by LOLGOP, posted June 19 on Eclectablog

The main problem Democrats have always had in selling the Affordable Care Act is about to become its greatest strength.

About 85% of America is insured through their employer or the government. The main way Obamacare affects them is that it makes it so their insurance can’t cap their lifetime benefits, can’t rescind their coverage when they get sick and can’t deny their kids because of a  pre-existing conditions. They now get free preventative care and their insurer has to prove for their first time that it’s spending 80-85% of their actual coverage. But things mostly will feel and be the same.

Of course, this won’t stop Republicans from blaming every rate increase and sour doctor visit on the president’s signature legislative achievement — even though the growth of health care costs continues to slow.

Obamacare is really designed to help the 15% of America that isn’t insured, those we pay for when they show up in the emergency rooms at the worst possible moments.

I was briefly part of that 15% and found myself denied by my old insurer for a pre-existing condition that they knew about because it was my old insurer. To this day, I’ve never gotten over the feeling that I should avoid going to the doctor and when I get there, I can’t help but feel I should hold back information that might be relevant to my care. As an American, I’ve never felt less free than when I think these thoughts. And for those who earn less and have a family to support, the feeling must be infinitely worse.

Obamacare, as you know, ends pre-existing  conditions and thus changes life dramatically for the 15% who need insurance today.

But Republicans still have a huge advantages in their propaganda war against the ACA. Not only do they have national politicians willing to flat out lie about the law in a way that should be comical, they get to compare the costs regulated, guaranteed plans offered in the Obamacare marketplaces to the sh*tty insurance many of us have today. That’s why when we get great news about the rates being offered in California’s exchange, they can make it seem as prices are skyrocketing.

So here are 5 things you need to Obamacare rates:

1. Everyone earning up to $45,960 for an individual or $94,200 for a family of four will get subsidies to help them pay for their health care.
Hopefully you’re in the 62% of Americans who are aware that this help is coming for those who need it their most, guaranteeing they will not pay more than  9.5% of their family’s income on health insurance. Figure out what you’ll be paying here.

2. For the first time, insurers can’t turn you down.
This makes it impossible to compare today’s rates to next year’s rates when people with pre-existing conditions must be offered comprehensive coverage. It’s not just comparing apples to oranges, says The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, “It’s comparing apples to oranges that the fruit guy may not even let you buy.”

3. For the first time, the coverage insurers offer will have to meet actual standards.
The New Republic‘s Jonathan Cohn explains:

Next year, when you go to buy coverage in an Obamacare exchange, you will know that your plan will include a set of “essential health benefits.”  You’ll have a choice over how much financial protection you want: You can go for a “bronze” plan, which will have high co-payments and deductibles, or you can pay more to get a “silver,” “gold,” or “platinum” plan that would leave you paying less out of pocket once you get care. But even if you opt for a bronze plan, the law will limit what you pay in out-of-pocket expenses to $6,350 for an individual. Your exposure will be lower if, because of your low income, you qualify for additional financial protection from the government.

4. The poorest will still be covered under Medicaid, which should be expanding.
Obamacare was designed to cover everyone earning 133 percent or below the poverty level with Medicaid. More than two dozen Republican-led states are turning this nearly fully subsidized expansion down, even though their residents will still be paying for it. Only Arizona’s Jan Brewer has overcome her Republican Party to implement expansion — though we are close in Michigan. It took until the early 1980s until all states accepted basic Medicaid so this fight isn’t over.

5. We already pay for each other’s insurance in the dumbest way possible.
Thanks to a 1986 law signed by Ronald Reagan, the costs of the uninsured already factored into your coverage. Republicans are preventing this law from covering as many people as it could — because of this at least 19,000 Americans could die each year. But the fact that several million more Americans will have coverage next  year is the beginning of an experiment that we know works. Just about every other industrialized country in the world covers all of their citizens and they all pay less for care.

by Bomani Jones, posted June 19 on The Shadow League

So was that a legacy game for LeBron James or not?

Since 2010, no less than six postseason games­ – the first being Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals – have been preceded by discussions of what those games would mean to his legacy. No one else’s. Just his.

But if you want to see how insanely inconsistent we can be in defining legacies, or even deciding who has one, think of all the major players in Game 6.

There was James, whose early struggles finishing and late fumbles would have been the biggest story of a game where he scored 30 points in regulation and finished with a triple double. The yellow tape wrapped around the court in the fourth quarter was for the Spurs’ pending victory celebration. But, metaphorically, it would have signified the death of all the progress and image rehab last year’s title brought James. In a postseason where the purported Big Three looked more like Gladys Knight and the Pips, carrying a wounded unit to The Finals and falling to one of the most battle-tested cores of all-time would have meant nothing. Dropping a pass in transition would have said it all.

There was Dwyane Wade, who made his legacy in 2006. Nothing has mattered since. Not his teams’ inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs until James and Chris Bosh arrived in Miami. Not the fact that his presence has not improved the Heat, nor the fact that the Heat roared back in the fourth quarter without him, stalled and lost the lead with the ball in his hand late in regulation. Tuesday night, with the stakes at their highest, he made his team worse. But his legacy was secure.

