Hello
Heavy photo-mishmash below.
Happy 4th Of July to you all.
Please rec The BP Mothership!
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Personally, i think that Health Care Reform is something that Democrats should be damn proud of, should celebrate loudly, and yes, look at it as something that can only be improved with time - Just like any other landmark legislation in history.
People should really pick up Jonathan Alter's The Promise, to get a real sense of what an improbable achievement this is. What a monumental struggle it's been. How each and every one of his advisers - not just evil Rahm - told the president not to touch this thing in 2009. How members of congress run to the hills. How toxic the environment was, even more than we knew.
There's a reason why president Obama is already at number 15 in the new presidential ranking after just 18 months. People who put things in historical perspective and context, understand that is, indeed, a Big Fucking Deal.
From today's NYT:
WASHINGTON — President Obama gets high marks, even from some Republicans, for the way he has begun carrying out the new health care law in the 100 days since it was signed. And a new poll suggests a small increase in favorable views of the measure since May.
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The administration has issued a blizzard of regulations, including a patient’s bill of rights, and has persuaded insurance companies to make some changes sooner than required by the law. It has also assembled a team of insurance experts to help carry out the law, under close supervision from the White House.
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In the last three months, administration officials have issued rules allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ policies and forbidding insurers to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. They have notified nearly four million small businesses of a new tax credit to help defray the cost of insurance.
On Tuesday, they began accepting applications for a separate program that will reimburse employers for some of the cost of providing health benefits to early retirees. And the government has begun sending $250 checks to Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs.
Ronald F. Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a liberal-leaning consumer group, described these initial steps as confidence-builders. "If they work well," Mr. Pollack said, "they will give people confidence that the broader reforms will be helpful."
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Consumer advocates, insurance companies and state insurance regulators have been working together to develop one of the most important new rules, requiring insurers to return at least 80 percent of premium dollars to policyholders in the form of health benefits or rebates.
"This experience is restoring my faith in the ability of government and people from different sectors to work together constructively when there is a clear imperative and a set of deadlines," said Amy R. Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a national consumer rights organization based in San Francisco.
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Few videos:
Town Hall in Racine, Wisconsin, on Wednesday:
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The president' remarks during Senator Byrd's memorial service today:
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West Wing week.
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All these by AP:
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Senator Robert Byrd' memorial service, today in West Virginia:
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Town Hall in Racine:
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(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama shakes hands with Tasha Kai during a ceremony honoring the 2009 championship Women's Professional Soccer team Sky Blue FC in the East Room at the White House, July 1.
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New delivery from Pete Souza. His entire 90 photos June gallery, in huge size, is here.
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June 23.
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President Obama, Harry Reid and Vice President Joe Biden on a tour of the White House Kitchen Garden, July 1.
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President Obama watches the U.S. vs. Ghana World Cup Soccer game before a meeting at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Saturday, June 26, 2010.
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With Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, right, and Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, left, during a meeting with African Outreach Leaders and Extended Outreach Leaders at the G8 summit in Muskoka, Canada, June 25.
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With Rahm Emanuel, before a meeting with African Outreach Leaders at the G8 Summit in Muskoka, Canada, June 25.
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South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak during bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, Saturday, June 26.
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On the way to a press conference during the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, Sunday, June 27.
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All appointee event on the South Lawn of the White House, June 29, 2010.
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Town Hall in Racine, Wisc., June 30.
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At Tacky Jack's, a seafood restaurant in Orange Beach, Ala., June 14.
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MATHCOUNTS winners and their coaches in the Oval Office, June 28.
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Washington Nationals vs. Chicago White Sox game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., June 18.
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The president signs a book for Taylor Wilhite, while her mother, Amy, looks on following his remarks on the 90-day anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, in the East Room of the White House, June 22, 2010. Taylor has Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and the President talked about her and her mother in his speech.
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Kids from the Children's Miracle Network in the East Room of the White House, June 9.
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And, for those who are curious, the guy behind is the legendary Mr. Souza. :)