Are you trying to KILL US or what? Stop it with the sexy man pictures !!
I was being ironic when I said it gave me “peace” okay? Sheeesh, I can’t even breathe now.
Chips, there must be a safer way to check if your naughty mat crowd is awake other than using shock treatment! Try to remember next time you want to check that some of us who have stronger hearts in this area might not have any medical skills to help in the reviving process.
And also, why do YOU have such a large collection of Wet One pictures at your fingertips? …..On second thoughts forget it. I don’t want to know the answer.
Funny how I’ve come to expect that in an Obama group, so much so that it often goes unnoticed. But then when I look at the marked lack of diversity in the Romney “crowds”, it really does stand out.
Though we usually fail to notice it, government programs and policies improve our daily lives in innumerable ways.
Ask yourself this question: “What has government done for me lately?” If you are like most Americans, you will probably answer: “Not much.” Many people feel like they pay a lot in taxes but don’t really get anything back from government. Surveys show that 52% of Americans believe that “government programs have not really helped me and my family.”1 But let’s see if that is really true. Let’s examine a typical day in the life of an average middle-class American and try to identify some of the ways that government improves that person’s life during that 24-hour period.
Dow surged 278 points, thanks to Europe getting it’s shit together.
Jobless claims were also down 6k and Housing has positive numbers, for 4 th straight month!
Lakoff argues that we need to promote a very different view of taxes—one that uses a very different kind of metaphor. The metaphor he suggests is that of taxes as “dues”.
Taxes are our dues — we pay our dues to be Americans and enjoy the benefits of American society. Taxes are what we pay to live in a civilized society that is democratic, offers opportunity, and has a huge infrastructure available to all citizens. This incredible infrastructure has been paid for by previous taxpayers. Roads and highways, the Internet, the broadcast airwaves, our public education system, our power grid — every day we all use this vast infrastructure. Our dues maintain it.2
It is about being a member, a part of the community. People pay a membership fee to join a gym, the local YMCA, or a club for which they get to use the basketball courts, the swimming pool, and the golf course. They did not pay for these facilities with their own memberships. They were built and paid for by other members, and all the current members maintain them with their dues. It is the same thing with our country — being a member in good standing of a remarkable nation. Americans pay their dues.
This idea of taxes as dues is not original to Lakoff. It is an idea that has often been expressed, but has not been promoted with the same ferocity or persistence of the taxes-as-affliction metaphor. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once remarked that “Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.” And Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. expressed a similar sentiment when he said that “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.”
Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper defends Obama over reduced air tanker fleet
Speaking to reporters about the fires Wednesday, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, was asked about charges leveled by conservatives online that the Obama administration helped fuel the wildfires by cancelling a contract last year with a private company that provided air tankers to the U.S. Forest Service.
Obama earlier this month signed a bill increasing the number of tankers to the Forest Service’s fleet, which conservatives have said was a political nod to a swing state.
Asked about criticism from the right over the Obama administration’s canceling
of the contract, Hickenlooper offered an uncharacteristically strong defense of the president.
“Were these the same conservatives that were so worried about the Obama administration spending too much money, or were these different conservatives?” Hickenlooper said.
Speaking to reporters about the fires Wednesday, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, was asked about charges leveled by conservatives online that the Obama administration helped fuel the wildfires by cancelling a contract last year with a private company that provided air tankers to the U.S. Forest Service.
Obama earlier this month signed a bill increasing the number of tankers to the Forest Service’s fleet, which conservatives have said was a political nod to a swing state.
Asked about criticism from the right over the Obama administration’s canceling of the contract, Hickenlooper offered an uncharacteristically strong defense of the president.
“Were these the same conservatives that were so worried about the Obama administration spending too much money, or were these different conservatives?” Hickenlooper said.
“Were these the same conservatives that were so worried about the Obama administration spending too much money, or were these different conservatives?” Hickenlooper said.
Congressional Black Caucus Forces Vote On Darrell Issa's Treatment Of Eric Holder huff.to/MG6jD6 via @HuffPostPol— Martha Ramirez (@sweetnonnie) June 29, 2012
That was a super good read, Betsy, Thank You!! That should go down in the History books and I would hope they they will be vindicated and darrell issa a lying criminal will get the nasty karma coming to him.
Congressional Black Caucus Forces Vote On Darrell Issa's Treatment Of Eric Holder huff.to/MG6jD6 via @HuffPostPol— Martha Ramirez (@sweetnonnie) June 29, 2012
Lee requested that the House clerk read aloud the entire resolution, which ticked off several instances in which Issa behaved in a way that Democrats say was out of line. Those instances included, per the resolution, publicly calling Holder “a liar” and demonstrating “unprofessional behavior” that could jeopardize investigations underway in Congress.
“The House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the chair for interfering with ongoing criminal investigations; insisting on a personal attack against the Attorney General of the United States; and for calling the Attorney General of the United States a liar on national television without corroborating evidence, thereby discredit to the integrity of the House,” the resolution concludes.
As expected, Republicans lined up to reject the resolution. It was tabled by a vote of 259 to 161, with 24 Democrats siding with all Republicans. But it gave most Democrats what they wanted: a chance to publicly reprimand Issa.
Yesterday…21 DEMS sided with the REPubs and voted to hold the AG in contempt of Congress….today 24 DEMS sided with the Repubs to table this resolution….
What is it about DEMS that makes them side with the enemy….why can’t they take a page out of the REPUBs handbook and stand together….
in addition…
i have seen it said that the wealthy so called Liberal DEMs cannot stomach the idea of the superpacs and hence they cannot bring themselves to donating huge amts of money to the President’s superpac….
we are in a battle to the finish…maybe being wealthy and being a Congressman…elevates you about the fray….
Those Dems of the Damned don’t want to lose their cushy Government Jobs so they’re willinig to sell out their country. Cowardly a$$holes to the finish.
10 Obamacare Questions Answered by MIT Economist Jonathan Gruber
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2. Was Romneycare ever challenged by the state’s courts?
There was never even serious consideration of a legal challenge—because, as most legal experts have said about the national case, there really are no substantive grounds to challenge the mandate.
3. What are the major differences between Romney’s and Obama’s plans?
They are the same bleeping bill! More seriously, the core of the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is exactly the same as what we did here in Massachusetts, which I like to call a “three-legged stool”: end discrimination in insurance markets, mandate insurance coverage, and subsidize that coverage for the poor. The federal law is then more ambitious because, unlike in Mass., it takes on cost control.
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7. Once this goes into effect in 2014, how long until we begin to see an impact? Why didn’t the law go into effect immediately?
We will see an impact right away, and it will fully phase in over three years. But we are already seeing some impacts—millions of 19- to 26-year-olds gaining coverage and millions of seniors paying less for drugs in the doughnut hole, for example. Given the time necessary to phase this in, there was no way it could have started more than one year earlier. The reason for 2014 versus 2013 is really about budget politics, unfortunately.
