Posts Tagged ‘ted

31
Mar
15

A Tweet Or Two

By Nerdy Wonka 126 Comments
Categories: All Photos
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So sorry for the setback, GB. We here at TOD want you to know that we have your back, we admire your strength and courage, and we are rooting for you all the way

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Yay

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Different day. Same disgusting BS

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Wow

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There is no pleading ignorance about nooses. When you use a noose against a Black person, everyone knows what you mean. Everyone one knows the threat, violence, and racism it represents. Everyone knows that you are terrorizing Black people

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But…but…cops are here to protect everyone

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Great article

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Continue reading ‘A Tweet Or Two’

30
Mar
15

The President’s Address at the Opening of the Edward Kennedy Institute

By Chipsticks 113 Comments
Categories: All Photos and All Videos
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THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. To Vicki, Ted, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, Ambassador Smith, members of the Kennedy family — thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. Your Eminence, Cardinal O’Malley; Vice President Biden; Governor Baker; Mayor Walsh; members of Congress, past and present; and pretty much every elected official in Massachusetts — (laughter) — it is an honor to mark this occasion with you.

Boston, know that Michelle and I have joined our prayers with yours these past few days for a hero — former Army Ranger and Boston Police Officer John Moynihan, who was shot in the line of duty on Friday night. (Applause.) I mention him because, last year, at the White House, the Vice President and I had the chance to honor Officer Moynihan as one of America’s “Top Cops” for his bravery in the line of duty, for risking his life to save a fellow officer. And thanks to the heroes at Boston Medical Center, I’m told Officer Moynihan is awake, and talking, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery. (Applause.)

I also want to single out someone who very much wanted to be here, just as he was every day for nearly 25 years as he represented this commonwealth alongside Ted in the Senate — and that’s Secretary of State John Kerry. (Applause.) As many of you know, John is in Europe with our allies and partners, leading the negotiations with Iran and the world community, and standing up for a principle that Ted and his brother, President Kennedy, believed in so strongly: “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” (Applause.)

And, finally, in his first years in the Senate, Ted dispatched a young aide to assemble a team of talent without rival. The sell was simple: Come and help Ted Kennedy make history. So I want to give a special shout-out to his extraordinarily loyal staff — (applause) — 50 years later a family more than one thousand strong. This is your day, as well. We’re proud of you. (Applause.) Of course, many of you now work with me. (Laughter.) So enjoy today, because we got to get back to work. (Laughter.)

Distinguished guests, fellow citizens — in 1958, Ted Kennedy was a young man working to reelect his brother, Jack, to the United States Senate. On election night, the two toasted one another: “Here’s to 1960, Mr. President,” Ted said, “If you can make it.” With his quick Irish wit, Jack returned the toast: “Here’s to 1962, Senator Kennedy, if you can make it.” (Laughter.) They both made it. And today, they’re together again in eternal rest at Arlington.

But their legacies are as alive as ever together right here in Boston. The John F. Kennedy Library next door is a symbol of our American idealism; the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate as a living example of the hard, frustrating, never-ending, but critical work required to make that idealism real.

What more fitting tribute, what better testament to the life of Ted Kennedy, than this place that he left for a new generation of Americans — a monument not to himself but to what we, the people, have the power to do together.

Any of us who have had the privilege to serve in the Senate know that it’s impossible not to share Ted’s awe for the history swirling around you — an awe instilled in him by his brother, Jack. Ted waited more than a year to deliver his first speech on the Senate floor. That’s no longer the custom. (Laughter.) It’s good to see Trent and Tom Daschle here, because they remember what customs were like back then. (Laughter.)

And Ted gave a speech only because he felt there was a topic — the Civil Rights Act — that demanded it. Nevertheless, he spoke with humility, aware, as he put it, that “a freshman Senator should be seen, not heard; should learn, and not teach.”

Some of us, I admit, have not always heeded that lesson. (Laughter.) But fortunately, we had Ted to show us the ropes anyway. And no one made the Senate come alive like Ted Kennedy. It was one of the great pleasures of my life to hear Ted Kennedy deliver one of his stem winders on the Floor. Rarely was he more animated than when he’d lead you through the living museums that were his offices. He could — and he would — tell you everything that there was to know about all of it. (Laughter.)

