Rise and Shine

On This Day: President Barack Obama meets with advisors prior to a bilateral meeting with President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón of Colombia at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

****

Today (All Times Eastern):

10:10: President Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly; the First Lady also attends

C-SPAN  White House

10:50: The President meets with John Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly

11:35: Holds a bilateral meeting with President Michel Sleiman of the Republic of Lebanon

12:50: Meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

1:15: Attends a luncheon hosted by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

3:0: Holds a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

4:55: Participates in a conversation with former President Clinton about the future of health care reform

7:35: Delivers remarks at DNC reception, Waldorf Astoria Hotel

9:40: The President and First Lady depart New York en route Andrews Air Force Base

10:50: Arrive the White House

****

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a kiss before departing for separate events after arriving at the Wall Street Landing Zone aboard Marine One in New York, N.Y., Sept. 23 (Pete Souza)

****

GetCoveredAmerica.org

****

Get Registered!

****

Greg Sargent: Nancy Pelosi Moves To Pressure Republicans On Immigration

With House Republicans seemingly stalling on immigration reform, Nancy Pelosi has hit on a plan that is designed to force them to deal with it this fall. Within the next two weeks, Pelosi may introduce a version of the Senate immigration reform bill in the House, in an effort to pressure House Republicans to sign on as co-sponsors, according to an aide familiar with her thinking. No decisions have been made.

Some reformers and Dems had hoped Pelosi would introduce what is known as a “discharge petition,” which would force a vote on the House floor if 218 House Members signed on to it. But the current plan Pelosi is eying does not involve a discharge petition, which is opposed by some who worry no Republicans would sign it, the aide tells me.

More here

****

****

David Corn: Slate Pitch: Obama Is The Shrewdest Political Tactician Since LBJ

The conventional view in Washington these days is that President Barack Obama is not having such a great second term and might already be suffering a bit of lame duckery. But here’s a Slate pitch: Obama is the most wily tactician in the nation’s capital since Lyndon Johnson. Consider what Obama has recently done to two of his most bothersome foes: Vladimir Putin and John Boehner.

The Russian leader was now acknowledging that Assad’s stockpile was indeed a problem and, more important, assuming the role of guarantor. Certainly, the subsequent negotiations would be difficult, with Assad likely to slow-walk and obfuscate. But having sucked Putin into the process, Obama had increased the odds of achieving his chief goal: preventing the further use of chemical weapons by the regime.

Back home, Obama has placed House Speaker Boehner in a different sort of hot seat. By declining to negotiate with Boehner about defunding Obamacare in order to prevent a government shutdown, the president has fueled the ongoing civil war within GOP ranks. True, this pitched battle would wage with or without Obama, as tea partiers try to hold the government hostage in order to destroy Obama’s health care program and less extreme Republicans contend that this act of political terrorism will backfire against their party. But sometimes in politics, it takes discipline to stand back and not get in the way when an opponent is self-immolating.

More here

****

There's no time like the present. Support @OFA today and keep this movement for progress strong: http://t.co/zpyKFnN1jY

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 23, 2013

****

The GOP-led House would cut food nutrition benefits for 170,000 veterans. Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/KFLgELYap2

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) September 19, 2013

****

Greg Sargent: House GOP To Ted Cruz: Win, Rocky, Win!

When last we checked in on Ted Cruz’s crusade to defund Obamacare, he was callingon Senate Democrats to refrain from passing any amendment to the House “CR” funding the government that would strip its defunding of Obamacare by a simple majority vote in the Senate. The idea is that if Dems allowed this amendment to be subject to a 60 vote threshold (Dems are going to amend the bill to take out the defunding, and kick it back to the House), Senate Republicans could then presumably filibuster it.

Alas for Ted Cruz, that isn’t going to happen. A Senate Democratic aide tells me there is no chance the amendment getting rid of Obamacare defunding will be subject to filibuster, meaning only a simple majority of Senators will have to pass it. Since Dems control 54 votes, that won’t be difficult.

More here

****

https://twitter.com/TuxcedoCat/status/382183903030546432

****

NJ.Com: ObamaCare Impact: More Patients, More Healthcare Jobs, Experts Predict

Two years before the Affordable Care Act became law and three years before its full implementation, a cadre of concerned professionals was already asking an important question: Who will take care of all these new patients? Which is why the job openings will include much more than just doctors, she said, but also nurse practitioners, lab techs and medical assistants.

