Obamacare: Lowering Premiums

This is a pretty BFD. TPM's headline that the fact that Obamacare is lowering - instead of increasing - premiums around the country is something the GOP doesn't want you to see is totally accurate. This, along with other factors like the fact that Obamacare hasn't been the disaster the GOP "knew" it would be, is why it's slowly but surely stopped being a 2014 elections issue. Just as Social Security and Medicare quickly blended into the, "Of course we have this safety net/protection," Obamacare, too, is quietly becoming just another thing Americans assume they have, and appreciate without really acknowledge or even know they appreciate.

ICYMI: Global Warming is a BFD and Obama is Starting to Do Something About it

The EPA announced rules to limit the amount of carbon power plants can release. This is a BFD and ThinkProgress has a great write-up on why.

Michelle Obama Watches 'Scandal'

It's true!

I wonder if Michelle Obama ever wishes she could be Olivia Pope* or just hire Olivia Pope to fix Congress?

Now if only I could convince her to come over and binge watch them with me.

*With the take-no-shit attitude and gorgeous outfits**, without the self-destructive love affairs, of course.
**That being said, Ms. Obama also wears gorgeous outfits quite a lot, as well.

Obama Visits Dreamworks

President Obama visited DreamWorks Animation on Monday to praise the film industry (and, of course, key campaign donor Jeffrey Katzenberg). LA Times has a nice write-up of the event. Below are a couple of videos from the meeting (warning: poor audio) of Obama watching mo-cap in action and meeting Steve Martin (elbow-to-elbow, since Steve had a cold).

Obama learning about mo-cap:



Obama watching an animated character use his voice!



[Videos via /Film]

Rolling Out Obamacare

TPM has a great round-up of various states' ads for their new health insurance exchanges and marketplaces that will open on October 1st and hope to cover seven million people in the next year. A lot of the campaigns are clever and fun. Some are more informative than others, but I think they're all interesting enough to get people who need insurance or pay high premiums for individual insurance to take a look. I really like the one that emphasizes that when insurers compete, you win!



Who doesn't like beating the insurance companies and getting better coverage?

Obamacare: Still Working!

Actually, the Affordable Care Act is working (and the parts that take effect soon will be working) even better than predicted! How awesome is that? So awesome it couldn't be forseeen!

Steven Spielberg's "Obama"

I didn't watch the whole thing, but I heard this was one of the best parts of the White House Correspondents Dinner, and it's pretty darn funny:

If you like that taste, here's the full CSPAN cast of Obama's speech (also pretty funny):

[via TPM]