Friday, July 26, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, July 26, 2013


I'm back...!

 Well... for today at least...

 Supposed to be visiting the Philly Drunkin' Irish Relatives tomorrow thru Sunday, so probably no newsbiting over the weekend, but today's plan is to make up for the light posting lately.

 And off we go...!

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13 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/chris-christie-rand-paul-2016-election-94789.html

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is ripping libertarians — including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — for challenging government surveillance programs and failing to understand the dangers of terrorism.

* UNFORTUNATELY, CHRIS CHRISTIE IS ONE OF THOSE REPUBLICANS WHOM I FEAR NEITHER RESPECT NOR UNDERSTAND OUR NATION'S CONSTITUTION AND FOUNDING PHILOSOPHY.

Christie, a potential 2016 candidate who appeared on the panel with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, said lawmakers who are questioning government surveillance programs should hear from the families affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

* AND I SAY THAT CHRIS CHRISTIE SHOULD READ THE CONSTITUTION... READ THE FEDERALIST PAPERS... READ BOTH PERSONAL AND "OFFICIAL" CORRESPONDENCES OF THE FOUNDERS... AND RECALL THE VARIOUS LESSONS OF HISTORY CONCERNING WHAT HAPPENS WHEN INDIVIDUALS GIVE UP FREEDOM IN SEARCH OF SAFETY.

“These esoteric, intellectual debates — I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. And they won’t, because that’s a much tougher conversation to have,” Christie said.

* FIRST OF ALL, I DOUBT VERY MUCH THAT THE LIKES OF RAND PAUL, RON PAUL, TED CRUZ, MIKE LEE, OR INDEED ANY OF THE "TEA PARTY" REPRESENTATIVES, SENATORS, AND PUBLIC FIGURES WOULD FLINCH FROM A DEBATE WITH CHRISTIE. SECOND OF ALL, IS CHRISTIE ACTUALLY DISSING "INTELLECTUAL DEBATE?" (SURE SEEMS LIKE IT TO ME.) LAST... WHAT A PUTZ. DOES HE REALLY BELIEVE SUCH SIMPLISTIC EMOTIONAL GAMBITS ARE THE WAY A LEADER APPROACHES THE JOB OF LEADING...?

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD IN DISGUST*)

“The next attack that comes, that kills thousands of Americans as a result, people are going to be looking back on the people having this intellectual debate and wondering whether they put …” Christie said before trailing off.

* SAVE THE ACT FOR THE UNIONS, CHRIS. THE PERSONA IS BECOMING A BIT GRATING.

July 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/lincoln-memorial-vandalized-with-green-paint/2013/07/26/b48a3e32-f5da-11e2-a2f1-a7acf9bd5d3a_story.html

The Lincoln Memorial was shut down Friday morning after vandals splashed light green paint on the statue of the nation’s 16th president and the marble floor around it, U.S. Park Police said.

* IF ONLY CHRIS CHRISTIE HAD BEEN STANDING GUARD...

(*SMIRK*)

July 26, 2013 at 10:41 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/25/pf/taxes/tax-reform/index.html?iid=Lead

The leaders of the United States Senate Finance Committee last month asked senators to submit written proposals detailing tax breaks they'd like to see preserved once the tax code is reformed and explain why.

The point was to help inform committee leaders in their efforts to craft a tax reform bill.

* SOUNDS REASONABLE...

The request apparently wasn't embraced, and the committee has now promised skittish senators that their proposals will be kept secret for 50 years.

* WTF...?!?!

A memo sent out on July 19 promised to mark all submissions "COMMITTEE CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION. DO NOT COPY. These materials may not be released to the public from the National Archives or by the Finance Committee prior to December 31, 2064."

* WE LIVE IN A SICK SOCIETY, MY FRIENDS.

What's more, the memo said that in addition to the committee's Democrat chairman and top Republican, only 10 staffers would be authorized to see the proposals. Only two digital copies of them would be made. Each would be saved on a secure, password-protected server. Paper copies would be kept in locked safes.

* THIS... IS... INSANE...!

The only way a proposal could be made public before Dec. 31, 2064, is if it "has been modified in such a manner that it could not potentially identify the source of a submission."

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

It's not clear who made the decision to offer the "committee confidential" designation, but a committee aide said it was "done to alleviate the concerns of senators."

* WHAT DO THEY MEAN "IT'S NOT CLEAR?" SOMEONE WITH THE AUTHORITY (???) WOULD HAVE TO SIGN OFF, AND FRANKLY, I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY.