I’m so sick of freeloaders on my tax dollars, aren’t you?
So, I want to get a message across to those who are on Medicare, and to the children of those who are on Medicare, who oppose health care reform and Medicare for all: remove yourself from Medicare, or remove your parents from it and just pay for your/their medical services without me paying for them, alright?
Before, BuzzFlash at Truthout has made this request of Tea Party promoters of the oxymoron: “Down with socialized medicine and the government better not touch my Medicare.” We’ve asked that those who have such outlooks to remove themselves from Medicare because we don’t want them to be such hypocrites and make us pay for a healthcare program that they oppose for other Americans under 65, but support for themselves.
Now we are extending that challenge to Tea Party advocates and other Americans who have parents on Medicare, but who in their middle age oppose improving healthcare insurance – for even themselves (out of ignorance, it appears). To those middle age Americans with such an outlook, we ask that you remove your parents from Medicare and pay for their healthcare yourselves. Because we don’t want to make a hypocrite out of you on our tax dollars by providing socialized medicine to your parents while you denounce it in principle.
And while you are at it, if you oppose medical care for all Americans, please sign a pledge – and this applies to all of you under 65 who oppose a single payer system – that you will not apply for Medicare when you turn 65 – and that you will not ask the US government to pay for your healthcare in your senior years.
Hiya Tally, I’m always puzzled by the wingnuts’ attitude to Rubio. Occasionally I lurk on the dark side, and they seem split on him: some reckon he’s the second coming, others will only tolerate him because they think he’ll deliver 100% of the Latino vote, and the rest put him in the same category as PBO because his name ends in a vowel. Strange people
Rubio has a truth problem just like Willard. They could be the Lying Liars ticket! Vote for us, and we will never tell you what we believe, where we stand, and we will never tell you the truth! We will serve and protect the 1%, who own us. And—-no common good. We rise alone.
The fundraising deadline this week is huge. I just made a donation today to support President Obama. How about you? OFA.BO/WSqBTP— (@utaustinliberal) June 29, 2012
I didn’t get a chance in last thread to comment on President Obama inviting to the WH the mom who lost her legs protecting her children during a tornado. I loved that he extended the invitation to her and her family, and I loved that he cares and has such a big heart. I read about her and saw her on some program. She appears to be a great gal, an engaging personality, and has such a positive outlook. Her mother instinct kicked in and she saved her kids. President Obama gave her rightful recognition and gave her another reason to feel good about herself and her actions. I’m sure he gave her lots of encouragement for the future and will help in any way he can with their new prosthetic business.
I LOOOOOOVE Rev. Al. He is a FIERCE advocate for truth and for Pres. Obama. He’s been championing ObamaCare like no other. He just played a slideshow of newspapers touting that ObamaCare is indeed constitutional and he rolled out the slideshow to the tune of “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now…….We’re On The Move!”
Oh please, please, pu-lea-se can somebody share that? That has been my personal choice for campaign song for this election for the longest while. Pretty please? I’ll promise to behave and not cause any trouble for an entire post ….one of these days.
so I just got another email from the DCCC – here is what I wrote back:
“After so many DEMS in the House only yesterday, showed they’re completely owned whores of the NRA by voting for Contempt for AG Holder who cannot by law release the documents douchebag Issa is requesting, YOU CAN KISS MY ASS, and TELL THEM THEY ARE THE REASON.
I’ll vote D because thankfully my CA DEMS are AWESOME, and I’ll give money directly to MY POTUS. But I AM DONE with the DEMS who allow themselves to be blackmailed by the NRA so they can continue their international arms trafficking cash cow.
Until the DEMS get behind President Obama and HAVE HIS BACK – I refuse to have theirs.
Well for today Dudette, it’s just as well they aren’t doing their jobs, because I’m not sure your heart would have been able to handle the dual excitement of that PLUS the wet one download the mayoress instigated!
OH YOU GUYS HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS. Pam Bondi(the blonde lady), the AG of Florida who brought the whole health care lawsuit thing to the forefront gets duped…thinking the mandate was struck down- tells Rick “Voldemort” Scott, and then later discovers OOPS…UPHELD
She is corrupt and a big fakey fake. Saw her on Piers Morgan when she was playing a significant role in the Trayvon Martin case. I didn’t believe a word she said.
My fave Bondi story was the Big Sham Wedding story from a couple of months ago—-she invited all the GOP Fl. bigwigs, including Gov. Scott to what was to be her 3rd marriage at the Ritz-Carlton in the Caymans. All showed up for the wedding, she was in her white dress, groom in his finest, but the marriage part never pulled off—–with no explanation to her confused guests. Drink up, everyone! http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/30/2824781/attorney-general-pam-bondis-cayman.html
Eric Cantor reaffirms on TV this AM that GOP will use reconciliation to repeal Affordable Care Act in 2013 if they win in November.
— @mattyglesias via Tweetbot for iOS
I don’t see how they use reconciliation to strike down the entire act since it can’t be positively scored by the CBO because striking it will balloon the deficit.
You’re correct. They can’t meta, and most of them know it, despite their delusions of grandeur.
Strategically, their sucking on an exhaust pipe of an 18 wheeler – great for a quick suicide and that is what they are committing.
Just look at their platform – tax cuts for the rich, destroy Medicare, privatize Social Security & deny tens of millions of Americans access to affordable health care. That’s it. That’s what we are going to paint them with, every day, from now until polls close on 6 Nov. We will crush them, at an historical level.
Heard Thom Hartmann when I was driving around today say that the Repubs will use the “Repeal Obamacare!” rallying cry for the next 20 years——–just like they’ve used abortion and guns—–as a money engine and a means to stir up their low info voters.
Well, I did ask politely first. It’d be my pleasure to join such an esteemed group of downright naughty ladies on a mat that must surely be threadbare by now.
Threadbare, liquor-stained and slippery from cocoa butter droppings.
You’e very sweet, but schmoozing is unnecessary. It’s Friday, let the raunchy celebration ensue!
With Barack Obama, we will break the old gridlock and finally make health care what it should be in America-a fundamental right for all, not just an expensive privilege for the few.
—
From Ted Kennedy’s endorsement for President of Senator Barack Obama. 1-28-2008
Why the Individual Mandate Is Effective and Efficient
by Dr. Jonathan Gruber
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This was all possible because the individual mandate ended the “death spiral” of trying to obtain fairly priced insurance by just forcing insurers to charge everyone the same price. The bottom line is that we can’t have fairly priced insurance for the healthy and sick alike without the broad participation that is guaranteed by the mandate. The mandate is the spinach we have to eat to get the dessert that is fairly priced insurance coverage.
