Archive for October 14th, 2013
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America. Get Over It, GOP
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Oct
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Adults In Government
Pete Souza: Photo of Pres Obama and VP Biden today after a meeting in the Rose Garden
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Oct
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A Tweet or Two
Obamacare is not a website. The website is a tool to help implement the law. It’s not the law itself.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 14, 2013
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Your privilege is becoming tedious, @ezraklein. Ask these people about the “disaster”: http://t.co/jrzwTNUfuC || http://t.co/q8mpVYzT8w
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 14, 2013
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Thanks to #ObamaCare, hospitals are saving money, becoming more efficient, and providing quality care. #GetCovered http://t.co/EdVr0merc5
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) October 14, 2013
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@chucktodd Young people tell why Obamacare is needed. (It’s not about a website.) http://t.co/2VSCRUtXH2 via @TheObamaDiary
— LiberalPhenom (@LiberalPhenom) October 14, 2013
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Video: Remarks by President Obama at Martha’s Table today #GOPShutdown http://t.co/OOy6MTpSEN
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 14, 2013
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Government shutdown unleashes racism – Roger Simon – http://t.co/oKN3O1BMhP: http://t.co/qxRqSM9VJT via @POLITICO
— BWD (@theonlyadult) October 14, 2013
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This!!!! => RT @lightgood: Neo-Confederates hate the new demographic that supports OBAMA pic.twitter.com/cOkznurZdo
— Smarty Pants (@Smartypants60) October 13, 2013
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Ted Cruz may have led the suicidal charge, but the rest of the GOP were under no obligation to follow. — Danielle (@DCPlod) October 14, 2013
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It took 3 years, but the “repeal Obamacare” crusade looks like it’s run its course http://t.co/UzjO3nwW4l Don’t go away mad; just go away — Steve Benen (@stevebenen) October 14, 2013
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14
Oct
13
A Special Guest
President Obama greets children and volunteers during a visit to Martha’s Table, a kitchen that prepares meals for the needy, in Washington, October 14
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President Obama walks back to the Oval Office after he visited Martha’s Table, Oct. 14
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Oct
13
The Need For ObamaCare
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I didn’t intend to retweet a whole mess of sob stories this morning from young people who thought they were healthy until they got hit by an SUV/bad appendix/thyroid cancer/infection/baby. What a bunch of whiners, right? All I meant to do was encourage healthy young people and the other people in the world who think they are immortal, who think that health insurance is a luxury that isn’t worth affording, to give that assumption some critical thought, and take advantage of the exchanges to see what their options are.
[Make sure you check out John Hodgman’s Twitter timeline and the stories he retweeted.]
Then the stories came in, and I was overwhelmed in every sense of the word. It seemed something of a civic responsibility, and personally, something of an honor, to retweet as many as I could with the hopes that I would not drive you crazy. Once the stories started rolling in, it really brought home to me how many young people’s lives have been profoundly altered and affected by sudden illness/accidents. Some didn’t have insurance for one reason or another and are still digging themselves out of the hole. Some DID have insurance, and in every case, no one said, I AM SO SAD I WASTED THAT MONEY ON INSURANCE.
I mainly retweeted young people who got hurt in their twenties, because these are the folks who are usually so handsome and limber and blithe that they convince themselves they can’t or don’t need to afford insurance. But none of those people were sitting around going “I am so sad that Obamacare is coming.” All evidence is obviously anecdotal here, but for the most part I was engaging with real, soul-deep relief and excitement for the ACA, which I had never really experienced before.
So even though I didn’t have strong feelings about this resource before today, I am now very glad that it did not shut down with all the national parks today!
More of this beautiful post here
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14
Oct
13
Chat Away
14
Oct
13
Rise and Shine
On This Day: President Obama tours the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today:
The President has no public events scheduled
C-Span coverage from the House starts at 12:0 EDT and from the Senate at 2:0 EDT
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After the events of yesterday in front of the White House I am left both speechless and sad. Those events are on a different level than merely complaining about your taxes being too high. For me, yesterday was when the bottom fell out and collectively we all took a step backwards. I could only think of the Obama daughters looking out of their bedroom windows and looking at the confederate flag being displayed as something to rally around. When the confederate flag can show up at the White House and members of congress can make speeches about liberty while standing under that flag without an ounce of shame or regret, collectively, we all have lost a sense of community. Something was lost yesterday, but I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.
