I guess she forgot about the Boston Marathon Bombing. I suppose it's understandable how a minor bombing during a major public event could slip her mind.

"Inadvertently false statements." Unbelievable.

Thanks to CDRM.

Posted by: Ace at 07:21 AM | Comments (233)
Post contains 87 words, total size 1 kb.

Pajamaboy isn't cutting it.

Big drop:

Only 35% of those questioned in the poll say they support the health care law, a 5-point drop in less than a month. Sixty-two percent say they oppose the law, up four points from November.

Nearly all of the newfound opposition is coming from women.

“Opposition to Obamacare rose six points among women, from 54% in November to 60% now, while opinion of the new law remained virtually unchanged among men,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

Why the shift? People are starting to realize Obamacare is going to make them poorer:

Here’s a better measure of what people think about the Affordable Care Act: 63% of respondents think that it’s going to make their health care cost more, compared to only 28% who think it will stay the same — and only 7% who think it’s going to make it more affordable. The last time CNN polled on that question was September 2009, when a majority thought it would make no difference or help it cost less (51%) as compared to 47% who thought it would make it more expensive. As the price tag becomes clear, so does the opposition based on its reality.

Meanwhile, Team Get Enrolled is now doing information events in... packed nightclubs. And that's going about as well as you'd expect.

WashingtonÂ’s new health insurance exchange dispatched a sign-up envoy to one of the cityÂ’s gay clubs one recent night to get out the word about Obamacare. It envisioned men mingling on the dance floor, a cocktail in one hand and enrollment information in the other.

But the brochures about DC Health Link, as the exchange is called, werenÂ’t snapped up as quickly as the free condoms provided by a local clinic.

...

That strategy has clear challenges, however. In a packed nightclub like Town Danceboutique in Northwest D.C., music smothers conversation, dimmed lights make reading difficult, and health coverage is not whatÂ’s on peopleÂ’s minds.

“They’re looking to let loose. They’re not looking to talk about serious topics,” patron Maven Saleh said as he surveyed the Town crowd on a winter weekend.

Add an appearance by Santa wearing a “Naughty” hat as he posed for pictures on stage, and DC Health Link assister John Esposito had a near-impossible task that night. Positioned behind the stage and bar area, he stood by a small table offering not just information about insurance enrollment but packages of condoms and tubes of lubricant. The latter items were courtesy of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which also had its HIV testing van parked outside.

One more thing: The Administration, which is nothing but spin and bullshit, has some new spin and bullshit on Pajamaboy. They seem to have just thought of this in the past 24 hours -- see, they didn't really think Pajamaboy was cool or anything. They actually intended Pajamaboy to be a negative image, like "This is what people who don't sign up with Obamacare look like."

So they're now claiming -- like, two weeks too late for this to be plausible -- that Pajamaboy was always intended as the Goofus, not as the Gallant, of health insurance status.

The White House, before the website rollout debacle, stressed that it needed a three-to-one ratio of older-and-sicker versus young-and-healthy people to sign up for the law.

And the underlying message in this tweet — part of a light-hearted campaign that included the same model with his feet up on a coffee table smiling in a Christmas sweater — in many ways, is: “DON’T be like this guy. Get health care.”

“Don’t be this guy sitting around in his pajamas,” a Democratic official told First Read said of the message, who requested anonymity to talk freely. “Have a conversation, and get health care. And it’s poking fun at that” idea of doing nothing.

They used Pajamaboy a lot, over the course of two months, in various OFA "get enrolled" messages. In none of these messages did they signal that Pajamaboy was the guy you don't want to be.

But even Pajamaboy -- even Pajamaboy!!! -- gets thrown under the bus by Obama when his polls go down.

Posted by: Ace at 06:31 AM | Comments (248)
Post contains 747 words, total size 5 kb.

Happy Festivus. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!

There's no shortage of Obamacare news on Deadline Day. Support for Obamacare has hit an all-time low in CNN's poll.

The AP realized yesterday that people might not be taking into account the full cost of Obamacare plans when they purchase them, suggesting that "buyers will be in for a shock when they get medical care next year and discover they're on the hook for most of the initial cost." While AP was catching up with this idea yesterday, the rest of us have been pointing out the concept of "sticker shock" for quite some time now.

Reuters, meanwhile, catches something I missed: the Obama admin suggested, vaguely, that there will be a "good faith exemption" from the individual mandate next year with a "special enrollment period."

The academic group that called for a boycott of Israel is getting more scrutiny than it bargained for. As many schools condemn the organization, it turns out that the organization was falsely listing member schools.

[ RSS]

[On iTunes]

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:49 AM | Comments (247)
Post contains 191 words, total size 2 kb.

