Obamacare debacle - website outsourced to Canada-based company CGI

 

This has gotten scant media coverage – the company that was awarded the Obamacare contract is a Montreal company, who has had previous failures in Canada.

 

Ironic that a Canadian company got the major portion of our tax money (gazillions) allocated for Obamacare website design, and failed.  But, we should be glad they are incompetent!

 

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2013 — Since the rollout on the first day of October of the Obamacare website, the information technology has been a disaster.

It was a system that the President claimed millions of people would go to in search of health insurance yet the website was unable to handle millions of users.

CGI Federal is the company that was the designated lead on creating and maintaining the website portal for the Affordable Care Act. By all accounts, CGI has failed to accomplish that task, despite having been paid $54 million to do so.

Some have started to question how and why a little known company was awarded such a high profile contract.

CGI is a Montreal headquartered information technology company founded in 1976 by two Canadians in their mid 20s, Serge Godin and Andre Imbeau.

Through a series of small company acquisitions they grew large enough to bid on and be awarded large contracts, including $1.4 billion in awards by the United States government.

In 2010, CGI purchased American military IT company Stanley, Inc. for $1.1 billion, which was the start of highly accelerated U.S. government contract work.

CGI previously worked on healthcare sites in Canada, although its results were questionable. According to the Washington Examiner, Ehealth, Canada’s medical agency, ultimately eliminated its medical registry for diabetics in the nation after CGI became 14 months behind schedule and missed three years of deadlines.

The IT company’s $46.2 million contract was cancelled by Ehealth on September 5, 2012…

Read more: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/political-potpourri/2013/oct/22/cgi-company-behind-failed-obamacare-website/#ixzz2ilYrFCaC

Whacko Birds? Damn Few

I couldn’t resist…this American Thinker article by friend Sally is too good not to be disseminated. 

October 2, 2013.

By Sally Zelikovsky

Holy Much Ado About Nothing, Batman, the government has shut down! Wham! Pow! Splat!

But the reality is, the roller coaster ride America has been on for the last few months is finally over and, so far, we aren't picking up the Republican bodies everyone said would be thrown from the ride.

No doubt the Democrats will make mincemeat out of the Republicans and we will continue to be blamed for everything -- not negotiating, not agreeing to conferences, single-handedly closing down the government, creating more unemployment and misery for the 800,000+ federal employees -- blah, blah, blah. Color me jaded, but there's nothing new there. And the president is already out lambasting Republicans in so obvious a partisan manner that it will not resonate well with the Indies -- they aren't gullible like the Dem party diehards.

But there is a greater point here I'd like to make: It seems most commentators on the tube or internet and many members of Congress have missed the key reason why so many grassroots conservatives, members of the Republican base and Tea Partiers supported this crazy, whacko, doomed-to-fail, extreme, hostage-holding stance to defund ObamaCare -- from conservative icons like Karl Rove and Charles Krauthammer to turncoats like Peter King, John McCain, and Lindsay Graham who endlessly brayed in opposition to the defunding efforts.

"Turncoats" is admittedly a harsh term but when was the last time you saw an entire faction of House or Senate Democrats publicly express their disagreement with fellow Democrats for a stand they took, like supporting Occupy Wall Street? Or a piece of legislation they proposed, like ObamaCare? When was the last time you heard any Democrat verbally and very publicly abuse their fellow blue coats calling them suicidal or whacko birds? Ever hear Harry Reid criticize Nancy Pelosi or Al Franken hurl invectives at Steny Hoyer? When will Republicans learn that you don't air your dirty laundry and you never speak ill of a fellow Republican -- even if it benefits you personally, politically, or financially.

