Tag Archives: ObamaCare

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UCS and Nuclear Weapons

11/08/2013 Nativegrl77

Nuclear weapons have become a security liability, not an asset. Since these weapons were first invented and used nearly 70 years ago, the world has become a much different place. The Cold War has been over for a quarter century, yet the United States and Russia still have thousands of nuclear weapons, hundreds of which are kept on hair-trigger alert, raising the risk of an accidental or unauthorized launch in the absence of any credible threat. Despite the president’s commitment not to build new nuclear weapons, the administration is now planning to spend tens of billions of dollars to do so. In 2009, President Obama pledged to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, but he must take strong steps now if we are to see any real progress during his tenure. —Karla

This Just In

The future of nuclear weapons in the U.S.

The future of nuclear weapons in the United States? To safely reduce the number of nuclear weapons in this country, we must ensure that those we do have remain reliable, safe, and secure. But what does that require? A new UCS report, Making Smart Security Choices, takes a big-picture look at the laboratories and facilities that research, design, produce, and maintain nuclear weapons and recommends cost-effective changes that will improve national security and save taxpayers money. MORE

Ask a Scientist

“How much does it cost to create a single nuclear weapon?”—Z. Witmond, New York, NY

Although the United States hasn’t built a new nuclear warhead or bomb since the 1990s, it has refurbished several types in recent years to extend their lifetime. It also plans to replace its entire arsenal with a suite of five new weapon types over the next 25 to 30 years, violating the spirit if not the letter of President Obama’s 2010 pledge not to develop new nuclear warheads. This plan, along with modest reductions in the U.S. arsenal of both deployed and reserve weapons, will cost taxpayers some $250 billion in the next few decades. That’s roughly equal to 30 years of federal funding for Head Start programs for kids at 2012 enrollment levels. MORE

Lisbeth Gronlund

Lisbeth Gronlund, Ph.D., Co-Director, Global Security Program

Follow Lisbeth’s blog >>

Science in Action

Missile defense: costly and unproven. There are much better ways to alleviate the threat of missile attack than by spending billions of dollars to build a missile defense system with an abysmal track record that will not make Americans safer. Urge your senators to oppose funding for costly, unproven, missile defense sites and to instead work to alleviate the threat posed by nuclear weapons in more sensible ways.

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Doubling Down

10/21/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

The GOP’s Anti-Obamacare Dead-Enders

The American people are not happy with the GOP for inflicting a government shutdown that cost $24 BILLION on the country in a failed and mean-spirited attempt to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans. A new memo from former Obama campaign pollster Joel Benenson presents an “array of public polling from a wide variety of outlets” demonstrating that the GOP’s effort to undermine Obamacare has hurt the party “on every front”:

– A Quinnipiac poll shows that 58% oppose Congress cutting off funding for the health care law to stop its implementation.

– Kaiser’s tracking poll has consistently found strong opposition to scrapping the health care law. In late September, 56% disapproved of cutting off funding to the ACA.

– CBS / NY Times pollsters found 56% of voters want Congress to uphold the law and make it work as well as possible, compared to just 38% who want to stop it by defunding it.

– According to NBC/WSJ, only 39% support eliminating federal funding for the law while 50% oppose.

– In Gallup’s recent polling, just 29% want the law repealed, while 64% want it kept as it is, or kept with some changes.

– Even Tea Party supporters knew the Republican strategy was doomed, with a Fox News poll showing that 54% believed that the ACA would remain the law in spite of attempts to defund it.

In view of the unpopularity of their strategy and complete and total failure of the GOP to accomplish anything with their 16-day shutdown (other than sabotaging the economy and causing pain for millions of Americans) and more than 40 Obamacare repeal votes, one would think they’d shift gears.

One would be wrong. Even after the disastrous shutdown, the most prominent Obamacare opponents are simply doubling down on their failed campaign against the law:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): The Tea Party lawmaker was the primary architect of the GOP’s shutdown strategy. But now that it’s failed, Cruz won’t admit defeat. “I would do anything, and I will continue to do anything, to stop the train wreck that is Obamacare,” he said on Thursday. He has also hinted that he hasn’t ruled out pushing for another government shutdown over Obamacare.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA): Vitter tried to use the funding negotiations to push through an Obamacare-related amendment that would ultimately force Congress members and their staff to pay more for their health plans under the law. He was unsuccessful, and the final agreement didn’t include his amendment. But Vitter isn’t fazed and promises to keep pushing to amend the law anyway. “I’m not going away, and this issue is certainly not going away,” Vitter said on Fox News this week.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): Speaking on the Senate floor over the summer, Rubio told his colleagues that shutting down the government represented “our last chance and our last best chance” to undermine Obamacare. Now, the senator is saying that Republicans will keep fighting anyway. This week, he told Fox News that there is going to an “all-out revolt” next year, once the rest of Obamacare’s major provisions take root. “And that is, I think, the moment to absolutely act and say we are going to get rid of this law and then look for opportunities in the future to replace it,” Rubio said.

