Digby wins tonight’s internets, comparing the Teahadists to that guy on Breaking Bad.
Petula Dvorak, local columnist for the company paper in the company town (WaPo), has been collecting “Ways to Punish Congress for a Shutdown“. Let’s just say, if I were a Congresscritter, I’d be brewing my own coffee tomorrow…
Dana Milbank reports from the scene of the crime:
… Although they claimed confidence that they were doing the right thing, Republicans were in a state of agitation as they moved toward the midnight deadline.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.) was trying to flee the caucus meeting as CBS News’s Nancy Cordes asked him what would happen. “Well, we’ll see,” he replied.
“What do you think is going to happen?” she persisted.
“I don’t know,” he said, and when the questioning continued he snapped at the reporters: “I don’t like to do hallway interviews. You all know that.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was similarly irritable Monday afternoon when NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reminded him of opposition by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to House Republicans’ shutdown strategy. “I don’t care what John McCain thinks!” he blurted out. “Andrea, I don’t care what John McCain thinks!”
This was reminiscent of Rep. Darrell Issa’s explosion over the weekend, when Public Radio International’s Todd Zwillich asked him what he would do after the Senate rejected the House’s Obamacare gambits (as it later did). “How dare you presume a failure?” the California Republican said. “How dare you! How dare you! How dare you presume a failure!”…
Spaghetti Lee
Stories like Sensy, Chaffetz, and Issa freaking out are what need to get heard. People might not care about debt limits and health exchanges, but laughing at pissy old men acting pissy and tight-assed is more popular. Remember how popular the story about Gingrich’s back-of-the-plane tantrum was, and how many people remember “You People” and “47%” from 2012.
“How dare you presume a failure!” Jesus Christ, what a fucking tool.
Just Some Fuckhead
These are the idiots Boehnead is trying to wrangle into doing something not stupid.
The Dangerman
“You guys might have wanted to stay away from our special sauce tonight. Me and Pookie, we added a secret ingredient.”
/harold and kumar
FlipYrWhig
@Spaghetti Lee: Chaffetz is a pissy young man. Other than that, carry on.
Just Some Fuckhead
@FlipYrWhig: Maybe Boehner took us over this small cliff so his caucus would be less enthusiastic about the next, bigger, cliff?
Spaghetti Lee
@FlipYrWhig:
He’s old in spirit.
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Sensenbrenner has always struck me as a company man to the bone. He’s ancient, been in congress forever, and represents a northern and suburban district (Milwaukee). Guys like him are the ones I’m hoping get peeled off.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen” doesn’t sound like an endorsement of what actually is happening. I think his pissiness is being frustrated with the lunatics in the House and in his district and self-hate at not having the guts to do anything about it.
Anne Laurie
@FlipYrWhig:
Every time I see that smug, entitled schmuck’s face, I imagine Kitty Dukakis thinking “Wow, did I ever dodge a bullet.”
(He’s the offspring of her first husband from his second marriage.)
FlipYrWhig
@Just Some Fuckhead: Not a bad idea, that. Still, Boehner doesn’t strike me as a guy who does a lot of deep thinking or advance planning. It seems beyond him to pull it off.
FlipYrWhig
@Anne Laurie: whoa, I think I knew that before, but had totally forgotten.
Mike E
Eureka…even centrist Jon Stewart sez this is on the Repubs, and maybe it’s the president that isn’t the problem.
Meanwhile, Luke Russert wants to enter the DougJ pool with with his pick of a 4 day work week until the House finally offers up a clean bill.
Hill Dweller
Did anyone watch Boehner’s press conference? The Twitter machine seems to think he was drunk.
brendancalling
i am enjoying this immensely. pass the popcorn.
FlipYrWhig
@Mike E: still was too soft on O’Reilly yet again. Can someone please explain to the Republicans that if they have some great plan to fix the health care system they can, you know, introduce a bill about that and try to pass it? Rather than dicking around with other laws and government functions just because that’s what they happen to have in front of them?
Spaghetti Lee
@Hill Dweller:
If I had coworkers like he does, my liver would be in tatters by now. Drink on, Boner, and may you get just drunk enough to call Steve King a cocksucker in a room full of reporters.
Just Some Fuckhead
@FlipYrWhig: Boehnead doesn’t have to plan ahead. He just needs to listen to Eric Rasputin.
The prophet Nostradumbass
House GOP: “Look at me, Damien. It’s all for you! [steps off the roof and hangs herself]”
eemom
From CaseyL’s comment on the last thread, some much needed comedy relief from none other than the recently dearly departed TBogg.
IOW…..in my ever so humble opinion…..the whole “retirement” thing was just an elaborate ruse to reclaim his balls from Jane Hamsher’s trophy case. bwaaahaaaahaaahaahaa
Hill Dweller
The Best Years of Our Lives is starting on TCM.
Just Some Fuckhead
@The prophet Nostradumbass: ha!
fuckwit
Shit is fucked up and bullshit.
I can’t cheer this idiocy on, because this stupid terrorist attack by the teabaggers is hurting people all over the country.
Watching the Rethugs implode would be good popcorn fodder, but they’ve decided to make it a suicide attack and take out large numbers of innocent people. This is not a happy time.
Suffern ACE
@FlipYrWhig: yeah. Their plan is to repeal the tax increases on the wealthy and give those same wealthy a $20,000 tax break to buy the insurance plans they already have been buying. Or is it the Carson plan to repeal the tax increases on the wealthy and replace them with a tax break so that the wealthy can contribute more to healthcare savings accounts. I’m seeing a pattern to these plans and who will benefit from those changes to the tax code.
Spaghetti Lee
@eemom:
Holy shit. That’s awesome. Tbogg coming back on the eve of the shutdown…it’s like King Arthur or something.
David Koch
Robert Costa (National Review/CNBC):
Spaghetti Lee
@David Koch:
And the Republican party will have done us the favor of reminding everyone, for good and always, which President created this new beloved and popular program. Thanks, guys!
fleeting expletive
Lately, I have wished there was a “like/unlike” feature on BJ’s comment platform. I’m not advocating Discus and I’m not signed up for that, but there has been so much excellent commentary here I’d like to “like” many of them. I’m on here way late tonight but it’s Shutdown Theatre and I’m still watching MSNBC and trying to comprehend what the Republicans are about. As usual, they make no sense to me.
Spaghetti Lee
@fleeting expletive:
+like
eemom
The terrorists lose. That’s the thing.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@eemom: I am very happy that this is coming. I currently pay $366/month for a federal PCIP plan, and it looks like under the California exchange, I will pay somewhere near zero come January.
fleeting expletive
@Spaghetti Lee: Oh, I hope that happens!
? Martin
@fleeting expletive: At some point it will dawn on them, that on the way to proving that Obamacare doesn’t work, they’ll realize that they created a scenario where the only part of government that is working is Obamacare. This is going to fail so hard for them.
Redshift
@Spaghetti Lee:
Translation: How dare you ask if we’ve thought even one step ahead! I mean, of course we haven’t, but it’s outrageous to point that out!
fleeting expletive
@Spaghetti Lee: thanks, bud.
David Koch
@The prophet Nostradumbass: Obot!
True Progressives, stand firm with Grover Norquist and Fox News and Kill the Bill!!
NotMax
Every Democrat and every Independent with access to a microphone and/or camera must refer repeatedly to the situation as the Republican shutdown.
Also mentioned should be that it is a slap in the face to the military: the country is still engaged in a war zone, with troops deployed in support of the same government which the Republicans disrespect so much they refuse to engage seriously in funding it.
Spaghetti Lee
@David Koch:
Ah, I bet that makes you feel all nostalgic.
scav
Rather a perverse relief to have the Sitzkrieg over. But it’s well past time.
David Koch
Oh great. Now we won’t get to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
Thanks Obama :(
joel hanes
@David Koch:
You know, when humor becomes sufficiently self-aware and ironic and arch, it can become so self-referential that it looks like gibberish to everyone but the writer — at which point it has no humor value at all.
