Des Moines, Nov 5, 2012 – the final rally of the campaign
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Today (all times Eastern):
11:30: President Obama and VP Biden meet with business leaders to talk about the impact overhauling immigration laws will have on U.S. economy
2:10: President Obama departs the White House en route Bethesda, Md. where he will visit wounded troops at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He will also visit Fisher House, a program that supports military families
4:0: Michelle Obama makes remarks at White House Diwali celebration
6:30: VP Biden and Jill Biden host reception for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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Video of President Obama addressing OFA yesterday – see here
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Today (Tuesday, November 5th) is election day. Get all the information you need vote411.org
Then go V-O-T-E.
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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) November 05, 2013Have you voted yet #TeamTerry? Find your polling place and get to the polls! terrymcauliffe.com/locate #VAGov http://t.co/4ZRziGFGsk
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Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 05, 2013#Vote Nov. 5 - Time to Vote for #NYC's next mayor, @BilldeBlasio @deblasionyc. Keep calm, & vote Democratic y'all! 😉 http://t.co/sFrfc7e1Qc
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Carmelo Menace (@38_28_38) November 05, 2013Already voted? Help us make calls: BuonoForGovernor.com/calls Let's get out the vote New Jersey!
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Barbara Buono (@BuonoForNJGov) November 05, 2013****
NYT: For Uninsured, Clearing a Way to Enrollment
Kelli Cauley’s fingers raced over her keyboard as she asked the anxious woman at her side a series of questions. What was her income? How many people lived in her household? Did she smoke? (“That’s the only health question it asks,” Ms. Cauley said of the application they were completing.)
The woman, a thin 61-year-old who refused to give her name, citing privacy concerns, had come to the public library here to sign up for health insurance through Kentucky’s new online exchange. She had a painful lump on the back of her hand and other health problems that worried her deeply, she said, but had been unable to afford insurance as a home health care worker who earns $9 an hour.
Within a minute, the system checked her information and flashed its conclusion on Ms. Cauley’s laptop: eligible for Medicaid.
The woman began to weep with relief. Without insurance, she said as she left, “it’s cheaper to die.”
More here
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After logging out of Kynect, she says she decided that Obamacare was "just too good to be true.” huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/ken…
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(@igorvolsky) November 05, 2013****
Jonathan Cohn: ‘I Would Jump At It’ The media labeled her an Obamacare victim. Here’s what she really thinks.
If you’ve followed the stories of insurance cancellations related to Obamacare, you may have heard about Dianne Barrette. She’s the 57-year-old Florida realtor who was paying $54 a month for a Blue Cross insurance plan. The plan won’t be available after December. And while FloridaBlue offered her a new plan, the company told her the premium would be $591 a month. Barrette, who makes $30,000 a year and could not pay for such a plan, was flabbergasted. Jan Crawford of CBS News made her the key source for a story about plan cancellations. An appearance on Fox News followed, as did multiple cameos in press releases from Obamacare critics. For at least a few days, she was the poster child for the Obamacare cancellation story.
But Barrette’s situation defies quick and easy description. It’s true that she can’t keep her current policy—and that most policies available to her for next year have higher premiums. But those plans also offer real coverage, and her current plan does not. Some people might resent government effectively prohibiting her current plan. Barrette doesn’t appear to be one of them. Based on conversations we’ve had over the past few days, she wants more comprehensive insurance and, within reason, she’s willing to pay more for it.
More here
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The real reason that the cancer patient writing in today’s Wall Street Journal lost her insurance: thkpr.gs/1hHgZjp
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(@igorvolsky) November 04, 2013****
Bob Cesca: Another Obamacare ‘Horror Story’ Debunked; And, No, the President Didn’t Lie About the Law
As the week began, another “Obamacare” horror story hit the press, instigating a fleet of outrage-pornographers and concern trolls across the political spectrum to resume its self-flagellation and screeching about the disastrous Affordable Care Act — selectively forgetting about actual healthcare horror stories that existed before the law was implemented. It was a story focusing on yet another vague, anecdotal tale about a hapless ACA victim whose insurance policy was canceled, thus vindicating the accusation that the president lied about “keeping your existing insurance policy if you like it.”
Before we dive into the lie accusation, let’s take a closer look at an op/ed for the Wall Street Journal written by a stage-4 gallbladder cancer survivor, Edie Littlefield Sundby.
