Be INFORMED

Friday, February 11, 2011

Saturday Satire

    Another one of those hectic weeks has come and gone. Hosni Mubarak has left the Egyptian capitol for his massive palace to plot his next move. Mitt Romney has taken to scrubbing his support for mandated healthcare from his book which came out about a year ago. Another GOP two-faced piece of garbage.

     So let us have a few laughs from the late-night talk show crowd.

Conan O'Brien :

"The demonstrations are getting bigger in Cairo. The Egyptian government tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas, and when that didn’t work, a Black Eyed Peas halftime show."

"Christina Aguilera is bouncing back from her Super Bowl appearance by singing at the Grammys. She’ll be accompanied by a full orchestra and 135 teleprompters."

Craig Ferguson:

"Michelle Obama says her husband, President Obama, has quit smoking. Fox News reported this as 'Obama Destroying the Tobacco Industry.'"

Jay Leno:
"President Obama had lunch with Republican leaders at the White House today and had to do without salt, pepper and butter. Not for dietary reasons. The Republicans refused to pass anything.

"The problem in Egypt is that so many government officials are rich and the people are poor. I think it’s a pyramid scheme."

Jimmy Fallon:

"On the 'Today' show, Michelle Obama called the Bush twins 'magnificent' and Chelsea Clinton a 'solid young woman.' In fact, the only president’s kid she didn’t compliment was George Bush Sr.’s."

"Nancy Pelosi described Justin Bieber as 'adorable but also substantial,' while Justin Bieber described Nancy Pelosi as 'court ordered to maintain a distance of 300 feet at all times.'

"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the richest man in the world, with more than $70 billion in hidden assets. That will go up even more once his unemployment kicks in."

Gallop: Jobs Rank Number 1

    While the Republican Party, lead by their little Teabagger Party , run around looking for government programs to disembowel, they may wish to take a very good look at what concerns the American public. It surely is not the deficit, which seems to be the only thing that Republicans can focus on.

What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? February 2011

All told, 7 in 10 Americans mention some economic issue when asked to name the most important problem facing the country, and the top two problems Americans cite as the most important ones facing the country directly reflect on the economic situation in the United States.

 

Mubarak Steps Down

Hosni Mubarak has stepped aside as President of Egypt and he has handed power to Supreme Council for the Armed Forces.

Watch Live

Celebration

                       Celebration in Egypt

NYT:

CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt turned over all power to the military, and left the Egyptian capital for his resort home in Sharm el-Sheik, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced on state television on Friday.

The announcement, delivered during evening prayers in Cairo, set off a frenzy of celebration, with protesters shouting “Egypt is free!”

The Egyptian military issued a communiqué pledging to carry out a variety of constitutional reforms in a statement notable for its commanding tone. The military’s statement alluded to the delegation of power to Vice President Omar Suleiman and it suggested that the military would supervise implementation of the reforms.

Update: CNN's Saeed Ahmed tweets:

Tanks outside prez palace turn their barrels away from crowd. Cheer goes up. One soldier climbs out of tank, hangs #Egypt flag on turret

Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, announced in a televised address that the president was "waiving" his office, and had handed over authority to the Supreme Council of the armed forces.

Suleiman's short statement was received with a roar of approval and by celebratory chanting and flag-waving from a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Cairo's Tahrir Square, as well by pro-democracy campaigners who attended protests across the country on Friday.

The crowd in Tahrir chanted "We have brought down the regime",  while many were seen crying, cheering and embracing one another.

"Tonight, after all of these weeks of frustration, of violence, of intimidation ... today the people of Egypt undoubtedly [feel they] have been heard, not only by the president, but by people all around the world," our correspondent at Tahrir Square reported, following the announcement.

16 House Republicans Learn the Cost Of Health Care

    Some of those new House Republicans are finding out for themselves just how expensive healthcare can cost when you have pre-existing conditions, and the government isn’t paying for your coverage.

Original Article

Hey Remember those 16 GOP that declined their healthcare?

by lanae     Wed Feb 09, 2011
Remember the 16 GOP members who declined their healthcare because the dems called them out of being HYPOCRITES of taking a government run plan but then denying others of the same plan? Remember they said they will repeal it because of their "PRINCIPLE" and wanting to defund that "MONSTROCITY" of a healthcare law. Well some are finally getting a taste of buying their own family's healthcare on the market out of their own pockets and they are going broke paying for it....hahahaha

http://dyn.politico.com/...

Ask any House Republican about repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law, and you’ll get the same fiery, self-assured talking points about tearing down what Speaker John Boehner has called a "monstrosity."

But talk to some of the 16 freshman lawmakers who have declined their government health benefits, and you’ll hear a different side of the story — about tough out-of-pocket expenses, pre-existing conditions and support for health reforms that would help those who struggle with their coverage. As they venture into the free market for health insurance, these lawmakers — many of whom swept into office fueled by tea party anger over the health care law — are facing monthly premiums of $1,200 and fears of double-digit rate hikes.

The experience has caused some of them to think harder about the "replace" part of the "repeal and replace" mantra the GOP has adopted regarding the health care law.

"I have a niece who has pre-existing conditions, and I worry about her if she was ever to lose her job," said Florida Rep. Richard Nugent, one of the freshman lawmakers who declined federal health insurance benefits.

Maryland Rep. Andy Harris caused an uproar during freshman orientation when he demanded to know how long it would take for his federal health insurance policy to kick in. Since then, the question of whether lawmakers who ran against the health law should accept their own government benefits has become a favorite game of partisan ping-pong in Washington. Democrats are demanding that the lawmakers who voted to deny reform benefits to the American public turn down their own federal employee health insurance, and Republicans have argued that accepting benefits from the government is not inconsistent with GOP support for employer-based coverage.

The freshman members who declined insurance have had to find other ways to cover their health needs.

Louisiana Rep. Jeff Landry is enrolled in an individual health savings account. New York Rep. Nan Hayworth, an ophthalmologist, gets employer-based coverage through her husband, who is a doctor. Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado purchases his plan through an insurer in his home state.

Now that Republicans have made good on their pledge to repeal the health care law, some of them are already feeling pressure to offer policy solutions that would address the problems in the insurance market — ones that the new members, having declined benefits, should have some experience with.

One new Republican House member, Rep. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, recently told a local TV program that he needed a commitment from GOP leaders that they’d offer their own health care proposals before he voted to repeal the Democrats’ bill.

"My position during the campaign and today is, let’s reform the reform or repeal and replace. And so, I wasn’t going vote for it," Duffy said. "But I went and spoke to the leadership, and I got a commitment that we were going to bring forward our ideas on this replacement bill."

Looks like the new members of congress are feeling the heat of paying for their monstrosity of a healthcare cost. Serves them right. Now they get a taste of what 'REGULAR" folks out here are going through with regards to their heatlhcare.. I hope they go bankrupt.