It's enough we have to deal with Dan Pfeiffer referring to us as suicide bombers, Harry Reid implying we are insane, and the president refusing to negotiate with us as if we were terrorists and he was channeling Reagan. We don't need our own to feed fuel into the Democrat-controlled fire. Maybe we are insane because we keep making this mistake over and over. Turncoats like McCain, King, and Graham should have remained silent if they couldn't genuinely agree and, instead, expressed their disagreement and alternatives behind the scenes without adding to the clutter of personal insults launched by the Democrats…

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/10/whacko_birds_damn_few.html#ixzz2gbSko2KK

Sara Winchester Mystery House no Mystery

A bit of CA trivia. Reason Sara Winchester's house  - stairs ending abruptly, doors leading nowhere - is a mystery - marketers made it so!  Real truth behind the mystery: Sara was adding on to her mansion in San Jose when the 1906 earthquake happened. All work ceased on her multi-story addition. She moved to a houseboat, never to live at her San Jose mansion ever again.

At some point after her house was sold, San Jose decided to make it a tourist attraction. Indeed they did!  The myth that her house is haunted because of all the deaths from Winchester Rifles is just that - a myth!

Happy Memorial Day

Photo taken at Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, Marin County, CA.

Wedding Bliss!

ok, ok. I LOVE the Royal Couple! After oogling the Royal Wedding live on BBC from SF – Friday morning, midnight to 4:30am, I concluded this couple had real class. It showed in every detail of the Royal Wedding, but what really made me fall in love with Kate and Will was their departing Buckingham Palace in an antique Aston-Martin, with the future King driving, a big, fat “L” on the front (Learner), and their tag reading “JU5T WED”. Their “cool” factor rose 99 points. Daughter and I stayed glued to the telly all day Friday, watching “E” channel coverage, which was really fun – gossipy, sometimes outrageous, and polar opposite to BBC’s coverage. “E” channel focused on clothing, hats (OMGosh!), and backstory gossip with a panel of 4 commentators including a Monarcy expert, who explained all the pomp & circumstance. Wonderful! Hubby retreated to another room and his computer. If only this class act filters down to the 20 & 30-something “me” culture…

Royal Rumors

Did Kate “pursue” Wills?

Ok, ok.  I said I wasn’t  going to listen or watch Royal Wedding stuff,  but I can’t help myself – especially when looking at the program grid for BBC America all day Sunday – nothing but shows, and more shows, re Royal Weddings, past and present.

So, I plonked myself down in my easy chair (otherwise known as a…Recliner!), and proceeded to watch the entire day all that BBC America had to offer.  The most interesting nugget of information in the BBC documentary  was  that Kate had a poster of Wills on her bedroom wall in middle school.  No big deal.  Then, she followed “in his footsteps” to Chile only a month after he journeyed there in the exact same program for some sort of life-enriching experience.  She then chose the remote, Scottish college, St. Andrews , just the same as Wills, where she signed up for the exact same courses he did, and managed to get in the same  dorm he lived in.  Hmmmmm.

Seems slightly planned on her part (chased? stalked?) and if deliberate, shows her determination and patience, not bad traits.

Long live the King (and his Queen)!

 

Marin County Government salaries

From the State Controller’s Office: http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/CompensationDetail.aspx?entity=County&id=10992100000 Definitely NOT an April Fool's joke!

CPAC - terrific!

Not recovered from CPAC – great! – even if Charles Krauthammer on Fox News called it “fringe.” It was most definitely not fringe, and all the tv coverage was about Ron Paul winning the straw poll. He won because only 30% of the 11,000 conservatives attending voted in the straw poll, so 70% of us did NOT vote, and would not have voted for Ron Paul. The Ron Paul supporters were very vocal & strident, per their template. Three days of non-stop speakers/seminars exhausted me! It was like being in a candy store, and not knowing which goody to choose – speakers like Don Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, + several new Congresspeople – Fabulous! + stalwart conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly – all wonderful! Foreign policy seminar, Radical Islam seminar with Aayan Hirsi Ali, on and on and on. No time for lunch even in 3 days. This was my first CPAC, but hopefully not my last!