More here
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Cancellation letters from insurance companies signal end to worthless, limited benefit policies bit.ly/19u9GrP by @wendellpotter
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Public Integrity (@Publici) November 04, 2013****
Sally Kohn: 6 other Obamacare promises – and these are very much coming true
Republicans recently pounced on the fact that, yes, some Americans will lose their current crummy insurance plans that don’t meet the new standards set by the Affordable Care Act.
These Republicans are accusing President Obama of having misled the American public – or worse, having lied.
I think that’s a ridiculous claim. If you like your crummy plan, you can’t keep your crummy plan under Obamacare, but odds are you will find a better plan that is also more affordable, with subsidies available to more than half of Americans.
Aside from parsing this promise that you could keep your plan, it is wrong to say that this alone was how Obamacare was sold to the public.
…. here, for the record, are a few of the Affordable Care kept promises:
More here
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.@GovSteveBeshear on @edshow: “Now for the 1st time in history, every Kentuckian is going to have access to affordable healthcare.” #ACA
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Dag Vega (@DagVega44) November 04, 2013****
Washington Post: Congratulations, America! Your deficit fell 37 percent in 2013
The federal government’s 2013 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, though most of us were so busy focusing on the government shutdown that accompanied the new fiscal year that there wasn’t much time to reflect on the year that had passed.
Now the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget is out with the final budget results. Surprise! The deficit fell quite a bit in 2013. The federal government took in $680 billion less revenue than it spent, or about 4.1 percent of gross domestic product. In 2012, those numbers were $1.087 trillion and 6.8 percent of GDP. That means the deficit fell a whopping 37 percent in one year.
This is the first sub-$1 trillion and sub-5 percent of GDP deficit since the 2008 fiscal year, which ended the very month that Lehman Brothers fell and a deep crisis set in.
More here
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Patrick Stewart is a Boss. http://t.co/gkpPjR3kWp
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George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 05, 2013****
ThinkProgress: Three Progressive Measures On Tuesday’s Ballot That You Should Know About
Congress may not be up for grabs, but Election Day 2013 still comes with high stakes for progressive economic policy ideas. On Tuesday, voters in Colorado, New Jersey, and a small Washington town are getting an up-or-down vote on some proposals that would improve lives both today and decades from now. Here’s a rundown of the three ballot initiatives:
Colorado’s Amendment 66 would raise income taxes and commit $1 billion in new revenue to public schools….
New Jersey’s Question 2 would raise the minimum wage and keep it rising….
SeaTac, Washington’s Proposition 1 would mean a $15 minimum wage for one of the country’s busiest airports….
More here
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Steve Benen: Rand Paul caught once again
After Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was caught presenting others’ work as his own by The Rachel Maddow Show, BuzzFeed, and Politico, the senator’s office seemed to realize Paul had a problem on his hands. It reached the point late Friday that the senator’s aides started making it more difficult to access Paul’s speeches, perhaps fearful more evidence would come to light.
Unfortunately for the senator, it’s too late to hide op-eds Paul has already written and published…
More here
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Billie Jean is not my lover, she’s just a girl who claims that I am the one but the kid is not my son. #RandPaulSpeeches
— S Caruso (@scaruso5555) November 5, 2013
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A Year Ago Today – The Final Day of the Campaign
Madison:
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Orlando:
Columbus:
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Greatest Intro Eveeeeeeeeeer:
…. with Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
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Reunited in Des Moines:
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MoooOOOooorning!
The Obama Diary 
ICYMI near bottom of last thread:
Happy Birthday! May you be blessed with love, peace and joy!
Thanks Alycee.
Congrats on 1st AMK. Been trying to post. Assume Chips is still adding goodies.
Moooooooorning Birthday Boy, mooooooorning everyone!
This is a fantastic and emotional Rise and Shine, Chiparoo.
Thanks so much for the beautiful memories.
For Pete’s sake, how long do you intend to stretch this birthday? 😀 FTR: Most folks are only allowed a maximum 24 hours – even across time zones.
tardy and jealous to boot. tsk, tsk, tsk.
Not tardy at all – sent you very warm, fond wishes last night after work. Surely you don’t want more? 😐
Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today.
Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! I’m getting suspicious that you are mixing up your VCs – probably need to cut down on the # of wimmin floating around you!
Okay, here is today’s wish, very like yesterday’s.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/11/04/the-president-and-the-chicago-blackhawks/#comment-874677
Lazy too. /smh
😆 😆 😆 😆
I know just the person in the TOD village to give me a true character reference! 😉
Good Morning, TOD!
Happy Birthday, AMK and Lamh!
Thanks Eve.
Bruuuuuuuce & Hova! GM Chip, TOD. Ahhhhhh the memories. Wondeful R&S! Congrats on 1rst, AMK 🙂
From coast to coast, election contests are increasingly being influenced by well-funded nonprofit organizations that disclose little about their donors or how they operate.But new revelations in California provide an unusual look at one national network of such groups that helped move $15 million into ballot-initiative campaigns last fall while working hard to hide the identities of their prominent financial backers.
A pair of conservative nonprofits at the heart of the effort were together fined a record $1 million after a year-long state investigation, while two political committees were ordered to repay the state for $15 million in donations they received. “It is clear that people are willing to use circuitous routes to avoid telling the voters who’s behind campaigns,” said Ann Ravel, a new Democratic appointee to the Federal Election Commission who helped oversee the California inquiry as a state official.
Several of the advocacy groups at the center of the California case have played significant roles in national elections, including Americans for Job Security, Americans for Responsible Leadership and the American Future Fund. Those three groups have reported more than $68 million in campaign-related expenditures during the past two election cycles, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Because they are set up as nonprofit organizations rather than political committees, the groups are not required to disclose their financial supporters to the FEC……….
Good morning. That last campaign was the most exciting I have ever seen. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
The media is just as bad as the Republicans, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC all seem to have made it their job to put out lies and half truths concerning Obamacare.
It has taken other parts of the media to look into some of these horror Obamacare letters stories to fine out the truth behind the stories. It wasn’t CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN who did any follow up.
Facinating investigation into what Washington D.C. is doing to curb gun violence. Monitors that classify noises, assess their location and alert officers offer an unprecedented view of gun crime. (video explainer as well)
When Absalom Jordan hears the crack of gunfire outside his home in Southeast Washington, he reacts in an instant. “You get away from the windows and get down,” the 72-year-old said. “I have learned to live with it.”Police are listening as well. Rooftop sensors monitor his neighborhood around the clock for the distinctive bang of a gun. The inconspicuous devices have logged hundreds of incidents over the past eight years near his apartment as part of a gunfire surveillance network called ShotSpotter.About 39,000 separate incidents of gunfire have been documented by ShotSpotter’s unseen web of at least 300 acoustic sensors across 20 square miles of the city, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
The gunfire logged by ShotSpotter overshadows the number of officially reported felony gun crimes by more than 2 to 1. More than one-half of the incidents detected by the network have involved multiple rounds of gunfire. In 2009 alone, ShotSpotter captured more than 9,000 incidents of gunfire. That number has fallen by 40 percent in recent years as gun homicides have declined sharply……
GM Chips and Happy Birthday AMK!
Excellent R&S….Thanks for the GREAT memories!!
Thanks Allison.
Happy Birthday Amk! Hope you have a great day.
LAMH….if you’re here, Happy Birthday to you too!
Thanks ut. Anything interesting happening in your part of ‘murka?
Just election day and observing how the new voter suppression laws affect turn out.
Gun permit IDs are allowed but Student IDs are not. *Sigh*
Stay awake, lazy bones 🙄
Those bones are getting fossilized by the hour.
You’re a whole year older since midnight, so it’s inevitable your bones are creaking. Hard for us young folk to understand the process, mind.
yeah, we men are yet to learn the seekret of getting younger by the minute of wimmin.
😎
Good Morning, Mama Chips Chica! Hope you and the ‘little’ one continue to be in restful state! 😉
GooOood MooOoorrrning, TODobots, everywhere! Praying silently that everyone votes smart today – tall order I know, but might as well reach high!
Chips baby, how can I say ‘thank you’? That looks like a whole lot of work you’ve assigned me on one of my no-work days! /slowly smh – might as well did in/
Get busy VC!!!!! 😆
One down, and a gazillion to go – don’t you dare put up a new thread until I’m done!
New post!
