Tweets Of The Day

First Father http://t.co/EkflGRFIOK

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TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 27, 2013

Get your #ACA health #insurance questions answered by experts at our live web chat - 10/29, 12 noon E.T. here: wb.md/18SYmFy

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  (@WebMD) October 27, 2013

A message to the #KOCHSTERS & their #NEWSTAINER buddies. Find something else to do help Americans for a change. http://t.co/hSztJNXbJG

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Nelson (@Yardarm756DD) October 28, 2013

If you live in Texas, Blue Cross Blue Shield/Be Covered Texas are hosting #ObamaCare information fairs. #GetCovered becoveredtexas.org/en/

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) October 27, 2013

I prefer that only thing keeping me from affordable healthcare is a crappy website not a Party that wants to deny me affordable healthcare

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Richard Hine (@richardhine) October 27, 2013

Bad News for @GovernorPerry: Texans ♥ #ObamaCare. 10,000 show up in Dallas for health insurance information. wfaa.com/news/health/Th…

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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) October 27, 2013

REMINDER: Politicians who want to insert a wand into your vagina for no medical reason call background checks for gun buyers "too intrusive"

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The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) October 27, 2013

First Family #LoveThem http://t.co/cs1b9njhxN

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TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) October 27, 2013

Melanin is not a costume. Blackface is wrong and racist. So don't do it, folks. (schedules the same tweet for the next several Octobers)

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Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 26, 2013

Ken Cuccinelli should be "moderate" like Chris Christie, who personally defunded Planned Parenthood & blocked same-sex marriage for years.

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HELL-OL GOP (@LOLGOP) October 27, 2013

#ThatAwkwardMoment when Ted Cruz stages 21-hour fake filibuster to deny you healthcare safe in the knowledge he's on the Goldman Sachs plan

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The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) October 24, 2013

Rick Santorum said that he thought Ted Cruz "did more harm than good" with the government shutdown and then added "and I'm Rick Santorum."

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HELL-OL GOP (@LOLGOP) October 27, 2013

Crazy idea: Instead of making 100s of laws to protect unborn children, maybe GOP politicians could work on 1 or 2 to protect actual children

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The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) October 27, 2013

It's touching, really, Republicans distraught because ordinary, hard-working Americans weren't able to sign up for health insurance.

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kara vallow (@teenagesleuth) October 27, 2013

More outrageous than a glitchy website: 19,000 Americans will die unnecessarily each year because GOP Governors refuse #Medicaid expansion

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The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) October 27, 2013

Halloween reminds me of best Pete Souza White House photo ever from last year at this time http://t.co/tp6nYRtbF3

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  (@pourmecoffee) October 27, 2013

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Lou Reed, 1942-2013

I’ve spoken about my musical upbringing before, to explain why I’ve posted everything from the hardcore techno rap of Afrika Bambaataa to the mellow rock of America to thorny modern classical music. Growing up in Washington Heights in Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s exposed you to all sorts of music. I had influences from friends and family and my own curiosity.

One of the first albums I bought when I started buying albums (back when they were still vinyl) was Lou Reed’s “Berlin”. I bring this up because MTV’s Palladia concert channel just rebroadcast a performance Reed gave in Brooklyn a couple of years ago in which he turned “Berlin” into a conceptual performance. Watching the music meld with the images crafted for the show called to mind yet again what a true maverick Mr. Reed was. The pop music of the past 40 years would have been very different without his influence and that of the Velvet Underground.

As a writer, I’m a firm believer that a death isn’t to be mourned, but a life is to be celebrated. So join me in celebrating the life of Lewis Allan Reed, as he plays his great gig in the sky.

Sweet Jane

Dirty Boulevard

ObamaCare Stories: How The ACA Affects You

Isbah’s story

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Jill’s story

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Malik’s story

Chat Away: The Victory Edition

President Barack Obama cheering Chelsea to victory and yes, Chelsea won the cup.

Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and others watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final, in the Laurel Cabin conference room during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., May 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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At Your Service

The First Family walk from the White House to St. John’s Church for Sunday services in Washington, October 27

More a bit later – chat awaaaaaaaaay.

