Friday, November 1, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, November 1, 2013



Here's from the media, folks...

"A gunman armed with an assault rifle entered a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport today, killed a TSA agent and wounded six other people before he was captured by police."

Here's from the police chief, folks...

"Police Chief Patrick Gannon said the shooter was armed with an assault rifle, blasted his way past airport screeners and 'got back very far into the terminal.'"

Here's from the witnesses...

"Witnesses described the shooter as a young man, carrying a long-rifle..."

Anyone wanna place a bet on whether the weapon was an "assault rifle" or... er... just a plain ol' hunting rifle?

Me? My bet is on hunting rifle.

We shall see!


2 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.wtop.com/289/3495485/Report-Some-feds-abusing-overtime-allowances

Employees from six Homeland Security Department offices have abused an overtime program and cost the government about $8.7 million a year, according an Office of Special Counsel letter and report sent Thursday to the president and Congress.

* OBVIOUSLY THIS "POLITICS AS USUAL" ABUSE WASN'T CENTERED ON STAFFING AT LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner told President Barack Obama and lawmakers that whistle-blowers alerted her office to the abuses. Lerner's letter and an accompanying report detailed allegations of overtime abuses in Washington.

* ...IN WASHINGTON...

(*HEADACHE*)

According to one whistle-blower, some Customs and Border Protection employees assigned to the commissioner's situation room at its headquarters in Washington were paid about two hours of overtime nearly every day but spent much of that time watching television, surfing the Internet or otherwise relaxing at their desks.

William R. Barker said...

http://nypost.com/2013/11/01/obama-donors-firm-hired-to-fix-web-mess-it-helped-make/

A tech firm linked to a campaign-donor crony of President Obama not only got the job to help build the federal health-insurance Web site — but also is getting paid to fix it.

* HUH...???

Anthony Welters, a top campaign bundler for Obama and frequent White House guest, is the executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, which owns the software company now at the center of the ObamaCare Web-site fiasco.

UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Quality Software Services Inc. (QSSI), which built the data hub for the ObamaCare system, has been named the new general contractor in charge of repairing the glitch-plagued HealthCare.gov.

* WTF...?!?!

Welters and his wife, Beatrice, have shoveled piles of cash into Obama’s campaign coffers and apparently reaped the rewards.

(*CHEST PAINS*)

Beatrice Welters bundled donations totaling between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama’s campaign during the 2008 election cycle, according to campaign-finance data compiled by Center for Responsive Politics.

The couple then became top donors for Obama’s inauguration festivities, kicking in $100,000 out of their own pockets and bundling another $300,000 from friends and business associates, according to the center.

* READ ON...

The investments quickly paid off for Beatrice Welters. The Obama administration tapped her in 2009 for the plum job of US ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, which she held through last November.

The couple have [also] been frequent guests at the White House. Visitors logs show at least a dozen visits between the two by the end of 2012, the most recent information available.

* KEEP READING...

The entire Welters family has gotten into the donation game. The Welters, along with their sons, Andrew and Bryant, have contributed more than $258,000 to mostly Democratic candidates and committees since 2007. What’s more, UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest health-insurance companies in the country and spent millions lobbying for ObamaCare.

The insurance giant’s purchase of QSSI in 2012 raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill, but the tech firm nevertheless kept the job of building the data hub for the ObamaCare Web site where consumers buy the new mandatory health insurance plans.

QSSI has been paid an estimated $150 million so far...

(*MORE CHEST PAINS*)

...but officials couldn’t say how much more the company might collect on the repair contract.

* WHY NOT...?

By all accounts, the data hub has run smoothly while many other components of the Web site have failed.

* OK...

* WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS!