Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

White supremacy is terrorism.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

You are here: Home / Politics / Media / Virtually Speaking tonight

Virtually Speaking tonight

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I’m scheduled to talk about health care and PPACA implementation with Jay Ackroyd tonight at 9:00pm EST.

 

Virtually Speaking is here:

My big concern is a combination of tech problems on my end and the fact that I have a voice best suited for blogging.

 

Update: That was a lot of fun.  We talked for an hour or so mainly on the mechanics of the health care industry and financing.  I really appreciate all the community members who their stories and questions about how PPACA impacts them.  Talking about those situations created the strongest parts of the conversation.

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    My big concern is a combination of tech problems on my end

    Only solution is to repeal cancel the whole thing.

  2. 2.

    BGinCHI

    See the opening scene of Anchor Man for some voice warm-up tips.

    Scotch scotch scotch.

    Scotchy scotchy scotch.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    It’s actually remarkable how much I’ve started taking notice of tech problems I come across in daily life after the healthcare.gov rollout. I see glitches everywhere now.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: And it’s not like insurance websites were ever a picnic, even before the dreaded Obamacare. I was pulling my hair out when trying to do something dead-simple on my Private-Sector / Job Creator Insurance Website the other day. That’s the standard HC.gov should rightly be judged by.

  10. 10.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    OK … I’m frantically googling ‘Jay Ackroyd schedule’ now. I have no doubts at all that you’ll be terrific.

  12. 12.

    ThresherK

    I’m in the same boat, vocally speaking.

    Some of us radio geeks have a self-proclaimed “voice made for telegraphy”, making this joke older than the internet.

  15. 15.

    Starfish

    The local NPR station said that my Representative is trying to make it so that insurance is not mandatory in some of the ski resort towns of Colorado because the affordable care act coverage is not particularly affordable, and most people make above whatever level they need to make to get subsidies because cost of living in that area is really high.

  16. 16.

    Starfish

    The local NPR station said that my Representative is trying to make it so that insurance is not mandatory in some of the ski resort towns of Colorado because the affordable care act coverage is not particularly affordable, and most people make above whatever level they need to make to get subsidies because cost of living in that area is really high.

  17. 17.

    Starfish

    The local NPR station said that my Representative is trying to make it so that insurance is not mandatory in some of the ski resort towns of Colorado because the affordable care act coverage is not particularly affordable, and most people make above whatever level they need to make to get subsidies because cost of living in that area is really high.

  19. 19.

    Yatsuno

    the fact that I have a voice best suited for blogging

    “Microphones, darling. They work wonders.”

    /Truth about Cats and Dogs

  20. 20.

    Starfish

    It wasn’t that they don’t need insurance. It’s that it would be about $500/month (I assume that is per person.) The ski instructors are typically seasonal employees, and I am not sure if the resorts would be required to cover them, or they would have to buy their own insurance or how that works.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    Budget deal vote was 332 to 94 with 169 Republicans and 163 Democrats voting for it. So about 2/3 of no votes were GOP and 1/3 Dems.

  22. 22.

    BGinCHI

    @Baud: Apparently Pelosi told her members to “embrace the suck.”

    Hmm.

    I guess she knows why this is not the hill to die on.

  24. 24.

    Violet

    @Baud: CBS Evening News is leading with a story about how Boehner is “emboldened to try to regain the upper hand” against the teabaggers. And then shows a clip of him essentially saying the tea partiers are crazy. Followed by another bit on how it’s outside money with deep pockets that are funding the tea party and how they don’t have to govern so they can say whatever they want.

    Is the tide turning against the Tea Party?

  26. 26.

    BGinCHI

    @Baud: Agreed. I don’t believe the “if we only held out for more it would happen and still pass” chorus. The media is dying for a comparison between the Progressive Caucus and the TP. We should enable their fucking stupidity.

    Just look at fucking stupid fucking Politifact today. Assholes.

  34. 34.

    mclaren

    My big concern is a combination of tech problems on my end and the fact that I have a voice best suited for blogging.

    Really?

    Your big concern should be that the ACA claims to reduce costs but in fact lowers premiums by jacking up deductibles to stratospheric levels. The old shell-game, in other words — yet again revealing that the ACA is a non-reform reform designed to kick the can down the road until our bloated corrupt collapsing health care system finally implodes in a shower of health care CEO golden parachutes and chapter 7 reorganizations while citizens who can’t afford the deductibles or limitlessly increasing premiums riot in the street due to lack of basic health care.

    For months, the Obama administration has heralded the low premiums of medical insurance policies on sale in the insurance exchanges created by the new health law. But as consumers dig into the details, they are finding that the deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs are often much higher than what is typical in employer-sponsored health plans.

    Until now, it was almost impossible for people using the federal health care website to see the deductible amounts, which consumers pay before coverage kicks in. But federal officials finally relented last week and added a “window shopping” feature that displays data on deductibles.

    For policies offered in the federal exchange, as in many states, the annual deductible often tops $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a couple.

    Source: “On Health Exchanges, Premiums May Be Low, but Other Costs Can Be High,” The New York Times, 9 December 2013.

  35. 35.

    PhoenixRising

    @mclaren:

    as consumers dig into the details, they are finding that the deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs are often much higher than what is typical in employer-sponsored health plans.

    …aaand since those of us who are shopping on the exchanges don’t HAVE employer-sponsored insurance, we’re still pretty happy!

    Deductible and OOP went down compared to previous years paying the full premium for individual plan, even before the savings of Not Having To Pay For The Care You Already Know You Need (pre-existing conditions), nets out pretty well.

    Looks like you, along with the staff of even the librul NYT, have seen an EOB from insurance for a group larger than 50. How lucky.

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