Rise and Shine

On This Day: New Hampshire, October 27, 2012 (Photo by Scout Tufankjian)

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The Week Ahead:

Today: The President has no public events scheduled

Monday: The President will attend the installation of FBI Director James Comey at FBI Headquarters in Washington

Tuesday: Attends a memorial service for former Speaker Tom Foley at the Capitol

Wednesday: Travels to Boston where he will speak on the importance of quality health insurance. The President will also attend a fundraiser for the DCCC

Thursday: Hosts and delivers remarks at the SelectUSA Investment Summit. In the evening, the President and the First Lady will welcome local children and children of military families to trick-or-treat at the South Portico of the White House

Friday: The President will host Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House

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@WhiteHouse

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NYT: Insurers’ Stocks, Unhurt By The Dawn Of The Health Care Law

From the financial perspective of the health care industry, Obamacare, as the law is often known, doesn’t seem much of a hindrance. In fact, it may even turn out to be positive. Consider the situation of health insurance providers. Because they face new regulations intended to broaden coverage and limit profit-taking, some analysts have been concerned that profits will suffer. But in the run-up to the Affordable Care Act, stock market prices have told a different story.

Over the last 12 months, shares of the top five publicly traded health insurance companies — Aetna, WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Cigna — have increased by an average of 32 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has risen by just 24 percent. Strong profits in the current year, as growth slowed in overall health care costs, is one probable explanation for the outperformance by the group.

More here

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HHS.Gov: What’s Working In The Marketplace: The Data Services Hub

To give Americans a better way to shop for health coverage, the federal government and states recently launched Health Insurance Marketplaces.  Yesterday, we announced a clear path forward so that by the end of November, HealthCare.gov will work smoothly for the vast majority of consumers. But you probably haven’t heard about the Data Services Hub which serves as a critical resource for the Marketplaces, both state and federal.

The Hub is a tool to help you and your family get affordable, quality health care. As of yesterday, nearly 700,000 Americans had completed an application through the Marketplaces – more than half of them through the federal Marketplace.  This does not count applications directly to Medicaid and CHIP agencies that also can use the Hub.

More here

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Drama! The United States tracked Merkel’s phone since 2002: report http://t.co/HtOIa2UCQe

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) October 27, 2013

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@cspanwj Boooo!! Another Obama success story!! Syria meets crucial deadline for chemical weapons plan http://t.co/36RvE1skNu @msnbc #uppers

— kiki (@kwright39) October 27, 2013

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You know what would be really useful? A #StopWatchingUs rally against racial profiling in the US. That would be awesome.

— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) October 26, 2013

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Think Progress: ObamaCare Got Some Promising News From The Medical Community Today

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced that a record number of students applied to American medical schools in 2013 and that a record number of first-year students has enrolled in medical schools this year. Experts say that’s an encouraging sign in the face of a primary care doctor shortage that will likely be exacerbated by an influx of newly insured Americans seeking medical treatment as the Affordable Care Act goes into effect.

“At a time when the nation faces a shortage of more than 90,000 doctors by the end of the decade and millions are gaining access to health insurance, we are very glad that more students than ever want to become physicians,” said AAMC president Dr. Darrell G. Kirch in a press release. A total of 48,014 students applied to medical schools in 2013, surpassing the previous record that was set in 1996. The number of students enrolled as first-year students also rose above 20,000 for the first time ever.

More here

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Morgan Whitaker: Michelle Obama Shows She’s Still Got Her Husband’s Back

First lady Michelle Obama hit the fundraising circuit Friday to help give her husband the Democrat-controlled Congress that could help him further his agenda, and didn’t shy away from blasting her husband’s opponents for shutting down the government in an ultimately fruitless attempt to stall or stop the Affordable Care Act Friday.

“So when a small group of folks in Congress shuts down our government to try to shut down Obamacare, and we watch as our president stands strong, that’s not just some political fight in Washington,” she said at the Women’s Leadership Forum Conference in DC. “It is a battle about our most fundamental values and aspirations.”

More here

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On This Day:

President Obama chats with Personal Aide Reggie Love, Senior Advisor David Axelrod and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs outside the Oval Office after taping an interview for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Oct. 27, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

Eva Longoria visits an OFA office in West Palm Beach, Florida, Oct 27, 2012

President Obama at a campaign rally at Elm Street Middle School in Nashua, NH, October 27, 2012

New Hampshire, October 27, 2012 (Photos by Scout Tufankjian)

President Obama laughs with Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Nancy-Ann DeParle and Traveling Aide Bobby Schmuck prior to an event at the Elm Street Middle School in Nashua, N.H., Oct. 27, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Early Bird Chat

On This Day: New Hampshire, October 27, 2012 (Photo by Scout Tufankjian)

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MoooOOOooorning Early Birds!