🙄 🙄
Teeheehee, back at you!
And stop trying to distract and slow me down – I want to finish this one in a timely manner so that I can position myself for the next post!
Oh dear! Maybe I shouldn’t have used the word ‘dare’.
*cough* Scratch that first response please, Chips.
*ahem* new response
I’m on it, Lady mayor Chips…… dear!
thank you so much for all these positive Obamacare stories
“We estimate that over 17 million people nationally will be eligible for tax credits in 2014. The national and state totals are shown in Table 1. Three states (Texas, California, and Florida) each have more than 1 million tax-credit-eligible residents, and another seven states have more than 500,000 tax-credit-eligible residents. At the lower end, seven states have fewer than 50,000 tax-credit-eligible residents, with the District of Columbia (9,500) and Vermont (27,000) having the fewest. The five states with the most tax-credit-eligible individuals account for about 40 percent of all such individuals nationally.”
Did you find an insurance plan right for you LP?
I decided to keep my current plan until next year when there are more than 2 companies offering plans in Indiana. My current plan is $170 less then the same plan on the exchange(don’t qualify for any subsidies b/c I’m a full-time student) from the same company BCBS.
Does Indiana have State run ACA? If they don’t that complicates everything for those of us in those states. I don’t really understand why you don’t get subsidies as a student, but as long as you’re satisfied. . . In this grandfathering thing, does that mean people with health insurance through work are grandfathered in? Does that mean we will face a lifetime limit as long as we have that plan? Take care LP.
No State run exchange……we are on the Federal exchange, and no Medicaid expansion. I am not eligible for subsidies (to clarify) b/c I don’t have enough taxable income by being full-time in school. I think the minimum is 18K before it kicks in for us. The “grandfather” thing you are hearing about in the false media reports are in reference to the (Individual Market) By law if you had a plan prior to 3/26/09, when ACA was signed into law…you can keep the exact plan, hence “grandfathered” Any plan offered after that has to meet the new ACA coverage standards. Basically, no more junk catastrophic junk plans. This does not affect any plans that are provided through your employer. Finally, there is no longer a lifetime limit/pre-existing denial of coverage, also the Medicare donut hole “50% off generic drugs” until hole is 100% covered in 2015/free check-ups/paps/mamograms/prostate exams/kids stay on parents plan until 26 etc…… all that has been in effect for 2 years. Regardless if you have had the same plan for 10yrs through work, or buy something new……..those are automatic benefits. That is why the junk plans can’t be sold anymore. These are the new minimum requirements for any policy. I think I covered most of what I know off the top of my head (I know the Medicaid state re-imbursement starts at 100% and goes dow to 92-95% over the next 5yrs approximately, but someone can correct me……..I’m sure I got some of the schedules mixed up. Another reason it is so stupid not to accept the expansion….it is covered basically for free by the Fed. Government. Saves you state budgets Millions to Billions depending the size of your state. I hope I answered some of your questions, and elaborated in a coherent fashion……… gotta head off to class now 😦 TTYL
You did a great job of explaining or reassuring me. I thought there were no more lifetime caps, but all of a sudden you hear new terms and you start to wonder. Fortunately I know what blog and friend to go to for good advice. Enjoy your day LP and thanks. Carol
Another fun fact for today, on this day in 1916 Jeanette Rankin from Montana was elected the first woman to congress and then reelected in 1940. Both times she voted against going to war. She was a very special lady. If you haven’t read about her I encourage everyone to read about her courage.
Thank you Marilyn. Love Western History!
DEBUNKING THE CANCELLED POLICY HYSTERIA
Cancellation of Health Insurance Policies – Undeniable Lies and Deliberate Misinformation Revealed and Obama Vindicated.
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President Obama has achieved what no other President before him was able to do even though many have tried, both Republicans and Democrats. He led the pursuit for healthcare reform so that everyone in the United States would have the opportunity to have health insurance when and if needed. He stood in the gap for people like one of the authors of this blog, who developed an illness, and was unable to purchase adequate health insurance due to the presence of pre-existing illness clauses which successfully precluded people from obtaining quality health insurance. In 2011, based on the passage of the ACA, people like this author, were able to purchase affordable health insurance, prior to full implementation of the PPACA in 2014. The author credits the ACA with saving her life. Today, we, the authors, stand in the gap for President Obama, just as he did for one of the authors and many others, to report we have proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that President Obama told the American people the truth, that the ACA gave people currently enrolled in a particular plan on or before March 23, 2010 the choice to change plans or continue with the same pre-ACA plan. The choice WAS provided by the ACA, but the insurance companies decided that people should not have that choice. That is the bottom line.
