LiLSpeedy's Blog

To some repubs, ignorance is bliss.

The drug company is making a killing off of our misery. They push their drugs on us from the cradle to the grave.

news.yahoo.com/photos/gop-presidential-hopefuls...

It's very interesting what the American people have to say about the GOP presidential hopefuls.

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/06/11-years-thousands-lives-later-conservatives-still-lying-iraq-war/

We spend a hell of a lot of time at The Daily Banter debunking various myths, slogans and lies, and the undisputed champion of easily debunkable myths continues to be the Republican Party. To be sure, this isn’t to suggest that all Republicans are easily-misled simpletons. They’re not. Yet their party consistently panders to its easily-misled simpleton base with the most egregiously dishonest ideas in American politics.

And, until now, I don’t think we’ve ever fully summarized the most glaring examples of GOP myths and lies. I hasten to note that this list obviously doesn’t cover everything and I’m sure you’ll have some additional examples for the comments below. But the following are definitely the ten most mendacious things the GOP has attempted to foist upon the American public.

10) Obama Doubled The Deficit.

This was a favorite of the Mitt Romney campaign. Throughout 2012, Romney repeatedly said, “The president promised to cut the deficit in half. He’s doubled it!” No. No he hasn’t. First of all, this line depends entirely on voters not understanding the difference between the deficit and the debt. See previous “simpleton” remarks. Indeed, the president has absolutely cut the deficit by way more than half in his first five years. When he took office, the deficit for 2009 was projected to be $1.4 trillion. The deficit at the end of 2014 will be $514 billion, just three percent of GDP. That’s a nearly one trillion dollar reduction in five years. Not only that, but the administration boasts the lowest year-over-year increase in government spending since Truman, and it’ll be one of just three administrations in the last 50 years that will have ended with a lower deficit than when it began. The last Republican do leave the White House with the same record was Eisenhower.

9) Man-made Climate Change Is A Hoax.

According to a clearly liberal agency called “NASA,” a full 97 percent of scientists with specific expertise in climate science agree that climate change is real and humans are causing it. We shouldn’t really have to say anything else. Of course if you’re Lloyd Christmas from Dumb & Dumber, and “one-in-a-million” means “there’s a chance,” then the three percent of scientists who aren’t sure about climate change obviously indicates that it’s a hoax.

8) Cold Weather Disproves Climate Change

Second in our trifecta of climate change myths is an annual favorite. Every time it snows, you know the drill. Whenever there’s a snow storm everyone from Matt Drudge to Rush Limbaugh suddenly achieves nipple erections hard enough to cut glass. And out comes the myth that climate change can’t possibly be real because it’s snowing somewhere. What they fail to explain to their disciples is that New York City or Minnesota or Washington D.C. isn’t, you know, the globe. Climate scientists base their global warming observations on global temperature averages. So while it might be snowing outside Sean Hannity’s house, average temperatures year-over-year are growing progressively higher.

7) Tax Cuts Do More To Stimulate The Economy Than Food Stamps And Unemployment Benefits.

According to Moody’s Analytics:

–Every dollar spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.61 in economic growth.

–Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.74 in economic growth.

–But every dollar spent on rolling tax rates back to Bush-era levels only creates $.32 in economic growth — that’s a 68-cent loss on investment.

6) Cars Kill A Lot Of People And No One Wants To Ban Them Like Guns!

Unlike firearms, cars aren’t explicitly designed to kill or wound living beings (humans, animals, etc). They’re designed to move you from one place to another. Yet unlike firearms, cars and drivers are heavily regulated by the government, from emissions standards to annual inspections to safety features, and so forth. You can’t legally drive a car that doesn’t feature seatbelts, or a car that spews too much exhaust into the air. You have to take both a written and a behind-the-wheel test to get a license to operate a car. You often have to renew that license at regular intervals and, if you’re older, you have to prove that you’re physically capable of driving a car. You can’t drive a car while drinking alcohol or impaired by other chemicals. There are thousands of police officers patrolling our roads and, as most of us have experienced at one time or another, they will penalize or arrest you for improper handling of a car – with literally hundreds of laws to abide, and considerable penalties, ranging from fines to imprisonment to the government stripping you of your right to drive a car at all. So if the NRA and its supporters are going to keep using this car analogy, then let’s talk about regulating guns and gun owners the same way we regulate cars and drivers.