Joseph Nobles
Best tweet of the night I’ve seen came from @BlackCanseco:
Spaghetti Lee
@Joseph Nobles:
Oh my. That’s great.
fleeting expletive
Oh, oh, oh! I have the soundtrack for the Shutdown Dance! It’s Lily Von Schtupp from Blazing Saddles–“I have zis powah!”
wasabi gasp
downforeveryoneorjustme.gov
karen marie
When I read Darrell Issa had an explosion I imagined it sounded like this.
karen marie
@karen marie: was supposed to be an 8 second clip of Catherine Tate’s Derek Faye but my tablet screwed up somewhere, I think.
billgerat
Well, I just got the word that it is for sure that government workers will be furloughed. My boss just called me to say that everyone is expected to come to work tomorrow, and will be offered to work for at least 4 hours, and the rest of that day on leave. After that furloughs begin. My doc diagnosed me with a small bout of pneumonia and wants me to stay home for a few days. If I don’t show up tomorrow, I will automatically be put in furlough status immediately.
Who knows when I will get paid again. After the Gingrich Shutdown Congress retroactively paid us, but this time it’s anyone’s guess whether they will do it again.
? Martin
@David Koch: We’ve had half a dozen presidents try and break Iran, and Obama was the one determined enough to do it, and the GOP will call him weak in spite of it. And they think they’re going to win this budget situation?
e.a.f.
To think a G-8 country is in semi shut down mode. its more like a third world country which the IMF had taken over.
The politicians who caused this little problem, apparently don’t want to deal with the ramifications of what they did. It may also be, the politicians, in their zeal to attack Obama, one way or another, forgot what the ramifications of their actions would be. They may also have been so deluded, they thought Obama wouldn’t call their bluff.
These politicians are seriously mentally ill. there are other countries sitting around just laughing at these local yokals. How parochial of them.
jl
Uh oh, posted this pleas on the wrong thread…
“How dare you presume a failure?”
Another one of Issa’s heroic predictions comes to naught.
The government just shut down on the left coast about ten minutes ago.
No marauding cackling hysterical zombie hordes yet. I guess they will come with the political interviews on the morning news. So, what should I do? Shoot the TV in the head with garlic bullet and drive a silver stake through the radio.
Is that right? Please let me know. I have about seven hours to prepare!
Edit: maybe I should throw kryptonite at the TV screen? I need instructions out here on the left edge of crazy land. The GOPers will be crawling out the TV and radio tomorrow AM, cackling like maniacs.
Ah, eye masks and ear plugs. There you go.
srv
Back when John Cole was fucking alive:
The prophet Nostradumbass
@srv:
there you go.
srv
@jl:
The primary feature of the Event Horizon of a Singularity (or Wingularity), is that time doesn’t really pass. From your frame of reference, you’re stuck there. Forever.
And so we are.
gene108
When air traffic got cut because of sequestration the Republicans flipped out.
As a negotiating tactic, I think Obama should reroute money from air traffic control / airports, which should get the Republicans attention and tell them what to do, if they want to get air traffic back to normal.
SRW1
@Anne Laurie:
It’s more like something vermicular. And waaaaay slower!
TheMightyTrowel
@gene108: On a personal note: PLEASE NO! I’m supposed to be flying into CA on Thurs. I’d prefer to be able to land.
raven
Halperin and Joe “BOTH SIDES DO IT”
mornin
raven
The TOP CEO’s say Obamacare is BAD!!!!
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Joe: OMG, we’re going to have single payer, they sky is going to fall.
raven
@BillinGlendaleCA: I think he’s drunk.
TheMightyTrowel
@raven: could be entertaining if he is. Think he’ll grope the inevitable republican who ends up as a guest?
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: It’s 6am his time, that’s a bit early for happy hour. Then again, 6am used to seem like a good time for a stiff drink for me.
TAPX486
Well according to the VSP’s on Morning Joe its Obama’s fault because he isn’t leading. He has to talk to the Boehner and everything will be fine. These people could not find their butts with two hands and a very large flashlight.
raven
@TheMightyTrowel: Por people in the bushes!
fuckwit
For some reason I can’t stop watching this trainwreck.
