The Friday Brief

December 5, 2024

The Big Picture

Pour Encourager les Autres

The killing of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson falls into that modern category I call “The frenzy of the visible.”

A man in a black hoodie, masked and anonymous, steps up behind the CEO on his way into a board meeting. He will announce $450 million in profits for the year—that, as they say, is real money.

Not by coincidence, United Healthcare also has the highest rate of rejected claims in the industry. Health insurance companies do not make their money by providing care; they make their money by denying it.

But back to the street outside the Hilton on 6th Avenue.

The man is carrying a B&T Station 6 suppressed pistol, either in 9mm or .45 cal. Given that it’s a manual, bolt-action pistol, he has to work the bolt for each shot. For those less familiar with guns, this is not even a semiautomatic. It’s DNA is from a World War II assassination gun called the Welrod.