FourScore
FourScore's JournalThe House Republican Conference wants to hear your Obamacare horror story. Here's mine.
Wed Oct 30, 2013 at 07:18 PM PDT
The House Republican Conference wants to hear your Obamacare horror story. Here's mine.
by BigDuck
I got an email from Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, House Republicans, telling me that "Obamacare" is a disaster.
She provided a helpful Web site:http://www.gop.gov/yourstory/, and invited me to tell my story. So I did. And so should you!
My story:
By 2009, even a $10,000 deductible was not enough to keep premiums affordable. We were worried that we would soon not be able to afford health care coverage at all.
I was eligible for coverage on a different Blue Cross plan with my union, but did not sign up because it did not cover my adult children. Starting January of 2010, this union plan was required to cover my adult children because of Obamacare. I signed up.
Our premiums went down by $234 dollars a month, thanks to Obamacare. Our deductible went from Ten Thousand Dollars to One Thousand Dollars, again, thanks to Obamacare. Plus, the new plan covers dental and vision care, which the old plan did not.
Under the new, union sponsored plan, our premiums have not gone up in the past three years. I'm sure that under our old plan, they would have continued going up by 10 or 20 percent each year, as they did during the previous 10 years.
Now the oldest of our daughters is 26, and must seek coverage on her own. Fortunately, she lives in a Democratic state, where the Healthcare Marketplace works.
I want to thank Leader Pelosi, Leader Reid, and President Obama for making it possible to take my family to the doctor when they need it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/30/1251941/-The-House-Republican-Conference-wants-to-hear-your-Obamacare-horror-story-Here-s-mine
UMBELIEVABLE and BIZARRE - Rachel Maddow Catches Rand Paul Plagiarizing From ‘Gattaca’ And Wikipedia
Rachel Maddow Catches Rand Paul Plagiarizing Speech From ‘Gattaca’ And Wikipedia (VIDEO)Author: Elisabeth Parker October 29, 2013 8:05 pm
Rachel Maddow on Rand Paul's "Gattaca" speech.
Poor Ken Cuccinelli can’t seem to get a break these days in his doomed race for governor of the state of Virginia. Voters don’t seem to like the GOP former front-runner’s stance on abortion, gay rights, or his support for the US government shutdown. Now, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) may have driven the final nail into Cuccinelli’s political coffin this week with a speech that was supposed to energize the base. Alas, Rachel Maddow found out that the senator’s speech was stolen from a Wikipedia entry on the 1997 dystopian sci-fi flick, “Gattaca.” Seriously, we are not kidding.
Rachel Maddow dishes on Rand Paul’s “Gattaca” speech.
On October 28, Senator Rand Paul made an appearance with Ken Cuccinelli at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA to bring his star power to the struggling campaign. Too bad Rand Paul’s star power was more like death star power. In a hackneyed attempt to praise Cuccinelli’s anti-choice views, our tea-bagging senators compared abortion to the Nazi-like eugenics practiced by the future, evil society from “Gattaca.” Alas for the Senator and for the VA attorney general, Rachel Maddow and her team found that Rand Paul wasn’t just summarizing the plot from “Gattaca.” Our tea-bagging senator had actually lifted entire sentences from Wikipedia. What, are we back in high school now?
Here’s Rachel Maddow’s video on Senator Rand Paul’s “Gattaca” speech, so you can see for yourself.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/10/29/rand-paul-speech-gattaca-wikipedia/
Republicans are Outraged
Sun Oct 27, 2013 at 09:21 AM PDT
Republicans are Outraged
by jamess
Republicans are Outraged -- that Americans are getting Affordable Health Care.
Republicans are Outraged -- that Americans are NOT getting Affordable Health Care, fast enough.
Republicans are Outraged -- that Americans have to pay Taxes.
Republicans are Outraged -- that America's Debt is NOT being paid down, fast enough.
Republicans are Outraged -- that the Voter's Right Act used to make them let everyone Vote.
Republicans are Outraged -- that in Texas, North Carolina, and Virgina, there are way too many Women, Students, and poor people voting.
