07 | September | 2013 | The Obama Diary

Obama turned Republicans against war. If you did that, you’d deserve the Nobel Peace Prize too.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) September 6, 2013

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If we had to rely on Congress to approve the hit on Bin Laden the Motherfucker would be on Dancing with the Stars next season.

— Nostradeptus (@adept2u) September 7, 2013

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Obama plans media blitz Monday as Syria vote looms http://t.co/urpzORLHhS

— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) September 7, 2013

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#POTUS interviewers: ABC/Diane Sawyer, CBS/Scott Pelley, CNN/Wolf Blitzer, Fox/Chris Wallace, NBC/Brian Williams and PBS’s Gwen Ifill

— AAmom (@AVD911) September 7, 2013

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what an ego – unsubscribe page: “I agree with Alan Grayson, but I just get too many emails.”

— Judy Greenough (@judygreeno) September 7, 2013

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ICYMI, here’s Alan Grayson laughing at the idea of US trying to stop Syrian “atrocities”; http://t.co/POopByjAWm

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) September 7, 2013

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How many @dailykos wreck list diaries condemn @AlanGrayson for his islamophobia? 3? 4? Yea, didn’t think so. Hypocrites. @markos

— BWD (@theonlyadult) September 7, 2013

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I’m older enough to remember when emos had the same kind of love affair w/ Weiner that they now have w/ Grayson. They’re both lunatics.

— Smartypants (@Smartypants32) September 7, 2013

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Have a good long look, @MSNBC @Maddow @Lawrence @EdShow @chrislhayes An “alleged” Sarin gas attack looks like: http://t.co/w289N9NTz9

— Bill R (@cmpnwtr) September 7, 2013

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Continue reading ‘A Tweet or Two from some of the Smart Folk’

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The Week Ahead:

Saturday and Sunday: The President has no public events scheduled

Monday: Attends meetings at the White House

Tuesday: Addresses the nation from the White House

Wednesday: The President, the Vice President, the First Lady, Dr Jill Biden and White House staff will gather on the South Lawn of the White House to observe a moment of silence to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The President will then travel to the Pentagon Memorial to attend the September 11th Observance Ceremony

Thursday: The President will hold a Cabinet Meeting. The Vice President will attend

Friday: Welcomes to the White House the Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah

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Steve Benen: Putting the goalposts firmly in place

…. If congressional Republicans ignore President Obama, it’s evidence of Obama failing. If congressional Republicans ignore their own party’s leaders, it’s still evidence of Obama failing.

If the president bypasses Congress to pursue his national security strategy, he’s dictatorial. If he seeks congressional authorization for his national security strategy, he’s weak and undermining the stature of his office.

If lawmakers reject a resolution authorizing force in Syria, Obama will struggle to get anything through Congress for the rest of his term. If lawmakers approve a resolution authorizing force in Syria, Obama will struggle to get anything through Congress for the rest of his term.

If the president uses the military to intervene in Syria, Obama will have undermined the credibility of the United States on the global stage. If the president honors a congressional vote against using the military to intervene in Syria, Obama will have undermined the credibility of the United States on the global stage.

I’m starting to think this game is rigged in a heads-I-win; tails-you-lose sort of way…..

Full post here

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The People’s View: When Democrats Were Humanitarian Hawks (#KosovoDems)

It passed the Senate by a 58-41 vote, and failed in the House in a 213-213 tie. 93% of Democrats in the Senate voted for it, as did 86% of House Democrats – that made for 42 Democratic senators and 180 Democratic House members. It was the Congressional resolution to allow the United States to intervene militarily, unilaterally if needed, to end a humanitarian catastrophe – under a Democratic president. It was the humanitarian catastrophe of death and displacements in Kosovo. President Clinton lead an airstrike despite the failure of the vote in Congress, under the NATO umbrella.

Kosovo’s civil war was a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions, but in the perspective of Syria, it is in danger of looking miniscule….

Yet, Congressional Democrats remain largely skeptical of an intervention in Syria while roughly 90% of Democrats in Congress in 1999 voted to allow Bill Clinton to intervene in Kosovo. I am left wondering why this is….

Full post here

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In America, the white Republican who lied us to war had more backing from Democrats than the black Democrat who tells the truth. #syria

— BWD (@theonlyadult) September 7, 2013

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Smartypants: Rep. Keith Ellison asks us to listen to Syrian Americans

While an awful lot of liberals are jumping in front of TV cameras to announce their collaboration with tea party libertarians to oppose military intervention in Syria, one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (and one of only two members of the House who are Muslim) seems to be struggling a bit more deeply with the issues involved.

PEACE community, consider thoughtful words of Syrian Americans as you think about Congress’ vote next week. http://t.co/yduqX4kIt0

— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) September 5, 2013

You can bet that with that kind of nuance, Rep. Ellison isn’t going to be asked to appear on any of the cable network shows.

But I’d ask you to do what the Congressman has requested: take a moment to read the letter to the anti-war movement from the group known as United for a Free Syria…..

Full post here

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“If we cannot summon the courage to act…our ability to lead in the world is compromised.” —@AmbassadorPower: http://t.co/GP1itDCS3B #Syria

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 6, 2013

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It was hard to imagine Alan Grayson could sink any lower this week – see ‘Alan Grayson Conspires with Far Right Lunatics to Lie and Fundraise off of Syria’ at The People’s View and ‘Rep Alan Grayson Cackles That Syrian Atrocities ‘Simply Not Our Problem’ at Mediaite) – but then there was this:

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Steve Benen: When crass fundraising takes a Grimm turn

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) announced just days ago that he would support President Obama’s call for military intervention in Syria. “We have to keep our word; this is about our credibility,” the New York Republican said last weekend. “We can’t permit a precedent where there is a use of chemical weapons and there is no response.”