So was Tim Duncan’s, thanks to four championships and three Finals MVPs. The Duncan who did those things largely exists in the past, though he was Time Machine Timmy for the first 32 minutes of the game. He dropped an easy 30 on the Heat…and didn’t score again. He led his team to a 13-point lead then disappeared when the game mattered most. And when he retires, few will remember that, and the ones who do won’t care.

This season was probably Tony Parker’s best. He was a legitimate MVP candidate before hurting his ankle late in the season, and many have gone as far as saying he’s the best player in the league after the NBA’s only two true superstars, James and Kevin Durant. He has won a Finals MVP. He has also been wildly inconsistent this series, and he went 6 for 23 from the floor in the game that could have clinched a championship. But Tony Parker doesn’t seem to have a legacy; at least not one anyone talks about. So none of that will matter.

Ray Allen might be the greatest shooter in NBA history. That’s one helluva legacy. It’s also one that can’t be affected by postseason results. Allen has been a champion, but he’ll be remembered and revered for his skill, and nothing he could do would change that. That might be the best thing that ever happened to the Heat, for only the greatest shooter of all-time could get away with ignoring the best player in the world when he called for the ball to take the winning shot with the season on the line. After the game, Allen dismissed the idea that he even considered passing to James, who cut into the Spurs’ 94-89 lead with a three-pointer of his own just 15 seconds earlier. Allen’s legacy was secure, and it only got more bulletproof Tuesday night.

Fittingly, this all comes back to James. Everything in the NBA has come back to him for the last four seasons. With a looming Game 7, the eyes on him are more intense than ever. His story has reached its most climactic chapter, one that could make or break the way he is remembered. If Miami wins, he will join Russell, Bird, Magic, Zeke, Jordan, Dream, Shaq and Kobe as repeat champions. He will have bookended an Olympic gold medal with NBA titles. The last two seasons will become the stuff of lore. He may never win the seven titles he mentioned at a pep rally in 2010, but he’ll have enough to keep people off his back for a while.

And that might only be possible because Allen looked him off like he was a rookie.

With all these moving parts, we still try to figure out James’ place in history, though he is – ­and we are – fully immersed in the present. It’s irrational and selective, but it’s hard to avoid when talking about a once-in-a-generation talent. Duncan may be one of the 10 best players of all time, but LeBron might be so much more. And whether or not he’s remembered as such is dictated by so many things – big and small – that have nothing to do with him.

We clearly recognize the folly in this approach. Otherwise, everyone would be graded on the fly like James is. Needless to say, that’s not the case.

The most succinct summary of Game 6 of the NBA Finals came from James. “Both teams had the will to win,” he said from the dais postgame. “We just made one more play.” But the one that kept this series alive, that spared him the embarrassment of explaining what happened this time, was the one he wasn’t allowed to make.

So was this a legacy game? It wasn’t for Duncan, Parker, Wade or Allen. Ultimately, it wasn’t for James, either. Game 7? It will be about James’ legacy and his alone, even if the outcome will have just as much to do with those whose names were made long ago.

via The Shadow League | Was Game Six A Legacy Game For LeBron?

Lie Witness News – Miami Heat Edition – YouTube

‘Enemy of the State’ Predicted Everything – The Daily Beast

Back in 2008, Shia Labeouf went on Leno to press his government-is-watching-me thriller Eagle Eye, and shared a couple tidbits from the film’s FBI consultant that are drawing some serious attention now over 5 years later.

While discussing government surveillance, Shia was told that the government can hack your “ADT box microphone to get the stuff that’s going on in your house, or they can use OnStar to shut your car down.” Then came the kicker:

 ”one in five phone calls which you make are recorded and logged…and I laughed at him, and then he played back a phone conversation I had two years prior to joining the picture.”

Pretty scary, and that was 5 years ago. Even scarier, this was pretty much confirmed following the recent Boston Marathon bombings by Tim Clemente, a former FBI counter-terrorism agent who told CNN:

“there’s a way to look at digital communications in the past. I can’t go into detail of how that’s done or what’s done….I can tell you that no digital communication is secure. So these communications will be found out, the conversation will be known.”

Still pretending like this whole NSA mess is a BIG surprise?

Shia Labeouf: One-In-Five Phone Calls Are Recorded (2008-09-16) – YouTube.

Still Horny?

Tuesday Boobsday (42 pics)

Yes, More Boobsday (40 pics)

Humpday Hornyness (39 pics)

So Much Humpday (40 pics)

You painted that dress on nicely (37 pics)

Bathroom Mirror is Her Bestie (39 pics)

What a Hot Mess (42 pics)

Sports Bras are Good for Your Soul (41 pics) 

Her Fitness is good for your health (43 pics)

Legs, Glorious Legs (43 pics)

Bouncy is Beautiful (16 GIFs)

Butts that Bounce (17 GIFs)

Laugh your ass off with Funny Crap, ogle all the Horn-y GIFs, check out theChive.com

NBA 2K14 – Next Gen Reveal – YouTube