There have been a variety of complaints about the individual mandate, but they are unfounded. It is important to remember that the vast majority of Americans will be unaffected by the mandate because they are already covered; indeed, when individuals are informed of this fact, public support for the mandate almost doubles. Moreover, no one will be forced to buy insurance that they cannot afford; the mandate includes an “affordability exemption” that excludes any individual who cannot find insurance for less than 8% of their income. In Massachusetts we have a similar exemption and we have had no public outcry about the mandate and only a very small number of appeals of mandate penalties.
Finally, some claim that the mandate is unconstitutional. While this will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, the vast majority of legal scholars who have weighed in on this topic, both liberal and conservative, have said that this is a laughable argument.
And this: It is critical to remember that the vast majority of Americans will be unaffected by the mandate because they are already covered; indeed, when individuals are informed of this fact, public support for the mandate almost doubles.
FREE RIDER PENALTY IS ON 1% OF POPULATION, NOT ALL AMERICANS
Fox Vs. Fox On “Massive New Tax” That Only Affects A Small Number Of People
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Lines in the sand have been drawn at Fox.
Discussing the Supreme Court’s opinion upholding health care reform legislation, Fox White House correspondent Wendell Goler reported today that a fee for individuals who don’t have health insurance would only affect one percent of the population. Goler’s report is in marked contrast to his Fox News colleagues, who are claiming the fee is a massive tax on all Americans.
In contrast to Goler’s report, Fox has been aggressively claiming that the fee would amount to a massive tax on all Americans.
Ok, I’m back after seeing to the thermometers on the FR pages posted on the last thread. Pittiful has been touting his fundraising efforts after the ACA ruling. Well, we know how hard it is for him to find the truth. Even if it is true that he raised $679,524,732,754 gabutillion dollars, I heard somewhere that PBO has raised more after the ruling. he just has more class than to try and brag.
BTW, if it hasn’t been posted here already, you must see the video of last night’s Jay Leno show on PBOs reaction to the decision. There was another one, I can’t remember where PBO holds up “I Won” placards while he’s at the podium making his remarks after the ruling. Too funny.
I think it’s Vic who posted this on Twitter….I’m not sure, I just read it……..disgusting!
”two news organizations covering the same story scoured the nation for a random small business owner to comment on that story—and they both found the same one! How’d that happen?”
NPR and NBC News.
Yep….random small business owner…
Go to many of these links and you find out something about Joe Olivo that NPR and NBC didn’t tell you: he’s a member of the National Federation of Independent Business. NFIB’s site and YouTube page promote many of Olivo’s public appearances, like testifying against the health care law before House and Senate committees in January 2011.
NFIB, you will not be surprised to learn, is linked to the ALEC and Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, and to the usual rogues’ gallery of right-wing zillionaires.
So Joe Olivo isn’t just some random business owner—he’s dispatched by NFIB whenever there’s a need for someone to play a random small business owner on TV.
What fresh hell is THIS?!!!????!!! This is BEYOND bat crap crazee… Forced into smuggling books, cherished literature even, to a network of UNDERGROUND libraries in the United States of America in the 21st century. I had to write it out to try and wrap my head around this and still can’t accept this. unfuckingbelievable. What’s next public book burnings?
Charles Pierce: One of the overlooked elements in Thursday’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act is that, beyond the individual mandate and the hysterical politics surrounding it, the act itself is chock-full of innovative ideas and pilot programs and all sorts of other experimental goodness directed toward making easier the lives of people dealing with serious health problems. Like, for example, Alzheimer’s Disease…
Tucked away in the act is a pilot program for 10,000 people called the Independence At Home program. This is a technique first developed by the Veterans Administration by which a patient with a chronic disease, like Alzheimer’s, is treated in his or her own home by a team of doctors, nurse practitioners, geriatric pharmacists, and any other health professional whose specialty is required.
This is not only cost-efficient, being infinitely cheaper than hospitals and nursing homes, but it is a comfort for the patients and their families…
…. The program is the brainchild of Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), whose mother died from Alzheimer’s …. “Let’s just start with pre-existing conditions,” Markey told me on Thursday evening. “If the law had been struck down, you didn’t have those protections anymore. And we know that five million people have Alzheimer’s right now, and that 15 million are going to get it. Let’s go to bankruptcy, then. The law says that just because you got sick, you cannot go bankrupt.”
But whatever you want to call it — tax, fee, penalty, incentive, Robert — even though it does raise some money, the key is that it will snag relatively few people.
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Four million. A bit more than one percent of the population. And remember, these are people who are able to afford insurance but choose not to, knowing they’ll eventually need to avail themselves of the health care system. It’s actually fair to think of it as a free-rider penalty. That’s harder to explain than simply screaming “tax,” but it’s true, and much less politically contentious.
“Staying power” is something that Ginsburg has. As Jeffrey Toobin says in this week’s Political Scene podcast, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seventy-nine. She is about five feet tall, eighty pounds, she has had every disease known to humanity. She is as tough as nails.” She made her way at a time when you could have a legal education from Harvard and Columbia and still be turned down for a job because you were a woman. She is not as loud or colorfully charismatic as Scalia—who is?—but neither does she seem to have learned to give up. (Those wondering about the liberal future of the Court might note that, on a point related to Medicaid expansion, Ginsburg was joined by only one Justice: Sonia Sotomayor.) We don’t know what happened inside the Court, or why Roberts voted the way he did. But by writing a scathing opinion, Ginsburg may at least have done him the favor of showing him what he might have looked like if he had signed on with Scalia: a political opportunist, and almost a fool.
I love her. From now on, I’m calling her “Ride or Die RUTH” This was my comment at ‘Pragmatic Obots Unite’
I read a bit of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life story. She’s smart, resilient, very resourceful. Quite used to dealing with arrogant white men. And the first women to be on TWO Law Reviews – Harvard and Columbia. The “how” of how she managed to do that is testimony to her quiet grit. I think the ol’ babe is a ‘Ride or Die” chick. Seriously!!
…Then, another challenge: Martin contracted testicular cancer in 1956, requiring intensive treatment and rehabilitation. Ruth Ginsburg attended to her young daughter and convalescing husband, taking notes for him in classes while she continued her own law studies. …
She’s almost 80. I’m pretty sure that she’s hanging on until Pres. Obama get’s re-elected so that she can retire knowing that her work will NOT be in vain.
Also, I’m convinced that she reminds PBO of his “Toot.” Ginsburg is smart, short and cute, just like his grandmother was.
That was such a great read in the New Yorker and I thoroughly enjoyed your comment. I have to tell you that the last line of your comment gave me chills because one of the things that warms my heart is when President Obama gives Justice Ginsburg a kiss before the State of the Union. You can see how proud she is of him as she returns the affection. It just makes me melt. Justice Ginsburg is brilliant AND adorable. I love her.
