Avik Roy notices something significant in a report by the Wall Street Journal. One of the reasons the federal exchange doesn’t work is because HHS was worried about people’s reactions to the pricing. One of the complaints that kept popping
There was a software problem with EBT accounts over the weekend. Some users noticed that their cards showed no limits, i.e. unlimited funds. Two Walmart stores in Louisiana decided to honor the cards even though they had no limits. As
The New York Times reported Saturday that the problems which led to the last two weeks of glitches were not the result of overwhelming demand but delays, bad management and government indifference to a looming train wreck. According to one
The roll out of the health care exchanges has been a stunning failure. A look at the federal exchange’s Facebook page reveals that there are plenty of unsatisfied customers. As you’ll see, not all the complaints are about website glitches,
Friday morning NBC’s Today show aired a segment warning viewers of a new concern associated with Obamacre: Scam artists. That closing statement by White House spokesman David Simas is increasingly in doubt. The number of visitors may be a contributing
With only weeks to go before the roll out of the Nevada health care exchange, developers knew they were in trouble. In August 2013 the governor was made aware of serious “readiness concerns.” In September, with the first TV commercials
On February 2, 2006 the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on the implementation of the new Medicare Part D drug benefit. Democrats including Senator Hillary Clinton used the time to trash talk the program and the roll
In November of 2005 senior citizens were given the chance to sign up for the new Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program for the first time. Enrollment could be done via a special web site and phone number was set
The original film version of Carrie scared the bejesus out of me when I saw it decades ago. I don’t know if I’m up for the remake but this promo for the film is a winner. Basically they rigged a
Saturday Reuters reported that IT experts it contacted saw serious problems in the design of the exchange website launched last week by HHS: One possible cause of the problems is that hitting “apply” on HealthCare.gov causes 92 separate files, plug-ins
Chad Henderson, the poster boy for the Obamacare roll out claimed earlier this year that he’d “traveled to Florida” to help with Obama’s reelection and also donated $1000 to the campaign. That was, he claimed, why he was invited to
Chad Henderson has become the poster boy for the Obamacare exchange roll and one of the few identifiable people who have successfully signed up for insurance on the new website. But if this Reason story is accurate he has not
Chad Henderson is the kid who, somehow, became the media’s face of Obamacare sign ups. Yesterday Sarah Kliff at the Post did a story titled “Meet Chad Henderson, the Obamacare enrollee tons of reporters are calling.” Kliff’s right that the
The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff has a new story titled “Government continues bid to streamline new health exchanges.” Predictably, this is a story about the failure of the exchanges and how, after two days, people are finally able to use
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post reports that President Obama and unnamed White House advisers are worried that the GOP does not understand how serious the President is about not giving anything to the GOP for a debt limit increase.
According to progressives at the Washington Post and elsewhere, the roll out of the Obamacare exchanges was a smashing success. Ezra Klein and fellow Wonkbook writer Evan Soltas have a post reflecting on the success of the first day of
I mentioned this earlier but I think it deserves its own post. During the debate over the sequester cuts a park ranger came forward to claim that his supervisors seemed to be trying to insure the public would feel the
By now most have heard about the barricades which were placed in front of the open air WWII Memorial yesterday by park service employees. When an honor guard flight of WWII vets arrived, they pushed through and visited the memorial
Matt Mitchell of the Mercatus Center puts U.S. income inequality in world perspective. Much more on this here including the claim that we are now living in a “non-Marxian” world where social class matters far less than location of birth.
Monday the Washington Post published a story on the conspicuous absence of major hurricanes this year. The reason this is surprising is that every group which predicts the strength of hurricane seasons, including NOAA, said this was going to be
The health exchanges don’t seem to be working as promised this morning. You know things are bad when MSNBC throws in the towel on the air: After 35 minutes spent trying to get into the system and shop for insurance
The website Funny or Die which makes short spoof videos often starring big names has a new pro-Obamacare spot out today starring Jennifer Hudson. The clip is the result of a meeting the White House held in July seeking help
Web MD has an online quiz called “Health Care Reform Myth or Fact” which is designed to test your knowledge of reform. While most of the questions stick to familiar topics such as pre-existing conditions and staying on your parent’s
During the previous administration we heard a lot about how the world sees the United States–as a cowboy, a bully, etc. Barack Obama was elected to change all of that. According to a BBC report published today, the Obama administration’s
If you haven’t seen it, a design company in Portland has created a video called 4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again. They’ve also set up a website and a petition which they are hoping 1 million people will
Chris Christie’s crossover appeal is unlike that of any other Republican. Real Clear Politics reports that a series of polls in New Jersey show Christie getting more than 30 percent support from black voters: In a Quinnipiac poll released on
I was reading through the NY Times poll results published yesterday when I came across this surprising response to question 43. Here is the full question: 43. As you may know, there is a debate in Washington about raising the
The DNC Twitter feed pushed out this fake ransom note attributed to the Tea Party today: BREAKING: Another ransom note found. Once again, Tea Party involvement suspected. #EnoughAlready pic.twitter.com/ZQN0qqbxL7 — The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) September 26, 2013 Democrats have played the
NBC has once again used its flagship morning show to insinuate that George Zimmerman, a man who has already been acquitted by a jury, may have gotten away with murder. Recall that NBC did more than any other network to
The Atlantic Wire says conservatives are wrong on the facts about coverage of Wendy Davis and Ted Cruz. Here’s the chart that supposedly proves it: Here’s the explanation focused on the blue bars: As you can see, Cruz’s speech was
I don’t know if Dylan Byers is reading The Conversation these days but his post this morning about media treatment of Ted Cruz vs. Wendy Davis is dead on: When a Democrat like Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis filibusters against
Bill de Blasio is a left-wing extremist who seems to side with every socialist movement that comes along. His fondness for the Sandinistas and “democratic socialism” in the early 90s has been described in detail by the NY Times. For
Remember in June when State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered a bill designed to limit abortions in Texas after 20 weeks? She succeeded in blocking it at that moment but three weeks later it was signed into law. In between her
An incredible interview from KTN Kenya featuring one of the “presenters” who was co-hosting the cooking competition that was taking place in Westgate Mall when the attack happened. The Master Chef competition had drawn a large crowd of women and
French actress and 1960s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot joined Twitter today. Her first tweet was a complaint about a story that appeared in Le Figaro: http://t.co/ZR6fu0kILC Marre que l’on usurpe mon identité pour vendre n’importe quoi, je n’ai jamais mis
The AP reported moments ago that Lois Lerner is resigning her job at the IRS. BREAKING: IRS official at heart of tea party scandal retiring; Lois Lerner had been on paid leave — The Associated Press (@AP) September 23, 2013
An unnamed source in the Libyan Interior Ministry claims that U.S. investigators did not appear interested in suspects the government had identified and asked no questions about the investigation. According to a story published last Tuesday by New Qurina, a
You thought Jaws was a film about man facing his darkest fears, about nature’s power over us and the long arc of tragic destiny…well no. Clearly you weren’t paying attention. Let the Onion explain. This is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s
The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that HBO will be making a film about the 9/11 attack in Benghazi based upon the book Under Fire. HBO has a very checkered history when it comes to films that touch on politics which
The GOP is calling this the #SenateMustAct rally: I thought this was a good presentation by the House GOP which reminded me of the House of Commons a bit. They looked united, cheered one another on and gave a show