Republicans are Outraged -- that so many Americans want to Vote.
Republicans are Outraged -- that even with all their Gerrymandered Districts, they still lose Elections.
Republicans are Outraged -- that so many Americans do NOT hate Government like they do.
Republicans are Outraged -- that so many Americans just want a Government that works -- because as recent history shows, that's just NOT what they DO!
... Provide us a Government that works? Hah!
Because in their world-view, THAT would be simply Outrageous!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/27/1251033/-Republicans-are-Outraged
On MTP Chuck Todd points out the Republican House "Majority" is largely due to GOP Gerrymandering
Mon Oct 28, 2013 at 12:17 AM PDT
On MTP Chuck Todd points out the Republican House "Majority" is largely due to GOP Gerrymandering
by Lefty Coaster
On Meet the Press this morning Chuck Todd cut the Republicans off at the knees by exposing the mythical "Majority" House Republicans often boast of representing as being due to a considerable extent to intensive Republican gerrymandering, rather than an actual majority of American voters.
MEET THE PRESS October 27, 2013
CHUCK TODD: But right here, during the shutdown, a breakout here: eight points. It was the largest lead we'd shown in four years. Now, an eight-point lead looks big, and you think Democrats have a shot. But let's remember, this is a gerrymandered House. Democrats actually won the generic ballot in 2012. More people voted for a Democratic member of Congress than a Republican one in 2012, and yet there are more Republican-held congressional seats, 234. Democrats only have 201, even though they won a majority of the vote in 2012. There are a few vacancies there, by the way. We know some folks will say that.
So here's what they would need. They need to pick up 17 seats. This looks like it could be doable. Why? Because there are 36 seats where the president either won, or got 48% or better, that are currently held by Republican members of Congress. So you look at it and it's doable.
Americans need to be reminded that the GOP's "mandate" in the House is an illusion more often IMHO.
All Smoke and Mirrors
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251179/-On-MTP-Chuck-Todd-points-out-the-Republican-House-Majority-is-nothing-but-GOP-Gerrymandering
TOM TOMORROW: Oversexed Halloween
Mon Oct 28, 2013 at 06:50 AM PDT
Oversexed Halloween
by Tom Tomorrow
Support independent cartooning: join Sparky's List -- and don't forget to visit TT's Emporium of Fun, featuring the new book and plush Sparky!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1250391/-Oversexed-Halloween
Hilarious! "We Did Stop" - SNL and Miley Cyrus rock it with John Boehner/Michelle Bachmann parody
Sun Oct 06, 2013 at 11:38 AM PDT
"We Did Stop" - SNL rocks it with John Boehner parody
by chrississippi
Last night, Miley Cyrus hosted SNL, and while you can imagine the relatively lame VMA references that dotted the show, one of the best skits was a video of John Boehner and Michele Bachmann (Miley) doing a hardcore Hip Hop version of the government shutdown.
If you haven't had your fill of blinged-out GOPer dance party moves, twerking Bachmanns, Uncle Sams blowing smoke from their crotches, Max-Headroom Reagans, you need to laugh at the video below the dKos scrunchy (head's up: NSFW):
Somehow this excess really visualizes for everyone what the hell GOPers are doing to the country.
Now, get me some more Cristal, yo.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/06/1244670/--We-Did-Stop-SNL-rocks-it-with-John-Boehner-parody
TOM TOMORROW: Tea Party logic
Mon Oct 21, 2013 at 07:10 AM PDT
Tea Party logic
by Tom Tomorrow Follow
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/21/1249246/-Tea-Party-logic
SHOCKING custody trial -CEO Batters Wife, Claims She Is An Unfit Mother Because She Had An Abortion
CEO Batters Wife, Claims She Is An Unfit Mother Because She Had An AbortionPosted by Winter on 19 Oct 2013 / 0 Comment
Lisa Mehos and her ex-husband, finance CEO Manuel John Mehos, were granted a divorce in 2011, but they have been locked in a bitter custody battle over their two children ever since. Charges of beating his wife were dropped this past August due to the prosecutor’s lack of confidence in gaining a conviction against Mehos, and since then he and his lawyers have argued that he is not an unfit parent even though the attack was alleged to have occurred in front of their two children. He says that it is Lisa who is the unfit mother; after all, she had an abortion over a year after her divorce.
