You have to admit Elizabeth Warren's actions speak louder than words. She is on a quest to actually protect the middle class. While others talk the talk she is actually walking the walk!


Need more like her in office!

Well, that was easy. On Sunday, December 22, the day before the deadline for January 2014 insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or "Obamacare", I signed up without problem.

I used the California exchange website, it took me less than an hour, I'll be able to keep the same provider I had previously (and therefore, the same doctors), and I'll be saving almost exactly $300/month or $3,600/year.

Sounds good to me. I had no "glitches" along the way, at least to date, and the process was quite clear and simple.


http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10436

If Manchin were right, and President Obama’s “personal relationships” with lawmakers could lead to more responsible governing, a concerted effort could be made to turn the White House into The Friendliest Place on Earth.

Regrettably, though, Manchin’s remedy is deeply flawed.

Let’s put aside, at least for now, the fact that Obama has gone further than any modern president in bringing members of the opposing party into his cabinet and incorporating ideas from the opposing party’s agenda into his own policy plans – only to find that Republicans oppose the very ideas they used to support once they learn the president agrees with them.

- See more at: http://crooksandliars.com/2013/12/sorry-joe-manchin-problem-republicans#sthash.jhx8LFmn.dpuf


http://crooksandliars.com/2013/12/sorry-joe-manchin-problem-republicans

HONOLULU - President Obama has enrolled in the federal health-care insurance exchanges, selecting a bronze-tiered insurance plan on the D.C. marketplace, the White House announced Monday.

An overwhelming majority of voters are opposed to cutting off extended jobless benefits for the unemployed, a poll revealed on Monday.

The left-leaning Public Policy Polling surveyed voters in four key congressional districts, as well as House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) district, to gauge support for extending unemployment benefits. The poll, funded by the liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change, showed that voters across party lines were overwhelmingly in favor of extending the benefits, with 63 to 68 percent of voters in each district expressing support for preserving jobless benefits.

Voters in the four districts surveyed said they were less likely to vote for the Republican incumbent in 2014 -- by at least a 9-point margin -- were he to vote to cut off extended unemployment benefits.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/unemployment-benefits-poll_n_4491203.html

In between the non sequitur half of the argument and the wildly misleading half of the argument, Third Way unleashes a torrent of numbers intended to convince the reader that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are needed, like, yesterday. Read on...

Here's more on Third Way from Markos: Corporate 'Dems': cutting Social Security is path to electoral victory:

Remember Third Way? They're the jokers who filled the void when the DLC collapsed. But unlike the DLC, Third Way operates in the shadows, lobbying Democrats behind the scenes and via travel junkets. So it's always a pleasure when they emerge from the shadows, like this piece in the Wall Street Journal (what, National Review wasn't available?):

If you talk to leading progressives these days, you'll be sure to hear this message: The Democratic Party should embrace the economic populism of New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Such economic populism, they argue, should be the guiding star for Democrats heading into 2016. Nothing would be more disastrous for Democrats [...]

Translation: Wall Street is scared shitless of De Blasio and Warren. But we knew that already. Head below the fold to see just how scared they are, and what they really want. Hint: it's something to do with Social Security and Medicare and their taxes, and none of it is good. Read on...

Of course we all know who the pundits in the segment above were cheering for.

- See more at: http://crooksandliars.com/2013/12/wsj-panel-celebrates-third-way-attack#sthash.D5vTWdYQ.dpuf

In the "most wonderful press conference of the year", questioners spent a lot of time patting themselves on the back and trying desperately to get the president to break down in a puddle of tears over the damage they've done to his credibility in 2013.


Snip...................


After all their whining, I'm glad he granted them a full hour for self-congratulation. But if this was supposed to be something that informed people, it really wasn't, mostly because the Villagers haven't ventured out far enough to find out what the rest of us care about.



See more at: http://crooksandliars.com/2013/12/final-white-house-presser-features-mangled

WASHINGTON -- Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are threatening to push the United States toward war with Iran, circulating and planning to introduce a sanctions bill despite warnings that it could derail nuclear negotiations at a delicate moment.

International observers and both parties to the negotiations have repeatedly pleaded with Congress to allow the talks to unfold -- warnings that Kirk and Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, appear intent on ignoring. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also part of the effort, though much of the final decision rests with Menendez.

"The White House doesn't want a bill, that's true. Menendez and Kirk are working on it and trying to build the list of cosponsors. Likely to be introduced soon," said a Senate Democratic aide involved in the effort.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/iran-sanctions-bill_n_4472439.html

Why now? That was the question that I decided to answer when I set out to write this speech for this year’s Skepticon about the religious right’s war on women, which—in case you haven’t noticed—has been turned up dramatically in recent years. I’ve done a lot of written and spoken work chronicling the war on women in that time, but it was nice to have an opportunity to stand before a pro-secular audience and talk about why.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/10/why-is-the-religious-right-intensifying-attacks-on-women/







Just today, for instance, we got to enjoy Fox News do a segment where women were straight up told that it’s impossible to have a husband and a full time job. Perhaps this clip will go into the talk the next time I give it. Anyway, enjoy the talk and the clips and my love of talking with my hands. And check out the rest of the talks at Skepticon, most of which were delightful.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/10/why-is-the-religious-right-intensifying-attacks-on-women/

A North Carolina Republican county commissioner who ran on a platform of small government and fiscal responsibility was arrested last week when police found him passed out in his vehicle in the middle of an intersection.

According to the Associated Press, this is Brian Berger’s fourth arrest on charges of driving under the influence, domestic violence or drug possession since being elected to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in 2010.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/10/north-carolina-republicans-dwi-and-drug-possession-arrest-is-his-fourth-in-office/