“Because of shortages due to new technologies, specifically information technology,” Wise said, “there will also be more need of information specialists to respond to federal mandated electronic health care records. Wise predicted that nurses and nurse practitioners and home care and health care aides will be of critical importance.

More here

****

My son who is a cancer survivor was denied coverage in the past during a period of unemployment. Now he's able to get coverage.

— Eat, Drink and Be Mary (@MWJ1231) September 24, 2013

****

BBC: China Bans Several Weapon-Related North Korea Exports

China says it has banned the export to North Korea of several weapon-related technologies which could be used in the development of nuclear weapons. China’s Commerce Ministry published the list, which includes components for nuclear explosive devices and rocket systems, on Monday. It said the move would help implement UN resolutions on North Korea, and would be effective immediately.

Analysts say the ban shows China taking a firmer line against its ally. The list includes technology in nuclear, missile, chemical and biological fields. It says the restrictions are developed in accordance with several UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. China is North Korea’s only ally and its major trading partner.

More here

****

https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/382166146465558528

****

BBC: President Obama jokes ‘I’m Scared Of My Wife’

US President Barack Obama conquered a long-term smoking habit because he was afraid of his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, he has joked with a UN official. The jesting admission, which the president made apparently unaware he was on camera, came at the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. Mr Obama privately told a human rights campaigner that he had not had a cigarette in roughly six years.

“That’s because I’m scared of my wife,” he said with a smile. The conversation between Mr Obama and Maina Kiai, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, occurred near an open microphone and was later broadcast by CNN. “I hope you’ve quit smoking,” Mr Obama said to Mr Kiai, a Kenyan. “Sometimes,” Mr Kiai responded, as the two smiled and shook hands. Both Mr Obama and Mr Kiai attended Harvard University Law School.

More here

Video here

****

https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/382247197661618178

****

Igor Volsky: Sorry, The Latest Anti-ObamaCare Article To Go Viral Is Totally Wrong

An article published by Forbes claiming that Obamacare will increase health care costs by$7,450 for a typical family of four is spreading like wildfire across the internet, but causing eye rolls from economists across the country. One economist interviewed by ThinkProgress, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities’ Paul Van de Water, described this calculation as one of the stupidest things he’s read in a long time and likened it to arguing that college costs will increase for a “typical” family if the federal government adopts policies that help lower-income Americans afford college educations.

Yes, the nation will spend more on education if more students enroll in colleges and universities, but the “typical” student already attending college won’t; she or he will continuing paying tuition at more or less the same rate, while the newly-enrolled student will presumably benefit from some sort of subsidized tuition rate.

In fact, if anything, the CMS report that Conover links to shows that Obamacare is a good financial proposition. In 2022, total health care spending will increase by 1.5 percent, while the number of non-elderly adults with health care coverage will increase by 9 percent. That’s a pretty good deal any way you slice it.

More here

****

Care about others/community? Spread the word about http://t.co/mcCFDck6ZM or 1-800-318-2596! You might save a life!

— Larry James (@lmjread) September 24, 2013

****

HHS.Gov: Countdown To Coverage

Today we’ve reached yet another milestone on the road to affordable health care: 100 days to coverage. For years, millions of Americans have been denied the security and peace of mind of having health insurance. Too many have been priced out, locked out, or dumped out by insurance companies. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, all of that is changing. January 1, 2014 — 100 days from today –marks a new day, when coverage will be more accessible and affordable. On that day, coverage will begin for those who signed up for a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace by December 15, 2013.

The Marketplace is a new, simpler way to purchase health insurance –all in one place.  You can go online or call to find and compare options, see if you qualify for lower costs, and select coverage that meets your needs and budget. October 1, 2013, marks the beginning of an extensive six-month-long open enrollment and public education campaign. You can enroll through the end of March.

Many will enroll online at www.HealthCare.gov. For some, it will be easier to enroll by phone (1-800-318-2596; TTY: 1-855-889-4325) or by mail.  To make the process even easier, we have trained local assisters to help answer all of your coverage questions.