I don’t know how it ends.
It’s a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
How can we add these teabagging clowns to the ranks of the unemployed? How do we fire these motherfuckers? What’s needed to eject these reckless morons from the game in 2014, and what happens until then?
raven
Where was the police????
MomSense
@? Martin:
The government just shut down but I just saved a bunch of money on my health insurance by switching to ObamaCare!
Baud
@MomSense:
Did you really? Testify!
BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: See, the Republicans were right, you don’t need government. You’d never get that deal on Obamacare with government involved.
[/snark]
raven
Politico sez Obamacare bad.
Baud
@raven:
Did they say why?
BillinGlendaleCA
Jim Van DeHiDiHiDiHi says things are going to get worse in the next 2 years.
raven
@Baud: Obamacare bad, reupbs no like.
raven
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yea, that’s what I meant!
Baud
@raven:
That’s ok then.
BillinGlendaleCA
Per Politico, if only the President invited folk over to the White House 5 years ago for drinks, things wouldn’t be like this.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
If only the media would stop making excuses for Republicans, things wouldn’t be like this.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Just remember, BOTH SIDES DO IT.
gene108
@BillinGlendaleCA:
But, but Obama’s a secret Muslim…making guests drink Kool-Aid and other non-alcoholic beverages wouldn’t be what they expect, when being invited for drinks and that’d just offend them…
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yes. Both House Republicans and Senate Republicans are to blame.
gene108
@Baud:
If they did that they’d just be liberal tools of the Democratic party and not non-partisan, unbiased purveyors of information to the public.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Healthcare.gov: “We have lots of visitors to our web site right now. Please wait here.”
*chuckle*
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Well played, sir.
MomSense
@Baud:
Just went to ObamaCare and filled in the information and I am going to get insurance much cheaper. Was paying 1,600 a month for years because I have a pre-existing condition and then because of some life changes I couldn’t afford it anymore so have been waiting and praying to be healthy until I could sign up. Starts at $243 a month so now I am going to decide on the plan! I can manage this!!!
JPL
The local nbc news (11alive in Atlanta) had a physician who was railing about the exchanges. The exchanges have plans and no doctors. The medicaid expansion is awful, awful, awful. BTW, the governor decided that we aren’t expanding medicaid. He was the expert they had on to explain the health care law to the local public.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Healthcare.gov: “Your account couldn’t be created at this time. The system is unavailable.”
I’ve been wondering if the teahadis think that shutting down the government will shut down the Federal exchanges.
Baud
@MomSense:
That’s so awesome. Tell everyone!
JPL
@MomSense: That is great news!
Kay
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
I just got in. I got two error messages on the way there though.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@MomSense: Yay!
@Kay: I’m just amused that even a tech-savvy administration appears to have underestimated how hard the servers would be pounded.
MomSense
@TAPX486:
Do they really want the situation where no legislation is ever really passed because every other budget or appropriation or debt ceiling becomes an opportunity to replace it??
We will shutdown the government unless you repeal the ADA!! We will refuse to raise the debt ceiling until you suspend the Clean Air Act for two years!
This is not a situation that requires additional negotiation about a law that passed more than 3 years ago.
TheMightyTrowel
@MomSense: Mr. Trowel, Brit, is appalled. He keeps looking at me and saying ‘why is no one calling this an attempt at a coup? why is no one calling this treason? wtf is wrong with your government? do people really think this is what democracies do?”
PsiFighter37
@BillinGlendaleCA: Fuck these guys and their hangups about not being cool enough to be invited to the White House. This isn’t fucking high school.
MomSense
OH WOW WOWOWOW
This is starting to sink in and I can do this. I’m getting teary about this because this has been a huge worry and the one thing that I just couldn’t do on my own.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@MomSense:
Their favorite legislation was overturned/repealed/superseded in 1964 and 1965. Why shouldn’t other legislation be subject to the same?
MomSense
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
I had no trouble with the federal exchange so I wonder if the problem is Ohio underestimating the traffic.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@MomSense: I’m in North Carolina. We were dumped onto the federal exchange.
