On This Day: President Obama places a phone call at his desk in the Oval Office, Jan. 23, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (all times Eastern):
12:45: Jay Carney’s press briefing
5:15: President Obama delivers remarks at a reception with U.S. mayors, East Room
.@FLOTUS today visits DC @SUBWAY shop to announce corp’s big new @LetsMove @PHAnews commitment: Marketing healthier food choices to kids
— Eddie Gehman Kohan (@ObamaFoodorama) January 23, 2014
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TPM: 6 Million People Have Enrolled In Medicaid Since Obamacare Launched
Some 6.3 million people have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program since Oct. 1, when HealthCare.gov and its state counterparts went live, according to a new report from the Obama administration. The report covers Medicaid enrollments through the end of December.
States that expanded Medicaid saw a boom in enrollments in December, corresponding with a similar surge in private coverage enrollees through the insurance marketplaces. Medicaid enrollments were up 73 percent in those states last month compared to the pre-Obamacare monthly average. In states that didn’t expand Medicaid, enrollment was up 3 percent in December.
Full post here
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#Obamacare will DESTROY this President & his party!!!!! Oh …. wait …. Obama’s approval up 9 pts since November. http://t.co/sybGYOLpQ1
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) January 23, 2014
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6 million have signed up for Medicaid since October AKA the greatest victory for the middle class since Medicare. http://t.co/ZfkyyQUqWn
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) January 22, 2014
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This is cause for celebration: http://t.co/jY9AzH5rIe pic.twitter.com/nzpVFHDQ9H
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 22, 2014
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Disclaimer: @KalPenn has only played fake doctors on TV—but he still knows the importance of affordable health care. http://t.co/NuF2I4zyEJ
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 22, 2014
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ThinkProgress: Mitch McConnell Boasts About Supporting Government Sponsored Health Care In New Campaign Ad
Sen. Mitch McConnell is out with a new campaign ad touting his success in securing free preventive health care services for Kentuckians. The spot, titled “Cares,” tries to paint the Senate Minority Leader as a compassionate Republican who carries a moral obligation to provide sick people with access to government-sponsored health care.
It’s a message you wouldn’t expect from a Republican senate leader who has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and continues to oppose its implementation in Kentucky. But the minute-long ad, featuring Robert Pierce, an energy worker and throat cancer survivor, highlights the Republican Senate leader’s effort to secure “cancer screening programs” for Kentuckians and provide them with government compensation.
The assistance is the result of an entitlement McConnell secured for former employees of a plant in Paducah, Kentucky who were exposed to high levels of uranium throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and who now suffer from cancer or other ailments …. McConnell had initially “kept the plant’s doors open” to guarantee jobs for his constitutes, even as “the plant’s toxins had spread through the air and into the ground, slowly killing its own workers and tainting the surrounding area.”
Full post here
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Women can rest easy knowing preventive care like mammograms & cervical cancer screenings is now covered. Learn more: http://t.co/OPaL52ZAFj
— Covered California (@CoveredCA) January 22, 2014
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The Daily Beast: The GOP’s Birth-Control Trojan Horse
The right wants to use religion as an excuse to legally discriminate against gays and unmarried women—and, ultimately, anyone who doesn’t share their Christian faith.
Ever since the Obama administration included contraception in the list of services that insurers must cover for clients without a copay, conservatives have been on the attack. As far as most right-wing media is concerned—and definitely as far as the average conservative on the ground is concerned—the problem with the mandate is that it supposedly forces others to “pay for” a woman’s “lifestyle” choice.
Even though the insurance policies in question actually belong to the women, who usually earned them as part of their compensation packages at work or who paid for directly with premiums, conservatives routinely portray women who use their own insurance to pay for their own medicine as layabouts forcing other people pay for their birth control. Some conservatives even go so far as to erroneously claim that taxpayers are footing the bill for insurance companies to cover contraception.
More here
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It’s time to recommit to protecting women’s access to safe, legal reproductive care. pic.twitter.com/b1uBU3wCNf
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 22, 2014
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TPM: Virginia AG To Join Fight Against State’s Gay Marriage Ban
Newly-minted Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said he will not defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriages after concluding it was unconstitutional.
“As attorney general, I cannot and will not defend laws that violate Virginians’ rights,” Herring said in an interview with NPR airing Thursday. “The commonwealth will be siding with the plaintiffs in this case and with every other Virginia couple whose right to marry is being denied.”
…. Virginia is considered a critical battleground in the nationwide fight to grant same-sex couples the right to wed.
More here
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“Anyone out there who has ever been assaulted: You are not alone…we have your back” —Obama: http://t.co/Y2PhO1YJog pic.twitter.com/F5PM06Jpw9
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 23, 2014
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Peter Beinart (Haaretz): The only ‘leader’ who speaks for American Jews on Iran is Barack Obama
Most American Jews support Obama’s policies on Iran – so in whose name are their so-called ‘leaders’ sabotaging his nuclear diplomacy?
… in recent months, the press has been filled with headlines like: “White House Briefs Jewish Leaders on Iran Nuclear Deal,” “American Jewish Leaders Censure Nuclear Deal,” and “Obama Urges Jewish Leaders Not to Back Iran Sanctions.”