More here

****

https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/382484059030437888

****

On This Day:

First Lady Michelle Obama plays table tennis with members of the band Big Time Rush in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House during a taping for NIckelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

****

President Barack Obama confers with Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom following the United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. Headquarters in New York, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

****

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in the National Day of Play on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Sept. 24, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

****

Prior to a luncheon, First Lady Michelle Obama and the spouses of United Nations General Assembly leaders tour the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture with Dan Barber, co-owner and executive chef of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

****

President Barack Obama confers with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan E. Rice, NSC Advisor Gen. Jim Jones and Special Assistant to the President Gary Samore prior to the U.N. Security Council Heads of State meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

****

afternoon all

Charles Pierce: …. Emboldened by enablers, the bishops have expanded their demands for exemptions from simply Catholic institutions to every business in America. There’s a reason for this …. they’ve been sitting back on their ermined duffs, believing that they were done so very wrong in the investigation of their crimes, and nursing the mother of all grudges, for over a decade. Now they’ve decided to strike back for the power they’ve lost. Women’s health is the issue they’ve chosen, because, in their little unindicted world, women don’t count, and never have….

There were a couple of ways all of this could have been avoided. One … would have been to toss a whole lot of bishops in jail for conspiracy to obstruct justice, enough of them so their power to influence the secular law was destroyed forever. They needed to be humbled, unmercifully, until the hubris was wrung out of every damn one of them. Now, a woman working a low-income service industry job under the supervision of a Catholic boss will have her access to essential health-care truncated by a discredited encyclical to which no Catholic has paid any heed since the administration of Lyndon Johnson. These bastards needed to be broken, publicly, and into a thousand pieces that were scattered to the winds. Instead, they are “voices of conscience” again. It is to weep.

Full post here

****

****

Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Is media getting politics of contraception all wrong?

Since the controversy over the White House’s new contraception policy broke, it’s been widely assumed that the battle is terrible politics for Obama, because it will cost him among Catholic swing voters.

But some polling from August suggests a majority of Americans supports the White House position – and that the opposition to the provision from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops makes no difference to them. Even a majority of Catholic respondents said the same.

….. The White House very well may buckle in this fight. But these numbers do suggest at least the possibility that leading commentators have been far too quick to declare this a certain political loser.

Full post here

****

You can sign the petition here

****

Greg Sargent: Since details of the big foreclosure settlement began leaking out, liberals have been watching to see how New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman would react, as a sign of whether the deal is a giveaway to big banks – or whether it contains the promise of real accountability.

In an interview with me just now, Schneiderman – who has gained a national liberal profile for his insistence on true accountability for financial institutions – conceded the settlement announced today was “small” in financial terms, given the struggles of underwater homeowners and people who lost their homes.

But he insisted that time will show that today’s settlement was a win – that it secured a framework that will ultimately result in a true accounting of the role big banks played in sparking the economic meltdown…..

More here

Attorney General Eric holder listens as President Obama speaks about a mortgage settlement in the Eisenhower Executive Office building

****

President Obama arrives to deliver remarks on the No Child Left Behind law in the East Room of the White House

****

Jonathan Bernstein (Washington Post): Today’s economic news is that new claims for unemployment benefits have fallen again, with the four-week average now at the lowest point since spring 2008. That’s not all; the stock market is also at its highest point since spring 2008, and Gallup’s economic confidence numbers are also approaching post-recession highs.

It’s no coincidence that the run of good economic news – and employment is only a part of that – has been accompanied by a climb by Barack Obama in the polls. Indeed, the Pollster average now has Obama with an average 5.5 point lead over Romney.

….. It’s certainly possible that the new economic momentum will, again, dissipate. But the signs are mounting that people are being a bit too pessimistic. And if so, there’s a chance that Democrats and the president could be about to receive a whole lot of unexpected good news indeed.

Full post here

****

Steve Benen: How many counties did Romney win in Missouri’s doesn’t-really-count primary this week? Zero:

TPM

****

President Obama and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti meet in the Oval Office, February 9

****

First lady Michelle Obama greets U.S. Air Force personnel in the dining facility at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville

****

afternoon all

President Barack Obama holds Arianna Holmes, 3, before taking a departure photo with members of her family in the Oval Office, Feb. 1, 2012. Arianna’s mother, Angela Holmes, is a departing Special Assistant in the International Economic Affairs office of the National Security Staff. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

****

Text of the President’s remarks here

President Obama holds up a book that he was given by author and keynote speaker Eric Metaxas at the National Prayer Breakfast

****

****

Steve Benen: The general trend on initial unemployment claims over the last few months has been largely encouraging, though there have been setbacks. Last week, for example, was a step in the wrong direction. This week’s report, however, was a little more heartening:

U.S. jobless claims dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000 in the week ended Jan. 28, the Labor Department said Thursday….

