Tag: Pres. Obama

International Group Accidently Provides Evidence that Obamacare is the Best Health System

Trish

If you want to live a long life, don’t come to America. According to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average lifespan of people in the United States is only 78.7 years, putting us at number 26 among the OECD’s 34 member nations. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the research shows there is hope for Americans in the future.

The Wall St. Journal recently looked at the new OECD study, and counted down the top five countries.

  • #5: Spain — Life expectancy of 82.4 years, even with a low gross domestic product of only $33,000 per capita
  • #4: Iceland — Life expectancy is also 82.4 years, and Iceland is third lowest in smoking rates and last in diabetes
  • #3: Japan — Life expectancy is 82.7 years, thanks to very low rates of heart disease and obesity
  • #2: Italy — Life expectancy is also 82.7 years, yet Italians spend only $3,000 per capita on health care
  • #1: Switzerland — Life expectancy of 82.8 years, but third highest in spending on health care (you already know who spends the most). Switzerland is the only country on the list that does not provide single-payer, universal access to health care. Instead, it uses a system very like the Affordable Care Act that requires citizens to buy a health plan. Doh!

Tired of the Non-stop News Stories of How Bad the Obamacare Website Was? Now That It’s Fixed, Where Are the Stories?

Trish

You know all those, “Ain’t it awful?” stories you’ve been hearing ad nauseam since the launch of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) website on Oct. 1? Expect to hear not one more word.

Now that things are working great, we’re betting that not only will you never hear again how bad they are, you will also never hear that they’re really super.

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On British Television, Oprah Assesses the State of Racism in America’s Republican Party

Jon Ponder

Republicans do not like Oprah’s assertion that racism won’t end until the current older generation of white bigots, the vast, vast majority of whom are Republicans, dies off. But you’ll notice that the push back from Limbaugh and the rest are mostly personal attacks and criticisms of Oprah and the president, and thin on arguments against the substance of what she said. They can’t refute it, because she is right:

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Still Waiting for That Other Apology

Trish

When I hear Bush apologize about being wrong about WMDs, I’ll give a shit whether or not Obama said he’s sorry.

@RudePundit, on Twitter, commenting on those being given air time to say Pres. Obama should apologize more because the Affordable Care Act website wasn’t fully functional when the health care exchanges became available on Oct. 1. The toll-free phone number, in-person “navigators,” and other venues in various states worked great on opening day, despite the 17-day tea party led government shutdown that began simultaneously.

Kentucky Proves Republicans Were Right About Obamacare

Trish
Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, AP photo

There’s no shortage of jokes about Kentucky.*

Q: What do a divorce in Kentucky, a tornado in Kansas, and a hurricane in Louisiana have in common?
A: Somebody’s fixin’ to lose the trailer.

Q: What do you get when there are 32 Kentuckians in a room together?
A: A full set of teeth.

We are a nation lost in tea party mission creep, as the Party of No struggles to figure out its evolving hostage demand

Two Kentucky guys were driving in the pickup, drinking a couple of long-neck Buds, when they came upon a police roadblock. The driver told his friend to peel off the label and stick it on his forehead, then stash the bottle under the seat, and he did the same. When it was their turn at the roadblock, the officer said, “Have you boys been drinking?” The driver replied, “No sir, we’re on the patch.”

So it came as small surprise that many in Kentucky who bombarded the state’s phone line and website to sign up for health coverage on Oct. 1 specified that they did not want Obamacare. Instead, they insisted, they wanted to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

[Kentuckians, please note: Emergency FOXectomies are not covered under Obamacare.]

Kentucky’s response proves Republicans were right on almost every point.

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Republicans Own the Shutdown. Next Question?

Trish

Never been a president who won’t negotiate the debt ceiling? Never been a president who had to.

Let the record show that, as usual, Pres. Obama and the Democrats are telling the truth. This government shutdown is 100 percent on the shoulders of the Republicans, and it could end as soon as Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh) allows the House of Representatives to vote on it. Period.

And as far as his assertion, in the “Breaking News” section shown, that there has never been a president who won’t negotiate with Congress to pay the bills it authorized, please further note that there’s never been a president who had to.

Attention American Media: Both Sides are NOT to Blame

Trish

This treatment by ABC News shows the problem

 Perhaps as inevitable as the government shutdown for which the Republicans and tea party are solely responsible is the press’s telling of it. In their version, it’s a 50/50 deal between Republicans and Democrats. But then, isn’t everything, even the stuff that’s clearly not?

For those of you playing along at home, take a shot today every time you hear these words or phrases:

  • stalemate in Congress
  • seek a compromise
  • a game of political chicken…when neither side blinked
  • each has refused to budge
  • amid the finger-wagging

If you’re still sober enough to read, please note those quotes came from a single CNN story.

Eric Boehlert at Media Matters is not only pushing back on the old “Republicans and Democrats are equally to blame” journalistic cop-out, he’s actually holding reporters who use it responsible for what’s happening.

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