The implication is that there’s a conflict between the White House, which want a softer line on Iran, and American Jews who – represented by their “leaders” – want a tougher one. It’s an influential storyline. And it’s utter nonsense.
In truth, the only person who can legitimately claim to speak for American Jews on the subject of Iran is the very guy American Jewish “leaders” oppose: Barack Obama. Look at the evidence. In 2012, Mitt Romney slammed Obama for not supporting tougher sanctions against Iran and for not more explicitly pledging that, if sanctions fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, the U.S. will attack. In so doing, Romney road-tested the critique leveled by Benjamin Netanyahu and many American Jewish “leaders.”
The result? Obama won 69 percent of the Jewish vote.
More here
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WH Speechwriter Cody Keenan takes you #InsideSOTU on the @WhiteHouse Instagram. Follow along: http://t.co/0XGeYlaAW4 pic.twitter.com/PS5Hb7X5ng
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 22, 2014
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Steve Benen: Election panel eyes reforms
On the night President Obama won a second term, he thanked “every American who participated” in the election, whether they voted “for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time.” He quickly added a line that wasn’t in the written text: “By the way, we have to fix that.”
And as we talked about last March, the president didn’t forget about the issue. Obama referenced the issue again in his inaugural address: “Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.” A month later, in a State of the Union address, the president went a step further, not only emphasizing the need for election reforms, but vowing to create “a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting experience in America – and it definitely needs improvement.”
The White House assembled the commission, which, following six months of effort, released its report this morning. It’s actually better than I expected it to be….
More here
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c̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶i̶e̶ ̶ m̶c̶d̶o̶n̶n̶e̶l̶l̶ r̶u̶b̶i̶o̶ ̶ t̶e̶d̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ ̶ a̶q̶u̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶d̶d̶h̶a̶ ̶ j̶i̶n̶d̶a̶l̶ ̶ h̶a̶l̶e̶y̶ @̶g̶o̶p̶2̶0̶1̶6̶
— amk4obama (@amk4obama) January 22, 2014
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Jim Stuart: Our Transformational President
Have you read David Remnick’s article in the current New Yorker? If not, do. Soon. Remnick listens to Obama without apparent lenses. He even discards the almost always present lens of “Are you succeeding or failing?” Healthcare is hardly mentioned. The article almost seems to me to exist without apparent intention or angle. We are invited to experience the President, through his own words, almost in slow motion, as he answers Remnick’s many thoughtful questions. Obama (to my view) neither lectures nor sells. He expresses himself, sometimes taking a long moment before beginning. Remnick notes this characteristic of the President, not as judgment, but rather so we can experience this too. The words. And the space between the words.
A brilliant piece. The first one I’ve found where the author isn’t trying to figure Obama out, and where we are gently told not to bring all our judgments to the reading, but to relax, sit back, simply experience the man.
Remnick does not say that Obama is a transformational leader. That’s my conclusion …. Let me move to my evidence…
More here
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Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ron Paul: http://t.co/jLYs6Mq9Ig | pic.twitter.com/nA02qJ1sPX
— ProgressiveHelpPhD (@CallOut4) January 22, 2014
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Naughty – but I LOL’ed: Posted on Facebook by Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Christine Sinicki during Scott Walker‘s State of the State address – naturally, the right are OUTRAGED (Mediaite)
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if you’re asking, “but Rob, why are you posting pictures from a video game cover?” I’m not this is really #Kiev pic.twitter.com/f0MVUkwTvj
— Robert A. Caruso (@robertcaruso) January 23, 2014
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ThinkProgress: Behind West Virginia’s Massive Chemical Spill, A History Of Poverty And Pollution
“In my childhood, I fished these streams, I spent time in these streams,” Gunnoe, who lives in Bob White, a town in Boone County, said. “That’s what we did. Nobody needed a pool; the streams were our playground.”
In September, the stream where she used to fish and play as a child turned white. The culprit was 2,400 gallons of a chemical called DT-50-D, which is used to cover coal and rail cars to cut down on dust. It had leaked into the river from the Eastern Associated Coal prep plant, and to Gunnoe, it was just one more example of how the coal and chemical industries have polluted West Virginia — the second poorest state in the nation — over her lifetime.
This happens all the time. The coal companies are using stuff here that would absolutely eat the skin off of your body.
Industrial pollution, like what turned the Pond Fork River white, is a constant worry for many West Virginians, but Gunnoe said it took a major chemical spill like the one that polluted the water of 300,0000 West Virginians to get the nation to notice.
More here
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On This Day:
President Obama talks alone with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Oval Office following Bipartisan meeting, Jan. 23, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama talks with Jon Favreau, Director of Speechwriting, in the Oval Office, Jan. 23, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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MoooOOOooorning!
Opps! http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/01/23/mayor_told_aides_of_christie_threat_last_year.html
“Federal authorities in New Jersey have interviewed several witnesses who said the mayor of Hoboken told them in May about a state official’s threat to withhold hurricane recovery funds if the mayor did not support a development project favored by the governor… The statements by the witnesses, two of whom are aides to the mayor, Dawn Zimmer, support the account she gave to federal prosecutors on Sunday, and the interviews suggest that prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have moved swiftly to investigate her accusations.”
Mooooooorning again DF, moooooorning everyone!
The arrogance is breathtaking. They didn’t seem to care one iota about the possible criminal implications.