…. when these jobless claims fall below the 400,000 threshold, it’s considered evidence of an improving jobs landscape. When the number drops below 370,000, it suggests jobs are actually being created rather quickly.

More here

****

The Week

****

Washington Post (editorial): Higher education is both crucial to America’s economic competitiveness and hard for many students and their families to afford … As President Obama quite rightly insisted in his State of the Union address, institutions of higher learning must do more to hold down their costs if college education is to remain affordable for the next generation of young people. What’s more, he’s talking about using the federal government’s financial clout to encourage cost containment.

…. he is proposing long-overdue reforms to existing formulas for distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in campus-based aid, such as Perkins loans and work-study funds. Current policy skews in favor of better-off students at relatively pricier colleges. The president wants to shift dollars in favor of schools that restrain tuition and graduate more low-income students. Meanwhile, he would establish a $1 billion fund to encourage cost-saving innovations, complemented by $55 million for research, evaluation and dissemination of the best practices….

Needless to say, a lot depends on how the president and Congress would end up defining what constitutes a good value in higher education … what’s important is that the president has put the prestige and power of his office behind this effort.

More here

****

 

****

Jonathan Cohn: Romney’s political strategy here seems clear to me: He’s trying to drive a wedge between the poor and the middle class, convincing the latter that they lose out to the former when Democrats are in charge. And the strategy may work. It’s certainly helped Republicans before. But the big beneficiary of Romney’s plan to reorder fiscal priorities is not the middle class. It’s the very wealthy, who would get substantial tax benefits and who will usually be fine with weakened public services.

More here

****

TPM

****

****

MSNBC: ….. presidential hopeful Rick Santorum took a hard line on Wednesday against government getting involved in offsetting the cost of drug prices. Before exiting the stage, Santorum was prodded by members of the 300-person crowd to take one last question from a young boy standing in the front row. The child asked what the candidate would do to lower the cost of medicine. But the former Pennsylvania senator said it was the cost of drugs that allowed for the innovation that keeps Americans with life-threatening illnesses alive.

“People have no problem going out and buying an iPad for $900. But paying $200 for a drug they have a problem with – that keeps you alive. Why? Because you’ve been conditioned in thinking health care is something you should get and not have to pay for. Drug companies, health care companies need to have a profitability, because if they don’t, then how are we going to regulate costs?…..”

While some of in the audience applauded Santorum’s tough stance against government involvement in drug prices, others protested. The mother of the child yelled out that she was going bankrupt just to pay for her child to keep breathing.

More here

****

****

Charles P. Pierce (Esquire) read a a swooning piece about Fox ‘News’ in Politico…. he didn’t like it very much:

“Stuff in Politico That Makes Me Want to Guzzle Antifreeze…. I say only that, in my own, personal, constitutionally protected opinion, this may very well be the worst bag of pulverized, unexpurgated, beat-sweetening chickenshit in the history of American political journalism. It makes Peggy Noonan read like Thuycidides….

More here

****

Charles P. Pierce (Esquire): No matter what Willard Romney said on Tuesday night, a tough primary can really damage you. If these latest PPP numbers are in any way accurate, the rockfight between Romney and N. Leroy Gingrich, Definer of Civilization’s Rules and Leader (Perhaps) of the Civilizing Forces, has pushed Romney’s unfavorability ratings in Ohio northward toward 60 percent……

….. Eighty-four percent of the respondents are white and, even with that, Romney is six points down with a 57 percent disapproval rating. He better tack like hell, is all I’m saying.

More here

rise and shine

****

10:45: VP Biden delivers remarks at American Seating Company’s factory in Grand Rapids, Mich.

11:00: PBO delivers remarks on the economy at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Va.

5:00: Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a Democratic National Committee luncheon in Los Angeles.