5) The Affordable Care Act Covers Abortion-Inducing Emergency Contraception.

Admittedly, there are so many Obamacare myths to choose from: death panels, IRS goon squads raiding homes, it’s a “job killing” law, it’s a “government takeover,” etc. It’s all a pile of hooey and definitely worth mentioning here. But this lie about emergency contraception coverage is so insidious that it even managed fool some liberals. Contrary to lawsuits by various religious businesses and organizations, the various forms of emergency contraception covered by the law do not, in fact, block implantation of a fertilized egg. If these medications were indeed abortifacients, they wouldn’t be covered because it’s illegal for the government to do so. But they’re not abortifacients, so they’re covered. Simply put: while some emergency contraception blocks implantation, the emergency contraception that’s covered in the law blocks ovulation — not implantation. Of course that won’t stop the lawsuits or likely factor into the opinions of perhaps five Supreme Court justices when the first major Obamacare contraception decision drops this Summer.

4) Obamaphones!

Okay, just stop it with this. No, the Obama campaign wasn’t handing out free phones in exchange for votes. However, there’s definitely a program that offers low-cost telephones to citizens who can’t afford one. The truth is the Lifeline program has been around since 1984 when, that’s right, Ronald Reagan helped to create it. In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set up a non-profit outfit called the Universal Service Administrative Company, which receives financial backing via the Universal Service Fund. According to its website, money for the program is contributed entirely by “long distance companies, local telephone companies, wireless telephone companies, paging companies, and payphone providers,” and none of the funding comes from taxpayers via the federal government. It’s all privately donated money.

3) It’s Safer To Have A Gun In The House, Or A Concealed Weapon On Your Person.

I’m going to step aside and let an actual Republican debunk this one. Here’s David Frum:

A gun in the house minimally doubles the risk that a household member will kill himself or herself. (Some studies put the increase in suicide risk as high as 10 times.) An American is 50% more likely to be shot dead by his or her own hand than to be shot dead by a criminal assailant. More than 30,000 Americans injure themselves with guns every year.

2) Exhaling Releases “Dangerous” CO2.

This is so dumb, it easily ranks as the most ridiculous climate change lie. Yes, more ridiculous than the blizzard thing. It’s truly astonishing that anyone with half-a-brain actually believes it. Speaking of half-a-brain, here are some prime offenders:

Glenn Beck:

“Carbon dioxide is basically this. (Exhales.) Look at how much pollution I just put out.”

Rush Limbaugh:

“We exhale CO2. If were a poison, it wouldn’t be part of the way we stay alive.”

Michele Bachmann:

“Carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of nature.”

Mitt Romney:

“Now I know there is also a movement to say that carbon dioxide should be guided or should be managed by the Environmental Protection Agency. I disagree with that. I exhale carbon dioxide. I don’t want those guys following me around with a meter to see if I’m breathing too hard.”

The stupidity is, pardon the pun, breathtaking. On the surface, this “exhaling” silliness sounds like it might be true — if you’re really into uneducated, simplistic explanations for very complex topics. Not only does human breathing not even make the list of greenhouse gases but, chiefly, the ecosystem wasn’t designed to scrub out unprecedented levels of CO2 released by the burning of fossil fuels. Therefore all of that excessive CO2 is just lingering in the atmosphere, trapping heat and scrambling our weather patterns.

1) Voter Fraud Is A Serious Issue That Requires Strict New Voter ID Laws.

