I have to break it to you, in the diary I made yesterday on Darrell Issa's latest project (and he's become quite a project manager with all the investigations and subpoenas he's doing) on investigating the Obamacare website glitches, I never thought it would get more bizarre.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
In my diary from yesterday (URL listed above), I gave the following citation:
http://thehill.com/...
Issa, an ally of Silicon Valley, said the “chaotic mess” of the federal site is what happens when “prudent design and programming decisions are subordinated to politics.”
I knew Darrell Issa has an IT background but was completely baffled that he was a friend of Silicon Valley. Maybe Ro Khanna, the current Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Mike Honda, but not Issa.
But now Issa wants details from Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Verizon and Expedia on their involvement with the Obamacare
http://www.chicagotribune.com/...
WASHINGTON -- The Republican chairman of a key congressional oversight committee has asked Google, Microsoft and three other companies to provide details on their possible involvement in a "tech surge" aimed at fixing a website implementing President Obama's signature healthcare law.
Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made the request in a letter to Google, Microsoft, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Oracle and Expedia, committee spokeswoman Caitlin Carroll said.
Issa, a relentless critic of the Obama administration, wants information on contacts the companies may have had with the White House about the Healthcare.gov website by Friday. Carroll called it the first step of a "rolling inquiry" that could include other companies.
The five named companies were selected because of press reports about their potential involvement in fixing the website, Carroll said.
Google, Oracle and Verizon declined to comment on the letter. Microsoft and Expedia could not be immediately reached for comment.
More on what the Issa man is requesting out of the five big tech companies:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/...
In his letter, a copy of which was provided to Reuters, Issa complained of a dearth of information about the project.
"Despite the President's assertion that 'we're well into a "tech surge"' neither the White House nor HHS is providing additional details about which private sector companies have been engaged or whether they are being engaged through the appropriate procurement processes," Issa said in the letter.
"Your company has, however, been prominently mentioned in public discussion related to HealthCare.gov," Issa said.
He asked that the companies indicate in writing by Friday what contacts they have had with the administration or "any entity" working on the website project, and for a "specific description of any and all problems brought to your attention."
Maybe Issa's inquiry is in response to part of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's blog post:
http://www.hhs.gov/...
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Today, we are announcing key steps the Department is taking as part of a tech surge to continue to improve the consumer experience on HealthCare.gov.
First, I am very pleased to announce we are bringing management expert and former CEO and Chairman of two publicly traded companies Jeff Zients on board to work in close cooperation with our HHS team to provide management advice and counsel to the project. Jeff has led some of the country’s top management firms, providing private sector companies around the world with best practices in management, strategy and operations. He has a proven track record as Acting Director at the Office of Management and Budget and as the nation’s first Chief Performance Officer. Working alongside our team and using his rich expertise and management acumen, Jeff will provide short-term advice, assessments and recommendations.
We’ve also brought in additional experts and specialists drawn from within government, our contractors, and industry, including veterans of top Silicon Valley companies. These reinforcements include a handful of Presidential Innovation Fellows. This new infusion of talent will bring a powerful array of subject matter expertise and skills, including extensive experience scaling major IT systems. This effort is being marshaled as part of a cross-functional team that is working aggressively to diagnose parts of HealthCare.gov that are experiencing problems, learn from successful states, prioritize issues, and fix them.
Darrell Issa wants to investigate just about everything. Hell, he might even investigate the fixes while they're happening and after.
We know Issa loves Twitter and Tweeting like a maniac, and also cats. But seriously, this is nothing more than just a ploy to get campaign contributions.
Here's the voter registration as of February 2013 by the actual CA-49 Congressional District, which combines parts of San Diego and Orange County. Note the number of Decline-to-State/Independents:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/...
Orange County:
Democrats: 22,239
Republicans: 44,833
Decline-to-State/Independent: 19,077
San Diego County:
Democrats: 84,282
Republicans: 107,221
Decline-to-State/Independent: 70,938
Total:
Democrats: 106,521
Republicans: 152,054
Decline-to-State/Independent: 90,015
Now if you live in or near CA-49 and want a reason to start voter registration drives or take part in them, note that San Diego County Democratic Party has a calendar that keeps track of all activity going on, whether local Democratic club meetings or voter registration drive events:
http://www.sddemocrats.org/...
Darrell Issa has a Democratic challenger in 2014, at least one so far. His name is Dave Peiser and here is his contact information. Start firing up the base in CA-49!
Dave Peiser for Congress: http://www.peiserforcongress.com/
Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/...
Information: info@peiserforcongress.com
In the meantime, here's an old Viper Car Alarm Commercial featuring Issa's voice (occurs twice in the 0:06-0:12 range)