****

****

Gallup

****

WSJ: The private sector added 170,000 jobs in January, in line with expectations, as small-business hiring fueled the increase …. The latest ADP report showed large businesses with 500 employees or more added just 3,000 employees in January, while medium-size businesses added 72,000 workers and small businesses, those that employ fewer than 50 workers, hired 95,000 new employees. Service-sector jobs increased by 152,000 last month, and factory jobs rose by 10,000.

More here

****

The Week

****

USA Today: The closer we get to the fall campaign, the more President Obama sharpens his stump speech. At a fundraiser last night in Washington ….Obama argued that the Republicans will take the economy back to where it was before the 2008 crisis, and have “the wrong vision for America.”

“Their basic argument is that if we strip out regulations, if we disregard environmental concerns, if we take away protections for consumers, if we lower taxes even further for the kind of folks who are in this room, that somehow growth and the American Dream will be restored,” Obama said.

That said, Obama warned supporters that this will be a tough election, and they can’t take anything for granted.

“We’re all going to have to be focused on making sure that every single day the American people understand not only where we want to take the country but also that we’re willing to fight for them,” Obama said.

More here

****

****

Charles Pierce (Esquire): …. I’m not going to sit there and listen to (Willard Romney) …. the cosseted plutocrat son of a millionnaire auto dealer – one who is running on a platform that will make himself and everyone like him richer while warning the rest of us, as he did in his victory speech in Tampa, that “If you’re looking for cradle-to-grave help from the government, I’m not your candidate” – go and dragoon into that effort Tom Paine, who would have spat in Willard Romney’s face if he’d ever met him.

Mitt Romney is someone whose children have a trust fund totaling $100 million. His great-great-grandchildren are not ever going to have to worry about money from their cradles to their graves. Thomas Paine? I’m sorry, but there are levels of bullshit to which I will not agree to descend.

Romney won because he had the most money. And because he had the most money, enough of the Tea Party “base,” which was supposed to hate him like gum disease, decided thusly: What the hell? The important thing is to get the Muslim Kenyan Usurper Negro out of the White House, so this is the horse we have to ride…..

…. it was how Romney delivered the speech that was so revelatory. This is a rich kid who likes flogging The Help. There were just enough shit-eating, country-club grins as he delivered his rancid material to show you what the guy must have been like in those golden moments when he realized that there was more dough in wrecking a company than in investing in it.

Full article here

****

****

David Firestone (NYT): ….. nearly half the nation now holds an unfavorable view of Mr. Romney, much higher than last year. The number is even higher among independents. If Mr. Gingrich can raise enough money to stay in the race, Mr. Romney will have to spend valuable time, resources and good will to keep countering him.

All of that subtracts from his ability to pivot to Mr. Obama, and makes his criticism of the president seem like more of the same endless negativity. Mr. Romney’s victory speech tonight was less than uplifting, suggesting the United States had sunk to “the worst of what Europe has become.” If he means the Euro crisis, it’s not even close, and he will not get very far persuading voters that Washington is turning into Athens.

He even made a crack about Mr. Obama and his “faculty lounge” colleagues who think they know better than everyone else. That sounds hollow, coming from one of the country’s best-educated elitists, and it’s precisely the wrong message for a country that knows it must improve education at all levels.

It was left to Rick Santorum, who barely competed in Florida, to express the real lesson of Florida’s knife fight, and the dangers of letting it continue. “What we’ve seen the last few weeks in Florida,” he said tonight, “is not something that is going to help us win this election.”

Full post here

****

The Week

****

CBS

****

Morning everyone 😉

evening all (updated)

****

Greg Sargent: Mark Murray reports on Twitter that the Obama campaign is out requesting rates from TV stations for a potential – and possibly very significant – ad buy. I’ve confirm that this is the case; Obama aides are requesting rates in key states, where there are millions and millions of dollars in anti-Obama ads already up on the air.

One has to wonder whether the Obama campaign is looking to do this in order to reclaim a debate that’s been largely ceded to his Republican rivals, one that will drive the election: Whether Obama succeeded or failed on the economy.

More here

****

****

****

****

The Hill: The Obama administration has signaled to allies that it will take a more aggressive role this year in protecting homeowners from foreclosure, a posture that fits with Obama’s populist campaign stance.