Four days later, Grimm changed his mind, and announced yesterday he opposes the policy he’d previously endorsed.

I’ll leave it to others to speculate as to why, exactly, the congressman reversed course so quickly and completely …. The fundraising appeal, sent within a few hours of Grimm’s newly announced position, asks donors, “Will you stand with me in opposing President Obama’s plan with a donation of $25 or more right now?” It adds, “Stand with me today with a donation of $25 or more to strongly oppose military action in Syria.”

Full post here

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Smartypants: President Obama and WMD’s

The whole concept of reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction was seriously discredited when Bush/Cheney used it as an excuse to lie us into an unnecessary war. Its clear by now that some people simply cannot have a rational conversation about the topic as a result.

But since President Obama has been trying to convince the US and the world to live up to their commitments about responding to the use of chemical weapons, I’ve been thinking about how that position is linked to a rather bold promise he made back when he was running for president in 2008….

More here

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Stay tuned for more details, but on Monday, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice will give a speech at @NewAmerica Foundation.

— Eric Schultz (@Schultz44) September 6, 2013

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The PCTC Blog: Pacifists and Liberals ; When Do We Actually Stand Up For Those We Allegedly Care About?

Being a pacifist isn’t easy. Not easy at all.

A lot of self-described pacifists think it is easy. Essentially, the equation for many is, if it maims or kills, you don’t do it. Period. That’s easy, isn’t it?

There’s just one problem. It’s not pacifism.

Like everything else in life, being pro-peace is complicated. It’s a constant calculation, based on the circumstances in each situation. It’s not a blanket belief that no one should ever do anything violent, but a calculation of which actions will bring us closer to peace, and save the most innocent lives? Unfortunately, sometimes, the necessary action may be a violent one. Sometimes, in the grand peace calculation, there is little choice but to act violently. It’s a sad but true fact of life….

Full post here

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Oh boy, these people…..

TPM: Weekly GOP Address Makes No Mention Of Syria

As the country debates what it should engage in another military conflict, the Senate Republican weekly address Saturday made no mention of Syria.

Instead the address, delivered by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), was exclusively dedicated to attacking Obamacare ahead of the Oct. 1 initiation of enrollment in the law’s health insurance exchanges.

More here

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President Obama views the Gulf of Finland during a break before the first plenary session at the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg (Photo by Pete Souza)

More Pete Souza photos from the Summit here

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Paul Krugman: It Takes A Government (To Make A Market)

Lots of reporting on the new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of what we know so far about premiums under Obamacare. It definitely looks as if there will be a mild “rate shock” — in the right direction….

What’s going on here? Partly it’s a vindication of the idea that you can make health insurance broadly affordable if you ban discrimination based on preexiting conditions while inducing healthy individuals to enter the risk pool through a combination of penalties and subsidies. But there’s an additional factor, that even supporters of the Affordable Care Act mostly missed: the extent to which, for the first time, the Act is creating a truly functioning market in nongroup insurance.

…. In an alternative universe, conservatives would be celebrating this good … But in this universe, conservatives claim that creating a real market for health insurance, and making sure that everyone can afford it, is the moral equivalent of slavery.

Full post here

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OCare

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What Is Working: 40 Ways Obamacare is Working

The House of Representatives has voted 40 times 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.

1. Say goodbye to lifetime limits: Insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on coverage.

2. Children can no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.

3. Starting in 2014, adults will no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.

Free preventive care, including:

4. Annual check-ups

5. Contraception

6. Vaccinations

7. Gestational diabetes screenings

8. Mammograms….

More here

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ThinkProgress: North Carolina Hospital Will Shut Down In Six Months Because The State Won’t Expand Medicaid

On Wednesday, residents of Belhaven, North Carolina got a taste of how stubborn GOP opposition to the Affordable Care Act can affect them personally when executives at Vidant Health System unanimously voted to shut down the local Vidant Pungo Hospital within six months. Vidant officials said the move was necessary as a consequence of North Carolina’s refusal to participate in Obamacare’s optional Medicaid expansion.

Belhaven is a small town of 1,688 where more than 55 percent of the population is African-American and approximately 28 percent of residents live in poverty….

….. Obamacare reduced reimbursements to these so-called “disproportionate share hospitals” — one of which is Vidant Pungo — since the law originally intended all states to expand Medicaid for every American living up to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. If things had unfolded that way, these hospitals wouldn’t need the additional government payments since their patients would finally be able to pay for their own care through Medicaid.

Full post here

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More information here

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ThinkProgress: Washington State Is Getting Flooded With Hundreds Of Phone Calls About Signing Up For Obamacare

Obamacare’s state-level insurance marketplaces open for enrollment on October 1, and state officials are trying to get out the word about the new health care options that will be available soon. But many uninsured Americans still aren’t aware that they’ll be able to qualify for assistance to buy new plans under Obamacare, and lots of people in general remain confused about what the health law means for them. Health reform skeptics aren’t convinced that the marketplaces’ roll-out will be smooth enough to successfully reach all of those people.

If Washington State is any indication, however, some of those fears may be overblown. Washington hopes to target about one million uninsured residents with information about signing up for Obamacare. And it’s off to a relatively good start, as state officials there say that hundreds of people have contacted them this week asking for more details about the new Obamacare plans.

More here

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