Are we gonna lettem get us down? No we ain’t! Some sweet soul music for the night.
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Tears of a Clown
Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
Archive for November 7th, 2013
07
Nov
13
This and That
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It took “60 Minutes” just over 15,840 minutes to acknowledge that their Benghazi “scoop” was a factual nightmare.
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) November 8, 2013
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Statement from 60 Minutes regarding the eyewitness account in our Benghazi report: http://t.co/SEZirdlw7Q
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 8, 2013
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@60Minutes and @CBSNews were called out before acknowledging lies. They’re pathetic. RT @BrettLoGiurato: Oh wow http://t.co/isqCg2fQXX
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) November 8, 2013
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No shit @60minutes @davidfolkenflik CBS: 60 Minutes has new information that undercuts credibility of British contractor on Benghazi story.
— BWD (@theonlyadult) November 8, 2013
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You know Benghazi is a super big scandal when the best thing 60 Minutes could come up with after a year of investigation is a made-up story
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 8, 2013
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Here’s what you get when you link to the 60 Minutes Benghazi page http://t.co/PE27BNmWo2 pic.twitter.com/wykVTjV9Ya
— Jed Lewison (@jedlewison) November 8, 2013
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REMINDER: Based on this 60 Minutes report on Benghazi, Lindsay Graham is currently blocking ALL of Obama’s nominees http://t.co/m12LIAVUsV
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 8, 2013
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@TheObamaDiary @pinkbunny70 It’s not @60Minutes fault. Apparently they just found out about twitter today. The rest of us have known for wks
— stu stein (@thestustein) November 8, 2013
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When will ppl learn? I keep telling folks to stop messing with PBO. Boomerang hits them every time, followed by egg splatter. .@60Minutes
— KSK(africa) (@lawalazu) November 8, 2013
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Privileged pundit class like #ChuckTodd are moral zombies who care nothing for human suffering of uninsured @MSNBC @WaPo @CBS @NBC @CNN
— Bill R (@cmpnwtr) November 8, 2013
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Remember when media demanded the white president apologize for f-ed up Medicare Part D rollout, Mission Accomplished & WMDs? Me neither.
— Steve Weinstein (@steveweinstein) November 7, 2013
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If @chucktodd spoke to me in the manner that he is speaking to PBO, I would take him down! Down. Prick, he is the President!
— Микола Молодыко (@molodyko) November 7, 2013
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What I saw today was a great President named Obama and a pompous privileged idiot with no journalistic ability named @chucktodd .
— Michael Hargrove (@MichaelHargrov1) November 8, 2013
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In just one day, more confirmation of Obama Derangement Syndrome: @60minutes, @ChuckTodd and @EzraKlein. Yup, librul media!
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) November 8, 2013
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I like my President, and I can keep him. #inners
— Harold Itzkowitz (@HaroldItz) November 8, 2013
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07
Nov
13
A Tweet Or Two
07
Nov
13
On to 2014!
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Chat away!
07
Nov
13
Rise and Shine
President Obama hugs his campaign manager Jim Messina during an unannounced stop at campaign headquarters in Chicago, Nov. 7 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (All Times Eastern):
12:30: Jay Carney briefs the press
6:0: President Obama hosts screening of ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’
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Getting people covered with health insurance is in everyone’s interest. Time to put #PeopleOverPolitics. pic.twitter.com/GqiLiGgn51
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2013
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Mayor Julián Castro: Let’s Stop Denying Texans Health Insurance Because Of Politics
Usually, we do things bigger in Texas. But right now, when it comes to covering the uninsured, some of our neighboring states are trying to beat us to the draw. In Arkansas, for example, they¹ve cut the total number of uninsured in the state by nearly 14 percent in just over a month.
There’s one big reason for that. Under the Affordable Care Act, states can choose whether or not to expand Medicaid to cover more of its citizens, and Arkansas chose “yes.” If we made that same choice in Texas, it would cover more than one million of our citizens, and save our taxpayers $1.7 billion over the next decade in unpaid hospital bills.
More here
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USA Today: Reversing CNN’s Fortunes Proves A Daunting Task
With its heavy emphasis last week on the woes of the new national health insurance exchange website’s rollout, the cable news network registered its lowest weekday primetime ratings in over a year. For the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, the Time Warner-owned network averaged 385,000 viewers – lowest since Aug. 2012 – and 95,000 coveted adults between the ages of 25 and 54.
CNN’s ratings numbers have always popped with national breaking news. But the story about an insurance website – however comprehensive in coverage – likely wasn’t the kind that drives viewers to interrupt their day’s routines to tune in, says Andrew Tyndall, a longtime TV news monitor and publisher of industry newsletter Tyndall Report.
More here
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Think Progress: Texans Sharply Disagree With Rick Perry On Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion
While Perry hasn’t exactly been shy about his opposition to that ACA provision, his constituents have a markedly different view, according to a new poll by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune.
In addition to wide-ranging support for various ACA components such as insurance subsidies for low-income Americans and tax credits to businesses for providing health coverage, the poll finds that two-thirds of Texans support Medicaid expansion. Over 35 percent of the respondents even said that they “strongly support” the policy
More here
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Washington Post: Debt Collectors Face New Rules Under Proposal From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The government is preparing restrictions on debt collectors, a loosely regulated industry under increasing scrutiny over complaints of abusive tactics. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is slated to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to modernize the legal framework governing debt collection.
The government watchdog is seeking public and business comment before formally proposing the rules, which are expected to be finalized by next year. The bureau is asking Americans whether creditors and collection agencies are providing accurate information about their outstanding debts. It also wants to know whether people are receiving threatening calls at all hours of the night or being dragged into court for money they do not owe.