Faypax, when you combine arrogance with all the adulation Christie was receiving from the media, you get the idea that you are above the law. I’m sure it never dawned on Christie or his people that Mayor Zimmer was an honest broker and wasn’t going to play the game.
For sure, Jackie. I just hope this case goes “as it should”.
“The U.S. attorney’s office has asked that we not conduct additional media interviews and we are respecting their request.”
But christie and his gang of thugs can?
Unfortunately this is not the best evidence. You need a paper trail or tapes to compell a jury definitively. It’s hearsay, although there is some corroboration that it was discussed months ago and there is more than one witness. I’m assuming Dawn Zimmer has more than that. But then again, I thought the prosecutor had to have more in the Zimmerman case, too. Although in retrospect the prosecutor set up the acquittal by over-charging.
I misspelled ‘compel’? Not moi!
😆 A multiple winner, like me!
I thought the same thing about you! 🙂
Drat! Thought it was safe to go get something to eat. Shoud’ve chewed faster! ;(
Okay, fair critique, CC. I will chew faster and with less steadiness next time, maybe even copy the Danny slurp. A promise.
Hey, looook, new man u mascot.
Hush.
Good morning all.
A very ‘Good Morning’ to you, AlmaB! You eyeing the cold from inside?
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family. Lots of R&S!
Moooooooorning GGail, any snow? 😆
Morning Chips, no snow no rain in sight. Those folks are keeping it and won’t share!!
They’re greedy GGail, I hope you cope without the snow. Woah, that was almost poetic!
Almost 🙂
Morning all. Love the tweet above Chips. She speaks the truth. Have a great Thursday TOD.
Moooooorning Jackie!
I know Juanita Jean writes about all things wacky in Texas…but she’s damn funny! Love her wit. Just sayin’
Great piece. Peter Beinart. Pity it’s behind a paywall.
Ah, bummer, read it last night – so only their archived stuff is behind a paywall??
POWERFUL ‘ALISON FOR KENTUCKY’ CAMPAIGN AD
Our Strength is Our People: David’s Story
Cumberland resident David Kennedy talks about why he believes Alison Lundergan Grimes should be Kentucky’s next U.S. Senator.
Thank you Ladyhawke, added it to the post!
Hey, what do you know, a star billing.
Even though it was you, it was a rather excellent tweet.
sometimes even even win.
Ah, I learnt a Twitter trick – which everyone else has probably known for, well, forever.
If I unRT a tweet I loved, I can RT it again so it appears all shiny and new. Woot.
Don’t think for one second that the indictment of Bob McDonnell and his wife didn’t make Chris Christie’s sphincter muscle tighten up and take notice.
The Volokh Conspiracy And Washington Post’s Move To The Right
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/01/22/the-volokh-conspiracy-and-washington-posts-move/197694
Bob Woodward will be happy
Silly me, I just assumed the Washington Post was a right-leaning rag simply because of all the bullshit it lets it’s columnist write about President Obama.
Linda, “The Washington Post” is just hastening its demise. Moving right means that it’s actually trying to appeal to a shrinking demographic, rather than appeal to a wider audience. Or, maybe it’s just acknowledging that it’s a legacy form of media and younger, more diverse people aren’t going to read it anyway.
Forgive my manners everyone……….Good Morning TOD Family, live long and prosper.
Morning Don!
Good Morning, Everyone 🙂
Why Wendy Davis Terrifies The GOP
By Jason Sattler
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State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) rose to speak for 14 hours against laws that were clearly designed to close as many clinics as possible, making an abortion far more difficult to obtain, and then ban the procedure earlier than the Supreme Court had previously ruled was Constitutional.
Imagine if you couldn’t purchase a gun in 87 percent of the country. Imagine if nearly every day in some state a new piece of legislation was being considered that didn’t close gun shops but made it impossible for them to operate, forcing buyers into the black market. Gun owners may not mind that because buying a gun from a private individual is less of a hassle. But the industry, which finances the NRA, would never let that happen.
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http://www.nationalmemo.com/why-wendy-davis-terrifies-the-gop/
LH, Wendy Davis “terrifies the GOP” because she is a smart, charismatic woman who is waking up the sleeping giant in the state of Texas–women. She has the ability to transform the political landscape in that state and become another Ann Richards. The rate at which she’s raising money and gaining support is frightening to them, which is why they’re trying so desperately to smear her. Problem is that the more they smear, the angrier women get. I don’t know whether Wendy Davis will win in November, but I don’t think the genie of Texas woman power will be put back in the bottle after this.
Part 2 of Jim Stuart’s “Transformational Leader” is up.
//…………………..
My hypothesis is straightforward: to be a transformational leader, you must first undergo your own transformation. Listening is the essential element that begins and undergirds this growth process. Listen to yourself. Listen “hard for the way you belong.” You must discover your “place of belonging”, so you know “what you must do” and “how you must be”. This is poetry and it is true.
>> Listen to others, to yourself, to the world to undergo your own transformation.
>> When you know your place of belonging, your transformation (one of them) has occurred.
>> Suddenly, like a revelation, you know how you must be, what you must do.
>> And then you have the interior capacity to be a space maker for others. Through your listening, you create sanctuary for others – as Obama is doing for Aung San Suu Kyi above.
>> You quite literally listen others into speech.