The same aide said "the 50-year rule is the practice for all congressional committees and generally covers oversight and investigative materials and related work product, as well as all nomination materials."

* SINCE WHEN...? BY WHOSE AUTHORITY...?

That's news to congressional scholar Thomas Mann, who said he's never heard of the practice and said it sounds "gimmicky."

* I'M WONDERING IF CNN HAS BEEN HOODWINKED HERE...

(*SHRUG*)

July 26, 2013 at 11:08 AM
William R. Barker said...

* THREE-PARTER... (Part 1 of 3)

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-25/homeland-securitys-future-home-a-former-mental-hospital

Chris Mills (Project Manager for DHS) frequently gives tours of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a former mental institution where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a $4.5 billion headquarters.

* $4.5 BILLION...

It’s the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943.

* WHY WASN'T IT BUILT IN DETROIT? WHY DO WE KEEP ON ADDING GOVERNMENT TO THE WASHINGTON D.C. CORRIDOR? FOR "CONVENIENCE?" CONVENIENCE FOR WHOM - LOBBYISTS AND LAWYERS...?

In the months after Sept. 11, the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress decided that Americans would be safer from terrorists if they combined 22 federal agencies into a single unit — including the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, the Federal Computer Incident Response Center, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to name just a few.

* MAKE THAT "THE MORONS IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND U.S. CONGRESS DECIDED...

It was the largest reorganization of the federal government since the creation in 1947 of what would become the U.S. Department of Defense.

* NOTICE, FOLKS, WE HAVEN'T WON A WAY SINCE BEFORE THE REORGANIZATION! KOREA? DRAW. VIETNAM? LOSS? IRAQ? WE'LL SEE... BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD AT THE MOMENT. AFGHANISTAN? (*SNORT*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...

July 26, 2013 at 11:39 AM
William R. Barker said...

* CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 2)

The new Department of Homeland Security would have 180,000 employees and a $36 billion budget, but its supporters promised it would be nimble. There were a few dissenters in Congress. One was Representative John Mica, a Florida Republican. “I gave a little speech at the time,” he remembers. “I said anyone who thinks you can combine 22 agencies and 200,000 people and it’s going to be more efficient and economical needs to have their head examined.”

* AS I WROTE ABOVE... "THE MORONS..."

He turned out to be prophetic. DHS became a study in mismanagement. ... DHS also had a habit of entering into no-bid contracts with politically connected companies.

When it came time to protect the American people, DHS fell short, too. That was never more apparent than during Hurricane Katrina in 2005: Wal-Mart Stores delivered food and water to victims of the flood days before FEMA got around to it.

Today, DHS has 240,000 employees and a yearly budget of $60 billion.

* GEEZUS...

* BOSTON...

The department is frequently scolded for spending heavily on anti-terrorism approaches that don’t work. In May, DHS’s inspector general warned the TSA against continuing with an $878 million behavior detection program in airports because the agency had no idea whether or not it was effective.

* YOU'RE READING THIS, RIGHT?

It’s also increasingly apparent that DHS’s scheme to build its headquarters on the grounds of a former mental hospital is inherently flawed. Some would say it’s crazy.

* $4.5 BILLION...

(*HEADACHE*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...

July 26, 2013 at 11:40 AM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 3 of 3)

In 2005, Project Manager Mills began working on a master plan for the headquarters with the U.S. General Services Administration, the agency that manages federal real estate. As part of his duties, he immersed himself in the history of St. Elizabeths, which was founded in 1855... [I]n the late ’60s its population declined, and it became clear that the facility itself was in need of rehabilitation. The District of Columbia took over the 180-acre east side of the campus in 1987. Today, it operates a small mental institution... The General Services Administration took over the 176-acre west side in 2004. There was plenty of space, enough for DHS, which was shopping around for a home.

In 2006, DHS released its St. Elizabeths master plan. The secretary would set up shop in the main hospital building along with the heads of TSA, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Coast Guard and FEMA would get their own headquarters. Federal officials said the project would cost about $3.4 billion, but it would [supposedly] save $600 million over the next three decades because many of these agencies would no longer need to lease space in privately owned buildings.

DHS’s senior leadership heartily endorsed the concept.

* SURE! IT'S ONLY TAXPAYER MONEY!

The entire project, DHS now says, won’t be completed until 2026, a decade behind schedule.

