2014 - Page 73 of 98

Blame Obama: Uninsured Rate Sinking Like a Stone

May 5, 2014May 5, 2014 Trish

Since healthcare is one of the few parts of the economy not yet easily outsourced overseas, the numbers mean economic growth across the board

A new Gallup/Healthways survey shows the number of uninsured has fallen to pre-recession levels, before so many Americans lost not only their jobs but their health insurance too.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it wasn’t this way less than a year ago, even though the economy has long been picking up steam and employment continues to increase. Rather, at the end of last summer, the uninsured rate was about 18 percent, compared to 13.4 percent today.

What I’m trying to say is: Obamacare, Obamacare, Obamacare.

[…]

Fewer Americans Don’t Have Health Insurance

May 5, 2014 Buck Banks

13.4%

The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance in April, compared with 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014 and 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Gallup. The rate dropped most among blacks, Hispanics, and lower-income Americans.

Not Sold on Hillary? It Wouldn’t Be the First Time

May 4, 2014 Trish

The air of inevitability surrounding Hillary Clinton is unlike anything we’ve ever seen – since 2008, that is — when she was also considered inevitable. Then a first-term Senator from Illinois came along, and we know how that story ended.

— Gwen Ifill, anchor on the PBS Newshour, in a blog post titled, “Beware The Clickbait (Or Why There’s Always More To The Story), which is pretty self-explanatory.

Life Expectancy of Chinese Journalists is Just 45.7 Years

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

45.7

The average life expectancy of journalists in China, with their average age at hospitalization being 44.2 years, according to a survey by the China Journalists Association. Almost all of Chinese journalists experience ailments such as headaches, migraines, body aches, frequent constipation or diarrhea, and more than half of the journalists are in a unhealthy state. Many said they suffer from fatigue, poor sleep, loss of appetite, and poor eyesight due to stress.

Brit Comedian Finds U.S. Politics ‘Nauseating’

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

I find politics in this country completely nauseating.

— John Oliver, in an interview with the Daily Beast.

Unemployment Rate Takes Unexpected Dip

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

6.3%

Unemployment rate for April, down from 6.7% in March, according to Wonk Wire.

Graham Defends Focus on Benghazi

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

Our Democratic friends, for the most part, have been in the tank over Benghazi. Some guy said this about me yesterday on the left: The only reason I cared about this was because I have six tea party opponents. Well, if that’s true, I’m the biggest scumbag in America.

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in a radio interview with Mike Gallagher.

Is It Egotism or Something Else?

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

I’m an egotist, I’ll confess to that. I like to get things done, and you get things done by having power.

— Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards (D), quoted by the Daily Reveille.

Nearly 1 Million Floridians Have Signed Up for Obamacare

May 2, 2014 Buck Banks

983,775

Number of Florida residents who have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to the Tampa Tribune. About 28 percent of them are between 18 and 34 years old — the so-called “young invincibles.”

Rand: Clinton an ‘Old-World Model’

May 1, 2014 Buck Banks

I see Hillary Clinton as an old-world model, in the sense that she’s a pro-surveillance-state, pro-war Democrat… I could see that if you had a Republican that’s a little more reluctant for war, more protective of privacy, that you could have a complete transformation, where people completely switch places.

13.4%

The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance in April, compared with 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014 and 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Gallup. The rate dropped most among blacks, Hispanics, and lower-income Americans.

The air of inevitability surrounding Hillary Clinton is unlike anything we’ve ever seen – since 2008, that is — when she was also considered inevitable. Then a first-term Senator from Illinois came along, and we know how that story ended.

— Gwen Ifill, anchor on the PBS Newshour, in a blog post titled, “Beware The Clickbait (Or Why There’s Always More To The Story), which is pretty self-explanatory.

45.7

I find politics in this country completely nauseating.

— John Oliver, in an interview with the Daily Beast.

6.3%

Unemployment rate for April, down from 6.7% in March, according to Wonk Wire.

Our Democratic friends, for the most part, have been in the tank over Benghazi. Some guy said this about me yesterday on the left: The only reason I cared about this was because I have six tea party opponents. Well, if that’s true, I’m the biggest scumbag in America.

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in a radio interview with Mike Gallagher.

I’m an egotist, I’ll confess to that. I like to get things done, and you get things done by having power.

— Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards (D), quoted by the Daily Reveille.

983,775

Number of Florida residents who have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to the Tampa Tribune. About 28 percent of them are between 18 and 34 years old — the so-called “young invincibles.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by Fortune.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.