Housing is poised to become a significant issue in the 2012 campaign season and President Obama’s allies acknowledge the administration’s efforts to help homeowners, while well intentioned, have fallen short.

More here

****

Business Insider – Thanks Loriah

****

****

****

Happy birthday, too, to The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

****

Charles P. Pierce (Esquire): On Sunday evening the Republicans held the 10,000-infinity’th of their scheduled 56,675-quintuple-infinity debates, in which everybody picked on Willard Romney and Ron Paul, and in which Rick Santorum was still pretty much a dick, but he was a dick to Willard, who would have encouraged dickitude in Francis of Assisi, so there’s that. And, of course, Rick Perry said something really stupid. South Carolina really isn’t the place where you want to make loose talk about being “at war” with the federal government. Honestly, Governor Goodhair, why don’t you just go down to the harbor, throw a rock at Fort Sumter, and make it official?

And, alas, Jon Huntsman finally succumbed after his long, brave struggle against chronic invisibility. In lieu of flowers, the campaign requests that donations be sent to the Weepy Pundits Clinic, 525 Broder Lane, Centerville, USA. Chris, dude, there one big “What If…” missing from your litany there: What If The Republican Party Wasn’t Completely Insane? That really is the only one that matters…..

Full post here

****

****

Greg Sargent: Wisconsin Democrats are telling reporters that they have gathered more than one million signatures to recall Governor Scott Walker — a remarkable number that could have real ramifications for this year’s presidential race.

…. Dems need around 540,000 of those signatures to be certified as official in order for the recall of Walker to proceed. The one-million total makes that cushion pretty comfortable.

More here

John Nichols (The Nation): …. No other gubernatorial recall drive in American history has gathered the signatures of so large a proportion of the electorate. The total number of signatures submitted Tuesday represents 46 percent of the turnout in the 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. That compares with 23.4 percent that signed the petitions that initiated the successful recall of California Governor Gray Davis in 2003 and 31.8 percent that signed petitions to recall North Dakota Governor Lynn Frazier in 1921.

More here

****

Valerie Harper, January 2012

****

I just want to offer my apologies to saintroscoe for some seriously stupid and unfair comments I directed at him/her last night. After lecturing everyone else about staying ‘civil’ in the middle of disagreements, I went and broke my own rules, pretty spectacularly.

I have blocked people recently who were obvious GOP/Firebagger trolls, or who brought nothing much more than negativity or personal abuse to the blog, and they’ll stay blocked, but saintroscoe, obviously, fits in to neither category – which is why s/he has not been blocked.

When I ranted (on and on and on….) recently about negative stuff on the blog, I never meant – even if it sounded that way – that I wanted everyone to be Little Miss Sunshine even when the news wasn’t encouraging. We can still be fiercely positive, because there’s so much to be fiercely positive about, without burying our heads in the sand (as I often do) and ignoring the challenges and papering over the setbacks.

I know a lot of you don’t want any ‘negative’ stuff here, and have complained about the place being that way recently, but we’ll just carry on trying to get the balance right, between being positive and honest.

I’ll completely understand if Saintroscoe chooses not to return – if not, I recommend you follow him/her on Twitter (link). We didn’t always agree, but I appreciated what s/he brought here, which was smart and informed commentary on the issues.

Sorry again.

rise and shine

From an interview with VP Biden in Esquire:

“What I haven’t seen before is the intensity of the desire on the other side to see to it that Barack Obama is not president again. There seems to be a willingness to put that ahead of what might be a short-term – or a long-term – benefit to the American people.”

On the Presdsent: “What I’m amazed about is the guy’s courage. The decisions the president makes day in and day out are decisions that nobody sees. Trust me, if you had to make only one of those decisions, you’d be telling your grandchildren about it. … I would argue that this president has had more land on his plate from the day he got in office than any other president – including Franklin Roosevelt.”

On Mitt Romney’s faith: “When my son was a senior, I was asked to do a speech at Georgetown University,” Biden recalled in an interview with the magazine. “Father O’Donovan asked me to speak on how faith informs my public service. I’d never talked about my faith publicly. I mean, I acknowledge that I’m a practicing Catholic, but I don’t think it’s anybody’s business, nor do I think it should matter to anyone. That’s why I’m so angry about the way they’re treating Romney. Who I’m not crazy about, but…”

More here

****

Today:

10:05: The President and First Lady depart the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews

10:20: Leave Andrews for Ft. Bragg, N.C.