(*JUST CRADDLING MY HEAD IN MY HANDS*)

There’s no guarantee that the next stage of the project will be fully funded. In March, Mills gave a tour to a House delegation that included Jeff Duncan, chairman of the Homeland Security subcommittee on oversight and management efficiency. A Republican from South Carolina, Duncan knows something about the real estate business. He was once the president of a company that specialized in property auctions. He’s also a proud tightwad. According to his website, he was named a “taxpayers’ hero” because of his efforts to root out wasteful government spending as a member of the state’s House of Representatives.

Duncan was troubled by what he saw at St. Elizabeths. He says he gets the idea that DHS needs to be closer together, but he finds almost everything about the mission disturbing. “They started planning this thing in 2005, and now it’s projected to be completed in 2026,” he says. “That’s 21 years. The estimated cost is now $4.5 billion. That’s $1 billion more than their original estimate.”

(*BLOOD PRESSURE SPIKING*)

Duncan wishes the DHS had chosen to build the headquarters from scratch somewhere outside the Beltway.

* YEEESSS...!!!

He says it’s too late to halt the project now. But he vows to make sure it’s not too expensive. This may require some rethinking on the part of the department. Duncan can’t get over what he describes as the high-end materials used in the common area outside the Coast Guard’s headquarters. “They’ve got the hardest wood and most expensive wood known to man out there,” he says. “Couldn’t they have gotten some of this composite deck material? It would have been a lot less money, and it doesn’t rot.”

* HAS ANYONE LOST THEIR JOB OVER THE WASTE? (NOPE... I DOUBT IT! IN FACT... CAN'T IMAGINE IT.)

You would think Mills might be losing his patience by now. But he doesn’t seem troubled by delays or political interference. “Everybody supports this project,” he insists. “It has bipartisan support. It has bicameral support.”

* FIRST... FIRE MILLS.

As Mills cruises through St. Elizabeths, he points out a fawn on the grass. It’s an adorable creature that appears to be trying out its legs for the first time. Everybody in the golf cart sighs. “We have pictures of day-old ones that were born right outside our office,” he says.

* I LITERALLY FEEL LIKE PUKING.

July 26, 2013 at 11:40 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.etfguide.com/commentary/1092/Has-the-U.S.-Treasury-Already-Exceeded-the-Debt-Limit?/

* THE HEADLINE:

Has the U.S. Treasury Already Exceeded the Debt Limit?

* THE ANSWER: YES. (FINALLY GETTING AROUND TO ADDRESSING THIS LATEST OUTRAGE!)

U.S. federal debt has been stuck at $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 68 straight days according to the Daily Treasury Statement on July 24.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

That amount is exactly $25 million less than the legal borrowing limit of $16,699,421,000,000.00 set on May 17, 2013.

* IN OTHER WORDS, FOLKS, OUR GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN VIOLATING A CLEAR CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE SINCE THE FIRST MOMENTS OF MAY 18, 2013.

[T]he U.S. Treasury has already blown past the federal legal borrowing limit! And the mainstream media, as usual, is out to lunch. The table below shows how “Total Public Debt Outstanding” is already $38.82 billion above the statuary debt ceiling and now at $16,738,106,000,000.00.

* IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION!

As the next debt ceiling debate takes center stage, we can’t help but wonder "why bother?" If "Detroit D.C." has already subversively exceed its legally mandated borrowing limit what’s the point?

* FOLKS... THE RULE OF LAW NO LONGER EXISTS IN AMERIKA.

July 26, 2013 at 11:50 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/george-hw-bush-shaves-head_n_3647248.html

Former President George H.W. Bush shaved his head this week to show solidarity with Patrick, the son of a member of his security detail who's battling cancer.

Patrick, 2, lost his hair during treatment for leukemia.

Bush, along with members of his Secret Service detail, showed their support for their friend by going bald as well.

* SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT THEIR POLICIES... AS MEN... AS HUMAN BEINGS... THE BUSH FAMILY MEN - AND WOMEN - TEND TO BRING HONOR UPON OUR COUNTRY THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS.

* THE CLINTONS WOULD WRITE A CHECK.

* THE OBAMAS...?

(*SHRUG*)

July 26, 2013 at 2:37 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/senator-huma-abedin-impeding-moonlighting-inquiry-article-1.1409428?localLinksEnabled=false

Huma Abedin may be having a bad week, but a top Senate Republican isn't cutting her any slack.

* HUMA ABEDIN IS A BAD PERSON. (WHICH MAKES SENSE; SHE'S HILLARY CLINTON'S "ADOPTED DAUGHTER.")

