President Barack Obama visits with patrons during a stop for lunch at Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Mich., April 2, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Archive for April 2nd, 2014
02
Apr
14
Chat Away
President Obama shakes hands after addressing students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
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First Lady Michelle Obama hugs two students from Friendship Public Charter School before planting the White House kitchen garden
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Text of the President’s remarks here
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Leaving Andrews this morning
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President Obama and U.S. Rep. Gary Peter order sandwiches from restaurant worker Andrea Byl at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor
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Nothing so lovely as a silhouette: President Obama at the University of Michigan today (by Getty’s Joshua Lott). pic.twitter.com/blPv3irnx7
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 2, 2014
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President Obama is welcomed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn after arriving aboard Air Force One at Chicago O’Hare International Airport
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02
Apr
14
Gardening Time
3:30 EDT: First Lady Michelle Obama, School Children, and Foodcorps Leaders Plant the Sixth Annual White House Kitchen Garden
3:0 EDT: President Obama Speaks on Raising the National Minimum Wage
GOP hates ACA Cuz Pres Obama snatched Ayn Rand’s wig
[This week’s earth shattering news of Obamacare enrollment numbers outperforming all projections and leaving GOP heads exploded all over the land, reminded me of a piece I posted here on on Sept 27, 2013, just before the ACA Healthcare Exchanges opened in October. We all know how the narrative unfolded thereafter up till the happy finale this week. Pres Obama’s foes are ANGRY about something more fundamental than the number of enrollees. Their JIG IS UP]
Here’s why……
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When we board a plane what is the first thing Flight Attendants demonstrating passenger safety instructions, tell us to do in case of emergency? “…an oxygen mask will automatically appear in front of you… secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.” That’s Rational Self Interest.
Self-Preservation
With the exception of religious cultists who abdicate control over their own being, we as INDIVIDUALS instinctively strive for SELF-PRESERVATION especially when our life is threatened. It’s an existential article of faith. And nothing crystalizes this fact more readily than when we NEED healthcare to prevent or cure illness.
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Rational Self-Interest in economics is when a person “makes economic decisions that benefit them the most.” Is that not what we’ve been told real capitalism is supposed to be about? Marketplaces, competition, and consumers making choices based on what is best for them? So why do the GOP and their wealthy backers hate PBO for enacting this model of capitalism?
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Continue reading ‘Re-Post: GOP hates Obamacare Cuz Pres Obama snatched Ayn Rand’s wig’
02
Apr
14
Rise and Shine
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Today
EDT
11:15: The President departs the White House
12:55: Arrives Michigan, Willow Run Airport
Great angle RT @lauraameyerr: The line to see #POTUSatUmich… pic.twitter.com/i1TyqVvbCa
— The Michigan Daily (@michigandaily) April 1, 2014
3:0: Delivers remarks, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
3:30: First Lady Michelle Obama, School Children, and Foodcorps Leaders Plant the Sixth Annual White House Kitchen Garden
4:0: The President departs Michigan
CDT
4:0: Arrives Chicago, O’Hare International Airport
4:45: Attends a DNC event, Chicago Cut Steakhouse (Closed Press)
6:55: Delivers remarks and answers questions at a DNC dinner, Private Residence
8:30: Departs Chicago
EDT
11:25: Arrives the White House
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Democrats vs republicans. The contrast cannot be any more clearer. Wake up, america. Vote for yourself. #2014 & #2016 pic.twitter.com/jPZZyX35AZ — amk4obama (@amk4obama) April 2, 2014
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ACA was Obama’s Waterloo. GOP just didn’t realize they were Napoleon and Obama was the Duke of Wellington.
— john miller (@deaconmill) April 1, 2014
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Tom Toles: Obamacare a Huge Success
Let’s introduce a new category into the discussion. So far we’ve had two. The first is that Obamacare may make it by the skin of its teeth. The second is that’s it’s a total failure and the worst thing since unsliced bread. Time for a third: It’s a huge success and a triumph and a historic achievement and an immeasurable benefit to the American people.