• WH: No Backup Plan If Obamacare Fails
  
• Obama Will Allegedly Sign Up For Obamacare Today
  
• Mark Steyn Rips His Editor
  
• I Can't Explain Why We Shouldn't Murder Disabled Children (Don't Let The Title Put You Off)
  
• VDH: The Obamacare Generation
  
• Cover Oregon: If You Don't Hear From Us By Monday, Seek Coverage Elsewhere
  
• Tolerance For Dummies
  
• Charles Cook: My American Dream
  
• Huckabee Is Seriously Considering Running For President
  
• List Of Universities Rejecting Academic Boycott Of Israel
  
• Another Shia-Sunni Fault Like Opens Up
  
• Interesting Piece On One Of My Favorite Authors
  
• So Justine Finally Landed
  
• Dem NY Assemblymen Accused Of Sexual Bullying
  
• This Is Just Ridiculous, There Has To Be More To The Story
  
• Peyton Manning Breaks Single Season TD Record
  
• How The Left Thinks
  
• Someone At Cracker Barrel Realized Who Their Customers Are
  
• Girl Gets Arrested For DUI, Gets Drunk Friend To Pick Her Up At Station Where He's Arrested, They Then Call A Third..Well You Get Where This Is Going
  

Follow me on twitter.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:10 AM | Comments (287)
Post contains 173 words, total size 3 kb.

South Park Explains the Justine Sacco and Phil Robertson Affairs

Because human sacrifice is still a fun and enjoyable way to expiate your sins, bring the tribe all together, and enforce the Gleichschaltung.

Phil Robertson-gatepalooza

Sadly we're now heading towards the state of the UK where just publicly stating certain passages from Corinthians can get you arrested for hate speech. If you're lucky, you'll just be fired and shunned from society.

Of Ducks and Gays and Tolerance

First Amendment Free Speech vs Cultural Space for Dissenting Opinions

The Lies of the Media and the Robertson GQ Quote That Won't Be Quoted

Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.

Cracker Barrel Reinstates Duck Dynasty Gear and here's why they were so quick to turn against DD. Short version: They have a history with GLAAD as well as not-so-clean hands.

Why Duck Dynasty Threatens the Left

And if you think the Robertsons have had an easy, charmed, trouble-and-sin-free life, you should watch this video and this one too.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:23 PM | Comments (460)
Post contains 2046 words, total size 20 kb.

For all of your non-astronomy needs, here's Rob Ford dancing and singing along to Bob Marley's One Love. more...

Posted by: CAC at 04:35 PM | Comments (82)
Post contains 29 words, total size 1 kb.

1LT Rachel Washburn, USA. Bronze Star.

DrewM tipped me this today. She's a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader serving in the Army. She will be honored tonight at the Eagles/Bears game as a "Hometown Hero". 1LT Washburn is currently serving as a platoon leader at Ft. Stewart GA after two tours in Afghanistan.

Drew's email said "Best Cheerleader ever". Can't argue that nor would I try. Arguing with Drew is a pain anyway.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:07 PM | Comments (252)
Post contains 80 words, total size 1 kb.

[We Politely Request That All Off-Topic or Political Comments Be Directed to the Thread Directly Below This One, Which Will Serve Officially as the Current "Active Conversation" Thread for All Discussions Not Related To This Topic]

Welcome again to the Spaced-Out Challenge. Whether you have a question about a scope, a new astronomical discovery you want to expand on, or just want to kick back and enjoy the cosmos above, come one come all on our weekly journey through space and time.
Our Winter Sky Guide continues with an animal fierce enough to keep Orion away from the Nymphs of Atlas & Pleione, Taurus the Bull. What Taurus lacks in quantity of objects it more than makes up for in beauty. Let me show you. more...

Posted by: CAC at 04:37 PM | Comments (14)
Post contains 1284 words, total size 10 kb.

We Politely Request That All Off-Topic or Political Comments Be Directed to the Thread Directly Below This One, Which Will Serve Officially as the Current "Active Conversation" Thread for All Discussions Not Related To This Topic.

-- Sincerely, the Fascist MGMT

One of the pleasures of the Christmas season is the debauchery of suspended diets, relaxed drinking rules, and the undeniable pleasures of foods that are just too much for regular consumption, but put a lovely exclamation point on a Christmas gathering.

For example, here's a drink, A candy-cane blitz-tini (courtesy of phoenixgirl) that nobody other than a psychotic elf would order in April, but at that late-December office party with your boss paying?

Absolutely. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:30 AM | Comments (130)
Post contains 908 words, total size 6 kb.

Or boxers vs. briefs.

more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:29 AM | Comments (192)
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.