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), says Abedin and the State Department are stonewalling his inquiry into her arrangement working part time for her longtime boss, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while also working for New York-based strategic advisory group, Teneo Holdings.

* FOLKS... THIS WOMAN WAS DOUBLE-DIPPING... TRIPLE-DIPPING... FEEDING AT THE PUBLIC TROUGH WHILE DEVOTING MOST OF HER TIME TO PRIVATE PURSUITS. I'VE COVERED IT HERE WHEN AND WHERE IT'S BEEN COMMENTED UPON. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. THIS WOMAN IS BAD NEWS!

Grassley, who for decades has run his own probes of federal agencies, asked in June if Abedin used government connections to help private clients. She responded in a letter released Wednesday by the senator's office.

"I certainly never 'gathered information from government sources for the purpose of informing investment decisions of Teneo's clients,' as the Senate letter suggests," Abedin wrote, adding that she and her husband, Anthony Weiner, had already "voluntarily" released tax and income information as part of the mayoral campaign.

Her letter, forwarded by the State Department to Grassley last week, was dated July 5, the same day the Daily News reported the senator's office had yet to receive any response from Abedin to his requests.

Grassley complained Wednesday that her response, and a separate State Department letter, ignored a long list of details he requested on her consulting job at State, which she held from June 2012 until February.

"The State Department and Ms. Abedin haven't provided a single document that I requested," Grassley said in a statement provided to the News. "Putting up a stone wall raises a lot more questions about how the program is being used than it answers. I intend to pursue more complete answers to my questions."

* GOOD LUCK. WITHOUT THE PRESS GOING AFTER ABEDIN, THOUGH, HOUSE INVESTIGATIONS ARE A LOSING PROPOSITION, I FEAR.

July 26, 2013 at 4:36 PM
William R. Barker said...

* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/07/25/the_overrated_huma_abedin.html

Two days after Anthony Weiner's press conference on his post-resignation sexy chats...

* NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH HIS PRE-RESIGNATION SEXY CHATS...

...the media has reached consensus: Huma Abedin rescued her husband.

Karen Tumulty and Jason Horowitz write that Abedin was "rejecting humiliation for defiance," and quotes Jenny Sanford, a fan of that approach — "My heart goes out to her."

* PATHETIC.

In a piece for Harper's Bazaar, half-memoir and half-press release, Abedin informs us that she loves her husband, and that "launching this campaign was not an easy decision for our family to make. Putting yourself out there comes with a cost."

* YOUR HUSBAND IS A DEGENERATE AND APPARENTLY... YOU SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH DEGENERATES BEING IN POSITIONS OF POWER AND SERVING AS PUBLIC ROLE MODELS. SICKENING. DISGUSTING.

Please, spare us. Nobody forced the Weiner-Abedin clan to re-enter electoral politics.

Nobody forced Abedin to go along with the stories that Weiner had fallen from grace in 2011 and gone on to be a devoted, chastened husband.

Twice now, Weiner has used his personal life to sell himself as a more trustworthy politician. He did this after 2008, when he married Abedin, and he did it in 2012, after the birth of their kid. His 2013 campaign launch video began with a shot of the couple and the baby playing at home in the morning. "Every day starts right here," said Weiner — who's now insisting that his private life isn't relevant to politics.

* THAT POOR BABY... GROWING UP IN A HOME WITH PARENTS LIKE THESE TWO...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

But back to Abedin. It's very nice that her friends are feeling for her in this time of self-inflicted hardship. What, though, is missing from our politics if Abedin's not in it?

Before this week, she had a sterling reputation (based in part on how she didn't appear at Weiner's press conferences, but oh well) based on ... what, exactly?

If you return to the early profiles that created Abedin's image, they're based on very little.

The first big Abedin take-out ran in the New York Observer in April 2007, when the New York media was hungry for coverage of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. "Ms. Abedin is responsible for guiding the Senator from one chaotic event to the next and ensuring that the many hundreds of situations that arise at each — the photo ops, the handshakes, the speeches — go smoothly," wrote Spencer Morgan.

The rest of the profile was a write-around — a very funny one — about how stylish and unflappable Abedin was.

Oscar de La Renta: "I always say I don’t want to die without seeing [Huma] in a strapless dress." Katia Dunn: "It’s not like she’s incredibly coiffed. She just looked very composed and confident in her natural beauty." James Carville: "Her appearance is just like, ‘Hoh my God!’ She takes your breath away." Some guy named Anthony Weiner: "I think there’s some dispute as to whether Huma’s actually human or not."