And then there were more somber moments. I still remember the first time I pulled open the drawer of my desk. Each senator is assigned a desk, and there’s a tradition of carving the names of those who had used it before. And those names in my desk included Taft and Baker, Simon, Wellstone, and Robert F. Kennedy.

The Senate was a place where you instinctively pulled yourself up a little bit straighter; where you tried to act a little bit better. “Being a senator changes a person,” Ted wrote in his memoirs. As Vicki said, it may take a year, or two years, or three years, but it always happens; it fills you with a heightened sense of purpose.

That’s the magic of the Senate. That’s the essence of what it can be. And who but Ted Kennedy, and his family, would create a full-scale replica of the Senate chamber, and open it to everyone?

We live in a time of such great cynicism about all our institutions. And we are cynical about government and about Washington, most of all. It’s hard for our children to see, in the noisy and too often trivial pursuits of today’s politics, the possibilities of our democracy — our capacity, together, to do big things.

And this place can help change that. It can help light the fire of imagination, plant the seed of noble ambition in the minds of future generations. Imagine a gaggle of school kids clutching tablets, turning classrooms into cloakrooms and hallways into hearing rooms, assigned an issue of the day and the responsibility to solve it.

Imagine their moral universe expanding as they hear about the momentous battles waged in that chamber and how they echo throughout today’s society. Great questions of war and peace, the tangled bargains between North and South, federal and state; the original sins of slavery and prejudice; and the unfinished battles for civil rights and opportunity and equality.

Imagine the shift in their sense of what’s possible. The first time they see a video of senators who look like they do — men and women, blacks and whites, Latinos, Asian-Americans; those born to great wealth but also those born of incredibly modest means.

Continue reading ‘The President’s Address at the Opening of the Edward Kennedy Institute’

25
Mar
15

A Tweet Or Two

By Nerdy Wonka 102 Comments
Categories: All Photos
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Deadline approving such a disgusting prejudiced article in 2015, is appalling. Over 70 years ago, TV began as a whites only medium, then slowly, some People of Color (POC) were begrudgingly granted space. Now, some Hollywood executives seem to be getting their heads out of their asses and realizing what POC have said for decades is true – that a diverse audience wants to see the 21st century on their screens, that there are talented artists of color, that there are great stories to be told, that the ratings for shows with POC as leads is blowing other shows out of the water and is consistent week after week, that fantastic shows with POC leads are dominating in time slots where previously whites only casts shows failed after one or two episodes; we’re supposed to return to a whites only TV screen? Nellie Andreeva and Deadline can GTFOHWTBS

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Fantastic rebuttal to that piece of filth article

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Imagine if a Black family had done this. Funeral arrangements would be taking place right now

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Save us from the GOP BS

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Another evidence as to why the death penalty should be abolished

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WTF, Arizona?!

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So much facepalm

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The fired cops were 31 and under. The youngest is 25. Young people with such hate for Black people. Yet society wonders why Black people can’t trust cops. Our lives are worthless to them. Our lives are a joke to them

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Reason 10,000 why some say fraternities should be abolished

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Oops

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Stay safe, TODers who live in Oklahoma

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WHOA

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That Iggy Azalea calls what she does rap, is laughable. She is certainly no Eminem in terms of rap skills

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06
Nov
14

The President And First Lady’s Day

By Nerdy Wonka 115 Comments
Categories: All Photos and All Videos
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President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at a ceremony to present the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. First Lieutenant Cushing received the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat operations in the vicinity of Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863

OBAMA-CIVIL-WAR

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. With them, from left to right, are Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Army Secretary John McHugh and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald.

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U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing is pictured in a military academy graduation photograph dated 1861, obtained on October 28, 2014. President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Civil War artillery officer the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for bravery, 151 years after Cushing was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.