Nope. Not even close. Once again, this falls into the Lloyd Christmas category. Successful prosecutions of voter fraud cases barely amount to one one-hundredth of one percent of total votes cast in a single general election. In Ohio, for example, Secretary of State Jon Husted ballyhooed his war against fraud by nabbing a whopping 20 potential cases. 20 out of nearly six million votes cast in that state in 2012. The Bush Justice Department found that there were as few as 80 successful prosecutions of voter fraud cases out of hundreds of millions of votes cast since 2000. For this ratio of possible-fraud-to-votes-cast we’re told we need laws that make it more difficult to vote. By the way, some Republicans came right out and said it: this is all about electing Republicans.

That’s it. It’s of course foolish to think the Republicans will drop these lies and myths any time soon. But as long as various Republicans continue to repeat these transparently obvious falsehoods, they should expect that the rest of us will continue to think they’re either idiots or that they’re deliberately trying to deceive their own people — or maybe a little of both.

by Bob Cesca

 Tell me lies,
Tell me sweet little lies

...goes the refrain from Fleetwood Mac's elegiac love anthem, "Little Lies," never envisioning it would someday become the default anthem for the Republican Party.

The verse, innocent as it seemed at the time, goes on to threaten eventual public exposure...

Oh, no, no you can't disguise
(You can't disguise, no you can't disguise)

Well, the Republicans, bless their little hearts, have resolutely ignored the import of the second two lines of the refrain, as they continue to cling to the first two lines as a strategic response to whatever they find unlikable in our shifting political landscape. In fact, they've been so successful in elevating lies to a status where they've become worthy of discussion, we are often placed in the unenviable position of defending reality or a political position against the onslaught of either (choose one) gross stupidity, willful misrepresentation, or extremist religious ideology.

(If you chose " All of the Above" consider yourself smarter than most people who vote for Republican candidates.)

What songs must echo through your mind when you vote for the party that angrily shouts "Death Panels!" in response to a proposal that seeks to help the elderly prepare for their end of days.

Tell me lies,
Tell me sweet little lies...

And what refrain do you sing to yourself when you deny global warming and minimize it as a liberal conspiracy to hobble industry and waste taxpayer dollars? Even as you're forced to shout, rather than sing, to be heard above the 100-year storms, once-in-a-lifetime floods, and record-breaking droughts and wildfires that are suddenly multiplying on the planet like Pharaoh's plagues?

Tell me lies,
Tell me sweet little lies...

But the biggest, balls-of-brass lies are the ones they sing about George W. Bush and Barack Hussein Obama (yes, the "Hussein" must be kept silent because lying Republican extremists regard the name as proof positive that Barack Obama is not only a Muslim but an Islamic terrorist out to destroy the American way of life).

And, of course, it's also final proof -- if any is needed -- that our president wasn't even born on American soil!

Oh, no, no you can't disguise
(You can't disguise, no you can't disguise)

Then there's the question of their wholesale ransacking of government programs. Programs critical to the upward mobility of the middle class, programs crucial to the very survival of the social safety net. The Republicans blame it all on Barack Hussein Obama and his policies, as if he were responsible for the size of the national debt, as if he chose to conduct two wars at once, as if the country's financial sector collapsed on his watch instead of his predecessor's, as if his policies somehow led to the recession he inherited!

As Bill Clinton said about the Republicans at the Democratic convention, "They made the mess, then blame him cause he hasn't cleaned it up fast enough."

So, why suddenly do we need to throw out the character and conscience of America, as illustrated in the warp and woof of 80-plus years of humane, socially progressive legislation? Why should financial scarcity brought on by the excesses of a Republican administration -- an administration so unconcerned about the public treasury its prescription drug bill prohibited the U.S. government from bargaining for better prices? Why should Bush's many over-indulgences, managerial incompetencies and financial missteps be allowed to kill off programs that were the work of many administrations and the combined will of the American people in the modern era?

