News Of The Day

VP Biden swears in Samantha Power as U.S. Ambassador to the UN today at the White House

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Steve Benen: And Then There Were 40

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters yesterday that President Obama and congressional Democrats are “in denial.” Yeah, denial’s just awful, isn’t it? Capping a legislative work period more noted for what it failed to pass than for what it completed, the House voted for the 40th time on Friday to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care reform law before heading home for a five week recess.

The GOP-controlled House voted to approve a measure to prevent the IRS from enforcing “Obamacare” in a 232-185 vote. The legislation faces virtually no chance of advancing in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. How many House Republicans voted for repeal? All of them who were on the Hill this morning. If we include the Senate, the total number of votes held by congressional Republicans to repeal all or part of the federal health care law is 68. We’re talking about a group of folks who are very slow learners.

More here

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Sybrina Fulton says as parents they plan to help other parents of "senseless gun violence."

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Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 02, 2013

Sybrina Fulton says she is committed to making a difference and helping other families through the Trayvon Martin foundation.

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Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 02, 2013

Tracy Martin: It's very important that the name #TrayvonMartin mean something to our nation.

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Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 02, 2013

Sybrina Fulton: President Obama can identify with us and see himself in #TrayvonMartin

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Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 02, 2013

Tracy Martin: We don't have time to grieve because we have to do work for others who are voiceless.

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Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 02, 2013

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Andrew Cray: New Federal Legislation Introduced To Protect Homeless LGBT Youth

Although they comprise only 5 to 7 percent of all youth in America, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth make up an average of 40 percent of all homeless youth in cities across the United States. These youth face a high risk of rejection and abuse in their homes, in their schools, and on the streets. For LGBT children and young adults left without safe homes, life on the street is dangerous, and the future may seem bleak.

But Thursday, Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation that would offer hope for LGBT youth and the providers charged with serving them. If passed, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Inclusion Act would amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to prohibit discrimination against homeless youth based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the programs intended to offer them stability and shelter, and would promote data collection processes to help policymakers better understand LGBT youth homelessness.

The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) supports federally-funded programs for homeless youth, including street outreach, shelters and drop-in centers, and transitional living programs.

More here

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The Democratic Party and the Republican Party

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Igor Volsky: New ObamaCare Rule Throws Lifeline To Federal Employees

Congressional lawmakers and their staff will be able to afford health care coverage this fall when they begin enrolling in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is expected to rule that the federal government can continue contributing to the cost of health care plans purchased through an exchange, putting to end months of intense behind-the-scenes lobbying from members of both parties which culminated in President Obama assuring Democrats that he is personally involved in the issue.

More here

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Who is this guy?! 😉

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Laugh…Rire…Reír

The present is where the past and the future meet to exchange hostages.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 28, 2013

"Shit's about to get real." - My last words before Creation.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 27, 2013

1. The truth will set you free. 2. The truth hurts. 3. Being set free hurts.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 27, 2013

Good things come to those with cash.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 27, 2013

My philosophy is, always leave 'em wanting more. Money, food, time on earth, whatever.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 25, 2013

The circumstances under which you should send a photo of your penis to other people are as follows: never.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 23, 2013

The reason I don't respond to your tweets is the same reason I don't respond to your prayers: I infinitely don't care.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 23, 2013

Modern journalism is 90% reporting what people are saying on Twitter.

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God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 22, 2013

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Rise and Shine

Pete Souza: President Obama reading a document in the Oval Office

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Presidential Daily Schedule (All Times Eastern)

10:00AM: Pres. Obama and VP Biden receive the presidential daily briefing

The President will attend meetings at the White House

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Sandhya Somashekhar: Groups Go Door-To-Door To Encourage Enrollment In ObamaCare

In Florida, Enroll America’s work carries particularly high stakes because as much as 25 percent of the non-elderly population lacks insurance and Republican leaders have refused to implement the law’s key provisions themselves. White House officials, who aim to sign up 7 million people nationwide for coverage by next year, have said the state is among their top targets because it has the nation’s third-largest uninsured population after California and Texas.

Over the weekend, more than 100 volunteers with Enroll America knocked on about 4,000 doors around the state. Among the volunteers was Botero, who carried a list of names and addresses generated by a “microtargeting” tool developed by Enroll America, the biggest nonprofit working on Obamacare enrollment. The organization, using census data, commercially available consumer databases and demographic information such as age, race and income, developed a formula to determine the likelihood that someone is uninsured.

More here

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Are U coming 2 DC on the 24th for the March on Washington? Need bus information? Find it here: nationalactionnetwork.net/mow/buses/ http://t.co/pSmfxCPUPS

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Donna NoShock (@NoShock) August 02, 2013

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Erin Hannigan: 40 Ways ObamaCare Is Working

The House of Representatives is poised to take its 40th vote to repeal Obamacare. To mark the occasion, here’s a quick rundown of 40 ways that Obamacare is already working for millions of Americans and will impact more beginning in 2014.