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President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, as the citation for her relative, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing is read

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Margaret Zerwekh of Delafield, Wis. raises her hand as she is acknowledged by President Barack Obama during a ceremony awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry. President Obama acknowledged the work of Zerwekh, a 94-year-old amateur historian from Cushing’s hometown who painstakingly researched his story and lobbied Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for decades

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First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a special daytime workshop for high school students from military communities in the greater Washington area

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Willie Nelson, right, and fellow panelist, songwriter Ted Peterson, left, hip hop recording artist Common, second from right, listen as Army Sgt. Christiana Ball responds to a question

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04
Feb
14

Rise and Shine

By Chipsticks 161 Comments
Categories: All Photos, All Videos and Articles
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On This Day: Senator Ted Kennedy, speaking at a rally for the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama in Hartford, the day before the Connecticut Super Tuesday primary. Congressional Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Chris Murphy and John B. Larson are onstage behind Ted Kennedy, along with Caroline Kennedy and Barack Obama. February 4, 2008

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Today:

11:10: President Obama visits a Buck Lodge Middle School classroom, Adelphi, Maryland

11:30: Delivers remarks on ConnectED

White House Live

1:0: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

3:0: The President and Vice President meet with Department of Defense leadership on Afghanistan

4:30: The President and Vice President meet with the House Democratic Caucus, The East Room

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AP: Obama Secures $750M in Pledges to Get Kids Online

Claiming progress in his campaign to get American schools wired for the future, President Barack Obama is announcing commitments from U.S. companies totaling about $750 million to connect more students to high-speed Internet.

Apple is pledging $100 million in iPads, computers and other tools. AT&T and Sprint are contributing free Internet service through their wireless networks. Verizon is pitching in up to $100 million in cash and in-kind contributions. And Microsoft is making Windows available at discounted prices and offering 12 million free copies of Microsoft Office software.

Obama was to announce the commitments Tuesday at a middle school in the Maryland suburbs near Washington. Also in the pipeline: an addition $2 billion that the Federal Communications Commission is setting aside from service fees over two years to connect another 20 million students to high-speed Internet.

More here

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Haaretz: Boycotting reality

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement at the Munich Security Conference, that Israel will face boycotts should negotiations with the Palestinians fail, is a level-headed view of reality that the Israeli government chooses to continually ignore.

…. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beats them all: Instead of welcoming Kerry as an ally, he publicly quarrels with him and hints that the secretary of state is trying to pressure Israel to “give up essential interests.”

Netanyahu refuses to understand that Israel’s most essential interest is ending the conflict, and that Kerry is a fair, dedicated, mediator who needs the support of all parties in order to complete this complex process. Netanyahu refuses to understand that now is the time for big decisions, not small politics.

Full article here

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National Journal: How Obama Won the War on Iran Sanctions

A month ago, the president was on the outs – even among Democrats. Today, he’s quelled critics and getting his chance to make negotiations work.

The push for new sanctions on Iran has stalled. The Democrats who bucked President Obama to back the sanctions bill are backpedaling mightily—no longer even pretending they’re pushing Harry Reid to hold a vote on the measure. And while there’s still plenty of chest-pounding and posturing, the debate’s end result seems clear: The Senate will wait, at least so long as the negotiations move in the right direction.

That’s a full flip from just more than a month ago. Before the December recess, the Senate’s pro-sanctions faction was surging. Senators—including Democrats who are typically Obama loyalists—were agreeing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the nuclear negotiations with Iran bordered on capitulation.

So how did Obama — a supposedly feckless president when it comes to handling Congress — turn the tide? Obama’s in-person, all-hands-on-deck advocacy campaign with the Senate appears to have advanced his cause, but it’s not that simple.

More here

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South Carolina’s battle over Medicaid expansion: After the Supreme Court ruled that states were not obligated to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act, South Carolina was one of the first to opt out. PBS NewsHour’s Mary Jo Brooks reports on the effects for residents who are still uninsured, plus a small alternative program designed to reach some of them.

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Bill Hammond (NY Daily News): Anti-Obamacare, facts be damned

House Speaker John Boehner lobbed a social media stink bomb this weekend that distilled Republican attacks on the Affordable Care Act to their cynical, knee-jerk essence.