I’m just putting a quick note in here at the bottom because I got past my goal! w00t! I’ve had this fundraising account since January and I think I’ve raised 281$ since we’ve started! Thanks! I can’t believe it! You guys are the bomb! Couldn’t have done it without you all! #PRESSON
Ok thanks Tally, I wasn’t sure….I’m so going to retweet what you posted…..I love the graphic…it says it all!….Ugh too bad Thomas is not close to retirement
So, I’m looking for a new doctor. My current doctor is good, but his staff is useless. I won’t go into how the staff has fucked up my wife’s weight loss surgery. Let’s just say that I was livid yesterday after she got off the phone with our insurance co. and they told her that our doctor’s office hasn’t sent them any of the information they requested.
So I’ve been looking on my insurance website for a new doctor, and then going to Yelp to see if there are any reviews. Not the most efficient of methods.
Then I found this website: http://www.healthgrades.com. You can search by area, insurance co., and customer reviews. Making my search SO much easier.
If anyone is shopping for a doctor, that site is a great resource.
Oh thank you! This is why I read all these posts no matter how late I am to the party. I’m looking for both a new primary and a specialist. This looks like a great resource.
Forward
Woop! Peeking in now, a wee break, gone again!
PS: I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching my fund raising thermometer reach toward the top! If I get there, I will raise it! Thank you everyone!
Nice! Way to go, Pamela!!
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudette!!
Ahhhhhh, yesssss! Looking at the gorgeous man, just gives me a sense of peace!
You know me soooo well, darling!
Oh, my!
There is just something about these wet pictures of him. Sigh!!!!
Reward for your fundraiser-link-gathering, Donna
Good Lord! Holy Moley! This is just too much for me to take at one time. You could have warned me…..
I need air…. breath donna breath
Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!
What A Mighty Fine Man!!!!
Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths ………
I Think I’m okay. I’m gonna try and drive home now
Call a cab Donna, it might be safer!
I’m home. I made it. Now I need a COLD compress on my head to bring my temperature down..
I was just gliding down to come ask Chips if she’s trying to test the state of your heart, DD4O!!!
Really Chips, what were you thinking!!!
Have you forgotten that some of your family members here are getting on in years?
This last one is my favorite. Hubba Hubba!!!
Be still my heart.
{{{{{{{{…………….}}}}}}}}
HOLY SMOKES, Chips!!
Are you trying to KILL US or what? Stop it with the sexy man pictures !!
I was being ironic when I said it gave me “peace” okay? Sheeesh, I can’t even breathe now.
Dudette, just checking you’re all awake, that’s all – honest!
Awake? I nearly passed out!!
Chips, there must be a safer way to check if your naughty mat crowd is awake other than using shock treatment! Try to remember next time you want to check that some of us who have stronger hearts in this area might not have any medical skills to help in the reviving process.
And also, why do YOU have such a large collection of Wet One pictures at your fingertips? …..On second thoughts forget it. I don’t want to know the answer.
Nice cross-examine, VC. You’re a lawyer, right?
VCP, Esq.
Ah, I’m busted. Here’s another one from my collection:
Aw!
Wet Romnesians! So sad!!
That poor guy in position #3 looks like he’ll melt any moment now. Wonder if he felt the speech was worth it?
Ah but VC, shock treatment is fun
Especially to the one administering it, I’d guess.
Our temps got to 106 today. However, I have just been cooled off. Thank the Lord for these lovely pictures. Thank you too, Chips.
It’s Friday and i just got home, turned to my favorite place aaannnd look at my TGIF prize. Oh, thank you.
Now a glass of wine to go with this, relaxing.
Pour one for me Smoothscotch!
I know, right?
Soooo, ya still dancing on the ceiling from yesterday or hungover?
Both Dudette, both!
Wait! Wasn’t that a song?
Now here’s a blast from the PAST!!
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.
Well it must be Friday and the naughty mats are obviously in hot demand
Congratulations Team TOD for a great week!!!!!
#Tweeps4OBAMA
Yes We Can
Hi and Congrats to you too Bob!
Your tweets this week have been …
Thanks friend!!!!
Wow gap?
Hi Proud!
I know I’m late! Congrats winners!
Thankew!! Thankew vurry much!!
You’re most welcome, I’m sure.
:grin”
Well, I have lots of catching up to do today. Chips, hit me with a good prize, whenever you’re ready! Be back in a few!
I love the diversity in that photo.
Funny how I’ve come to expect that in an Obama group, so much so that it often goes unnoticed. But then when I look at the marked lack of diversity in the Romney “crowds”, it really does stand out.
My friends and family memebers who are Caucasian crack me up whenever they complain about a place or a group by saying it is too white.
You have cool peeps, CEB!
Willard does have the “senior” white lady coffee drinker demographic captured. I know because I saw it in a photo.
Tee-hee!
That particular picture, or thought of it, always, always makes me laugh!
Good thing you don’t work for GOPolitico, else you’d be fired for daring to state the obvious.
This is what America looks like in the 21st century. Too bad for Mittens.
CEB, I thought you were about to say this is what Romney crowd look like.
“The incredible whiteness of being”.
Wow, Obama has NO volunteers. I just don’t know how he’ll make it in November.
These are most likely the Summer Fellows!
Pic is obviously photo shopped. I’m breathlessly awaiting Chuck Todd’s actual seat count. I’m sure it will be devastating to the Obama campaign
A DAY IN YOUR LIFE
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Though we usually fail to notice it, government programs and policies improve our daily lives in innumerable ways.
Ask yourself this question: “What has government done for me lately?” If you are like most Americans, you will probably answer: “Not much.” Many people feel like they pay a lot in taxes but don’t really get anything back from government. Surveys show that 52% of Americans believe that “government programs have not really helped me and my family.”1 But let’s see if that is really true. Let’s examine a typical day in the life of an average middle-class American and try to identify some of the ways that government improves that person’s life during that 24-hour period.
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http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=1
Thanks LadyH! This was an excellent read. Schools need to reinstate the teaching of Civics at all levels of schooling.
Dow surged 278 points, thanks to Europe getting it’s shit together.
Jobless claims were also down 6k and Housing has positive numbers, for 4 th straight month!
You are the best, Jovie. I appreciate the info as usual.
They made Merkel crack.
PBO threatened not to let her rub on him again next time they met.
must be the hollande charm.
You mean that French socialist is proposing policies that might improve the economy of Europe?
TAXES ARE GOOD.
—————————————————————-
Lakoff argues that we need to promote a very different view of taxes—one that uses a very different kind of metaphor. The metaphor he suggests is that of taxes as “dues”.
Taxes are our dues — we pay our dues to be Americans and enjoy the benefits of American society. Taxes are what we pay to live in a civilized society that is democratic, offers opportunity, and has a huge infrastructure available to all citizens. This incredible infrastructure has been paid for by previous taxpayers. Roads and highways, the Internet, the broadcast airwaves, our public education system, our power grid — every day we all use this vast infrastructure. Our dues maintain it.2
It is about being a member, a part of the community. People pay a membership fee to join a gym, the local YMCA, or a club for which they get to use the basketball courts, the swimming pool, and the golf course. They did not pay for these facilities with their own memberships. They were built and paid for by other members, and all the current members maintain them with their dues. It is the same thing with our country — being a member in good standing of a remarkable nation. Americans pay their dues.