Obama has done the inner work of personal transformation (Dreams from my Father). He knows where and how he belongs. He knows how he must be and what he must do. He is a listener, a space maker, and he is being both of these things on the national and international stage.
……………………………..//
http://jimstuartnewblog.blogspot.ca/2014/01/our-transformational-president-2.html
VC, that deep thinking this morning has got my head to hurting 🙂 but very revealing and introspective….hmmm…
Hi, GGail! Yes, there are two bloggers that actually engage my brain fairly often, sometimes to the point of ‘hurting’ – Smartypants and Jim Stuart. I particularly enjoy when their subject is one Barack Obama (or Eric Holder). 😀
Good Morning Chips and everybody!
Mooooorning JER!!
This headline: Mitch McConnell Boasts About Supporting Government Sponsored Health Care In New Campaign Ad
I have to go lie down.
This is a breathtaking amount of lying, even for McConnell. I really had the vapors over it yesterday, FayPax.
I was disheartened to read that McConnell’s Democratic challenger is cool on Obamacare and is trying to distance herself. I’ve about had it with these DINO’s. Here’s a thought: stop acting like Rush Limbaugh runs the country, and help your constituents understand and embrace policies in their own interests. Much of this RWNJ tilt has been enabled by cowardly Democrats.
GM all fellow TODvillians from cold, and soon to be very cold, Chicago.
Chips, have I told you lately just how fantastic you are? If not, you are.
Whenever I get really depressed about what is happening in the world, I come here to find an oasis filled with truth and knowledge to replenish me. This place, along with a few (although still too few) others is building a movement which will overcome the hatred, bigotry and ignorance of the Right.
And remember, whenever someone on the right tries to drown out what we are trying to say, it means they are scared. They know that if our voices are allowed to be heard, people will recognize the truth and then they lose. So we keep at it, convincing a few people at a time, and thos epeople go out and make more converts. At times it seems slow, but it is happening and we can not be kept silent.
I don’t know what the results of the November elections will be, although I hold out hope for the Dems to regain the House and deefinitley keep the Senate. But if not, so be it and we will continue on.
The right is counting on us giving up, allowing their rhetoric to subdue us. We will not let that happen.
Ah Japa, thank you, what a lovely thing to say. As for your analysis: standing ovation.
A lovely person deserves having lovely things said about them.
Danny would say “huh!” after I gave out to him for eating my laptop bag.
‘eating my laptop bag’
Chica, a surprise visit to your pad is in order, I think. Investigation is needed into what exactly, and legitimately, you give this ‘child’ to eat. There has got to be a reason he has such weird cravings – smelly socks, rubber thingies, wooden thingies, frizzy thingies, and now a laptop bag!
Flower pots VC, don’t forget the flower pots – he eats at least two a day! 😆
That’s it, CC! I’m checking the airlines for a surprise cheap flight BEFORE you totally damage my canine nephew’s insides.
Well said, Japa. The fulminations from the right seem more and more desperate to me. They are literally flailing about for a winning message and moving farther and farther to the right as the rest of the US moves left. Our president keeps on going and keeps on fighting for what’s right and that’s all I need to keep on fighting as well.
Amk, the only way you could think our current economic system is fair is if you live in a bubble and refuse to look around you, which pretty much describes most of the self-satisfied Republicans I know.
“Company says 2nd toxin in West Virginia spill”
http://on.msnbc.com/1dWvJty
Rikyrah, in the Think Progress article above, one of the people interviewed said that sometimes the only choice is to move out. Maybe West Virginia will become the first vacated state, so polluted that life there becomes intolerable.
How gives a fuck about clean drinking water when got some of the finest shootin’ irons in the world.
nathkatun, hopefruit? awol?
Haven’t seen Nathakun for a while now Amk.
Hello AMK and Chipsticks! Sorry for being awol. I just came back from a three weeks trip to East Africa (mainly Uganda). Had no access to a computer. Got back on Monday, but caught a nasty bug (head and chest cold) that I am now barely recovering from. I truly missed reading TOD posts. I hope you and everyone at TOD had a wonderful beginning of the New Year. I will try to read some previous posts to catch up. I truly appreciate your looking out for me. Lots of love to TOD family.
GM amk. HF2 let us know that she is really busy right now and will only be popping in when she has time. Still no word from Nath. 😦
thx d.
Thanks donna – I’m here lurking everyday and posting whenever I can catch a break! Should be back to normal by the end of February.
All is well with me amk – I hope Nath is okay and just on vacay or busy. Thanks for asking 🙂
I hope so too.
poor things
Not that I give a hoot about Justin Bieber…..my question is this.
How does a person with an expired drivers license rent a Lamborghini ?
Why was he served alcohol ?
It seems to me that the club and the rental agency are also in deep trouble….
That’s “The Bebs” to you, Linda!
Once again, Good Morning! Been one of those weeks; feel good one day and be on the go — spend the next three days trying to recover…
Wanted to share my pics of our MLK program. https://www.facebook.com/alycee.ruley/media_set?set=a.10203119647455832.1346081293&type=3
The program was sponsored by the Media Fellowship House (I’m a former member of the board of directors). James Meredith (1st African American to attend Ole Miss) was the guest speaker. After the program, my Mom and I joined Mr. Meredith and few of the board members for dinner where we had a lively discussion comparing “down south” (Mississippi) to “up south” (Pennsylvania) and what we can/are doing to effect change.