“Sick kids denied specialty care due to #Obamacare,” his Twitter feed proclaimed on Saturday, linking to a conservative blog post based on a TV news report out of Seattle. His Facebook page weighed in on the same story, calling it “heartbreaking” and vowing that House Republicans “will continue working to scrap this broken law.”

There’s just one problem: The shocking claim — that the President’s health reforms resulted in sick children being denied care — was flat-out false. Which Boehner’s staff must have known, assuming they actually read the material they were helping to spread across the Internet.

In fact, all of the children in question did get care, as was perfectly clear in the Jan. 30 press release from Seattle Children’s Hospital that got this snowball started.

More here

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USA Today: Obama to visit Saudi Arabia in March

President Obama will visit Saudi Arabia next month amid reports of a strained American-Saudi relationship over Iran and Syria.

White House press secretary Jay Carney announced that Obama would meet with Saudi King Abdullah in late March, calling it “part of regular consultations” between the two countries.

“The president looks forward to discussing with King Abdullah the enduring and strategic ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia as well as ongoing cooperation to advance a range of common interests related to Gulf and regional security, peace in the Middle East, countering violent extremism, and other issues of prosperity and security,” Carney said.

The Saudi stop will be added to a late March trip that includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Vatican City.

More here

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Brian Beutler: Angry right’s secret revulsion: Why they really dodge minimum wage questions

Obama’s decision to increase the minimum wage for a small number of federal contractors has drawn out the crazies

It’s no great secret that Republicans oppose increasing the minimum wage. They don’t pretend it’s something they want to do under any circumstances. They don’t even really bother disguising their opposition. They cloak their view in dated and oversimplified economic arguments about labor demand and economic growth when the real impediment is ideological, and so it’s a somewhat better kept secret that many Republicans oppose the minimum wage altogether.

Opposing the minimum wage isn’t a politically seemly thing to do, though, and thus the great political consequence of President Obama’s decision, announced during his State of the Union address, to institute a $10.10 minimum wage for future federal contracts, will be to draw the extent of this opposition out into the open.

More here

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Missed this yesterday:

Jonathan Capehart: O’Reilly outFoxed by Obama

The pre-Super Bowl interview with President Obama conducted by Bill O’Reilly was not only notable for the Fox News anchor’s constant interruptions, but also for his harping on old news. The travails of HealthCare.gov, the murderous attacks in Benghazi and the actions taken by the IRS against conservative groups chewed up 9 minutes and 45 seconds of the 10-minute sitdown.

We all know that those topics are nothing but chum for O’Reilly’s anti-Obama audience. But the president successfully avoided the rhetorical traps set by the ambassador from “fair and balanced.” And he respectfully stood up to the disrespect demanded by said audience by giving as good as he got.

…. It’s always difficult to tell whether the tail is wagging the dog over there at Fox, but I would argue that the IRS conspiracy theories and others are in large part due to O’Reilly and Fox. Neither the station nor its anchor has shown Obama or his office the respect both deserve. And that 10-minute interview was a perfect illustration of it.

Full article here

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Steve Benen: A narrow path for ‘common ground’

Every Saturday morning, President Obama delivers a weekly address, which is immediately followed by a Republican response, but this week’s GOP address was a little different: it was delivered by four Republicans instead of one. The message: there may be some room for a little “bipartisan common ground.”

…. Before getting into the particulars, it’s striking to realize just how small the “common ground” is. There are all kinds of popular ideas that enjoy broad public support – on job creation, aid to struggling families, immigration, public safety, etc. – but none of them made the cut in the official Republican statement.

Instead, progress is now possible in just four areas – four narrow areas.

More here

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Steve Benen: NRCC crafts new fundraising gambit

Florida’s 13th congressional district will host a special election next month and by all appearances, it should be a close contest. Democrats have nominated former state CFO Alex Sink, who very nearly won the 2010 gubernatorial race, and have high hopes about her chances.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is also taking the race very seriously – so seriously, in fact, that the NRCC has come up with an unusual fundraising gambit.