Say goodbye to lifetime limits: Insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on coverage. Children can no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Starting in 2014, adults will no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Free preventive care, including: Annual check-ups Contraception Vaccinations Gestational diabetes screenings Mammograms

More here

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BREAKING: US employers add 162K jobs as unemployment rate falls to 7.4 percent, lowest since Dec. 2008

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The Associated Press (@AP) August 02, 2013

July Jobs Report: Public sector added 1,000 jobs. Incomes rose 0.3%. Consumer spending rose 0.5%

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) August 02, 2013

July Jobs Report: Household survey: 227,000 people reported having a job. This is the fourth straight month of growth.

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) August 02, 2013

Government actually added 1k to jobs, more evidence state and local job-shedding has run its course.

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Neil Irwin (@Neil_Irwin) August 02, 2013

MORE: U.S. June incomes rise 0.3%, consumer spending gains 0.5%

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Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) August 02, 2013

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The White House: Statement From the President On The Confirmation Of Samantha Power As U.S. Ambassador To The United Nations

I’m pleased that the Senate has confirmed Samantha Power as our next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations by a strong, bipartisan majority.  As one of our country’s leading foreign policy thinkers, Samantha knows that our nation’s interests are advanced with strong and principled American leadership.  As a long-time champion of human rights and dignity, she will be a fierce advocate for universal rights, fundamental freedoms and U.S. national interests.   I’m grateful that Samantha will continue to be a vital member of my national security team, and I know that under her leadership our U.N. Mission in New York will continue to represent American diplomacy at its best.

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White House says July employment is "further confirmation that the US economy is continuing to recover but "more work remains."

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PETER MAER (@petermaercbs) August 02, 2013

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Greg Sargent: GOP Leaders Reap The Whirlwind

Is there any bill funding the government — at any level of spending — that Republicans alone can pass out of the House at this point?

Congress has gone home for recess after a series of botched votes that are cause for deep pessimism about the future. The basic problem here is not hard to divine. The Senate GOP filibuster of the transportation bill yesterday, and the House GOP decision to yank its version of the same the day before that, confirm that Republicans may not be able to pass a spending bill at sequester levels, even as they won’t support one at higher spending levels, either. If this sounds crazy, that’s because it is. But this craziness has a cause. Republican leaders have nurtured it for years, and now they are stuck in a trap of their own creation.

More here

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The Bible on reproductive rights http://t.co/TeWs196l05

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RC deWinter (@RCdeWinter) August 02, 2013

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Steve Benen: ‘The American People Should Be Outraged’

When federal policymakers start with a bizarre premise — low-income Americans simply aren’t suffering enough — it’s truly amazing to see where they end up. A plan by House leaders to cut $40 billion from the food stamp program — twice the amount of cuts proposed in a House bill that failed in June — threatens to derail efforts by the House and Senate to work together to complete a farm bill before agriculture programs expire on Sept. 30. The bill that would double cuts previously sought by House Republicans was announced Thursday by Representative Frank D. Lucas, Republican of Oklahoma and chairman of House Agriculture Committee, during a lunch with lobbyists, and first reported by Reuters.

And so, instead of adopting a more moderate bill, making a compromise with the Senate easier, House Republicans, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make their version much more right-wing — doubling the cuts to food aid for the poor, while imposing work requirements and drug tests. If Ayn Rand were alive today, this is the sort of bill that would lead her to say, “Aren’t you guys overdoing it a bit?”

More here

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While @GOP takes its 40th wasteful spending vote to repeal #ObamaCare, here are 40 ways the law improves lives. barackobama.com/news/entry/40-…

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) August 02, 2013

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Jonathan Cohn: Six Reasons Hipsters Will Bite On ObamaCare

You’re a 26-year-old single dude, holding down a pair of part-time jobs tending bar and painting houses, and making about $24,000 a year. Thanks to Obamacare, you can finally get decent health insurance, just like people with full-time jobs at large companies do. But when you go online to check out your options, you see that even the cheapest “bronze” plan, which has high deductibles and co-payments, will cost you about $100 a month. Obamacare’s penalty for carrying no insurance next year is less than one-tenth of that. Do you buy the insurance anyway?

But there [are] good reasons to think the critics are wrong, that young people will sign up for health insurance, and that Obamacare will work as its designers intended. Here are six of those reasons.

More here

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Instagram of Bo this morning. Instagram.com/petesouza http://t.co/mUk7RA58Ak

—
  (@petesouza) August 02, 2013

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Woohooooo….It’s Friday!

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President Barack Obama talks with diners at Lechonera El Barrio restaurant while waiting for his lunch order during a stop in Orlando, Fla., Aug. 2, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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President Barack Obama works on his statement on the compromise reached to reduce the deficit and avert a default, in the Outer Oval Office, Aug. 2, 2011. Standing in the background are, from left: Director of Communications Dan Pfeiffer; Press Secretary Jay Carney; Jon Lovett, Associate Director of Speechwriting; and Senior Advisor David Plouffe. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Early Bird Chat

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Moooooorning everyone!