Just an FYI/Heads Up: Indiana May Outsource Welfare System via IBM

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Indiana May Turn Over Welfare System To IBM Under $1.6 Billion Outsourcing Deal


IBM would provide Indiana with intake processing services and set up an automated welfare eligibility application system that will be accessible online 24 hours a day.

By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek

Nov 29, 2006 03:00 PM

"The state of Indiana is close to outsourcing the technology and back-office operations that support its welfare system under a contract that, if approved by the governor, would be worth $1.6 billion to IBM and a handful of partners, including ACS and Phoenix Data Corp.

The 10-year deal requires the final approval of Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, who, in a statement released Wednesday, said it would make "America's worst welfare system better for the people it serves." Daniels said he will wait until the outcome of a Dec. 8 public hearing before signing off on the agreement.

Sources familiar with the negotiations say IBM prevailed over technology outsourcer Accenture.

Under the deal, IBM would provide Indiana with intake processing services and technology support for its Family and Social Services Administration. Among other things, IBM will set up an automated welfare eligibility application system that will be accessible online 24 hours a day."

Murder by Numbers

Fox TV will air the "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened." on November 27 and 29. Hyping the up coming book "If I Did It" published by Harper Collins (also a News Corp division)its billed as "the definitive last chapter in the 'Trial of the Century.' "


Leave it to Newscorp to set a new cultural low watermark. This is the sort of thing Fox News would go into natural disaster mode to cover, if it was another network. The only good that can come from this is that hopefully Nancy Grace's head will explode from rage.

Feingold Bows out of '08

Easily the most liberal of the potential candidates for '08 Russ Feingold has chosen not to run. So far we have two in (Biden just told ABC he plans to announce after the start of the new year) and two now out (Kerry is out even if he doesn't know it.) The question now is were the liberals who saw Feingold as their standard bearer will go? Probably Obama, not because he reflect their views, but because of what he symbolizes to them.

All the same guys, its only been 5 days since the mid-term, feel free to take your time.

Now That the Election is Over We Can Get Back to Important Issues

Add to the Republicans’ coming disadvantages on the House floor and in committee rooms a growing difficulty on the greens.

The best golfer in Congress, identified last year by Golf Digest as Rep. Chris Chocola, went down to defeat on Tuesday. His 0.5 handicap was tops in the House or Senate.

The top two golfers in Congress are now — GASP! — Democrats.

As of last year, Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., carried a 1.8 handicap and Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., held a 2.2.

The top Republican is now New Jersey’s Mike Ferguson, with a 4.3 handicap, followed by Ohioan John Boehner, with a 4.8 and Tennessee’s Zach Wamp, with a 4.9.

The GOP will need them, too. Democrats won their first-ever victory this year in September’s annual party vs. party golf tournament at Columbia Country Club.

And We Have Our First Darkhorse Entering the Starting Gate

Two days(!) after the midterm elections and we now have our first declared Democratic candidate for President. Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa announced his bid for the Presidency today and opened a campaign office and launched his website.

The first primary isn't for another 15 months, and this guy isn't exactly going to generate Obama like mania, still he'll run strong in Iowa. That is assuming he doesn't run out of money between now and then, I'm betting he doesn't have Hillary's war chest. So we'll see, he could be another Bill Clinton coming from relative obscurity, or he could end up pulling out of the race because he can't raise funds.

Congressman (Elect) Donnelly

It was a rough night in Cass County, really rough, but talking to Joe tonight knowing he was going to be my Congressman was a great feeling.

Indiana GOP Fires Harrassing Robo Call Firm

I told you so! Please warn others!

Warn Others About Underhanded Robo-calls from GOP

I just received a robo call from the Indiana Republican party. Although they were not claiming to be a harrassing Democrat as described in this article, it WAS automated as I tried to interrupt and it cut off. It was made to sound like a live person with the background noise of other phonebankers for added effect. My interruption included asking the caller if they were "live" or not---then it disconnected.

Click on the headline link to find out about a different kind of dirty robo-calling and be aware:

"What we're talking about is something a bit different. What we're seeing is an apparent coordinated effort from the NRCC -- the House GOP committee -- to place calls that appear to be from the local Democratic candidate and then automatically call the same number back as many as seven or eight times each time the caller hang-ups. If the caller listens to the whole message it goes on to bash the Democratic candidate. But if the caller hangs up prematurely, the computer calls right back. Hang-ups are the achilles heal of robo-calls. So this seems to be an attempt to cover for that weakness by making those who hang up think the Democratic candidate is basically harassing them with phone calls. The GOP wins either way."

