropolitan School District administration announced their schools would be shut down yet one more day, at a possible cost of more than $900,000.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

If all the teachers in Milwaukee and Madison are paid for the days missed, the protest related salaries for just the state’s two largest districts would exceed $6.6 million dollars.

The issue extends far beyond Milwaukee and Madison, however. More than two dozen school districts were closed for at least one day last week as teachers called in sick to attend protests over the Budget Repair bill in Madison.

* PROTEST ALL YOU WANT... ON YOUR OWN TIME. THESE "EDUCATORS" SHOULD HAVE THEIR PAY DOCKED AND ONES WHO BRING IN "DOCTOR'S NOTES" SHOULD HAVE THESE NOTES VERIFIED AND IF THERE'S ANY SUSPICION THAT THE NOTES ARE FRAUDULENT, FURTHER INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE DONE TO ENSURE THAT NEITHER THE TEACHER NOR THE DOCTOR ENGAGED IN FRAUD.

William R. Barker said...

http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-national/us-gov-software-creates-fake-people-on-social-networks-to-promote-propoganda

* FOLKS... IF THIS IS TRUE...

http://www.seankerrigan.com/docs/PersonaManagementSoftware.pdf

* HEY... SO FAR NOTHING IN THE MSM... HOWEVER...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/16/945768/-UPDATED:-The-HB-Gary-Email-That-Should-Concern-Us-All

* YEAH... BILL BARKER IS REFERRING YOU TO DAILY KOS - THAT'S RIGHT.

(*SHRUG*)

* I'M TAKING A WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE, BUT... IF THIS IS TRUE...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

William R. Barker said...

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/21/uncle-sam-jacking-up-your-airfare/

Which item do you think has the most federal taxes and fees attached to it: (1) a can of Budweiser, (2) a carton of Marlboro Reds, (3) a Smith & Wesson Centennial revolver, or (4) a roundtrip airline ticket from Chicago to St. Louis?

(*RAISING MY HAND*) I KNOW! I KNOW!

If you guessed the beer, cigarettes, or gun, you'd be wrong. Federal taxes and fees tally up to about 5% for the beer, 18.2% for the cigarettes, and 10% for the revolver.

* WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT...

But buying an airline ticket pushes the boundaries of government taxation, initiating a slew of taxes and fees most of us never knew existed - a passenger ticket tax, a flight segment tax, a frequent-flier tax, a cargo waybill tax, a commercial jet fuel tax, and a 9/11 fee, just to name a few.

(*NOD*) YEP!

I recently found a reasonably priced fare of just $151 for that roundtrip ticket to St. Louis. But tack on the fees and taxes and the total price came to $185.80, a markup of more than 20%.

* HAH! AND THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE TAX ON RENTING A CAR AT THE AIRPORT!

William R. Barker said...

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/TSA-Agent-Slips-Through-DFW-Body-Scanner-With-a-Gun-116497568.html

An undercover TSA agent was able to get through security at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a handgun during testing of the enhanced-imaging body scanners, according to a high-ranking, inside source at the Transportation Security Administration.

The source said the undercover agent carried a pistol in her undergarments when she put the body scanners to the test. The officer successfully made it through the airport's body scanners every time she tried, the source said.

* EVERY... TIME... SHE TRIED...???

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

The TSA insider who blew the whistle on the test also said that none of the TSA agents who failed to spot the gun on the scanned image were disciplined. The source said the agents continue to work the body scanners today.

* IS IT ME, FOLKS...???

William R. Barker said...

http://detnews.com/article/20110221/SCHOOLS/102210355/1409/Michigan-orders-DPS-to-make-huge-cuts

Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools.

State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district's books by closing half of its schools, swelling high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidating operations.

* AND THE MEDIA - AND THE UNIONS... AND THOSE WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT WHAT'S GOOD FOR "THE CHILDREN" - ARE FOCUSED ON WISCONSIN...???