The Heritage Foundation: During the shutdown battle, Heritage’s political arm told its supporters that it needed their support because “we only have one more chance to repeal Obamacare.” The group didn’t deliver. Now, Heritage is simply assuring its supporters that it won’t stop fighting the law. The group’s president, Jim DeMint, published an op-ed this week claiming that most Americans’ lives “are not dominated by the electoral cycle,” so those people “shouldn’t have to wait three more years for Congress to give them relief from this law.”

FreedomWorks: The right-wing group recently claimed that shutting down the government “may be the last best chance to defund Obamacare before it goes into effect.” Rather than adjusting their strategy, the group is now planning rallies to discourage young Americans from signing up for health coverage. The group says that Obamacare will still be a losing issue for Democrats up for re-election in red states — although outside polling has shown that the shutdown fiasco has made more than a dozen House seats more winnable for Democrats.

BOTTOM LINE: Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The American people are sending Republicans a message loud and clear: stop the insanity on Obamacare.

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Meet Butch

10/09/2013 Nativegrl77

Dear Friend,

The new health care marketplaces established by Obamacare opened on October 1, and they’ve already had an incredible impact.

Last week, ThinkProgress brought you the story of a man named Butch Matthews. He’s an Arkansas Republican and former small business owner, never liked Obamacare, but he learned to love the law when he found out it would save him $13,000 a year.

Still, the tea party in Congress have used misinformation about Obamacare to justify shutting down the government. Now, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are going without a paycheck.

So, before I go on, I just want to say: If you’re affected by the shutdown, then ignore this email. We understand, you can’t give during this difficult time. Thank you for your service.

But if you aren’t affected and you count on our coverage, then we need you. We have plans to expand our work during this critical time, but need to hit our $25,000 goal in the next week to put them into action.

Click here to give $5 or more so ThinkProgress can keep bringing you stories like Butch’s. We can’t do this work without your help.

Part of the reason we have this government shutdown is because so many people are misinformed about the impact of Obamacare. Good information will help lead us out of the crisis. That’s why stories like Butch Matthews’ matter so much, and that’s why we need to redouble our efforts.

We want to keep finding the people like Butch who tell us the real story of Obamacare, but we need the funding to do that. Without ThinkProgress on the case, these stories simply will not be told.

Even as little as $5 can make a difference, so act right now if you value our hard-hitting coverage. We need your support to hit our $25,000 goal.

Donate $5 or more so ThinkProgress can fight back against the conservative misinformation machine. We can get the truth out, but only with your help.

It’s not enough to bemoan the conservative misinformation machine—fight back!

Please give what you can—together we cut through the DC echo chamber with the stories of real people and an unflinching commitment to the truth.

Sincerely,

Tom Perriello

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Something Big’s Happening

09/27/2013 Nativegrl77

The White House, Washington

Starting October 1st, Americans will have access to the Health Insurance Marketplace — a new, simpler way to compare plans and purchase health insurance — all in one place. The Marketplace will be run in partnership with states or fully by HHS in 36 states. In these 36 states, consumers will have a choice of 53 health plans on average, and young adults will have even more low-cost options.

In partnership with HealthCare.gov, we’ve created a map to help you explore a summary of the choices and premiums expected to be available on October 1st.

See the map and learn more about the Marketplace.

Delivering on the Affordable Care Act: Marketplace Premiums Lower than Expected

At the center of the Affordable Care Act is the premise that we need to make health care more affordable and accessible for more Americans, and a new report released today demonstrates just how affordable insurance will be. The report, released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), finds that in state after state, affordable options will be available through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2014.

Yesterday, President Obama delivered a speech at UNGA — the United Nations General Assembly — in New York City. The President expressed optimism at the prospects for diplomacy in solving a range of long-simmering conflicts across the globe.

Last Friday, President Obama delivered remarks at a suburban Kansas City, MO Ford Motor Co. stamping plant — a plant that recently had to bring on a shift of 900 workers to keep up with the demand for the new F-150.

Marissa Graciosa, Reform Immigration FOR America

09/26/2013 Nativegrl77

Tell your representative to show leadership and pass immigration reform now!

I’ve learned a powerful lesson in my years of organizing: you get what you ask for. With countless activists like you making calls, joining rallies and marches, and even risking arrest to ask for nothing less than a fair pathway to citizenship as part of immigration reform legislation, all we need now is for our representatives in the House to come forward and lead on the issue.

While our communities show true courage, our legislators in the House of Representatives are hiding. They are choosing political theater over working together to fix our broken immigration system. They are hiding from our demands for bold action to keep our families together.

It’s time the House followed our lead. We’re sending postcards directly to Congressional offices with images of our communities showing real leadership and a message demanding action. Send your representative a clear message: “Real leaders don’t hide. Pass immigration reform in 2013.”

We elect our members of Congress to lead, yet the House has failed to do so by refusing to take action. We must remind them that, as representatives of the people, they answer to us — and we challenge them to model the bravery and leadership that thousands are demonstrating in the streets every day by passing immigration reform this year.

We are closer now than we have ever been to passing real reform, and our representatives need to know that we aren’t backing down. Send your message now: step up and lead on immigration reform! Click here to send a postcard.

Standing strong,