The holdup appears to be in account creation. It could be that you got in before the bulk of the people trying it.
Kay
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
I agree. I think it has to work on the first try.
MomSense
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
This is a BFD!!! Lives are going to be changed in such a huge way. The Republicans are going to look even crazier when people find out that this is such a good thing.
sparrow
@Kay: I got up this morning to the news and tested it out. As of 7:30 AM, no problems. I tried to check out rates out of curiosity but you have to fill out a profile and I felt guilty using up the server when I don’t actually need insurance right now.
But, I was annoyed that when I switched to my old state, Oklahoma, it didn’t put the disclaimer “BECAUSE OF YOUR IDIOTIC REPRESENTATIVES, you will buy your insurance on healthcare.gov rather than a state exchange”
Botsplainer
Somebody linked Digby above or in a prior thread. This passage struck me:
This was the value of the propaganda, and what makes me go into a murderous rage about the Death Panel lies, Bible Spice, Limbaugh, Levin, the entire Fox cast and crew, Tapper, Todd, Halperin, Santelli, Bartiromo, Burnett, Ho, and the entirety of the DC pundit class.
dmsilev
Huh. Is Our Journalists Learning? NY Times:
No “interpretations differ” or “he said she said”. Simply “conservatives claim this, but they’re wrong and here’s how”.
Baud
@Kay:
I do think they believed that a lot of people weren’t going to try the first day, given all the reports about confusion and lack of outreach about the ACA. Plus normal first-day glitches.
Emerald
HaHaHaHa! I’ve been without coverage for nearly 13 years. (Took care of my Dad for 10 of those).
I qualify for the “Enhanced Silver” plan in California. Cheapest for me would be $3 per month for an HMO. Most expensive would be $159 for the Anthem Blue Cross HMO.
But unless my doctor is in that $3 plan (he might be–he takes more insurance than most), I’ll be deciding between the $94 Anthem EMO or Blue Cross PPO at $122.
Without the subsidies these all would be from $679 to well over $700 per month.
And I’m turning 63 in Dec and have been diagnosed with gallstones.
HaHaHaHa!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Kay: And in a few hours, it probably will. They’ll either scramble to get additional servers into the account creation loop, or the traffic will die down to expected levels.
Hmm. Apparently, the validation email is only good for a few minutes. Validation timed out and then failed on retrying the link. That’s attempt number three.
IowaOldLady
@MomSense: That is awesome. I’m so glad for you.
Kay
@sparrow:
I’m glad.
Probably 50% of “our” people here who need it don’t have internet access and will be asking for help. We’ve been talking it up for a while. We don’t use the term “Obamacare” but I have had several people say “Is this Obamacare?”
You know, no jackbooted thugs from Homeland Security, etc. Just a website. It’s less scary than it was made out to be :)
Baud
@Kay:
Kay, you need to start wearing jack boots when you go help these folks.
Kay
@Baud:
There’s three security questions, which is two more than I’m used to. My business account at the bank has only one.
ANYWAY, I’m certainly pulling for them, although they must know there is a huge group of people hoping they fail.
Baud
@Kay:
I’ve seen anywhere between one and five security questions on websites. Five is too many.
Elizabelle
Did anyone else notice today’s beautiful and ironic Google Doodle?
Elizabelle
National parks are essential.
Extremist Republicans in Congress are not.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
OK, now it’s really gone glitchy. “Invalid format for answers of security questions.” Say what?
I have the luxury of broadband and a job that consists of months of boredom punctuated by moments of terror. This is not good for people who are trying to do this at the library between jobs.
Hal
@Kay:
I could be wrong but I think there are five questions when you go for your free credit report which seems necessary for security but can be a real pita. Sorry, I don’t remember my exact address five years and four apartments ago.
On a broader note I’m seeing some bitching on Facebook about how both sides suck and aren’t willing to compromise. Good job MSM. Both sides do it.
cosima
We’re paying nearly $600/month for our daughter, who will be 23 next month, on a COBRA plan that will expire in May of 2014. Insurance through her university is over $10,000/year. Now I can search out cheaper rates for her! Yay!