Only toward the end of the piece did we learn that Abedin was respected for her expertise on the Middle East.

(*SNORT*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...

July 26, 2013 at 4:49 PM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

"She is a person of enormous intellect with in-depth knowledge on a number of issues — especially issues pertaining to the Middle East," said John McCain.

* IF THAT DOESN'T TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW...

(*SMIRK*)

But future profiles of Abedin skipped past that.

* BECAUSE IT'S CLEARLY NOT TRUE, I'D IMAGINE!

(*RUEFUL CHUCKLE*)

In August 2007 Vogue profiled Clinton's aide — her "secret" weapon — and informed us that "her black Prada suit is wrinkle-free, her skin is flawless, and her long, luxurious hair is blow-dried into the kind of bouncy waves you see mostly in shampoo commercials."

Philippe Reines, who would go on to be Clinton's spokesman at the State Department, added that "the women in our office definitely watch what Huma wears."

* FOLKS... YOU'RE READING THIS - RIGHT? (AND IF YOU DIDN'T NOTICE... THIS IS A SLATE REPORT!)

What did we learn about Abedin's policy chops? Not much, apart from how she accompanied Clinton to the hospital to comfort a 9/11 victim because she cares about people, not politics.

* FOLKS... IT'S REALLY NOT FUNNY... REALLY NOT CUTE...

No one who's profiled Abedin has really bothered to tell why we should like her, only that other people really like her.

This current round of Humamania is surfeited with praise that sounds sort of crazy when you actually read it. In "Two Cheers for the beleagured Huma Abedin," Sheila Weller informs us that being a "body man" is gruelling work — OK, sure — and offers this example of Abedin's "steely reserve."

* RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'VE EVER WATCHED "ENTOURAGE."

What really nailed it for me with Abedin was when, smack in the middle of her husband’s sex-texting scandal Part I, two years ago, she came home from a long, multi-Mideast-country foreign trip with Secretary of State Clinton, three or four months pregnant. Clinton’s plane arrived at the D.C. airport at around 6 a.m. Jet-lagged, pregnant, scandal-beset, at the end of a gargantuan work trip and a very long plane ride, and with the paparazzi hounding her car, Abedin drove herself to home, right into her parking garage.

Sorry, but what else was she supposed to do?

Are we praising her because she didn't run over a paparazzo or pull a Britney Spears and attack one of them with a golf club? For some reason—maybe it's the "wrinkle-free suit" — Abedin gets extraordinary praise for doing the most ordinary of things.

Standing by your husband when he keeps disappointing you is, sadly, an ordinary thing.

* FOR WEAK, PATHETIC WOMEN...

* OR FOR WOMEN WHO BELIEVE IN "SELLING ENDULGENCES."

(*SHRUG*)

Making connections in D.C. and then cashing in on them is also pretty ordinary. The single most irritating aspect of the Weiner scandal is that we're being asked to buy tickets for this third-rate psychodrama. The Weiner-Abedin marriage is to the Clinton marriage as Sharknado is to Jaws.

July 26, 2013 at 4:50 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/354556/obamacare-call-center-will-not-offer-healthcare-benefits-employees-eliana-johnson

In order to ensure Americans understand how to access the benefits available to them when many provisions of the Affordable Care Act go online October 1, the Obama administration announced last month that it is setting up a call center that will be accessible to Americans 24 hours a day.

One branch of that call center will be located in California’s Contra Costa County, where, reportedly, 7,000 people applied for the 204 jobs.

According to the Contra Costa Times, however, “about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits — a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.”

* FOLKS... YA CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!

The county supervisor, Karen Mitchoff, called the hiring process “a comedy of errors” and said she “never dreamed [the jobs] would be part-time.”

The Times indicates that a job posting advertised all of the jobs as full-time, and one call center employee, who said no reason for the apparent change was provided, told the paper, ”It reminded me of that George Clooney movie where he goes around the country firing people (‘Up in the Air’).

The woman said, ‘I know you were led to believe you would be full-time, but things have changed…You are actually ‘part-time intermittent.’”

The Contra Costa employees are currently in training, and the call center — one of three based in California — is set to go live on October 1.

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

July 26, 2013 at 10:55 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/354552/nsa-fight-jonathan-strong

* YOU SHOULD REALLY READ THIS. IN IT'S ENTIRETY. NO INTERJECTIONS FROM ME.

July 26, 2013 at 11:04 PM

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