Remember, this is illegal!

Yet Another Call for Rumsfeld to Step Down

The Military Times, publishers of the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corp Times, and the Air Force Times will publish an editorial calling for the resignation or removal of Donald Rumsfeld. Read by over 250,000 members of the military, the editorial this is seen as a high water mark in the growing wave of dissatisfaction in the military with the Defense Secretary.

"It is extremely widely read and influential for the professional military," said David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland.

The relationship goes two ways, said Segal. "I think it would be safe to say if the Army Times is saying that, it is something they are hearing from senior officers in the Army," he said

So the rank and file as well as well as numerous retired general and a growing number of members of Congress have called for his resignation or removal. So who's defending him? The Republican leadership.

"Let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld," Boehner said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday afternoon. "But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president."

So when the generals on the ground ask for more troops, they had crackers in their mouths and Rumfeld couldn't understand them? Is that the excuse, that even though the generals have been ignored or replaced by Rumsfeld, it's all their fault?

Paging Dr. Freud, Dr. Freud to the Oval Office

Every Freudian slip has a meaning, they usually aren't this obvious.

Joe Donnelly at the St. Joseph County JJ Dinner

Can you tell I've recently discovered how to use youtube?! lol Well, anyway, I just received this clip of Donnelly and Bayh in St. Joseph County last evening. They will be here in Logansport tomorrow at the Memorial Home at 4pm! Please come and show your support if possible!

Dateline Logansport

Not something you expect to see in The Economist but as interest in Joe's campaign has built the world is taking notice. If Joe can get this type of exposure for Logansport and Cass County, the least we can do is put Joe Donnelly in Congress.

Joe Donnelly Rallies UAW Members with Evan Bayh

Evan Bayh will make an appearance in Logansport Sunday afternoon at 4pm. I believe it will be at the Memorial Home?? Cassdems? Is this correct? I know it's Sunday at 4pm for sure. Here's a chance to personally witness live a possible future presidential candidate!

-Yes that's correct.

GOP Goes All Out, and Way Over the Line

Jacob Weisberg does an effective job of detailing how the GOP has sunk to a new low this election cycle in their commercials. Yes, the Democrats run negative ads, but they're about the President, and Iraq, big oil, and corruption. The GOP?

If there were an Oscar for political slime, it would go to "Twilight Zone," a spot run by Vernon Robinson, a congressional challenger in North Carolina. In 60 seconds, the ad manages to tie Democrat Brad Miller to Osama, gay marriage, "lesbians and feminists," activist judges, infanticide, flag-burning, racial quotas, space aliens, illegal immigrants, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. In another ad, Robinson stamps "XXX" across Miller's face, claiming that his opponent refused to support body armor for troops in Iraq but that he "pays for sex" and that he "spent your tax dollars to pay teenage girls to watch pornographic movies with probes connected to their genitalia." It's all mendacious nonsense, but Paul Nelson, a Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin, liked the ad so much he ran it virtually unchanged against his own opponent.

Even factcheck.org, an independent group that analyzes commercials for validity, finds that the GOP's ads are out of line.

Hey America! Feel Safer with Republicans in Charge?

From the New York Times. This is pretty bad.

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures.

--snip--

America's Least Wanted Political Endorsement

Sullivan: "This is not an election anymore, it's an intervention"

Andrew Sullivan regarding Bush's comments on Rumsfeld and Cheney:

But it wasn't only endangered Republicans who have been calling for Rumsfeld's ouster who may have blanched. Andrew Sullivan, the conservative writer who was once a key media supporter for the Iraq war, denounced the latest Bush statement on CNN on Wednesday night, stating that the president is so delusional, "This is not an election anymore, it's an intervention."

...more at link above from editorandpublisher.com.

With Less Then A Week To Go Dems in Good Position

Reuters has released their latest House polls and they show Joe with a 52% to 39% lead. I'd ignore the 39%, that number is probably higher then that. The important number is Joe's 52%, given that at least some of that 9% undecided will break his way means with 6 days to go he's in the driver's seat.

But Joe still needs your help to win, so if you can spare some time over the weekend and on Monday or Tuesday please call 574.722.3554 and volunteer today.