I’ll stake out this lonely ground, because the allowed media narratives have other things to do….
More here
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#7millionandcounting #7millionandcounting #7millionandcounting #7millionandcounting #7millionandcounting pic.twitter.com/DQVguGCIxT — TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 1, 2014
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The People’s View: President Obama Opens Can of Whoop-Ass on Opponents of Health Care as Exchanges Enroll 7.1 Million
Hours ago, a triumphant President Obama opened a can of whoop-ass on opponents of the Affordable Care Act as he announced 7.1 million Americans have already signed up for health insurance through the exchanges – beating even the best estimates of 7 million. The number is likely to inch even higher as individuals who began their application before yesterday’s deadline are allowed to finish their sign-ups. Just months ago, pundits were Very Seriously (TM) postulating that it won’t even cross 5 million.
The president openly called out Republican governors for obstructing the health care law and keeping millions more who could get health insurance today from getting it (5 million, to be exact, is the number of people GOP governors are denying health care to by refusing a fully federally funded expansion of Medicaid).
More here
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‘ACA 7 Million, GOP 0 Ideas’ pic.twitter.com/DwZwrLFYlO — TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 2, 2014
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TPM: Obamacare Enrollment Is Far From Over
With the recent closure of the initial enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is enormous jockeying around interpreting the number of enrollees in state and federal exchanges. Proponents and opponents of the law are interpreting the preliminary numbers in the way that best makes their case. But what neither side is emphasizing enough is that enrollment in the ACA is far from over now that March 31st has passed. This is because millions of individuals will lose their insurance during 2014 – and Obamacare will be there to catch them.
More here
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I can’t believe the 7.1 million people who signed up for Obamacare didn’t want this GOP healthcare alternative pic.twitter.com/goHz8uGrms — Travon Free (@Travon) April 1, 2014
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Just heard that Darrell Issa is issuing subpoenas to all 7 million ObamaCare Enrollees #7MillionAndCounting pic.twitter.com/H1AOhVbP6E
— Ron Loren Pitts™ (@RonLPitts) April 1, 2014
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Steve Benen: In search of ‘any plausible alternative’
When President Obama took a brief victory lap on the South Lawn yesterday afternoon, he included a specific taunt that, by my ear, seemed ad-libbed.
“[T]his law is doing what it’s supposed to do. It’s working. It’s helping people from coast to coast, all of which makes the lengths to which critics have gone to scare people or undermine the law, or try to repeal the law without offering any plausible alternative so hard to understand. I’ve got to admit, I don’t get it. Why are folks working so hard for people not to have health insurance? Why are they so mad about the idea of folks having health insurance?”
Note how this turns the Republican line against them. Indeed, Obama’s questions need not be rhetorical — why are so many on the right working so hard to deny Americans access to affordable medical care? Why haven’t the ACA’s critics bothered to present a plausible alternative?
More here
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President Obama in the Rose Garden today, wearing his “kids, you gotta stop doubting me” face. pic.twitter.com/u5gjP1Q337 — TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 1, 2014
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TPM: Conservatives Discover That Obamacare Will Help A Lot Of People
Obamacare crossed the 7 million sign-ups milestone before the midnight deadline Monday, sparking angst and introspection among conservative policy wonks about the future of their quest to wipe the health care law off the books.
Central to their dilemma is the emerging discovery that many people will end up benefiting from Obamacare. Despite the health care law’s problems, unanswered questions and unknown costs, it can hardly be denied that millions of American are slated to reap the benefits of its insurance subsidies, the Medicaid expansion and beefed-up consumer protections.
More here
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today markos: RT @markos: Lots of new people now have affordable health care. Conservatives weep. 2009 markos: http://t.co/SGf47blg3I — SheriffFruitfly (@sherifffruitfly) April 1, 2014
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Politicususa: Stephen Colbert Flawlessly Mocks Republican Heartbreak In Wake Of Obamacare Success
On Tuesday night’s episode of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert began the show with a bang. The mock conservative host lampooned Republicans by lamenting the fact that millions of Americans now have health insurance. He then showed clips from earlier in the day revealing that due to Obamacare, 7.1 million people have been able to obtain a private health insurance plan in the marketplace.