Folks can go to a website that looks legitimate – contribute.sinkforcongress2014.com – and find a nice photo of the Democratic candidate alongside a graphic that reads, “Alex Sink – Congress.” If you’re not reading carefully, you might assume this is a page for Sink supporters to make a campaign contribution to their preferred candidate. But it’s not – this is a page set up by Republicans.

More here

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On This Day:

Hartford, February 4, 2008

Senator Obama shakes hands with supporters at the end of a rally at the XL Center in Hartford

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President Obama greets attendees after making remarks in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2010 (Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

President Obama signs pictures and other items in a holding room before making remarks in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2010 (Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, Feb 4, 2013

The Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center, Feb 4, 2013

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MoooOOOooorning!

25
Sep
13

The Bard of TOD

By Chipsticks 73 Comments
Categories: All Photos
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Chat away, back in a bit!

25
Sep
13

Rise and Shine

By Chipsticks 129 Comments
Categories: All Photos, All Videos, Articles, Joe 'Big Deal' Biden and Michelle Obama
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On This Day: On a Saturday, the President listens during a conference call in the Situation Room on the Middle East negotiations, Sept. 25, 2010 (Pete Souza)

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Today (all times Eastern):

1:0: Jay Carney briefs the press

2:45: President Obama holds a call with mayors, county officials, and state legislators on the Affordable Care Act

8:15: VP Biden delivers remarks at Clinton Global Citizen Awards

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USA Today: Obama’s day: More health care

President Obama spends Wednesday maintaining his new health care push and monitoring the budget dispute that centers on the same plan.

In the afternoon, Obama holds a conference call with mayors, county officials, and state legislators, pushing the health care plan that faces a pivotal moment.

The president will urge these local officials to urge their constituents to sign up for health care exchanges that open Tuesday. These exchanges are essential to the financing of the health care plan.

More here

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ThinkProgress: New Report: For 95% Of Americans, Obamacare Will Cost Much Less Than Expected

When uninsured Americans begin enrolling in Obamacare’s new health care exchanges on Oct. 1, the overwhelming majority — 95 percent — will face health care premiums that are 16 percent lower, on average, than the government had previously projected, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the Obama administration.

In the 36 states where the federal government supports or fully runs the Health Insurance Marketplace, a 27-year old who does not qualify for tax credits will pay, on average, $163 for a plan that covers approximately 60 percent of health care expenses (a so-called bronze-level plan), while a 27-year-old with an income of $25,000 could pay $83 dollars per-month after subsidies. Individuals up to 30 years old will also have the option of buying cheaper catastrophic coverage outside of the marketplaces, though they will not qualify for subsidies. A family of four in Texas with an income of $50,000 would pay as little as “$57 per month for the lowest bronze plan after tax credits,” the report finds.

More here

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NBC: $11 a month? Obamacare super-cheap for some, feds find

Bare-bones health insurance could cost just $11 a month for a family of four in Indianapolis on the federal government’s new exchanges, which start serving customers next week.

A similar family in New Orleans might pay as little as $23 a month, although they’d have to shell out $282 for a more generous “silver” plan, the Health and Human Services Department estimates.

And, on average, people will have more than 50 different health plans to choose from if they live in states where the federal government is running the exchanges, HHS says in a report issued Wednesday.

More here

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By Japa:

There is something missing in talking about ObamaCare and I think it is relevant. I am talking about actual cost of healthcare to consumers from a different perspective. In the actual post it talks about a bronze plan, which would cover 60% of charges. Now people might think that 40% is still a lot to pay, but we need to look at the baseline.

Let’s say a person has a $10,000 hospital bill, which isn’t hard to rack up nowadays, if they are uninsured. So they owe $10,000, right. Now let’s say they have the bronze coverage which pays at 60%. So they owe $4,000, right? Wrong.

All the payers have contracts with the different facilities and, in general, those contracts will average from 40%-50% below that regular billed charge. So that $10,000 bill is now reduced to (at the higher end) $6,000. After payment of 60% the individual has a bill for $2,400, significantly less that the $4,000 they might think they would owe.

As the plan level increases, the amount due shrinks drastically.

