(1) I have to start with one crazy lady Bachmann said to crazy website outlet, World Net Daily:
Pulling no punches, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told WND exactly why she thinks President Obama and Democrats are unwilling to negotiate with the GOP over Obamacare’s well-documented problems.
“I think the reason is because President Obama can’t wait to get Americans addicted to the crack cocaine of dependency on more government health care.
“Because, once they enroll millions of more individual Americans, it will be virtually impossible for us to pull these benefits back from people,” the congresswoman explained.
“All they want to do is buy love from people by giving them massive government subsidies,” Bachmann summed up.
I have a question for Ms. Bachmann — is giving people what they want a BAD thing? Isn't that what representatives are supposed to do? If people LIKE those benefits, doesn't that mean they are, you know, a good thing?
And what the hell is wrong with giving people something for their money? People pay taxes for the betterment of themselves and their country — so what's wrong with something that does just that?
(2) Who said that government was the problem, not the solution?
(3) They really are idiots at Fox & Friends:
(4) The Vitter Amendment would put congressional staffers on the hook for their entire health insurance. That puts them in a worse position than the rest of the work force, because for most employees, their employers help pay for the plan.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I hope it passes. Because then you'll have a LOT of pissed of GOP staffers.
(5) “It’s kind of an insult to lemmings to call them lemmings…”
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Rep Devin Nunes (R-Ca.) on the far right members of his party who pushed for a government shutdown.
(via New York Times)
(6) Rockin' Shutdown:
(7) Rightwing bloggers have been mocking the Obamacare websites which started today — both the federal and state exchanges where people can sign up for health insurance. It seems that many of the websites aren't working. "Ha, ha" say the rightwing bloggers. "Typical Obamacare stuff. Doesn't work".
Keep laughing. The reason they're not working is because they are so popular:
Heavy volume contributed to technical problems and delays that plagued the rollout Tuesday of the online insurance markets at the heart of President Obama’s health care law, according to state and federal governments, with officials watching closely for clues to how well the system will work and how many people will take advantage of it.
On Tuesday morning, people trying to shop for coverage athealthcare.gov, the federally run exchange that serves as the marketplace for residents of most states, met with messages citing high traffic and advising, “Please wait here until we send you to the login page” or “The system is down at the moment.” A state-run exchange in Maryland also posted a message saying it was “experiencing connectivity issues” and asking visitors to try again later. Other states reported scattered problems.
New York State’s exchange began operating at 8 a.m. and received 2 million visits in the first hour and a half, “which far exceeds what we were expecting,” said James O’Hare, a spokesman for the state Department of Health. Though some consumers encountered error messages or delays, the site was functioning and processing applications, though how many was not known, he said.
By 9:30 a.m., Kentucky’s exchange, which went live at midnight, had received 24,000 visitors and processed more than 1,000 applications, said Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the state’s health care agency. “The high volume of traffic is causing a few technical glitches,” presenting problems for people who want to apply but not for those who are just browsing, she said.
Most predictions had been for a trickle of new customers at first, rather than a flood, on the online exchanges, where people can shop for competing health plans and see if they qualify for federal subsidies. Polls show that many Americans remain uncertain about the purpose of the exchanges and unconvinced that the law will help them.