President George W. Bush Trick-or-Treating With His Granddaughter

At Twitchy, "Adorable: George W. Bush trick-or-treats with ‘tiny astronaut’ Mila."

Healthcare Mash

Funny thing is, I heard "Monster Mash" when I pulled into the college today, and then again on the way home.

This is good, via Instapundit.

President Defends #ObamaCare at Boston's Faneuil Hall

Defending the indefensible.

Nothin' but lies, it's so bad.

At AoSHQ, "Obama Doubles Down on His Big Lie":

The most breathless claim in his speech, I thought, was the lie that only those making $250,000 per year or more are being "asked to pay a little more."

This is a lie. Anyone making over $48,000 or so will get the doubled or tripled premiums (and often doubled deductibles to boot!) and no subsidies.

Jonah Goldberg wrote earlier of Obama's Big Lie.

I would say I'm shocked, but that would be a lie. I think I am too emotionally deadened to Obama's constant lies to even have a reaction. I'm just numb.

RELATED: At LAT, "Obama: GOP critics of Obamacare should follow Romney example."

Mitt's having none of it, "Mitt Romney blasts president on Obamacare rollout."

BONUS: "Obama Heckled During Healthcare Speech in Boston."

'She Talks to Angels'

Foghat's "Fool for the City" came on yesterday just when I was pulling up at my apartment. For the life of me I can't recall hearing that song in decades --- and that's saying something, considering how much I play classic rock on the radio.

It's not necessarily one of my favorites, however. Just weird hearing it. Reminded me of high school.

Here's the drive-time lineup yesterday afternoon:

Fool for the City - Foghat 3:29 PM

White Room - Cream 3:24 PM

Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith 3:20 PM

Love Her Madly - The Doors 3:11 PM

867-5309 / Jenny - Tommy Tutone 3:07 PM

It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M. 02:56 PM

The Black Crowes were on a bit earlier,  at 2:00, when I was heading out for coffee after classes. I'll leave you with that, as is my preference:

Victoria's Secret Holiday 2013

Via Theo Spark.

Why Obama Made His 'Keep Your Plan' Lie

At IBD, "The Biggest Lie? 'Keep Your Plan'":

Deception: In the face of millions of cancellation notices, Democrats want to downplay the president's "keep your health plan" pledge as standard political hyperbole. It was, in fact, a calculated lie that got ObamaCare enacted.

To understand why, let's freshen up on a little health care reform history.

Back in 1994, when Bill Clinton was pushing his own version of "comprehensive health reform," the insurance industry launched its infamous "Harry and Louise" ads to deliver a simple message: The Clinton plan would force families to give up their own health plans.

In one of these, the middle-class couple pours over a pile of documents at the kitchen table, while a narrator intones about how "things are changing, and not all for the better," and how "the government may force us to pick from a few plans designed by government bureaucrats."

"Louise" then complains that "having choices we don't like is no choice at all," and the ad concludes with the couple saying, "They choose, and we lose."

The campaign was devastating. Even though Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress, Clinton's bill never made it out of congressional committees.

So when President Obama decided to take another stab at health care, he was determined to avoid that pitfall. He endlessly promised in the most emphatic way possible that under his plan, Harry and Louise would have nothing to worry about.

"Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you," the president said at a July 2009 rally in New Jersey. "First of all, if you've got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. Nobody is talking about taking that away from you."

Later he said that "When I say 'If you have your plan and you like it,' ... what I'm saying is the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform."

He promised this after the law passed, and throughout the 2012 election campaign.

Of course, Obama knew it wasn't true when he said it. He just couldn't admit it if he wanted to convince enough Democrats to vote for the bill.

And now that millions of people are finding out that ObamaCare is, in fact, forcing them to pick from a few plans designed by government bureaucrats, Democrats and the liberal press are desperate to explain Obama's promises away.

More at the link.