While Lisa Mehos was unsurprised that Mehos and his lawyers had subpoenaed her personal medical records to use against her in their custody battle, she was shocked at the decision of Supreme Court Judge Lori Sattler to allow the abortion as evidence in the case. Now Lisa will have to testify about her abortion in court, as her ex-husband and his lawyers claim that it proves her to be a liar of poor moral character who is traumatizing her children.
SNIP
Well, I mean, if the woman had an abortion, well gosh she’s probably lied about EVERYTHING, since Catholics never have abortions for any reason (in real life, this would instantly cut the abortion rate by 27%, since that’s the percentage of abortions performed on Catholic women). She might be lying about having “men” over to the house (love the plural here, really sets up the slut shaming), and she would of course “traumatize” her children when dealing with the health consequences of her actions.
SNIP
Lisa Mehos is arguing that she is being held to a sexual double standard when compared to her husband. While she is interrogated as to how she could possible have found herself pregnant and decided to have an abortion without men traipsing through her house and her children watching her breakdown, her husband’s previous sexual exploits are… many....
SNIP
SNIP
- See more at: http://www.classwarfareexists.com/ceo-batters-wife-claims-she-is-an-unfit-mother-because-she-had-an-abortion/#sthash.4ubL7Sbn.dpuf
The Harry Reid Comedy Hour
Thu Oct 17, 2013 at 09:12 PM PDT
The Harry Reid Comedy Hour
by WFBMM
I apologize ahead of time if this has been covered, but I've been laughing ever since I read it. Harry Reid is one feisty dude. Check out what he had to say about Senator Carnival Cruz Line, as reported by the Huffington Post:
"Ted Cruz is smart," Reid added. "He has always been able to talk down to people. He is now in the Senate. People are as smart as he is. He can't talk down to anyone anymore. But he has still not accepted that in his own head. He still thinks he's smarter than everybody else. He might be able to work a calculus problem better than I can. But he can't legislate better than I can."
Bwahahahaha! Come on, Harry. Tell us how you really feel.
The more he talks, the more I adore him.
In the past, Harry Reid always seemed to be quiet and mild mannered to me. Boy was I wrong. Either I wasn't paying attention, or something happened during his last local election. As I recall, the media had his campaign on life support, but they were wrong too, because Harry came out swinging, and it seems he's been kicking ass and taking names ever since.
Speaking of which, Cruz isn't the only senator on Harry's Outhouse List:
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Give 'em hell, Harry! I love you!
And no, this was not snark! These quotes were 100% pure Harry. lol
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/18/1248499/-The-Harry-Reid-Comedy-Hour
You won't see Hillary Clinton in the same light ever again
Fri Oct 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM PDT
You won't see Hillary Clinton in the same light ever again
by BlankBeat
Read Meryl Streep’s introduction of Hillary Clinton during the recent 2012 Women in the World conference:
Two years ago when Tina Brown and Diane von Furstenberg first envisioned this conference, they asked me to do a play, a reading, called – the name of the play was called Seven. It was taken from transcripts, real testimony from real women activists around the world. I was the Irish one, and I had no idea that the real women would be sitting in the audience while we portrayed them. So I was doing a pretty ghastly Belfast accent. I was just – I was imitating my friend Liam Neeson, really, and I sounded like a fellow. (Laughter). It was really bad.
