22 | February | 2014 | The Obama Diary

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance while the band Earth, Wind and Fire performs at the Governors Ball in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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The Week Ahead:

Sunday: In the evening, the President and First Lady will host the Governors in town for the winter meeting for a dinner at the White House.

Monday: The President will meet with the National Governors Association.

Tuesday: The President will hold an event on the economy at the White House. In the evening, he will attend an OFA event in Washington DC.

Wednesday: The President will travel to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area for an event on the economy.

Thursday: The President will host an event on his ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ initiative.

Friday: The President will attend a DNC event in Washington.

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Michael Hiltzik (LA Times): Maybe there are no genuine Obamacare horror stories

Kevin Drum wonders whether there’s a single genuine Obamacare horror story out there, given that virtually every yarn promoted by Republicans or conservatives about people hurt by the Affordable Care Act has deflated like a pricked balloon on the merest examination.

It’s a very good question, inspired by the latest horror story bloomer – the tale of one Julia Boonstra of Michigan, wholesaled by the Koch-founded conservative organization Americans for Prosperity. In a political ad being run by AFP against a Democratic senate candidate in Michigan, Boonstra asserts that “Obamacare” has made her leukemia treatment “unaffordable” and “jeopardized” her health.

But when Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post checked out her story, he found it didn’t hold up….

Boonstra’s case is just the latest of a very long line of deflatable horror stories. We’ve debunked a passel of them here….

More here

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The GOP’s real Obamacare horror story: 13 million people are gaining health insurance and they can’t even take it away in Arkansas.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) February 21, 2014

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Brian Beutler: Are Republicans even trying? Another Obamacare horror story bites the dust

Given how horrible Obamacare supposedly is, it’s a little bizarre that Republicans and their allies have such a hard time finding victims who are unambiguously worse off as a result of the law.

GOP leaders trotted out a woman named Bette during their official response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Once reporters with even rudimentary understanding of the law began poking around, they discovered that Bette was more a victim of anti-Obamacare histrionics than of the genuine article.

The ad makers at the conservative pressure group Americans for Prosperity are the Jerry Bruckheimers of atmospherically devastating campaign spots attacking Democrats who voted for Obamacare, but like nearly all Bruckheimer films the plots of these ads fall apart upon the mildest scrutiny.

More here

Just over a month left for open enrollment! Watch my video and visit http://t.co/csEwN3JJLh to get signed up! .http://t.co/x1GOTcaVzH

— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) February 21, 2014

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PBS: U.S. agriculture booms to record highs

American agriculture has experienced a boom, with market values of crops, livestock and total agricultural products reaching record highs even as the amount of U.S. farmland declined, according to a new government survey.

Continuing a long-term trend, the number of U.S. farms dropped to 2.1 million in 2012, about a 4 percent drop from five years earlier. But some of the bigger farms got bigger. The average farm grew from 418 to 434 acres.

…. All told, U.S. farms sold nearly $395 billion in products in 2012, a third more than five years earlier. That averaged to about $187,000 per farm – or an increase of $52,000 over 2007 totals.

More here

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Read tomorrow’s column, “Accommodating Divisiveness,” tonight and let me know what you think. http://t.co/iY4nDdiUBu

— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 22, 2014

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USA Today: White House cautiously welcomes Ukraine accord

With Ukraine’s embattled president and opposition agreeing to a deal that will bring early elections, the White House expressed guarded optimism on Friday that the accord will bring an end to the political violence in Kiev and lead to lasting changes in Kiev.

In a statement, the White House said the agreement, which was facilitated by France, Germany and Poland and reached after all-night talks, was consistent with the Obama administration’s call for deescalating the violence, constitutional reform and early elections.

More here

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We’ll vote again on #renewUI soon. We need 1 more Republican vote. This is important. We must keep pushing. pic.twitter.com/QvoFx1ap3x

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) February 21, 2014

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I’m beginning to think LL or Japa is the Tweet of God —–>

I have to help Canada at hockey because it’s all they have up there besides civility and poutine.

— God (@TheTweetOfGod) February 20, 2014

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Line of the Week? Charles Pierce on Howard Kurtz:

“… who generally has so many interests in conflict that it’s a wonder he doesn’t get perpetual cramp in his 1099s, has landed at Fox News, where nobody gives much of a fk about ethics, or the truth, or anything else that gives Roger Ailes a pilonoidal cyst, and he doesn’t have to worry about those sad dingleberries of credibility that still cling to his career.”

Genius.

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Who is ready for the weekend? We hope you have as much fun as these brown bear cubs in Kodiak NWR! #Alaska pic.twitter.com/h7QTuGGW1k

— US Dept of Interior (@Interior) February 21, 2014

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On This Day:

President Obama sits at his desk in the Treaty Room Office of the Private Residence and reads one of 10 letters from the public selected for his personal reading from the volume of mail he receives, Feb. 22, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama pulls out the chair for First Lady Michelle Obama at the Governors Ball in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance while the band Earth, Wind and Fire performs at the Governors Ball in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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President Obama waits in the Butlers’ Pantry before he is introduced during the National Governors Association meeting at the White House, Feb. 22, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama answers questions from the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama talks with Vice President Biden in the Oval Office, Feb. 22, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama listens during a meeting in the Oval Office, Feb. 22, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talk in the Green Room of the White House before hosting a Smithsonian Museum of African American History reception in the East Room, Feb. 22, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet guests during a reception in honor of the groundbreaking of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet students from the Brooklyn Montessori school at the ground breaking ceremony for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. on February 22, 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Piper Shillingford, 4, from a Brooklyn Montessori School after she presented a donation at the ground breaking ceremony

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First Lady Michelle Obama, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, and chef Marcus Samuelsson participate in a cooking segment at the GMA Studios in New York, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2013 (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Obama throws a basketball in the air during departure photos with Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, and her family in the Oval Office, Feb. 22, 2013. Watching the President, from left, are: Rian Power-Sunstein, Cass Sunstein, Samatha Power, Declan Sunstein, James Bourke, and Veronica Delany (Photo by Pete Souza)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Mehmet Oz learn a dance routine with members of the Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 dance group during a taping of the “Dr. Oz Show” at the 30 Rock Studios in New York, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2013 (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama shows off her dance moves during an Evolution of Mom Dancing skit with Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday, February 22, 2013

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MoooOOOooorning!