This idea of taxes as dues is not original to Lakoff. It is an idea that has often been expressed, but has not been promoted with the same ferocity or persistence of the taxes-as-affliction metaphor. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once remarked that “Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.” And Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. expressed a similar sentiment when he said that “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.”
————————————————————–
http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=17
Thanks LL. That quote says it all.
That should be on a t-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, posters….
A gem.
ha!
What a beautiful depiction of America gathered in that picture.
Although there is definitely a gap in between those people sitting on the floor.
Ah ha, well spotted Donna:
Okay now that I have resuscitated myself from those pictures you posted upthread, Yes, the media has taught me to never miss a gap.
Is that a lifesized cutout of PBO in the back center?
Yep
I.NEED.ONE.NOW!!!!!!!
And Michelle’s is at the end section on the right
THIS!
Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper defends Obama over reduced air tanker fleet
Speaking to reporters about the fires Wednesday, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, was asked about charges leveled by conservatives online that the Obama administration helped fuel the wildfires by cancelling a contract last year with a private company that provided air tankers to the U.S. Forest Service.
Obama earlier this month signed a bill increasing the number of tankers to the Forest Service’s fleet, which conservatives have said was a political nod to a swing state.
Asked about criticism from the right over the Obama administration’s canceling
of the contract, Hickenlooper offered an uncharacteristically strong defense of the president.
“Were these the same conservatives that were so worried about the Obama administration spending too much money, or were these different conservatives?” Hickenlooper said.
Speaking to reporters about the fires Wednesday, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, was asked about charges leveled by conservatives online that the Obama administration helped fuel the wildfires by cancelling a contract last year with a private company that provided air tankers to the U.S. Forest Service.
Obama earlier this month signed a bill increasing the number of tankers to the Forest Service’s fleet, which conservatives have said was a political nod to a swing state.
Asked about criticism from the right over the Obama administration’s canceling of the contract, Hickenlooper offered an uncharacteristically strong defense of the president.
“Were these the same conservatives that were so worried about the Obama administration spending too much money, or were these different conservatives?” Hickenlooper said.
http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_20955042
GREAT ANSWER…
Have no clue why this posted so screwy…..
Oh. Snap.
So proud of the CBC. Look what they did:
Well, that’s something.
#PRESSON
That was a super good read, Betsy, Thank You!! That should go down in the History books and I would hope they they will be vindicated and darrell issa a lying criminal will get the nasty karma coming to him.
Lee requested that the House clerk read aloud the entire resolution, which ticked off several instances in which Issa behaved in a way that Democrats say was out of line. Those instances included, per the resolution, publicly calling Holder “a liar” and demonstrating “unprofessional behavior” that could jeopardize investigations underway in Congress.
“The House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the chair for interfering with ongoing criminal investigations; insisting on a personal attack against the Attorney General of the United States; and for calling the Attorney General of the United States a liar on national television without corroborating evidence, thereby discredit to the integrity of the House,” the resolution concludes.
As expected, Republicans lined up to reject the resolution. It was tabled by a vote of 259 to 161, with 24 Democrats siding with all Republicans. But it gave most Democrats what they wanted: a chance to publicly reprimand Issa.
So PROUD of them. Awesome. I bet it lifted Eric Holder’s spirit.
Yesterday…21 DEMS sided with the REPubs and voted to hold the AG in contempt of Congress….today 24 DEMS sided with the Repubs to table this resolution….
What is it about DEMS that makes them side with the enemy….why can’t they take a page out of the REPUBs handbook and stand together….
in addition…
i have seen it said that the wealthy so called Liberal DEMs cannot stomach the idea of the superpacs and hence they cannot bring themselves to donating huge amts of money to the President’s superpac….
we are in a battle to the finish…maybe being wealthy and being a Congressman…elevates you about the fray….
Those Dems of the Damned don’t want to lose their cushy Government Jobs so they’re willinig to sell out their country. Cowardly a$$holes to the finish.
Contemptible scum, that’s what they are Cha.
President Obama Tours Wildfire Damage in Colorado:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/President-Obama-Tours-Wildfire-Damage-in-Colorado/10737432002/
I was about to say that it’s mighty “wet” in here today but after looking at those photos above I think it’s steaming “HOT”
Ain’t it tho’?
Brigade ready? http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/06/29/koch-backed-group-launches-9-million-ad-campaign-against-health-law-time-to-debunk-their-lies/
10 Obamacare Questions Answered by MIT Economist Jonathan Gruber
————————————
2. Was Romneycare ever challenged by the state’s courts?
There was never even serious consideration of a legal challenge—because, as most legal experts have said about the national case, there really are no substantive grounds to challenge the mandate.
3. What are the major differences between Romney’s and Obama’s plans?
They are the same bleeping bill! More seriously, the core of the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is exactly the same as what we did here in Massachusetts, which I like to call a “three-legged stool”: end discrimination in insurance markets, mandate insurance coverage, and subsidize that coverage for the poor. The federal law is then more ambitious because, unlike in Mass., it takes on cost control.
.
.
7. Once this goes into effect in 2014, how long until we begin to see an impact? Why didn’t the law go into effect immediately?
We will see an impact right away, and it will fully phase in over three years. But we are already seeing some impacts—millions of 19- to 26-year-olds gaining coverage and millions of seniors paying less for drugs in the doughnut hole, for example. Given the time necessary to phase this in, there was no way it could have started more than one year earlier. The reason for 2014 versus 2013 is really about budget politics, unfortunately.
———————————-
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/29/10-obamacare-questions-answered-by-mit-economist-jonathan-gruber.html
A million times over!
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13577
I’m so sick of freeloaders on my tax dollars, aren’t you?
So, I want to get a message across to those who are on Medicare, and to the children of those who are on Medicare, who oppose health care reform and Medicare for all: remove yourself from Medicare, or remove your parents from it and just pay for your/their medical services without me paying for them, alright?
Before, BuzzFlash at Truthout has made this request of Tea Party promoters of the oxymoron: “Down with socialized medicine and the government better not touch my Medicare.” We’ve asked that those who have such outlooks to remove themselves from Medicare because we don’t want them to be such hypocrites and make us pay for a healthcare program that they oppose for other Americans under 65, but support for themselves.
Now we are extending that challenge to Tea Party advocates and other Americans who have parents on Medicare, but who in their middle age oppose improving healthcare insurance – for even themselves (out of ignorance, it appears). To those middle age Americans with such an outlook, we ask that you remove your parents from Medicare and pay for their healthcare yourselves. Because we don’t want to make a hypocrite out of you on our tax dollars by providing socialized medicine to your parents while you denounce it in principle.