Obama's Approval at All-Time Low in Latest NBC News Poll

He's a lying dick-hole

At NBC, "NBC/WSJ poll: Obama approval sinks to new low":

President Barack Obama’s approval rating has declined to an all-time low as public frustration with Washington and pessimism about the nation’s direction continue to grow, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Just 42 percent approve of the president’s job performance, which is down five points from earlier this month. By comparison, 51 percent disapprove of his job in office -- tied for his all-time high.

The NBC/WSJ pollsters argue that no single reason explains Obama’s lower poll standing. Rather, they attribute it to the accumulation of setbacks since the summer -- allegations of spying by the National Security Agency, the debate over Syria’s chemical weapons, the government shutdown and now intense scrutiny over the problems associated with the health care law’s federal website and its overall implementation.

More at the link.

PREVIOUSLY: "Majority Says #ObamaCare Needs 'Major Overaul' or 'Should Be Eliminated'."

Majority Says #ObamaCare Needs 'Major Overaul' or 'Should Be Eliminated'

Well, it's not all good news for Republicans. The biggest thing that sticks out for me is the "pox on both your houses" sentiment that comes through in some of the preference polling.

At NBC News, "Poll: Majority think health law needs overhaul or elimination." (The PDF survey is here.)

Sixty-three percent said that a "new person" should be elected to Congress, rather than "giving your representative a chance." Also, when thinking about "how you might vote for Congress next year," support for an independent candidate is at 30 percent, up from 25 percent in September. Again, Republicans have a lot to be worried about in these numbers, as they hold the House majority, but Democrats certainly can't rest easy, since they'll be defending Obama's clusterf-k on the campaign trail next year. For that reason alone --- as well as the national redistricting picture which is said to advantage Republicans --- I seriously doubt the Democrats have a chance of taking the House in 2014.

In any case, leftist assholes can stop with the stupid meme about how approval of ObamaCare just keeps going up:

A majority of Americans – 52 percent – believe the health care law needs either a major overhaul or to be completely eliminated, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds.

Forty-four percent think it either needs minor modifications or that it’s working well as is.
The Obama administration maintains that the health insurance exchange website can be fixed, but acknowledges major problems.

“In these early weeks, access to Healthcare.gov has been a miserably frustrating experience for way too many Americans,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday in testimony on Capitol Hill.

President Barack Obama addresses the issues facing healthcare.gov Wednesday during a speech at Boston's Faneuil Hall.

The number of respondents who said the law was a good or bad idea was relatively unchanged from earlier this month. But support for the law has slipped with one key group – women, who traditionally rank health care as a higher priority than men, and who are seen as an important plank in selling the law.

Americans called it a bad idea by a 47-37 percent margin – a shift from 43-38 percent earlier this month. But among women, a group President Barack Obama won by 11 points in 2012, just 38 percent think it’s a good idea, while 45 percent do not. That’s down from early October, when most women said the law was a good idea by a 41-39 percent margin.

More at Memeorandum.

Kathleen Sebelius Testimony: 'Whatever'

Oh boy.

This is going viral on steroids to infinity!



More at iOWNTHEWORLD, "It’s all in the face."

Kathleen Sebelius Congressional Testimony on #ObamaCare Catastrophe

She's the face of criminal despotism.

And the hits can't keep coming fast enough, lol.

At the Hill, "Annoyed Obama demands fix":

An agitated President Obama has expressed frustration to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the faulty ObamaCare enrollment website.

A visibly annoyed Obama behind closed doors has made clear to Sebelius that it’s her responsibility to fix what has become an unwanted second-term blunder, according to senior administration officials.

White House officials say the strong words from Obama don’t mean Sebelius is necessarily in the doghouse but that she’s responsible for fixing the problem.

In the words of one senior administration official, “She’s in a tough spot. She’s on the hook.”

She needs to be fired, the damned hack.

More at Memeorandum.

There's going to be all hell breaking loose today on Capitol Hill. Republicans are fired up on this.

Also at WaPo, "Kathleen Sebelius acknowledges ‘frustrating’ problems with health-care Web site."