So I was so mortified when Tina, at the end of the play, invited the real women to come up on stage and I found myself standing next to the great Inez McCormack. (Applause.) And I felt slight next to her, because I’m an actress and she is the real deal. She has put her life on the line. Six of those seven women were with us in the theater that night. The seventh, Mukhtaran Bibi, couldn’t come because she couldn’t get out of Pakistan. You probably remember who she is. She’s the young woman who went to court because she was gang-raped by men in her village as punishment for a perceived slight to their honor by her little brother. All but one of the 14 men accused were acquitted, but Mukhtaran won the small settlement. She won $8,200, which she then used to start schools in her village. More money poured in from international donations when the men were set free. And as a result of her trial, the then president of Pakistan, General Musharraf, went on TV and said, “If you want to be a millionaire, just get yourself raped.”
But that night in the theater two years ago, the other six brave women came up on the stage. Anabella De Leon of Guatemala pointed to Hillary Clinton, who was sitting right in the front row, and said, “I met her and my life changed.” And all weekend long, women from all over the world said the same thing:
"I’m alive because she came to my village, put her arm around me, and had a photograph taken together."
"I’m alive because she went on our local TV and talked about my work, and now they’re afraid to kill me."
"I’m alive because she came to my country and she talked to our leaders, because I heard her speak, because I read about her."
I’m here today because of that, because of those stores. I didn’t know about this. I never knew any of it. And I think everybody should know. This hidden history Hillary has, the story of her parallel agenda, the shadow diplomacy unheralded, uncelebrated — careful, constant work on behalf of women and girls that she has always conducted alongside everything else a First Lady, a Senator, and now Secretary of State is obliged to do.
And it deserves to be amplified. This willingness to take it, to lead a revolution – and revelation, beginning in Beijing in 1995, when she first raised her voice to say the words you’ve heard many times throughout this conference: “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights.”
When Hillary Clinton stood up in Beijing to speak that truth, her hosts were not the only ones who didn’t necessarily want to hear it. Some of her husband’s advisors also were nervous about the speech, fearful of upsetting relations with China. But she faced down the opposition at home and abroad, and her words continue to hearten women around the world and have reverberated down the decades.
…
She’s just been busy working, doing it, making those words “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” into something every leader in every country now knows is a linchpin of American policy. It’s just so much more than a rhetorical triumph. We’re talking about what happened in the real world, the institutional change that was a result of that stand she took.
…
Now we know that the higher the education and the involvement of women in a culture and economy, the more secure the nation. It’s a metric we use throughout our foreign policy, and in fact, it’s at the core of our development policy. It is a big, important shift in thinking. Horrifying practices like female genital cutting were not at the top of the agenda because they were part of the culture and we didn’t want to be accused of imposing our own cultural values.
But what Hillary Clinton has said over and over again is, “A crime is a crime, and criminal behavior cannot be tolerated.” Everywhere she goes, she meets with the head of state and she meets with the women leaders of grassroots organizations in each country. This goes automatically on her schedule. As you’ve seen, when she went to Burma – our first government trip there in 40 years. She met with its dictator and then she met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the woman he kept under detention for 15 years, the leader of Burma’s pro-democracy movement.
This isn’t just symbolism. It’s how you change the world. These are the words of Dr. Gao Yaojie of China: “I will never forget our first meeting. She said I reminded her of her mother. And she noticed my small bound feet. I didn’t need to explain too much, and she understood completely. I could tell how much she wanted to understand what I, an 80-something year old lady, went through in China – the Cultural Revolution, uncovering the largest tainted blood scandal in China, house arrest, forced family separation. I talked about it like nothing and I joked about it, but she understood me as a person, a mother, a doctor. She knew what I really went through.”
When Vera Stremkovskaya, a lawyer and human rights activist from Belarus met Hillary Clinton a few years ago, they took a photograph together. And she said to one of the Secretary’s colleagues, “I want that picture.” And the colleague said, “I will get you that picture as soon as possible.” And Stremkovskaya said, “I need that picture.” And the colleague said, “I promise you.” And Stremkovskaya said, “You don’t understand. That picture will be my bullet-proof vest.”
Never give up. Never, never, never, never, never give up. That is what Hillary Clinton embodies.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/18/1248523/-You-won-t-see-Hillary-Clinton-in-the-same-light-ever-again
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