What does all this mean? The overall cost of health care shrinks as well.

The same applies to doctor visits and a whole host of other services, including prescriptions. And this last is very important.

Because, for the noninsured, prescriptions can be too costly, they do not buy them, which actually, over time, significantly increases cost of care, as well as other things, such as lost work time, loss of productivity, reduced income, therefore reduced money going into the economy.

These are the types of things that I don’t hear being discussed a lot.

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Continue reading ‘Rise and Shine’

25
Aug
13

Five Years Ago Today…..

By Chipsticks 136 Comments
Categories: All Photos and All Videos
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21
Aug
13

Rise and Shine

By Chipsticks 110 Comments
Categories: All Photos, All Videos and Articles
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Random old pic, just in case Bo is feeling crowded these days

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Today (all times Eastern):

The President has no scheduled public events

12:45: Josh Earnest briefs the press

7:0 NYC Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate (C-Span coverage starts at 6:0)

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Get the facts – there’s now a permanent link in the sidebar on the right

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ThinkProgress: The Remarkable Slowdown In Health Care Costs Since The Passage Of Obamacare

A new survey of health care premiums for employer-sponsored health care coverage shows that health care inflation is slowing, further undermining critics’ predictions that costs would skyrocket in the aftermath of the Affordable Care Act.

…. Other reports have also uncovered a slowdown in cost increases. The number of double-digit rate increases requested by health insurers in the individual market has plummeted over the past four years and Medicare’s projected spending between 2010 and 2020 had dropped by over $500 billion. Under the new cost scenario, the entitlement program would, by 2085, make up 4 percent of the economy instead of the previously projected 7 percent.

Annual growth of medical spending has also slowed “from a high of about 8.8 percent in 2003 to an average of about 3 percent per capita from 2009 to 2011, according to data reported in January by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”

Full post here

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Kaiser Family Foundation

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USA Today: States predict more insurance customers

Estimates from 19 states operating health insurance exchanges to help the uninsured find coverage show that at least 8.5 million will use the exchanges to buy insurance. That would far outstrip the federal government’s estimate of 7 million new customers for all 50 states under the 2010 health care law….

…. “It’s not a positive development for the Republican opponents who would like to see this fail,” said Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change…..

More here

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Jamelle Bouie: Anti-Obamacare Rage, Once a GOP Hit, Fizzles Despite Town Halls

Tea Party Republicans had a huge hit with their rage against Obamacare. It gave them control of the House of Representatives in 2010, fueled their anti-spending crusade in 2011, inspired the most vocal of the GOP presidential candidates, and elevated a host of right-wing politicians to the Senate, providing a national platform for the crusade against the so-called government takeover of health care.

Hits aren’t built to last, however, and after a while, this one began to fizzle … The magic has fizzled so much that some Republicans have begun to walk away from the project altogether, even as others work to turn Obamacare funding into cause for a government shutdown.

… Heritage can play as many of the old tunes as it likes. When October 1 comes, the Affordable Care Act will be there, ready to confer benefits, provide security, and begin the slow transformation of American health care.

Full post here

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TPM: Rick Perry In Talks To Accept Obamacare Funding For Elderly

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), an ardent opponent of the Affordable Care Act, is in talks with Obama administration officials to accept an estimated $100 million in care for the elderly and disabled through Obamacare….

Texas health officials are seeking to enroll in the so-called Community First Choice program available via the law’s Medicaid expansion. Perry officially declined to enroll his state in the program, saying in April that expanding the program for the poor would make Texas “hostage” to the federal government.

More here

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Incredible….

TPM: Only One in Four Young Adults Know About Obamacare Exchanges

Only one in four young American adults are aware of the online health insurance marketplaces that will open on Oct. 1 as part of the federal health care reform law, according to a report released Wednesday.

In a survey of adults ages 19 to 29 by the non-profit nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, just 27 percent said they knew they would be able to purchase insurance on the marketplaces, also known as exchanges, starting Oct. 1.

The young adult population has been the focal point of the Obama administration’s campaign to promote the marketplaces. The White House has said that it wants to enroll 2.7 million people ages 18 to 35 in the exchanges by next year; 7 million people in total are expected to sign up for health coverage.