After playing those clips, Colbert complained about how crowded his doctor’s office will be now that there will be 7.1 million other patients in line before him. He then pointed out that in recent weeks, conservatives had assured him that there was no way that the ACA would meet its goal. This was followed by clips from right-wing pundits, mostly on Fox News, stating with absolute certainty that Obamacare would fall far short of its intended target.
The clips Colbert played included some priceless statements from notable conservatives…
More here
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Meet an Obamacare Opponent via @MattBinder pic.twitter.com/ahaelb5xtB — LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 1, 2014
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Greg Sargent: Obamacare is a disaster. But KyNect is awesome!
The office of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear just announced that more than 370,000 people have now signed up for Obamacare on KyNect, the state exchange. More than one out of every dozen Kentuckians — 8.6 percent of the state population — now has obtained coverage through the exchange, Beshear’s office said, claiming that a preliminary analysis has established that three out of four enrollees has reported that they were uninsured before signing up.
Beshear’s office adds that more than 21,000 signed up in the last three days alone.
But as recently as three days ago, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was denouncing Obamacare as “disastrous,” lamenting the “catastrophic effects” the law has had on Kentucky families, and insisting that “the pain caused by this terrible law is easy to see.”
More here
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“We Hit Our Goal.” “So Did We.” #7millionandcounting pic.twitter.com/ly4VNdVDp1 — TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 2, 2014
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Bradley Cooper pitched ‘Between Two Ferns’ to the White House – thank you Bradley! http://t.co/oeMTsvNkei pic.twitter.com/XIFaipnyQV
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 2, 2014
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Ugh, hate linking to anything by Zeke Miller, but this is a good read:
Time: All The President’s Celebrities: How The White House Used Stars To Sell Obamacare
The Obama administration turned to a powerful source to help persuade 7 million uninsured Americans to enroll in health care plans under the Affordable Care Act — a veritable army of celebrities
In the summer of 2013, when the White House was gearing up to sell the Affordable Care Act, senior aide Valerie Jarrett convened a meeting of some of the nation’s biggest celebrities to secure their advice and help sell the law to the American public.
The meeting brought together singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, actor and on-off White House staffer Kal Penn and comedienne Amy Poehler, as well as Funny or Die’s Mike Farah and YouTube Comedy’s Daniel Kellison, and representatives for Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, and Bon Jovi. Nine months and hundreds of videos, tweets and media appearances later, the White House believes the meeting paid dividends, with the celebrities helping the administration enroll more than 7.04 million people in Obamacare through Monday night, the end of the open enrollment period in the healthcare exchanges.
More here
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Ryan obviously didn’t run his budget by Pope Francis first. Pope would have told him to stick it up…well, maybe not those exact words.
— john miller (@deaconmill) April 1, 2014
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Charles Pierce: Mr. Ryan’s Opus
Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin, and most recent First Runner-Up in our national vice-presidential pageant, has released another “budget,” this one a sham even by his remarkable standards because this is an election year and nobody is going to vote for a budget, even a fake one, unless it includes free money, doughnuts, and oral sex for everyone in the country. Anyway, it’s pretty much what we have come to expect from Ryan. More money for the military, more granny-starving for the rest of us.
More here
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What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014
The selfie….Big Papi definitely had a better angle than me! @davidortiz @RedSox pic.twitter.com/CU2niCT1ZW
— petesouza (@petesouza) April 1, 2014
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On This Day
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First Lady Michelle Obama, alongside Harrison Ford and Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s widow, welcomes high school and college students from across the country for a workshop with the cast and crew of the film 42, April 2, 2013
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MoooOOOooorning!
02
Apr
14
Early Bird Chat
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MoooOOOooorning Early Birds – Happy Wednesday!
The Obama Diary 
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