MEDIA — The 25th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration shone a spotlight on a key figure of the 1960s civil rights movement. James Meredith, 80, recalled many personal experiences with King, but also focused on “God’s message for our time.”
Meredith was invited by event hosts Media Fellowship House, which is marking its 70th anniversary. more @ link:
Congratulations to you, Alycee. Well done! (And I’m glad your Mom was able to join you.)
Not just Politico. Note the grudging way that CBS notes the 9pt jump: First with BS headline about “Americans split” and second with a distorted descriptor “ticking up slightly.”
If it were the other way around CBS would have a blaring headline and descriptor “Obama’s approval at an all-time Low with a dramatic plunge of 9 points from November!!”
Exactly HP, not sure why Eric singled out Politico, the real culprits here are CBS – as you said, the 9 pt jump was a ‘by the way’ in their report on their own flippin’ poll. That IS the big take out of this because it coincided with the leap in ACA enrollments.
I really like Bruce Bartlett. He’s one of few who puts party affiliation totally aside and just calls it like it is.
Also. Too. lawrence wilkerson, cos of colin powell.
Yes, yes!
Republican Deficit Hypocrisy by Bruce Bartlett
The human capacity for self-delusion never ceases to amaze me, so it shouldn’t surprise me that so many Republicans seem to genuinely believe that they are the party of fiscal responsibility. Perhaps at one time they were, but those days are long gone.
This fact became blindingly obvious to me six years ago this month when a Republican president and a Republican Congress enacted the Medicare drug benefit, which former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker has called “the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s.”
Recall the situation in 2003. The Bush administration was already projecting the largest deficit in American history–$475 billion in fiscal year 2004, according to the July 2003 mid-session budget review. But a big election was coming up that Bush and his party were desperately fearful of losing. So they decided to win it by buying the votes of America’s seniors by giving them an expensive new program to pay for their prescription drugs.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/republican-budget-hypocrisy-health-care-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html
How they strong armed Congress for votes…..and how they made threats to others of losing their jobs.
Bruce Bartlett on Where the Right Went Wrong
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February 10, 2012
Bruce Bartlett on how right-wing tax policies are destroying America’s economy.
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http://billmoyers.com/segment/bruce-bartlett-on-where-the-right-went-wrong/
Hey! I remember him! He was a pretty fair member of Reagan Adm.
Uh, is ‘reasonableness’ really a word? I guess so as autocorrect popped up with it, but that’s a bulky one! Tho I accept his pov. It has even infiltrated (detrimentally) good Irish democratic families like mine!
Not only is the FBI interviewing Mayor Zimmer’s aides because her aides recall Mayor Zimmer being threated because she refused to push through a development deal, now comes word that Christie’s top aide Bridgett Kelly was recently dumped by her lawyer. Her lawyer by the way works for a law firm that Christie hired to do some work in 2010. Looks like Bridgett Kelly’s circle of friends is getting smaller.
Time for bridgett to live up to her name and throw the bully over the bridge?
I hope so, amk, seems as though everybody else has a dance partner but Kelly.
new name: bridge-it
Good morning everyone.
Ahhh…..another day with increasing numbers of insured Americans. If the political goings-on seem depressing I just click on the ACA sign-up sheets and restore my bliss.
In NYC this morning it is becoming clear that the Cuomo-DeBlasio dispute is going too far. The Governor (Cuomo) is now offering The Mayor (deBlasio) a “blank check” to pay for Pre-K” if only DeBlasio will please, please, PLEASE!!! stop asking for a tax hike on rich people.
“Doesn’t he know I am up for re-election and I need my rich friends to back me?” pleads Cuomo. Not really.
DeBlaiso campaigned on raising taxes – and he won over 70% of the vote – this should happen. PBO also campaigned on raising taxes – should have been done the minute he moved into the white house – and it would have caused way fewer problems than the eventual change caused.
I’m not trying to be mean, but I was thinking Christies weight-loss operation didn’t take. He’ll lose that gut now, I’ll bet. There’s no better slenderized than worry and I reckon his nerves are shot. 🙂
alright, so the “d” took the “r’s” place. That is as it should be, but I meant “slenderizer”.
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone and congrats df on #1 🙂 Excellent R & S round-up – thanks Chips!
Moooooooorning Hopefruit!! Me and my rusty brain are completely confused – was it you who had knee surgery??
No it must’ve been someone else. I expect a very busy January and February at work – a lot of traveling going on. But things should settle down fine by March 🙂 Otherwise all is well with me, and even when I don’t post, I’m lurking and reading all the wonderful posts and TOD comments for sure!
Ah, my brain is even rustier than usual then Hopefruit 😳 Any way, don’t wear yourself out with work, we need you hale and hearty!
I’m taking your advice Chips – taking my vitamins, getting enough sleep, keeping myself sane with TOD,etc., 🙂 🙂
Hmmm, whatever about the vitamins and sleep, not sure the last one will keep you sane!!
Well, It sure has kept me sane for the last 4 years! Heheh
Morning, Hopef!