I was really peeved back in the day when the Obama administration adopted the “Obamacare” label — I thought then, and still do, that if they’d stuck to their guns on calling it the Affordable Care Act, and pointing out that anyone who used Obamacare was using it in a pejorative fashion and therefore not worthy of being listened to, that half of the battle would have been won.
What’s not to like about “Affordable Health Care”? Whereas there’s a significant portion of the population (sadly) that immediately hates anything that has the name Obama attached to it — it could be a giveaway of $1000 for each & every person, called “Obamagrand,” and it would be loathed by those same people. It’s not Obamacare, it’s an act (law) that is about providing affordable health care. I still get disgusted when I hear the term Obamacare, and it doesn’t matter who uses it, even the President. Back before it was embraced, I used that as a litmus test of sorts when discussing health care — if the person that I was discussing it with used the term Obamacare I could & would flat-out say that that insulting name for the ACA was indicative of their ignorance and there was no point in further discussions.
Now that it’s been implemented, officially, can the administration begin using the Affordable Care Act title for the law FFS?
raven
@cosima: Don’t keep up do you?
“Obama Says Once Obamacare Works, ‘They Will Not Call It Obamacare”
gene108
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
The Feds weren’t expecting to run so much of the exchanges, when the plan was made law. They expected states to make their own exchanges.
I’m not sure the budget for HHS was expanded to take up the challenge of meeting this higher usage of Federal exchanges than the law envisioned. From what I’ve read, HHS has done the best it could do to pick up whatever slack they had to because states refused to set up exchanges.
Also, many states refused to inform HHS about whether or not they would set up an exchange until after the SCOTUS ruling on the law, which I believe was just last year, because if the law was struck down the states would not have to be on record for making a decision about the law.
Lurking Canadian
@Emerald: these price stories, yours and MomSense’s are just awesome. Somebody should put together a new YouTube campaign, “It got better because of Obamacare”, that’s just people tellig stories like those.
Congratulations!
amk
@cosima: where exactly did you see the admin using obamacare? HHS has been using ACA from day one, FFS.
Chris T.
@BillinGlendaleCA: If only Obama had invited all the teahadis over to the White House … and then subjected them to Extraordinary Rendition …
Jay in Oregon
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
It’s day one. Give it some time.
Baud
@amk:
Obama’s been using it for a while now. Official government publications probably won’t use it, however.
weaselone
@gene108:
And that’s just if these issues are due to legitimate traffic. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out that there were denial of service attacks taking place.
Kay
@cosima:
I tried for a while and then I gave up. I used to get emails about it when I wrote about it on the site:” don’t call it Obamacare!” The actual name is Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is too long, and no one knows what PPACA means.
Ultimately I think it will be okay whatever the name. Messaging only gets you so far. It has to work. for people. If it does, they’ll like it.
There’s been a real shift here among juvenile judges. They’re all Republicans where I live, but they deal with no health insurance, bankruptcy, garnishments, etc. They’re genuinely hoping it works. They started asking good, serious questions after the SCOTUS signed off on it. You can’t deal with the uninsured directly and hope it fails. They really do need help.
amk
@Baud: yeah, he uses it often to punch the thugs on their faces since they coined it. But that whine was about his admin and I have not seen it being used officially.
BillinGlendaleCA
@PsiFighter37: Remember, at the beginning of the admin; the President did have congresscritters over for drinks about once a week.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
What I am curious is what the GOP thinks the end game is; Obamacare starts today. Bit hard to delay something that’s already done. If hostage taking is the metaphor the hostage died of a heart attack last night. Pretty much the only option is for them to cave.
Suffern ACE
@TAPX486: he talked to Boehner last night, who then went on stage and performed a mocking Obama Imitation ala Homer Simpson.
Yeah. If the president considered such easy prey, talking might work. I think what he really needs to do today is go in TV and offer Boehner an intervention. Tell him that if Betty Ford could come clean about her substance abuse, it’s ok for Boehner to start talking about his.9
weaselone
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I don’t think the hostage dying is an accurate metaphor. It’s more like the hostage has broken lose and is killing your henchmen John McClane style.