11:25: Arrive in Ft. Bragg

11:55: The President and First Lady deliver remarks to the troops

12:50: Depart Ft. Bragg

2:05: Arrive at the White House

5:00: The President attends a campaign event

****

Kathleen Sebelius: As a parent, nothing gives us more peace of mind than knowing that our children can pursue their dreams without unfair limitations. This is why I’m excited to announce that millions more young adults in America now have health insurance coverage thanks to the health care law – enabling them to pursue their goals without worrying about what will happen if they get sick.

The provision in the law allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 has resulted in 2.5 million young people gaining coverage, according to analysis based on new data released today by the National Center for Health Statistics.

More here

****

Morning everyone 😉

I’ll catch up with the news – soon-ish

afternoon all

****

****

Charles P. Pierce (Esquire): Why Does Everybody Hate Mitt? …. I’ve cast my memory back as far as I can, and I cannot recall a major politician of either party who causes so many members of his party to spit (metaphorically, one hopes) at the simple mention of his name. And this is not a recent phenomenon. One of the few insights worthy of anyone’s time in that horrible Game Change book was the fact that, by the end of the 2008 presidential cycle, all of the other Republican candidates had come to despise Willard. (John McCain was apoplectic on the subject, even by McCain’s standards, which are considerable.) This now has seemed to transfer itself to the Republican electorate in general. Nobody likes this guy…..

On the surface, this elemental loathing seems disproportionate, even if you take into account how much of the GOP’s Jesus-jammin’ base distrusts the extended coven into which Romney was born …. Willard is something of a foof who spends all his time falling a few yards short of sincerity. He speaks a form of trust-fund English that can be off-putting. He is as utterly unprincipled as a politician can be, and he’s about as trustworthy as a puff adder… all Romney’s done is change his position on a whole host of issues, and talk like the guy who’s come to repossess the family farm…..

More here

****

President Obama, flanked by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, in the Roosevelt Room, Nov 28

****

WH: Over the weekend, a report by the Associated Press detailed how the Affordable Care Act is dramatically reducing drug costs for seniors who hit the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole. This year, seniors are benefiting from a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole. And the discount and other provisions in the law are saving money for seniors. As the AP reported:

The average beneficiary who falls into the coverage gap would have spent $1,504 this year on prescriptions. But thanks to discounts and other provisions in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law, that cost fell to $901…

…. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors will receive bigger discounts in the years ahead. By 2020, the donut hole will be closed completely.

And even if you don’t hit the donut hole, there’s still good news for beneficiaries with Medicare Part D. Prescription drug premiums will not rise next year, and thanks to health reform, seniors can get preventive services like mammograms and other cancer screenings for free.

More here

****

Caught ya M4O!

****

****

‘like watching a hippo try to ice-skate’

Charles Pierce (Esquire) on the Florida GOP debate: ….. …. Huntsman proceeded to make his way through a story in which some coincidences attending his family’s adoption of a daughter from China were attributed to the Almighty. The story ended with his daughter’s reply to someone who asked her whom it was that had found her in the vegetable market where she’d been abandoned.

“She replied, simply, ‘Jesus’,” said Huntsman. “We call her our little bean curd,” he confided to the crowd, which was enough, as Dorothy Parker once put it, to make you fwow up.

…. Mitt Romney, perhaps the most consummate fake in American political history …. his finest moment may well have been telling The Boston Globe that, when he was doing his Mormon mission in France, he really wanted to be fighting in Vietnam. In other words, rather than pestering wine-growers in Provence …. This is so stupefyingly fraudulent as to be goddamn close to immortal.

….. A Republican may well get elected president next year. But, whoever that is, first has to answer, constantly, to the voices in the party’s head. It’s exhausting work …. … Decency doesn’t sell here …. This was an audience that thinks insurance-friendly health-care reform is half-past Trotsky, and that immigration reform means a higher wall, a deeper ditch, and larger caliber ammunition…..

….. watching Perry try to think on his feet is rather like watching a hippo try to ice-skate …. This is a party capable of winning elections, but not leading a nation. To borrow a line from that noted Republican, Bobby Knight, this party couldn’t lead a whore to bed.

Full article here

Thanks Meta