😀 ‘things should settle down fine by March’ ••► What excellent planning! Good on you! That’s my birth month, which means you’ll have time to recuperate (a couple of weeks at the start), then be fresh again to help me celebrate. I was toying with the idea of a month long celebration, but this info might help me decide to tone it down to a week. Want you to be able to kick up your heels wholeheartedly! 😀 😀
You should celebrate for a whole month. Hitting 25 is a big milestone.
😆 😆 {{{{Japa}}}}
.
.
I know. 😉 😉
Wow vc…I know quite a few people born in March – yours is yet another good one to celebrate!
Hopef, you mean you and your bosses didn’t plan things at work to be ‘free’ in March solely for *me*? 😦 Bummer!
Breaking : Priorities USA to transform to a Hillary Clinton Super Pac.
PBO’s team is going to get behind Hillary it seems. Hopefully they will reject Ed Rendell being part of it.
LIVE NOW: Vice President Biden Speaks at the Families USA Annual Conference (audio only) http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
WEAK TEA …….
McConnell Recycles His Own Ad — Ignores 188,130 Kentuckians Whose Insurance He’d Repeal
By Jason Sattler
———————————–
An ad touting the ability to get people government-run health care is an unlikely way to open the campaign of a man who has vowed to repeal Obamacare “root and branch.”
Thanks to the president’s health reforms, 188,130 residents of McConnell’s state now have health coverage; of those, 100,359 have completely subsidized health insurance through Medicaid or SCHIP.
McConnell needs to explain what will happen to the more than 100,000 people who would lose coverage if his goal of repealing Obamacare is accomplished, says The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent.
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http://www.nationalmemo.com/mcconnell-recycles-his-own-ad-ignores-188130-kentuckians-whose-insurance-hed-repeal/
LOL!! I knew this was coming. By September he’ll come out with a campaign commercial telling people how he had to put PBO in a headlock to force him to sign Obamacare into law.
If McConnell is doing this now that means the tide has surely turned.
You nailed it ……
McConnell hints at key vulnerability
By Steve Benen
——————————–
It’s striking, of course, because Mitch McConnell has fought relentlessly against expanding access to affordable health care, not just for families in Kentucky, but for Americans nationwide.
.
.
It’s against this backdrop that McConnell unveiled a big new ad in which voters are supposed to believe the senator is fighting for more public access to affordable care, not less.
.
.
Except Team McConnell seems to realize this isn’t what voters want to hear at all. It’s why the senator wants to boast about using government to help struggling folks get access to care, rather than the other way around.
—————————————
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mcconnell-hints-key-vulnerability
This is pure panic and you can be sure other Republicans are going to follow his lead. Running against Obamacare is going to be political suicide. Frightened Dems take note.
The sad state of affair with those politicians without convictions! Anything goes. One day, kill Obamacre, the next day, tacitly endorse it.
Good Morning TODVille, from a warmed up 15 F NYC.
Wendy Davis is being Swift-boated
By Margaret Carlson
Published: 22 January 2014 02:47 PM
Updated: 22 January 2014 06:03 PM
In politics, lying is the new sex. Even the lesser sin, exaggeration, is grounds for questions about your suitability to run for office. Americans may be becoming more like the French in tolerating peccadilloes (just ask Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina or Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana about surviving a sex scandal), but get a detail wrong about whether you divorced at 21 or at 19, and woe unto you.
That’s what happened to Wendy Davis over the weekend.
You may know her as the Texas state senator in pink sneakers who delivered an 11-hour filibuster against abortion restrictions in June. The onetime teenage single mother who lived in a trailer park and graduated from Harvard Law School was so well-spoken, impassioned and appealing that she is running for governor less than a year later.
But now she’s being Swift-boated. The story of the courageous, articulate and inspiring lawyer has become the tale of a fabulist who can’t be trusted after the Dallas Morning News raised a swirl of questions about her personal history, some provided by her ex-husband. She says the allegations came from her would-be Republican opponent in the gubernatorial race, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The attacks won’t work, she says, “because my story is the story of millions of Texas women who know the strength it takes when you’re young, alone and a mother.”
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140122-wendy-davis-is-being-swift-boated.ece
Hmmm, I wonder why?
Good morning MIGHTY Chipsticks! wuff wuff Danny Boy!
Good morning to all of the AWESOME, BRIGHT, FUNNY, and CARING SOULS of the TOD community!!!
Chipsticks and contributors, thank you for keeping the world informed of the truths.
Okay, I was talking smack yesterday about our awesome and gorgeous weather in Florida land but today, I am moving a little bit slow…..woke up to 38 degrees weather, went back to sleep and woke up dragging. Coffee is not changing the rhythm.
Big news here…..the Beeb is in the slammer; who cares, breaking news all morning.
Tell me that Christie puff is in the slammer and I promise you that I could do 3 cart wheels……okay maybe a 1/2 of one : (
Those who are dealing with the bad weather, please be safe.
Now go out there and have the best day of your life, and if you are stuck inside, have it right where you are and don’t come back until you do : )
Happy Thursday everyone…enjoy!!!!!!!
Ha! Cindy, that 1/2 of a cartwheel was greeted with a guffaw! Now I will have to keep visualizing that until it goes away! Ain’t trying it, tho, you can count on that! 😆
what is matt frickin damon doing in davos?
Hanging with Arianna Huffington to team up on bashing PBO ?
