About The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare”
Individual mandate requiring all U.S. citizens to have health insurance either through private companies, their employers, or state-sponsored exchanges. Failure to do so will result in a fine.
Insurance companies banned from denying coverage to applicants with pre-existing health conditions.
Insurance companies required to include preventative health care at no extra cost, banned from setting limits on payouts for coverage.
Companies employing over 50 people required to provide those employees with health insurance.
Children allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until 26 years of age.
Health Care and the Facts-on-the-Ground Presidency
JUN 28 2012, 12:39 PM ET
From health care reform to immigration, President Obama is counting on Washington's inertia to make changes that last.
Wikimedia Commons
Republican reaction to the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act was swift and outraged. Romney Press Secretary Andrea Saul tweeted that he'd raised more than $300,000 in the first hour after the verdict was announced. "The only way to save the country from ObamaCare's budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president," said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as Republicans launched a #FullRepeal hashtag on Twitter and announced another (and largely symbolic) House vote to repeal the ACA the week of July 9.
But with the Supreme Court having upheld the ACA, Republicans are now clearly fighting a rear-guard action against a law that is partially implemented and which seems likely to grow in popularity now that it has been ratified and turned into something people can look forward to taking advantage of over time. The Supreme Court decision forces Republicans to express their conservatism not through new program proposals but by standing athwart history yelling stop. Obama has created a set of facts on the ground, and the inertial power of Washington and massive complexity of the health-care field that made universal health-care coverage little more than a Democratic fantasy from 1948 through 2009 will now tip the balance of power in the direction the president has set. Republicans can rail about it all they like, but in Washington, it is hard to ever completely undo what has been done. ... source:http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/06/the-facts-on-the-ground-presidency/259110/#
So, let's just say that Obama wins the White House. Do we have insurance that he will keep his word? Do we have insurance that he will keep the U.S. Constitution? Do we have his word that he won't associate with terrorists?
My guess is...and I would almost bet money on it...that Obama would sit down with Amademajad and talk. Do you know why I think so highly of my guess? Because he has associated with terrorists in the past...the not so distant past.
Who is paying off the news and media not to give out vital information like that which has come to light today? Do you know what I am talking about? No?
Well, the L.A. Times obtained a videotape of a party.
During this party, Obama mingled with racists and terrorists. Obama even gave a "glowing testimonial" for the benefit of a top apologist for terrorists...the guest of honor. He also stood by, listening with approval, to other racists and terrorists giving speeches that included their hatred for an American ally, rationalizing terror attacks. (I can only assume that the American ally was Israel...sound familiar?)
The L.A. Times won't release this videotape. Hmmm, have they been paid to stay quiet?
"Wallsten’s story is worth excerpting at length (italics are mine):
It was a celebration of Palestinian culture — a night of music, dancing and a dash of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian rights, who was leaving town for a job in New York.
A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
His many talks with the Khalidis, Obama said, had been "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. . . . It's for that reason that I'm hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table," but around "this entire world."...
[T]he warm embrace Obama gave to Khalidi, and words like those at the professor's going-away party, have left some Palestinian American leaders believing that Obama is more receptive to their viewpoint than he is willing to say.
Their belief is not drawn from Obama's speeches or campaign literature, but from comments that some say Obama made in private and from his association with the Palestinian American community in his hometown of Chicago, including his presence at events where anger at Israeli and U.S. Middle East policy was freely expressed.
At Khalidi's 2003 farewell party, for example, a young Palestinian American recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticizing U.S. support of Israel. If Palestinians cannot secure their own land, she said, "then you will never see a day of peace."
One speaker likened "Zionist settlers on the West Bank" to Osama bin Laden, saying both had been "blinded by ideology."
Obama adopted a different tone in his comments and called for finding common ground. But his presence at such events, as he worked to build a political base in Chicago, has led some Palestinian leaders to believe that he might deal differently with the Middle East than … his opponents for the White House....
At Khalidi's going-away party in 2003, the scholar lavished praise on Obama, telling the mostly Palestinian American crowd that the state senator deserved their help in winning a U.S. Senate seat. "You will not have a better senator under any circumstances," Khalidi said.
The event was videotaped, and a copy of the tape was obtained by The Times.
Though Khalidi has seen little of Sen. Obama in recent years, Michelle Obama attended a party several months ago celebrating the marriage of the Khalidis' daughter.
In interviews with The Times, Khalidi declined to discuss specifics of private talks over the years with Obama. He did not begrudge his friend for being out of touch, or for focusing more these days on his support for Israel — a stance that Khalidi calls a requirement to win a national election in the U.S., just as wooing Chicago's large Arab American community was important for winning local elections."
"Why is the Los Angeles Times sitting on a videotape of the 2003 farewell bash in Chicago at which Barack Obama lavished praise on the guest of honor, Rashid Khalidi — former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat?" link here
"The party featured encomiums by many of Khalidi’s allies, colleagues, and friends, including Barack Obama, then an Illinois state senator, and Bill Ayers, the terrorist turned education professor. It was sponsored by the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), which had been founded by Khalidi and his wife, Mona, formerly a top English translator for Arafat’s press agency."
"Gateway Pundit reports that the Times has the videotape but is suppressing it."
"... it turns out that the Obamas are extremely close to the Khalidis, who have reportedly babysat the Obama children."
The Times reported on the event (hosted by Obama in 2003) on April 9, 2008...
"A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking in the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking."
The Nation published an opinion peice by Khalidi entitled "Palestine: Liberation Deferred" in which Khalidi characterised the Palestinian question as a "...running sore.". Five days later in The Atlantic magazine, Obama responded in a similar manner saying that "this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy".
Do you understand your insurance lingo? If you do, count yourself lucky (and good at word puzzles). If you don't...read on.
Familiarize yourself with these common terms.
Copay: The amount you owe for a medical expense at the time the service is rendered. For example, your policy might require a $10 co-pay per doctor's visit.
Deductible: The total amount you must pay for health expenses before your health insurance begins to cover costs. Generally, the higher your deductible, the lower your premium.
Exclusion: Medical services that are not covered under an insurance plan. For example, a plan may not cover plastic surgery or certain kinds of drugs.
Lifetime maximum benefits: The top amount a plan will pay over your lifetime. Maximums generally range from $1 million to $5 million.
Premium: The periodic amount you pay for your policy.
Provider: The person or facility that gives health-care services. Providers can include doctors, therapists, hospitals, labs and clinics.
Source: All You magazine, August 29, 2008, Page 163