More here
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Jamelle Bouie: How High Black Turnout Gave Terry McAuliffe His Win In Virginia
One of the big questions of the next few years of politics is whether Democrats can replicate the “Obama model” of minority turnout without the presence of Obama on the ballot. If the Virginia gubernatorial election was a test case, then the early answer is a clear “yes.” Cuccinelli maintained the GOP’s traditional advantage with white and married women, winning the former by sixteen point spread of 54 percent to 38 percent, and the latter by a solid margin of 51 percent to 42 percent.
Where the change from 2009 was most significant was among black voters. Then, African Americans were 16 percent were of the electorate, a significant drop from the 2008 election. This year, blacks were 20 percent of all voters, which means their turnout was exactly where it was in 2012.
Put another way, for the second year in a row, African Americans turned out at a rate above their percentage of the population, and supported the Democrat by a 9-to–1 margin. This is huge. For McAuliffe, what it meant is that—for almost every black voter who went to the polls—he could count on a vote, giving him crucial support in a tight race. To wit, more than 37 percent of his vote total came from African Americans.
More here
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Sy Mukherjee: No, Obamacare Won’t Cause Millions Of Workers To Lose Their Employer Sponsored Health Plans
Forbes contributor and former Mitt Romney health care adviser Avik Roy wrote a piece claiming that the Obama administration knew “93 million Americans will be unable to keep their health plans” under Obamacare and that many of them would actually be workers with employer-sponsored coverage.
Under the “grandfather clause,” a plan issued before the ACA was signed in 2010 could remain in place as long as employers or insurance companies didn’t drastically change its terms in a way that would harm the policy holder, like increasing out-of-pocket costs or dropping benefits. However, if a plan did change, it would lose its “grandfather status.” Then, any new plan issued in its place would be subject to Obamacare’s various requirements.
“So it isn’t like all of a sudden people are going to wake up and find out I don’t have my employer coverage anymore,” said Jost. “It’s just there are going to be some minor changes in those plans that benefit enrollees, and that many employers probably already covered anyway.” These small changes might include things like covering workers’ dependent children, or adding preventative care services, according to Jost.
More here
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Sure, Bloomberg. Stop and Frisk has nothing to do with racial discrimination
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Yahoo: Starbucks Wants To Recruit 10,000 Vets, Spouses To Its Ranks
Starbucks Corp is looking for thousands of good men – and women. The world’s biggest coffee chain said on Wednesday it would commit to hiring at least 10,000 veterans and spouses of active military in five years.
It also said five new and existing U.S. Starbucks cafes on or near military bases will share a portion of each sale with non-profit organizations that help veterans re-enter the workforce.
Many U.S. companies have committed to hiring thousands of military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seattle-based Starbucks said it will have specialized recruiters to match the unique skills of veterans and their spouses with company jobs.
More here
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Alec MacGillis: The Pundits Are Wrong. The Virginia Election Was A Big Win For Obamacare
Last night, the prospects for Robin L. and the estimated 400,000 Virginians who would be eligible under a Medicaid expansion brightened considerably. The gubernatorial election was won by Terry McAuliffe. So, the election was a clear win for Obamacare, right? Nope, say the pundits.
I’m not sure when I last saw such a stark example of election spin and punditry floating away from the substantive reality of governing and its impact on actual people. There is no mention in these accounts of the greatly enhanced prospects for the Medicaid expansion in Virginia as a result of McAuliffe’s win. No, it’s all about the exit polls and what it might mean for Obama and the Democrats.
All we know right now is that after a very rough patch for the law, the guy who ran strongly in support of it beat a guy who was strongly opposed to it, in the most purple state in the country. And as a result, hundreds of thousands of working poor may get health insurance coverage. How removed from the reality of these people’s lives does one have to be to chalk up such a result as a loss for Obamacare?
More here
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BBC: US Economy Sees Growth Pick Up
The US economy grew at an annualised pace of 2.8% in the third quarter of the year, latest figures have shown. The growth rate was faster than expected, and was an improvement on the 2.5% pace seen in the previous quarter. Growth was lifted by rising exports, businesses restocking shelves and a pick-up in home construction.
More here
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Keith Boykin: Despite What Conservatives Try To Argue, Black People Do Vote For White Candidates
Although no Democrat has run New York City since Dinkins, New Yorkers on Tuesday chose a progressive white Democrat, Bill de Blasio, who was swept into office with enormous Black support, an accomplished African-American wife and a highly publicized interracial family, all of which served as a rebuke to the racial polarization of the Rudy Giuliani regime and the racist stop-and-frisk policies of the Michael Bloomberg era.
On the same day de Blasio was elected, voters also chose Letitia James to succeed him as the city’s public advocate, making her the first Black woman in New York history to hold citywide office. The real story was about the influence of Black women, who voted 91 percent for McAuliffe while only 38 percent of white women did so, according to a New York Times exit poll.
That’s a lesson Democrats should remember as they suit up for 2014 and 2016. Democrats win when they attract a wide and diverse group of voters, just as President Obama did.
More here
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A Year Ago Today:
See more of the international front pages here
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President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia walk from Marine One to board Air Force One at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Nov. 7, 2012, in Chicago, the day after the presidential election.
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On This Day:
President Obama hugs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Cannon House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Nov. 7, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 7, 2010: “In India, the President was finally persuaded to join the First Lady on the dance floor at Holy Name High School in Mumbai.” (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet young dancers at a Diwali candle lighting and performance at Holy Name High School in Mumbai, India, Nov. 7, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama greets students following a town hall meeting at St. Xavier College in Mumbai, India, Nov. 7, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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07
Nov
13
Early Bird Chat
A Year Ago Today: President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha board Air Force One at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on November 7, 2012, en route DC
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MoooOOOooorning!
The Obama Diary 
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