And while you are at it, if you oppose medical care for all Americans, please sign a pledge – and this applies to all of you under 65 who oppose a single payer system – that you will not apply for Medicare when you turn 65 – and that you will not ask the US government to pay for your healthcare in your senior years.
Oh…there’s more:)
Kind of odd, the last 40+ videos put on YouTube by American Bridge have been about Rubio – do they think he’ll be the VP pick??
http://www.youtube.com/user/americanbridge21st/videos
Good catch! Damn, that must be the reason. When does the creepy mom jeans dude pick his running mate?
I don’t see how they get him past the Birther wing of the GOP.
Hiya Tally, I’m always puzzled by the wingnuts’ attitude to Rubio. Occasionally I lurk on the dark side, and they seem split on him: some reckon he’s the second coming, others will only tolerate him because they think he’ll deliver 100% of the Latino vote, and the rest put him in the same category as PBO because his name ends in a vowel. Strange people
I can’t wait for them to start looking for the Cuban birth certificate.
But most of all – he’s an Anchor Baby™® in every sense of the word, and they HATE those.
Rubio has a truth problem just like Willard. They could be the Lying Liars ticket! Vote for us, and we will never tell you what we believe, where we stand, and we will never tell you the truth! We will serve and protect the 1%, who own us. And—-no common good. We rise alone.
Let’s make the June fundraising EPIC people!
I didn’t get a chance in last thread to comment on President Obama inviting to the WH the mom who lost her legs protecting her children during a tornado. I loved that he extended the invitation to her and her family, and I loved that he cares and has such a big heart. I read about her and saw her on some program. She appears to be a great gal, an engaging personality, and has such a positive outlook. Her mother instinct kicked in and she saved her kids. President Obama gave her rightful recognition and gave her another reason to feel good about herself and her actions. I’m sure he gave her lots of encouragement for the future and will help in any way he can with their new prosthetic business.
I LOOOOOOVE Rev. Al. He is a FIERCE advocate for truth and for Pres. Obama. He’s been championing ObamaCare like no other. He just played a slideshow of newspapers touting that ObamaCare is indeed constitutional and he rolled out the slideshow to the tune of “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now…….We’re On The Move!”
Love that!!!
“Ain’t No Stopping Us Now…….We’re On The Move!”
“Ain’t no stoppin’ us now…We got the Groove!” Yeah!!!
Oh please, please, pu-lea-se can somebody share that? That has been my personal choice for campaign song for this election for the longest while. Pretty please? I’ll promise to behave and not cause any trouble for an entire post ….one of these days.
BTW I mean the Rev Al segment. I already listen to the song itself often enough.
so I just got another email from the DCCC – here is what I wrote back:
“After so many DEMS in the House only yesterday, showed they’re completely owned whores of the NRA by voting for Contempt for AG Holder who cannot by law release the documents douchebag Issa is requesting, YOU CAN KISS MY ASS, and TELL THEM THEY ARE THE REASON.
I’ll vote D because thankfully my CA DEMS are AWESOME, and I’ll give money directly to MY POTUS. But I AM DONE with the DEMS who allow themselves to be blackmailed by the NRA so they can continue their international arms trafficking cash cow.
Until the DEMS get behind President Obama and HAVE HIS BACK – I refuse to have theirs.
Fuck them.”
This was the “pointedness” that I was referring to yesterday:) They need to get a clue..like 3 years ago!
I see what you mean df! I have to get more colorful with my prose
I’m with you T! I’ll be giving directly to individual candidates.
I just found this cool site (via a hip nephew) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sick-of-the-Slant-A-Fair-Look-at-the-News-of-the-Day. They just posted that the Guardian actually used the word liar in relation to Romney: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/21/mendacious-mitt-romney-bid-liar-in-chief?INTCMP=SRCH
UK paper. It doesn’t count.
I’ll be excited when one of the US papers and other “news” outlets does their frickin’ job and tells it like it is!
Well for today Dudette, it’s just as well they aren’t doing their jobs, because I’m not sure your heart would have been able to handle the dual excitement of that PLUS the wet one download the mayoress instigated!
really good article–nice roundup of the robme whoppers.
OH YOU GUYS HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS. Pam Bondi(the blonde lady), the AG of Florida who brought the whole health care lawsuit thing to the forefront gets duped…thinking the mandate was struck down- tells Rick “Voldemort” Scott, and then later discovers OOPS…UPHELD
Well, at least they didn’t jump up and down screaming “Thank the Lord!”
LOL, that comes very close to the most delightful 1:51 of my entire life – pure bliss!!
The very definition of schadenfreude.
#Tweeps4OBAMA
Yes We Can
She is corrupt and a big fakey fake. Saw her on Piers Morgan when she was playing a significant role in the Trayvon Martin case. I didn’t believe a word she said.
My fave Bondi story was the Big Sham Wedding story from a couple of months ago—-she invited all the GOP Fl. bigwigs, including Gov. Scott to what was to be her 3rd marriage at the Ritz-Carlton in the Caymans. All showed up for the wedding, she was in her white dress, groom in his finest, but the marriage part never pulled off—–with no explanation to her confused guests. Drink up, everyone!
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/30/2824781/attorney-general-pam-bondis-cayman.html
Looks like she wasn’t the only one disappointed in the final verdict. Is the entire Florida administration selfish/self-centred?
Eric Cantor reaffirms on TV this AM that GOP will use reconciliation to repeal Affordable Care Act in 2013 if they win in November.
— @mattyglesias via Tweetbot for iOS
I don’t see how they use reconciliation to strike down the entire act since it can’t be positively scored by the CBO because striking it will balloon the deficit.
Let ‘em have their fantasies. It ain’t gonna happen, but let ‘em dream. They need something to hold onto until we kick their asses in November.
I’ll have what Dudette’s having!
Don’t forget to share! I’m hungry for their removal too.
You’re correct. They can’t meta, and most of them know it, despite their delusions of grandeur.
Strategically, their sucking on an exhaust pipe of an 18 wheeler – great for a quick suicide and that is what they are committing.
Just look at their platform – tax cuts for the rich, destroy Medicare, privatize Social Security & deny tens of millions of Americans access to affordable health care. That’s it. That’s what we are going to paint them with, every day, from now until polls close on 6 Nov. We will crush them, at an historical level.
#Tweeps4OBAMA
Yes We Can
Heard Thom Hartmann when I was driving around today say that the Repubs will use the “Repeal Obamacare!” rallying cry for the next 20 years——–just like they’ve used abortion and guns—–as a money engine and a means to stir up their low info voters.
Interesting. Had not thought of it in that way, but that is a very distinct possibility.
you know, i can kinda see guns and abortion as money engines, but health care? they’re definitely bottom feeding now.
big IF, sucker!
hmmm–this referred to the ‘if they win in nov’ line waaaay up the page.