Great idea - YouCut

From Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader: YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Each week that the House is in session, we will take the winning item and offer it to the full House for an up-or-down vote, so that you can see where your representative stands on your priorities. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings. http://www.majorityleader.gov/YouCut/

Strained States Turning to Laws to Curb Labor Unions

Published: January 3, 2011, New York Times By Steven Greenhouse

Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics. Scott Walker, new Republican governor of Wisconsin, is threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. State officials from both parties are wrestling with ways to curb the salaries and pensions of government employees, which typically make up a significant percentage of state budgets. On Wednesday, for example, New York’s new Democratic governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional clout in Albany. But in some cases — mostly in states with Republican governors and Republican statehouse majorities — officials are seeking more far-reaching, structural changes that would weaken the bargaining power and political influence of unions, including private sector ones. For example, Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Maine, Missouri and seven other states plan to introduce legislation that would bar private sector unions from forcing workers they represent to pay dues or fees, reducing the flow of funds into union treasuries. In Ohio, the new Republican governor, following the precedent of many other states, wants to ban strikes by public school teachers. Some new governors, most notably Scott Walker of Wisconsin, are even threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. “We can no longer live in a society where the public employees are the haves and taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots,” Mr. Walker, a Republican, said in a speech. “The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers.” … …In the 2010 elections, Republicans emerged with seven more governor’s mansions and won control of the legislature in 26 states, up from 14. That swing has put unions more on the defensive than they have been in decades…. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/business/04labor.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business&src=me

Brown Plans to Raise California Sales, Income and Car Taxes

CRP Statement Concerning Brown Plans to Raise California Sales, Income and Car Taxes …"One time cuts and tax hikes are not going to solve the state's perpetual budget deficit. Bold, fundamental reform is needed. Where are the plans to move government workers from an unaffordable and underfunded defined benefit to a defined contribution pension system to wipe out our massive pension liability? Where are the proposals to give our school boards better tools in collective bargaining and flexibility to shop around for the best services at the lowest cost? How about a plan to do away with 'greenmail' tactics to allow something to actually be built in this state to expand our tax base and create jobs?... http://www.cagop.org/

Heritage Foundation: A Conservative New Year's Resolution

From Heritage's daily Morning Bell email:

"In recent months, the Obama administration has begun to take ideas directly from the conservative playbook.
-On national security, they’ve canceled civilian trials for terrorists, kept Guantanamo Bay open, and extended key provisions of the Patriot Act;
-On federal spending, they have proposed a federal pay freeze as a first step towards fiscal sanity;
-On immigration, the Left has abandoned its pursuit of comprehensive immigration reform; and
-On economic recovery, they have admitted that the Obama tax hikes are wrong for America."…

www.heritage.org

 

CA/Marin Election Results - Nov 2, 2010

For my own list-centric self, I put together the list below.  Note the Maps links - fascinating!

Governor:
Jerry Brown (Dem) 4,679,643 53.3%
Meg Whitman (Rep) 3,653,670 41.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/governor/

Lt Governor:
Gavin Newsom (Dem) 4,253,382 49.9%
Abel Maldonado (Rep) 3,371,997 39.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/lieutenant-governor/

Secretary of State:
Debra Bowen (Dem) 4,423,672 52.9%
Damon Dunn (Rep) 3,247,609 38.8%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/secretary-of-state/

Controller:
John Chiang (Dem) 4,608,497 54.7%
Tony Strickland (Rep) 3,096,531 36.8%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/controller/

Treasurer:
Bill Lockyer (Dem) 4,713,645 56.2%
Mimi Walters (Rep) 3,080,269 36.7%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/treasurer/

Attorney General:
Kamala D. Harris (Dem) 3,831,825 45.6%
Steve Cooley (Rep) 3,875,037 46.1%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/attorney-general/

Insurance Commissioner:
Dave Jones (Dem) 4,134,595 50.3%
Mike Villines (Rep) 3,128,828 38.1%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/insurance-commissioner/

Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Larry Aceves 3,054,236 45.4%
Tom Torlakson 3,667,039 54.6%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/superintendent-of-public-instruction/

US Senate:
Barbara Boxer (Dem) 4,502,037 51.7%
Carly Fiorina (Rep) 3,728,712 42.9%
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/us-senate/

State Senate, District 3:
No election http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/state-senate/
Only even-numbered Senate districts have General Elections in 2010.