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Yes, the GOP/Tea Party brought Confederate flags to White House today. And we’re the ones playing the ‘race card’? pic.twitter.com/jk9vbYFv47
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 13, 2013
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Steve Benen: GOP turns to Palin, Cruz on shutdown
The government shutdown hasn’t gone quite the way Republicans had hoped. The party’s national support has cratered; the public holds them responsible for a wildly unpopular crisis; and it’s going to take a while for the GOP to recover from a self-inflicted wound this severe.
But no one should assume they’ve hit rock bottom. Yesterday’s theatrics in Washington were a reminder that the Republican Party’s far-right wing can still make matters worse.
…. Brilliant. Flailing Republicans lack leaders and direction, but they’ll certainly get back on track now that the former half-term governor of Alaska is stepping out in front.
More here
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Display of Confederate flag at WH today doesn’t represent all protesters, but why no denunciation by GOP leaders? pic.twitter.com/uPUIKQnu1K
— Roger Simon (@politicoroger) October 14, 2013
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Bill Keller (NYT): Obamacare: The Rest of the Story
Unless you’ve been bamboozled by the frantic fictions of the right wing, you know that the Affordable Care Act, familiarly known as Obamacare, has begun to accomplish its first goal: enrolling millions of uninsured Americans, many of whom have been living one medical emergency away from the poorhouse. You realize those computer failures that have hampered sign-ups in the early days — to the smug delight of the critics — confirm that there is enormous popular demand. You have probably figured out that the real mission of the Republican extortionists and their big-money backers was to scuttle the law before most Americans recognized it as a godsend and rendered it politically untouchable.
What you may not know is that the Affordable Care Act is also beginning, with little fanfare, to accomplish its second great goal: to promote reforms to our overpriced, underperforming health care system. Irony of ironies, the people who ought to be most vigorously applauding this success story are Republicans, because it is being done not by government decree but almost entirely with market incentives.
More here
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Martin Wolske’s Weblog: Our experience with Obamacare
The following is a letter sent to Representative Rodney Davis, Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, and President Obama, as well as to the editorial section of the News Gazette.
This past Monday while driving his motorcycle back to Champaign from Makanda, IL, our 23-year-old son, Eric, was hit by a minivan. His left femur was broken and the ankle and foot were shattered …. His femur has been repaired and will recover, but he will lose his lower leg below his knee. With prosthesis, he will likely be able to do almost everything he had been doing as an active young man.
While in the emergency room awaiting the surgery to repair the femur and assess the rest of the leg, he asked how much this all would cost. Fortunately, this accident happened after the portion of Obamacare took effect that allows children to remain on their parent’s plan until they are 26….
More here
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In light of recent events, this post, from November of last year, is worth reading again:
Exposing Religion Blog: Overall, Obama Has Done More For Veterans Than Any President In the Past 30 Years.
Republicans and conservatives have spent 4 years spreading the lie that President Obama hasn’t done anything for veterans. They have repeated it 100x per day for all 4 years and spent millions promoting their lies. The thing about records is that they are recorded. So let’s set the record straight.
Quick Overview:
1 Initiated a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses.
2 Improved benefits for veterans.
3 Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development .
4 Worked to clear the backlog of veterans claims and streamline benefits to those who served.
5 Provided for the expenses of families of to be at Dover AFB when fallen soldiers arrive.
6 Donated 250K of Nobel prize money to Fisher House.
7 Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009.
8 Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009.
9 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009.
10 Promoted a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (“WASP”).
More here
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14
Oct
13
Early Bird Chat
On This Day: “The Obama family made an unannounced visit to tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., the night before the President made remarks at the official dedication of the memorial.” Oct. 14, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
The Obama Diary 
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