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http://progressiveandproud.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/cancellation-of-health-insurance-policies-undeniable-lies-and-deliberate-misinformation-revealed-and-obama-vindicated/
Reposting from last nights thread…..
(h/t ThisMagicalEarth)
had to look at the pics again….such an awesome awesome rise and shine…Ms Chips….i look at the PBOs face as he embraces our FLOTUS…and i am reminded again…how she is his rock….awesome
If sitting in a prison cell was a job, it would be one of the most common jobs in the United States. In 2012, there were some 1,570,000 inmates in state and federal prisons in the U.S., according to data from the Justice Department.
By contrast, there were about 1,530,000 engineers in America last year, 815,000 construction workers, and 1 million high school teachers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
GM Ms Chips, and everyone! Great R & S, wonderful positive Obamacare stories, and lovely photos of the last Campaign… and I wish a giant Happy Birthday to amk!!
Thank you, ag.
stay awake and follow the elections or go to bed?
Um, I think bed. Will wait until Ms Chips tells us tomorrow!!
story of my life.
AMK, did you get a new Mac Pro or Mac Air? Just curious. . .
Not yet. MacAir when my pal comes from US in Jan.
Ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaa —->
Heh, as long as you’re paying for it, why not?
Cheap at the price!!
Thought it would be in the BDay presents. What size are you getting? Can he get it cheaper for you? I have this feeling you would do anything to save the cash. 😆
13inch. Of course he is getting it cheaper for me. Otherwise why would I ask him to lug it for me all the way from usa? Nope, he won’t get a dime for the carriage.
“he won’t get a dime for the carriage”
What a friend! For you anything. Is it your son?
No, my college mate. Been pals for over 3 decades
Three decades, that’s great. Where did you go to school? He lives in the States? What are you drinking and eating tonight? Something yummy I hope. You can’t sustain yourself on TOD adulation alone. 😕
We did graduate engineering together in India and did masters in US for two years. He stayed back and became a citizen. I returned just to bother you all here.
We are glad you’re here. We need to be kept on our toes and we need your advice. 😀
Are you getting the Mac Air because you travel with? Do you have another at home or just a bigger hard drive storage thingie? What is enough storage? Thanks!
I use only laptop, never a desk top due to my heavy travelling. And am tired lugging 2 kg things, hence the first time mac buy. Have a back up 2 TB HD at home.
2B is a lot for someone not in business isn’t it? I don’t see me needing that much. I’ve never had anything but my WIN PC and my iPad. Can’t stand the thought of sitting at a desk again.
Happy Birthday LAMH and AMK! Hope it’s a great day and night!
Bless Pres. Obama for fighting for this law. It is the difference between life and death.
Happy Birthday AMK and LAMH. Party Hardy children!
POTUS & FLOTUS Suprising visitors on White House tour!
Good morning everyone. Here’s another one of my inbox messages that could be helpful to someone.
Oops. Wrong one. Sorry. 😳
Mine is 50 to 40. Let’s see.
I agree amk but I think the coverage will go to Crispy.
Is everyone watching this? Obamas greeting WH visitors—-entertaining!
Thank yooooou Dotster!
Flotus has read up on the groups doing the visit.
Wow! What a R&S. Thank you, Chips. Also last night UT and Dotster. All your posts added a lot to this important Election day.
I was so excited this morning to cast my vote for Bill deBlasio Tish James and Scott Stringer. My polling place was Hopping! Good turnout. Even some Press and camera types.
Thank yooooooou Vicki, congratulations on your vote!!!
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/11/05/live-now-the-first-lady-surprises-white-house-tours/
Here’s the right one.
Shipmate, what happened today???
Not a thing to me. It was one of those auto fwd thingies I forgot to edit.Sorry but the vid is important.
Ah, okay, thanks Shipmate.
Not a problem. I just think that this vid might save a life. I saw this same thing once but the guy was having seizures and everyone freaked out.