Gay Marriages Confront Catholic School Rules
By MICHAEL PAULSON
JAN. 22, 2014
— Eastside Catholic prides itself on teaching acceptance. At the end of Crusader Way, by the school’s entrance, banners hang celebrating “relationships” and exhorting passers-by to “remember to take care of each other.” Students use a sign-language gesture to remind one another of the school’s emphasis on unconditional love.
But now the school is unexpectedly grappling with how it defines both love and acceptance. Last month, a well-regarded vice principal was forced to leave his job as soon as administrators became aware that he had married a man; in the weeks since, the suburban Seattle school has been roiled, first by protests in support of the vice principal, and then by the resignations of those who sought his departure. The chairman of the school’s board resigned last month, and on Tuesday, Eastside, a middle and high school with about 900 students, announced the resignation of its president.
The ouster of Mr. Z, as the former vice principal, Mark Zmuda, is known, comes amid a wave of firings and forced resignations of gay men and lesbians from Roman Catholic institutions across the country, in most cases prompted not directly by the employees’ sexuality, but by their decisions to marry as same-sex marriage becomes legal in an increasing number of states.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/us/gay-marriages-confront-catholic-school-rules.html?_r=3&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=U.S.&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article
Fantastic Rise and Shine, Chiparoo. (better than what Man. United is doing)
1. Loooooove the ObamaCare news.
2. People who support Ron Paul even when they know he is anti-Civil Rights Act, has no problem with businesses discriminating against African-Americans, and wrote racist newsletters for which he got paid for, are just as racist as he is; even though they try to pretend by calling themselves, “Libertarians.”
3. Interesting piece by Peter Beinhart. For those who can’t access the paywall, here’s the full article.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.569957
4. Great piece by Jim Stuart.
5. Holy bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep….KIEV?!?!
Thank yooooooooou Nerdy, although that Man United aside was entirely uncalled for.
*Ahem*
OMG! OM! OMG! Chelsea is going to get Mohamed Salah…..OMG! OMG! OMG! Man United is going down. Oh Happy Day! Thank you Jose Mourinho!!!!!!!
Huh, not fit to lace Juan the Jewel’s boots 😎
Haters gonna hate. Haters gonna hate. Chelsea knows Mata’s weaknesses so hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
You’re the best, Chiparoo. Never change. 😆
Exactly. You take note Mister – not a single petal from you for any of us women/girls the last few days.
I delivered a ton of petals just last week.
More petals please Sir..
Only for you. None for bt.
TY Sir!!!!!!
You’re welcome, my lady.
You mean you dumped them on the floor.
It was done so that your lovely feet don’t get hurt.
wimmin/smh
Yeah but they were all mushy they were so old, so my feet turned shocking pink. 🙄
They go well with your green hair, ever think of that? …. yeah, thought so.
😆 A pretty combination alright!
In case you were wondering what to do with your time this afternoon….
I’d rather…WTF.. anything!
CNN is also promoting this………Ugh !
this is a bad idea. he is going to get slammed
Reputation Report:
Wendy Davis is going down for embellishing her life story. Polls are not in her favor, social media is ripping her apart-report says this is so bad for her. A Dem has not been Governor in Texas for 20 years, and dear sweet WENDY has now made it impossible.
The saga: she said she divorced at 19…….o NO it was 21. She said she lived in the trailer parks……..o NO, she moved into an apartment.
All they freaking real!!!!!
ok…I am getting mad.
I meant to ask; are they freaking for real!!!!
Where is that from Cindy? Sounds very RWNJish to me.
The guy was MSNBC, his column or show, not sure is called Reputation Report
Ah, okay, thanks Cindy, MSNBC continues to excel.
LMAO -is it me, or do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your comment?!
I am killing my posts-excluding words; that crap made my pressure go up-I am sure.
He was on MSNBC, Kelly O’Donnel show, I think. I am not familiar with her show, not sure if she was filling in for someone.
Cindy……LOD didn’t say that. I don’t remember such reporting. If a guest said that…….well, that is his opinion. LOD had 2 men on his show and I remember he allowed them to speak and then corrected or asked questions to set the story straight.
State Sen Wendy Davis is not going down. She has challenges. However, the challenges are Not so high that she can’t overcome with a larger number of electorate coming out in Nov.
Hey Nena20409
No, it wasn’t on LOD, the guy was on this morning with Kelly O’Donnell, it’s called Reputation Report. I am not familiar with it, he stated that it is bad on social media about her story. I am usually not here in the morning so I don’t know if she was filling in for someone.,
Okay, now I see what you are saying. Kelly O’Donnell is NBC congressional reporter. Perhaps she was filling in for someone? Reputation Report sounds more like a RW political website or something. They Love to name their projects for the Opposite of what they do…….my opinion.
Isn’t medicaid a federal subsidy? How do the states get fix the limit?
States rights in a nutshell.
The Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and states. The federal government pays states for a specified percentage of program expenditures, called the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).
FMAP varies by state based on criteria such as per capita income. The regular average state FMAP is 57%, but ranges from 50% in wealthier states up to 75% in states with lower per capita incomes (the maximum regular FMAP is 82 %).
FMAPs are adjusted for each state on a three-year cycle to account for fluctuations in the economy. The FMAP is published annually in the Federal Register.