Cantor may as well resign himself to getting that smirk smacked off of his face.
Can I say wet dream on this site?
You just did! Now, you must pay — naughty for you right alongside the rest of us!!! Go ahead, march on over here! Get to steppin’!!
Sorry, that’s “naughty mat” – I’m still out of breath from the onslaught of “wet sexy” up-page.
Well, I did ask politely first. It’d be my pleasure to join such an esteemed group of downright naughty ladies on a mat that must surely be threadbare by now.
Threadbare, liquor-stained and slippery from cocoa butter droppings.
You’e very sweet, but schmoozing is unnecessary. It’s Friday, let the raunchy celebration ensue!
Did you say raunchy? Well raunchy on over, I got raunchy AND risque!!! When I’m bad, I’m very very good. Watch out now!
Excellent! I’ll be back a bit later to partake in the festivities. Gotta go sweat off some of my coworker’s birthday cake.
Oh crikey, what have I started?
I’m thinking we need more cocoa butter……:)
‘SSup df!
Down girl!!!!
With Barack Obama, we will break the old gridlock and finally make health care what it should be in America-a fundamental right for all, not just an expensive privilege for the few.
—
From Ted Kennedy’s endorsement for President of Senator Barack Obama. 1-28-2008
http://tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/obama_endorsement/
4 years exactly. Signed, sealed, delivered!!!!!
Why the Individual Mandate Is Effective and Efficient
by Dr. Jonathan Gruber
—————————————–
This was all possible because the individual mandate ended the “death spiral” of trying to obtain fairly priced insurance by just forcing insurers to charge everyone the same price. The bottom line is that we can’t have fairly priced insurance for the healthy and sick alike without the broad participation that is guaranteed by the mandate. The mandate is the spinach we have to eat to get the dessert that is fairly priced insurance coverage.
There have been a variety of complaints about the individual mandate, but they are unfounded. It is important to remember that the vast majority of Americans will be unaffected by the mandate because they are already covered; indeed, when individuals are informed of this fact, public support for the mandate almost doubles. Moreover, no one will be forced to buy insurance that they cannot afford; the mandate includes an “affordability exemption” that excludes any individual who cannot find insurance for less than 8% of their income. In Massachusetts we have a similar exemption and we have had no public outcry about the mandate and only a very small number of appeals of mandate penalties.
Finally, some claim that the mandate is unconstitutional. While this will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, the vast majority of legal scholars who have weighed in on this topic, both liberal and conservative, have said that this is a laughable argument.
————————————
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/26/why-the-individual-mandate-is-effective-and-efficient.html
And this: It is critical to remember that the vast majority of Americans will be unaffected by the mandate because they are already covered; indeed, when individuals are informed of this fact, public support for the mandate almost doubles.
FREE RIDER PENALTY IS ON 1% OF POPULATION, NOT ALL AMERICANS
Fox Vs. Fox On “Massive New Tax” That Only Affects A Small Number Of People
————————————–
Lines in the sand have been drawn at Fox.
Discussing the Supreme Court’s opinion upholding health care reform legislation, Fox White House correspondent Wendell Goler reported today that a fee for individuals who don’t have health insurance would only affect one percent of the population. Goler’s report is in marked contrast to his Fox News colleagues, who are claiming the fee is a massive tax on all Americans.
In contrast to Goler’s report, Fox has been aggressively claiming that the fee would amount to a massive tax on all Americans.
——————————————–
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201206290018
Alright I’m gonna roll on out of this desolate office and take my butt over to the gym. FLOTUS would be so proud of me…
…that is until she learned that I haven’t been in a couple of weeks. Oh well. I’m getting back on the wagon!
Ok, I’m back after seeing to the thermometers on the FR pages posted on the last thread. Pittiful has been touting his fundraising efforts after the ACA ruling. Well, we know how hard it is for him to find the truth. Even if it is true that he raised $679,524,732,754 gabutillion dollars, I heard somewhere that PBO has raised more after the ruling. he just has more class than to try and brag.
BTW, if it hasn’t been posted here already, you must see the video of last night’s Jay Leno show on PBOs reaction to the decision. There was another one, I can’t remember where PBO holds up “I Won” placards while he’s at the podium making his remarks after the ruling. Too funny.
Thanks so much for the donation!
cookemom, I was nearly crying from laughter when I say PBO doing that happy dance on the Jay Leno video. HYSTERICAL.
Do you mean this one
Tweety showed some clips in the sideshow…..one of them has PBO holding a I won sign and throwing a picture of Romney on the floor.
I can’t remember which late night show it was from..
I think Jon Stewart, not sure but it was too funny as well. Tweety will show them both on his second showing episode that’s on now.
Actually it was Jimmy Kimble, but Stuart had a funny one too.
It was the Comedian that did the WHCD this last April, he used to date, Sarah Silverman, oops, Jimmy Kimmel his skit last night, Tweety said.
yes hysterical and the other was Jon Stewart.
HILARIOUS!!!!!
Love this- love the song too. Maybe it’s on President Obama’s playlist.
the other one was jon stewart. Tweety showwed them both on hardball.
Do the DEMs have a plan to take back the house….and gain seats in the Senate……..
Hey pf58, http://dccc.org/pages/redtoblue
I’d like to see more publicity around this issue. There’s also the “Drive to 25″
thanksssssss so much
The #NRA27 – a blight on the Democratic Party
#Tweeps4OBAMA
Yes We Can
The Senate adjourned Friday with the confirmation of Kristine Svinicki and Allison Macfarlane to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
1 democrat and 1 republican!
Gross
I think it’s Vic who posted this on Twitter….I’m not sure, I just read it……..disgusting!
”two news organizations covering the same story scoured the nation for a random small business owner to comment on that story—and they both found the same one! How’d that happen?”
NPR and NBC News.
Yep….random small business owner…
Go to many of these links and you find out something about Joe Olivo that NPR and NBC didn’t tell you: he’s a member of the National Federation of Independent Business. NFIB’s site and YouTube page promote many of Olivo’s public appearances, like testifying against the health care law before House and Senate committees in January 2011.
NFIB, you will not be surprised to learn, is linked to the ALEC and Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, and to the usual rogues’ gallery of right-wing zillionaires.
So Joe Olivo isn’t just some random business owner—he’s dispatched by NFIB whenever there’s a need for someone to play a random small business owner on TV.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/06/29/just-a-humble-tradesman-trapped-in-a-world-he-never-made/
this is important!! read and be amazed.
BUT, they could use reconciliation to defined the healthcare act, take away all it’s taxes.
Defund!