State Assembly, District 6: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/state-assembly/district/6/
Jared Huffman (Dem) 92,839 70.0%
Bob Stephens (Rep) 39,940 30.0%

US Congress, District 6: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-congress/district/6/
Lynn C. Woolsey (Dem) 132,855 65.5%
Jim Judd (Rep) 61,521 30.2%

Board of Equalization, District 1 (Marin):
Betty T. Yee (Dem) 1,320,145 62.9%
Kevin R. Scott (Rep) 663,205 31.6%

----------------

CA Supreme Court: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/maps/supreme-court/

Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice
Yes votes: 4,209,752 67.1%
No Votes: 2,065,973 33.0%

Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice
Yes votes: 4,056,696 65.5%
No Votes: 2,138,704 34.5%

Carlos R. Moreno, Associate Justice
Yes Votes: 4,169,864 67.6%
No Votes: 2,000,540 32.4%

-----------

Courts of Appeal, District 1, Marin County: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/courts-of-appeal/district/1/county/marin/
YES for all below. See link for exact County and District percentages.

Division 1:
Kathleen M. Banke, Associate Justice
Robert L. Dondero, Associate Justice

Division 2:
James R. Lambden, Associate Justice

Division 3:
Martin J. Jenkins, Associate Justice
Peter J. Siggins, Associate Justice

Division 4:
Timothy A. Reardon, Associate Justice

Division 5:
Terence L. Bruiniers, Associate Justice
Henry E. Needham, Jr., Associate Justice

-----------------

MMWD:

Division 1
Jack Gibson 51% (incumbent)
Peter Lacques. 49%.

Division 2
Armando Quintero 42% (incumbent)
Glenn Dombeck 33%
John O'Connor 25%

Division 3
David Behar 54% (incumbent)
Frank Egger 45%

Division 4:
Cynthia Koehler 57% (incumbent)
Larry Rose 26%
Sashi McEntee 16%

Division 5:
Larry Russell (term ends 12/31/12)

--------------

State Propositions: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures/

No 19 Legalize Marijuana in CA, Regulate and Tax
YES: 4,046,644 46.1%
NO: 4,725,549 53.9%

Yes 20 Redistricting of Congressional Districts
Yes 5,075,466 61.4%
No 3,195,437 38.6%

No 21 State Park Funding. Vehicle License Surcharge.
Yes 3,648,941 42.2%
No 4,981,079 57.8%

Yes 22 Prohibit State From Taking Some Local Funds
Yes 5,060,527 60.8%
No 3,275,660 39.2%

No 23 Suspend Air Pollution Control Law (AB 32)
Yes 3,299,800 38.5%
No 5,249,508 61.5%

No 24 Repeal Allowance of Lower Business Tax Liability
Yes 3,454,449 41.5%
No 4,849,752 58.5%

Yes 25 Simple Majority Vote to Pass Budget
Yes 4,609,133 54.8%
No 3,809,774 45.2%

Yes 26 2/3 Vote for Some State/Local Fees
Yes 4,352,929 52.6%
No 3,929,445 47.4%

No 27 Eliminate State Redistricting Commission
Yes 3,280,601 40.3%
No 4,839,874 59.7%

----------

　

Prop 14 a travesty

Thanks to the CFRW Newsletter Issue 2 - 2nd Quarter 2010, www.cfrw.org, for providing the link to this George Will column in the Orange County Register, 6/10/10.

...Prop. 14 is an attempt to change government policies by changing the political process. Henceforth, in primary elections that select candidates for most state and federal offices – including almost one-eighth of the U.S. House of Representatives – all voters, regardless of party registration, or those who have "decline to state" status (no party identification – 20.2 percent of Californians), will receive the same ballot. All candidates for a particular office will be listed, regardless of party affiliation, if any, which they may choose to state, or not. The two receiving the most votes will be on November ballots, regardless of the desires of the political parties the nominees may claim to represent.