You can't keep your insurance because Democrats don't want you to control your own health-care spending

From Holman Jenkins, at WSJ, "The Outrage Arrives":

Democrats at least are consistent. Back in 1993, during the fight over HillaryCare, Mrs. Clinton explained Democratic reasoning to then-House GOP Leader Denny Hastert. If Americans are allowed too much discretion over how they spend their health-care dollars, Mrs. Clinton said, "We just think people will be too focused on saving money and they won't get the care for their children and themselves that they need . . .

"The money has to go to the federal government because the federal government will spend that money better."

Not only was it deliberate ObamaCare policy to make sure plans millions of Americans like would no longer be available, forcing them to buy more coverage than they want or need. NBC reports that the White House—as Mr. Obama was promising Americans they could keep their current plans—was estimating at least seven million people would not be allowed to keep their current plans.

In drafting rules to put ObamaCare into effect, the Health and Human Services department under Kathleen Sebelius tightened the grandfathering eligibility to make sure even more people would be forced to switch to the excessively costly policies that Mr. Obama wants them to buy. Mr. Obama says he cares about your incentive to get preventive care or tests that you may not get if they don't appear to involve a free lunch.

But the truth is, he wants you to pay for coverage you'll never use (mental-health services, cancer wigs, fertility treatments, Viagra) so the money can be spent on somebody else.

RTWT.

Angry Seniors Losing Coverage, Doctors Over #ObamaCare

I was watching this the other night and tweeted.

My god. Elderly losing their doctors on @MegynKelly. #FoxNews

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 29, 2013

And now Lonely Con has it, "Video: Seniors Losing Their Doctors."

More at Fire Andrea Mitchell, "Elderly New Yorkers losing doctors because of ObamaCARE."

The ObamaCare Awakening

At the Wall Street Journal, "Americans Are Losing Their Coverage by Political Design":

She didn't know she'd have to pay for it? Well, she does. And so do you. pic.twitter.com/dNBhSElb9e
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) October 23, 2013

For all of the Affordable Care Act's technical problems, at least one part is working on schedule. The law is systematically dismantling the individual insurance market, as its architects intended from the start.

The millions of Americans who are receiving termination notices because their current coverage does not conform to Health and Human Services Department rules may not realize this is by design. Maybe they trusted President Obama's repeated falsehood that people who liked their health plans could keep them. But Americans should understand that this month's mass cancellation wave has been the President's political goal since 2008. Liberals believe they must destroy the market in order to save it.

***
Until this month, consumers who weren't insured through their jobs were allowed to buy insurance that provides the best value based on their own needs. One of every 10 private policies is sold through the individual market, covering about 7% of the U.S. population under age 65.

Some states have ruined this market through regulation and price controls, and in others costs can be high. But the individual market works well for millions of people, who can choose from many plans—from Cadillac coverage to cheaper protection against catastrophic illness.

The political problem for the White House is that these choices are a threat to ObamaCare. If too many people keep these policies instead of joining the government exchanges, ObamaCare could fail. HHS has thus reviewed the decisions of people in the individual market and found them wanting. HHS believes as a matter of political philosophy that everyone should have the same kind of insurance, and in the name of equity it wrote rules dictating the benefits that all plans must cover and how they must be financed.

In most cases these mandates are more comprehensive and thus more expensive than the status quo, but the ObamaCare refugees aren't merely facing higher costs. The plans they want and are willing to pay for have been intentionally outlawed. Ponder that one.

Liberals claim the new insurance should cost more because it's better, at least as defined by liberal paternalism. But the real reason they want policies to cost more is to drive as many people as possible out of this market and into the subsidized ObamaCare exchanges.

The exchanges need these customers to finance ObamaCare's balance sheet and stabilize its risk pools. On the exchanges, individuals earning more than $46,000 or a family of four above $94,000 don't qualify for subsidies and must buy overpriced insurance. If these middle-class ObamaCare losers can be forced into the exchanges, they become financiers of the new pay-as-you-go entitlement.

The political press corps is reporting this as a shocking discovery, and we suppose it is if you believed Mr. Obama's promises. NBC News even reports as a "scoop" that the White House knew all along that millions would lose their policies. But HHS's trail of purpose has been there for anyone willing to look.