Is LL here??? LOOK WHAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH HERE!! I hate this ignorance. Hate it.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/06/29/books-banned-in-arizona-group-librotraficante-fights-back/
Tweeted. I’m so sorry, DF. My cousin lives in Tucson, and he’s completely drunk the AZ RWNJ koolaid.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry to hear that. WTF is wrong with him????? This is sick
What fresh hell is THIS?!!!????!!! This is BEYOND bat crap crazee… Forced into smuggling books, cherished literature even, to a network of UNDERGROUND libraries in the United States of America in the 21st century. I had to write it out to try and wrap my head around this and still can’t accept this. unfuckingbelievable. What’s next public book burnings?
This is fantastic:
Charles Pierce: One of the overlooked elements in Thursday’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act is that, beyond the individual mandate and the hysterical politics surrounding it, the act itself is chock-full of innovative ideas and pilot programs and all sorts of other experimental goodness directed toward making easier the lives of people dealing with serious health problems. Like, for example, Alzheimer’s Disease…
Tucked away in the act is a pilot program for 10,000 people called the Independence At Home program. This is a technique first developed by the Veterans Administration by which a patient with a chronic disease, like Alzheimer’s, is treated in his or her own home by a team of doctors, nurse practitioners, geriatric pharmacists, and any other health professional whose specialty is required.
This is not only cost-efficient, being infinitely cheaper than hospitals and nursing homes, but it is a comfort for the patients and their families…
…. The program is the brainchild of Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), whose mother died from Alzheimer’s …. “Let’s just start with pre-existing conditions,” Markey told me on Thursday evening. “If the law had been struck down, you didn’t have those protections anymore. And we know that five million people have Alzheimer’s right now, and that 15 million are going to get it. Let’s go to bankruptcy, then. The law says that just because you got sick, you cannot go bankrupt.”
More here: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/obamacare-alzheimers-impact-10152540
THE FREE RIDER PENALTY
WHO PAYS?
====================
But whatever you want to call it — tax, fee, penalty, incentive, Robert — even though it does raise some money, the key is that it will snag relatively few people.
.
.
Four million. A bit more than one percent of the population. And remember, these are people who are able to afford insurance but choose not to, knowing they’ll eventually need to avail themselves of the health care system. It’s actually fair to think of it as a free-rider penalty. That’s harder to explain than simply screaming “tax,” but it’s true, and much less politically contentious.
======================
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/06/who_pays.php
Bill Maher, who isn’t one of my favorites, explained this way.
“Call this penalty a tax, is like calling a speeding ticket a driving ticket.”
I gotta give it to him! That’s a pretty good, easy analogy.
Lookie Here Lookie Here We’re On the Move….
5 Bloggers on our Fundraising Team are within striking distance of their Goal
HZ – within $38.00
Judith Fardig – within $62.00
Pamela – within $77.00
Hgerhard – within $104.00
and our Newbie to the FR Team Prettyfoot58 is within $144.00
Cookemom and Theo67 You might want to bump up your thermometer and Congrats on reaching your initial goal!!!
Thanks Donna, I hadn’t even looked. WOW, thanks to all of you who contributed!!
Awesome!
JUSTICE GINSBURG IS TOUGH AS NAILS
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hero
Posted by Amy Davidson
————————————————-
“Staying power” is something that Ginsburg has. As Jeffrey Toobin says in this week’s Political Scene podcast, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seventy-nine. She is about five feet tall, eighty pounds, she has had every disease known to humanity. She is as tough as nails.” She made her way at a time when you could have a legal education from Harvard and Columbia and still be turned down for a job because you were a woman. She is not as loud or colorfully charismatic as Scalia—who is?—but neither does she seem to have learned to give up. (Those wondering about the liberal future of the Court might note that, on a point related to Medicaid expansion, Ginsburg was joined by only one Justice: Sonia Sotomayor.) We don’t know what happened inside the Court, or why Roberts voted the way he did. But by writing a scathing opinion, Ginsburg may at least have done him the favor of showing him what he might have looked like if he had signed on with Scalia: a political opportunist, and almost a fool.
————————————————–
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/06/ruth-bader-ginsburg-hero.html#ixzz1zDxqbcEG
I love her. From now on, I’m calling her “Ride or Die RUTH” This was my comment at ‘Pragmatic Obots Unite’
I read a bit of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life story. She’s smart, resilient, very resourceful. Quite used to dealing with arrogant white men. And the first women to be on TWO Law Reviews – Harvard and Columbia. The “how” of how she managed to do that is testimony to her quiet grit. I think the ol’ babe is a ‘Ride or Die” chick. Seriously!!
…Then, another challenge: Martin contracted testicular cancer in 1956, requiring intensive treatment and rehabilitation. Ruth Ginsburg attended to her young daughter and convalescing husband, taking notes for him in classes while she continued her own law studies. …
She’s almost 80. I’m pretty sure that she’s hanging on until Pres. Obama get’s re-elected so that she can retire knowing that her work will NOT be in vain.
Also, I’m convinced that she reminds PBO of his “Toot.” Ginsburg is smart, short and cute, just like his grandmother was.
That was such a great read in the New Yorker and I thoroughly enjoyed your comment. I have to tell you that the last line of your comment gave me chills because one of the things that warms my heart is when President Obama gives Justice Ginsburg a kiss before the State of the Union. You can see how proud she is of him as she returns the affection. It just makes me melt. Justice Ginsburg is brilliant AND adorable. I love her.
That was so interesting to read, Ladyhawke, thank you! Thank Amy Davidson, too!
I’m just putting a quick note in here at the bottom because I got past my goal! w00t! I’ve had this fundraising account since January and I think I’ve raised 281$ since we’ve started! Thanks! I can’t believe it! You guys are the bomb! Couldn’t have done it without you all! #PRESSON
ooooohhh wow I missed that. CONGRATS Alice!!!!!!
Is there a difference between a free loader and a free rider or both expressions means the same thing?
same when it comes to healthcare and making the rest of us pay for them.
Ok thanks Tally, I wasn’t sure….I’m so going to retweet what you posted…..I love the graphic…it says it all!….Ugh too bad Thomas is not close to retirement
Here’s a PSA for you all.
So, I’m looking for a new doctor. My current doctor is good, but his staff is useless. I won’t go into how the staff has fucked up my wife’s weight loss surgery. Let’s just say that I was livid yesterday after she got off the phone with our insurance co. and they told her that our doctor’s office hasn’t sent them any of the information they requested.
So I’ve been looking on my insurance website for a new doctor, and then going to Yelp to see if there are any reviews. Not the most efficient of methods.
Then I found this website: http://www.healthgrades.com. You can search by area, insurance co., and customer reviews. Making my search SO much easier.
If anyone is shopping for a doctor, that site is a great resource.
Oh thank you! This is why I read all these posts no matter how late I am to the party. I’m looking for both a new primary and a specialist. This looks like a great resource.
Sheesh, hurry up tortoises, there’s a new post already:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/06/29/this-that-the-other/