For questions and answers about the increased FMAP rates available beginning in 2014 and beyond,
click here, FMAP Q&A General
click here, FMAP Q&A Funding for the New Adult Group
http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Financing-and-Reimbursement/Financing-and-Reimbursement.html
It’s complicated in America…as usual. When I lived in New York 100 % of our sales tax went to fund it.
Is there any other modern country that has such powerful ‘states’ anymore? I get it, and I know my American history and understand that it was the foundation of the United States of America. But the Articles of Confederation were failures even 200+ years ago. This notion of virtual complete ‘sovereignty’ of each state is not workable in the modern age.
When it comes to something like Medicaid, it becomes a race to the bottom: the states have the ‘right’ to deny benefits and a safety net to their constituents. It’s outrageous.
Excellent explanation, Linda. Thanks.
Thx Linda. It IS complicated
A good friend of mine lives in NH. He’s in his late 40’s, working for a tiny business of about 4 employees with no insurance, of course. He had an emergency appendectomy in November and they found a mass on his kidney. He has no way to pay for the first surgery, much less the second (the mass is benign but it’s killing off sections of his kidney). He was so excited for ACA to kick in.
NH has a Democratic governor and a RWNJ legislature who refused Medicaid expansion. He makes next to nothing but doesn’t qualify for Medicaid. The cheapest policy available is half of what his rent is per month, with a $5,700 deductible. He needs to sign up anyway. His humongous family should pitch in and cover the deductible at least.
He is one of those people who has fallen through the cracks. And let’s be clear: the ‘cracks’ are singlehandedly caused by RWNJ’s in this country.
Wasn’t dod oh, the noble gates’ baby when this happened?
That’s what they get for using a private firm. The government should be able to do it’s own security checks, but they have to find a way to pass tax-dollars to a corporation. Swindlers!
Oh Dear Lord!!!!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/sean-hannity-louie-gohmert-sotu_n_4651314.html
Good flippin’ grief.
We aren’t talking about two Mensa members meeting here to discuss politics folks; we’re talking about Hannity and Gohmert.
Yes, I understand that…however the “media’ will highlight what theses 2 morons have to say instead of PBO’s address!!!!
Let us pray.
I hope the troops will rally behind Wendy Davis; media is trying to blow this story up. The Dems need to get on this; Christie distraction I believe but it doesn’t take much for the RW repukes to swift boat candidates. I remember Kerry and it was ugly to the core.
Because Wendy Davis was 21 instead of 19 when she got divorce and lived in a trailer the media is trying to make a big deal out of it. I can see if she said she was 19, but it turn out she was 30. 21 is still very young to be divorced with a kid and on your own.
My understanding is that Ms Davis separated at 19 and the Divorce decree was final at 21. She did live in a trailer for 2-3 months. Not a story. This story will not work for the men who are beating Ms Davis with such nonsense. This story has No Legs…….seriously, this smells like the righties are grabbing at straws.
Well, it’s a Democrat and they don’t have anything better to do. I just don’t see why this is a big deal other than a distraction from the repukes. However, it has been reported that her ex-husband is proud of her and he will not play the repukes game. I guess they have tried to get him involved in some way. Unreal……
I am not sure I understand. Who is a Dem? The Guest or the Host? LOD is a self proclaimed Socialist. He worked for the late Sen from NY….Moynahan(sp). The guest? I have no clue to his political affiliation. The Host, LOD……it is what he says that matters not what a guest with a point of view had to say. That is how I look at these shows.
I am referring to Wendy Davis is the Dem and they are attacking her to distract from Christie and all the repukes crap.
Good happy Thursday 57andfemale,
How is Mr. Nickelby doing today? I do hope that he is doing better.
Have a wonderful day!
Thanks for asking, Cindy. As long as we are diligent, he improves. Last night he was still yelping a little when he moved wrong. He’s better today. Although I didn’t notice that he had jumped up on the sofa and then jumped off when he heard Daddy come home last night. These are the things he shouldn’t do. We have a good rhythm on picking him up and carrying him up and down the stairs and Mr. 57 has gotten over his fear of hurting him, and is carrying him effectively as well. Each time we do what we’re supposed to do, he’s that much closer to healing. It’s going to be a long month…..
Well, that’s good news and I will continue to send prayers your way; for family and Mr. Nickelby.
Thank you. We all appreciate it so much. He’s my baby……
Just about every poll is against Snowden. Yet the Media is obsessed with the NSA story. The same folks that chase after ratings. How many of their NSA stories have been a ratings Bonanza? Zero.
MSNBC when they started reporting about other matters, their ratings went up.
Jeff Zucker is mercifully killing CNN.
I can’t remember the last time I watched CNN. Mr. 57 used to put it on but now it’s AJAM at our house or a little msnbc. It is outrageous that it’s damn near impossible to find honest journalism anymore.
RIP TeaNN (CNN)
Pardon me.
Good Morning TODers. It was -15 degrees and -33 wind chill below this AM.
Bone Chill in my neck of the woods. Happy Thursday 😉 for it is Sunny Too 🙂
Do we still not know who is going to give the GOP rebuttal to PBO’s SOTU address? Why are the media & GOP being all mum about it? Are they trying to create an aura of mystery to get people to tune in at the last minute?
Chat away!
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/01/23/chat-away-323/