The new report underlines the challenge that the administration faces in reaching that population….

More here

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Michael Tomasky: Republicans Move to the Center? Nope, They’re Crazier Than Ever

If you thought the GOP would adopt more moderate positions after its 2012 debacle, you were wrong. From debate threats to defunding Obamacare and even more purges, Michael Tomasky on how the insanity’s only increasing.

If you’d asked me six months ago whether the Republican Party would manage to find a few ways to sidle back toward the center between now and 2016, I’d have said yes. But today, on the basis of evidence offered so far this year, I’d have to say a big fat no. With every passing month, the party contrives new ways to go crazier. There’s a lot of time between now and 2016, but it’s hard to watch recent events without concluding that the extreme part of the base is gaining more and more internal control.

More here

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Continue reading ‘Rise and Shine’

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Feb
13

Rise and Shine

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Text of the address here

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Today:

9:35: The President departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews

11:0: First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts an Interactive Student Workshop with the Cast and Crew of the Film Beasts of the Southern Wild

11:10: The President arrives Asheville, North Carolina

11:35: Tours Linamar North Carolina Factory

12:0: Delivers remarks

1:25: Departs Asheville

2:55: Arrives the White House

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Steve Benen: Every State of the Union address carries its own contextual significance. President Obama’s 2011 speech was the first after his party lost the House, and observers were eager to see how he’d adapt to a changed landscape. His 2012 address came against a backdrop of his re-election campaign.

But last night was the first SOTU of Obama’s second term, and it offered the president an opportunity to present a new way forward. The address also served as something of a book-end speech – Obama delivered an ambitious inaugural address just three weeks ago, articulating a broad vision of collective action, and last night was a chance to start filling in the principled gaps with policy specifics.

So what did we learn? That the president with arguably the most consequential first term in generations doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels….

Read post here

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Greg Sargent: Obama’s Inaugural Address laid out an expansive progressive agenda that was focused heavily on civil rights and rooted in the founding values of the country. His State of the Union speech was Chapter Two of this story. It laid out a progressive economic blueprint that was focused heavily on nuts-and-bolts policy ideas and rooted in a much more basic call for economic fairness, shared sacrifice in bringing down the deficit, and aggressive government action to help struggling Americans gain access to the middle class.

Obama — having been lifted to reelection by an ascendant majority coalition of minorities, young voters, and college educated whites, mostly women — gave very little ideological ground to his opponents. His speech built on the Inaugural address in the sense that it continued to reshape the conversation around the priorities of these core groups — only with a more direct focus on the economy.

Full post here

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A word from DonnaDem4Obama

After watching that fascinating State of the Union Address last night I am more inspired than ever to help push President Obama’s agenda through this Congress.

Our very own superstar TODer CollegeKay had the honor of being at the White House last night for the WH Chat. How incredible is that???

There is so much talent on display here at TOD each and everyday. You have no idea how far your reach is to people who never post but they watch and they learn. PBO has decided with great confidence to put his faith in us. He is counting on the coalition that was built in the 2012 election to make it happen. It’s going to be up to us to pressure this congress into “having a vote” on his policies. And not just in making a phone call to Congress (although it starts with that) but by also using the social skills that each of you exhibit here everyday to spread the word and to get our friends, family and Internet associates engaged in doing the same.

Do you remember the excitement and passion you felt about voting for PBO? You couldn’t wait to share with family and friends that you were being a part of history. That same excitement will be needed in order to pass his policies. It does no good for the public to complain about the economy, jobs, climate change, gun control and immigration if they plan to sit on their hands and just “hope” that PBO and Congress get it done.

Consider picking a topic that you feel passionate about and drive it home. Beat us over the head with it each and everyday. Your leadership on the topic will influence others to become engaged and before you know it you will have an army of supporters out there helping you to push the topic. You have more power than you can imagine. Join OFA and then take it to twitter, facebook and the blogs and Lets. Get. It. Done!

OFA

Have a great O’Day Everyone!!

Donna

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