The text of the Affordable Care Act said that none of its language "shall be construed to require that an individual terminate coverage" that existed as of March 23, 2010, or the date the law was enacted. But as early as June 2010 HHS published a regulation reinterpreting this "Preservation of Right to Maintain Existing Coverage" to obviate that promise.

Even minor policy changes, such as increasing a copay by as little as $5, means that a plan cannot be renewed without rewriting it to obey all of ObamaCare's regulations. In HHS's "regulatory impact analysis" published in the Federal Register, the department estimated that between 40% and 67% wouldn't qualify as a permitted plan, and this was the point—to prevent such policies "from being bought and sold as a commodity in commercial transactions." HHS knew that lightly regulated policies might be popular, especially compared to the restricted choices in the exchanges.

Yep. The Democrats are destroying the private market. That was the plan all along. Healthcare is the road to socialism, although Obama and his regressive allies couldn't sell the policy that way. They had to lie to the American people. The POS legislation would've never passed otherwise.

More at the link.

Umpires Have Been Doing a Terrific Job in #WorldSeries

From Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, at the Los Angeles Times:

The two most controversial and commented-on umpire calls of the season came in the first inning of Game 1 and on the final play of Game 3. In an unprecedented move, the five umpires not involved on the play converged to correct a call on a force play at second base. The crew decided to break tradition and make right a call they knew should be reversed. The obstruction call at the end of Game 3 was a perfect example of third base umpire, and one of my personal favorites, Jim Joyce showing instincts and knowledge of the rules simultaneously. The umpire who was overruled in Game 1, Dana DeMuth, instantly followed through on Joyce's obstruction notification and correctly ruled the runner safe at the plate. The play was ruled correctly and just so happened to be on the final play of a World Series game.

Reviews of calls via instant replay will be expanded next year. Although technology will aid these judges in the calls they make, my hope is they still umpire with the courage and feel for the game they have shown.

RTWT.

Playmates Amanda Cerny and Raquel Pomplun Body Painted for Playboy Halloween Party

Looks like fun.

{VIDEO PULLED}

More at Egotastic!, "We Saw Amanda Cerny In Her Bikini; Now Let’s See Her on the Pages of Playboy," and "Raquel Pomplun Playmate of the Year Gloriousness."

William Kristol Compares #ObamaCare to Communism

That's because it is communism.

A CNN video is here.

Plus, "Bill Kristol On Crossfire Debating ObamaCare."

White House Races to Quell #ObamaCare Uproar

Heh.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Administration Shakes Up Operations, Seeks to Improve Communications With Democratic Lawmakers, Amid Flawed Rollout":

The White House is racing to rebuild confidence in a new health-care system that has so far fallen short of President Barack Obama's promises, as the mounting uproar threatens to overwhelm his second-term agenda.

Just two weeks ago, Mr. Obama seemed to prevail in a face-off with congressional Republicans over the federal shutdown and was seeking to shift the public focus to an immigration overhaul, one of his top priorities.

He needs to swallow this flaming pile of crap. And he needs to like it, the dick.

More at the link.



IMAGE CREDIT: Heritage Foundation.

Unhinged Democrat Bill Pascrell Loses It During #ObamaCare Hearings

At PJ Media, "Dem Rep. Bill Pascrell Acts Like a Child During Obamacare Hearings."

White House Not Happy With NBC News

I'll bet.

Posted on this yesterday, "Obama Knew Millions Would Lose Their Health Insurance."

And now at PuffHo, "Obama Administration Refutes NBC News' Obamacare Report."

Leftists are wiggin'.

White House Jackboots Threatening Insurance Executives Into Silence on #ObamaCare Criticism (VIDEO)

Seriously. Company execs say that if they speak out the jackboots are coming down.

It's like the 1930s.

At Weasel Zippers, "CNN Report: Obama Regime Trying to Silence Insurance Companies From Discussing Obamacare Problems…"