MikeJ
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, I remember that because it was a cocktail party that he hosted every Wednesday, and Bush (claimed to) not drink.
Of course John Boehner refused to attend even state dinners. You can’t deal with Republicans. The only thing they understand is a smack to the head.
sparrow
Ugh, got dragged into a facebook fight with a former college friend who insists that shutting down the government is a legitimate part of the “democratic process”… that it’s a totally normal thing to do to try to cut funding for laws you don’t like. UGH!!!
cosima
I beg to differ about the administration using the term, see this link for one of the many stories about it taking the term onboard a while back: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/obama-embraces-the-term-obamacare/1#.UkrBrCo1geE
As I mentioned above, the article does note that the phrase’s intent was derogatory. And it remains so with a certain constituency. I agree that the official name for it is long, but truncating it to the Affordable Care Act is doable.
And while I would like to imagine that in the future it won’t be called Obamacare (the “they” referred to by Obama referring to the haters being my take on his comment), there will always be a contingent that will hate it, no matter what good it does, and they will forever refer to it as Obamacare in a derogatory fashion.
Thanks Baud & Kay for the reasonable response to my comment.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Jay in Oregon: Web design is one of the hats I wear professionally. I reserve the right to make snide comments about any website implementation.
That said, until the validation fail and the following glitches, my mood was a combination of amusement and triumph. It’s even more successful than they were able to prepare for! (Assuming I’m not running afoul of a DDOS.)
I’m not going to bore you with all the comments I’ve been making. The way they’ve designed the sign up form is annoying in the extreme, but I am willing to put up with some of the those annoyances because they serve a security purpose. But things like the validation fail are just bad. That’s a problem that shouldn’t happen just because they have to accommodate free email accounts. I’ve seen validation emails take as much as an hour to arrive in a gmail inbox. If you don’t validate in time, you have to start over. I had less than five minutes.
I’ve been on the internet a long time. I’ve been designing web pages for as long as there’s been a web. And yeah, I do get pissy when designers don’t take the quirks of the underlying system into account.
weaselone
@sparrow:
I’m certain your former college friend would agree that it was a legitimate part of the democratic process if Obama flipped things around and refused to sign anything that would end the shutdown until congress inserted added a public option to the ACA.
Citizen_X
@The prophet Nostradumbass:
I was gonna go with Allahu Akbar!”, but that works too.
nemesis
Breaking: the Senate is back in session. The House has requested a meeting to work on fixing the shutdown impasse.
I say stick it to em. If the House is feeling uncomfortable, then say nothing will be done unless the House okays the debt ceiling increase now, not later in the month. Hit em hard.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@cosima:
I’m sticking with Obamacare. Fuck the haters.
Paul in KY
@Kay: Pres. Obama meant the Republicans would no longer call it ‘Obamacare’.
nemesis
Lets end the “Obamacare” discussion.
The case was in front of the SCOTUS. Two days prior to the decision, President Obama himself, along with his administration, began to refer to the PPACA as Obamacare, because he was so confident in the eventual outcome being deemed legal.
Jebediah, RBG
@GHayduke (formerly lojasmo):
I was going with ACA at first, but switched to Obamacare. I want him to get more credit for its success. I would like for him to be getting credit for it as we stand over the GOP’s rapidly cooling corpse.
boatboy_srq
@gene108: Chances are that even with the added forecasted load, the HHS being subject to sequester-budgeting (“here’s 80% of what was needed before this”) wasn’t high enough to allow for all the extra hardware/software/staff because “we’re broke” and all.
I’m only recently covered by my work (yay) after living in Insurance Hell – er, Florida – for 8 years, so @Emerald: I can understand well what you’re going through. My last FTE job in FL told me point blank to go shop the individual market because it’d be cheaper than the company HMO: as of today they only have Governor Voldemort to blame for that. Anyone who thinks employer coverage is an E ticket ride hasn’t worked outside the Beltway in a while, and as of today a good number of us have decent alternatives.