Prop. 14's purpose is to weaken and marginalize parties, traditionally the principal vehicles for voter education and mobilization. It would strip them of their core function of selecting candidates who represent their members' preferences. It infringes the First Amendment protection of freedom of association, which includes the right of parties not to associate with candidates they do not select...

...But, then, blandness is the point of this reform. It seeks to generate a homogenized political class, one not lumpy with liberals and conservatives who, being conviction politicians, do not always play well with others...

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/parties-253010-political-candidates.html

NO on Prop 14

Marin Independent Journal. As a long-time Marin County Republican, I highly disagree with Sashi McEntee's "yes" vote on Prop 14. advocating Open Primaries (Marin Voice 3/30/10). It destroys party affiliation, and will most definitely NOT result in higher voter turnout. If anything, it will insure LOWER voter turnout, as I, and many other Republicans and 3rd party voters, will simply not vote for one of two top Democrat vote-getters, since the Democrat Party never represents my views, nor do they have to, given the lop-sided registration numbers. Republicans may be outnumbered 3 to 1 in Marin County, but I still want the right to vote for my designated Party candidate. The Declined-to-State people can show a backbone, and choose a party affiliation. Sashi's statement that, "We've seen the damage a highly partisan legislature can do in Sacramento" is laughable, since the CA legislature is overwhelmingly Democrat, and we've seen the damage done arising from that scenario. I doubt that Sashi speaks for the Central Committee and for many Republicans here in Marin. I'm voting NO on Prop 14.

Drilling Project Plug Pulled. No $100m for CA.

From CFRW Capitol Update Fri 5/7/10.

On Monday Governor Schwarzenegger decided to terminate the scheduled Santa Barbara off-shore drilling project because of the recent oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico.  Although the Governor has been fighting for the Tranquillon Ridge Project for 2 years, he said in a statement on Monday that he doesn’t want to take the risk of a massive oil spill off our coast. The drilling project, from an existing oil platform, would have brought the state approximately $100 million dollars a year. Regarding this loss of potential revenue, the Governor stated, “I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million”.

Dana Walsh update

Nancy Pelosi speaking at Commonwealth Club April 6, 12noon, location: Mark Hopkins Hotel, Nob Hill.

No Bay Area Tea Party protest planned so far. http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/

GOP hopefuls cast Pelosi as fundraising bait:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/27/MNIK1CLJ9Q.DTL

Dana's website: http://www.danawalshforcongress.com/

See Dana's additional website: http://www.johndennisexposed.com/

What happens if I don't buy health insurance?

 

Under the health care overhaul passed Sunday, most individuals would be required to buy a minimum health insurance policy -- just as most drivers today are required to have car insurance. This policy won't kick in until 2014, however. After then, if you don't buy insurance, you would have to pay a penalty on your annual income taxes. The reconciliation bill in the Senate would start with a flat penalty of $695 per member of your household each year. The maximum penalty would be 2.5 percent of your household income. (That's $1,300 for a family making $52,029 a year, the median household income   in 2008.) The penalty would rise with the cost of living in future years.

-- Ryan Teague Beckwith, Congress.org

 

Kerry Mazzoni challenging Susan Adams (District 3) for Marin Supervisor job

Former Marin Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni on Monday jumped into the race for San Rafael's seat on the Board of Supervisors, saying she will challenge Supervisor Susan Adams.

Mazzoni, who took out papers for the post, said she will file for election by Friday's deadline in order to oust Adams and "offer a different perspective" on county affairs, including the Marin Energy Authority.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_14635939

My note: Mazzoni (D) was the incumbent Assemblywoman when Russ Weiner (R) ran for the CA Assembly way back in 1998...Gee, I may vote for her as Adams is my district supervisor (San Rafael) who is championing the MEA.

Did you know...

that SF is the only city that now pays for a social worker in the public library for the benefit of the homeless?

 

in London, a  social worker is required to hand-carry money (over the weekend) to a welfare recipient's house if they need cash, because the welfare office isn't open?