There was no need to defenestrate government programs, no need to tinker with Medicare benefits, no push to reduce the Social Cecurity cost-of-living adjustments before George W. Bush embroiled us in two unwinnable wars and looted the treasury with two rounds of tax cuts. As was often remarked, no previous president had ever called for tax cuts in the midst of a war -- let alone two wars!

That was only one of George W. Bush's many firsts. Like being the first president to initiate a preemptive war, the first to make torture an acceptable means of interrogation, the first to attack a foreign country on trumped-up evidence, the first to cripple his own war effort by starting a second war before finishing the first, and the first ex-president who can't travel to foreign countries for fear of being arrested and tried as a war criminal.

Oh, no, no you can't disguise
(You can't disguise, no you can't disguise)

By the time the Republicans -- following the dictates of their millionaire and billionaire masters -- finish dismantling assistance programs for the poor, eliminating food stamps and Pell grants, crippling Social Security and Medicare, killing off public sector jobs, there won't be an America left to celebrate as the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

We'll think of it instead as the Land of the Rich and the Home of the Poor.

And that's no lie.

by Paul Steven Stone

The Bible tells us that to become a Christian we must be born again (born of God). Being born into this world is our first birth and we are not given any choice about that. However, God gives us the choice of having a second birth, to be born again and to start a new life. This happens when a person willingly turns their back on sin (repents) and turns to Jesus for forgiveness and asks Him to be their Lord, that is, the boss of their life. The Spirit of God then enters the person to give them the power to start this new life. The person becomes a new creation in Christ and is Spiritually born into the family of God and so becomes a child of God. God sends His Holy Spirit to live within believers to give them power over their sinful nature so that they are able to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Through the Holy Spirit, believers are freed from the power of sin and its penalty of hell and they are no longer slaves to their sinful nature. 1 John 3:9 tells us that "no one who is born of God will continue to sin" so anyone who is born again will not have a sinful lifestyle.

Religion will not get anyone to heaven. Jesus said that He is the only way to heaven and that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3).

So, again, being born again is the work of God where the sinner is Supernaturally Changed "from above where God is" and made into a new person -- one who trusts in God, seeks God, believes the truths of God, resists sin, and seeks to do good.

Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in his twenties or thirties. Many were physically or emotionally abused by parents. Some were adopted. As children, fledgling serial killers often set fires, torture animals, and wet their beds (these red-flag behaviors are known as the "triad" of symptoms.) Brain injuries are common. Some are very intelligent and have shown great promise as successful professionals. They are also fascinated with the police and authority in general. They have either attempted to become police themselves but were rejected, worked as security guards, or served in the military. Many, including John Gacy, the Hillside Stranglers, and Ted Bundy, have disguised themselves as law enforcement officials to gain access to their victims.

The emphasis is no longer on the killers but now is on the party one belongs. This is sad. Why would repubs present inaccurate facts? They do this to try to take the attention off of all the horrendous, sick, and perverted things that they are doing.

This is a repost from September 18, 2013 blog entry.

What was the church first called and why were believers then called Christians?
 
The way was something the disciples spoke of i.e., the gospel. This way was  spoken of by John, by Jesus - it is what Jesus spoke of himself and what others  spoke of him.
 
Luke 20:21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach  rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in  truth”
 
John the baptizer preceding Jesus (Jn.1:23) said: “I am 'The voice of one crying  in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” 'as the prophet Isaiah  said.”
 
John 14:4-6 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him,  “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the  Father except through Me.”

From Jesus explaining he is the way and those following him and telling others  the way to be saved the name was made known throughout the land.

Acts 9:1-2 “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples  of the Lord, went to the high priest  and asked letters from him to the  synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men  or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Also used in Acts 16:17.
 
Acts 11:26 “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Stephen  chosen by the apostles was from Antioch (Acts 6:5). After the death of Stephen  (Acts 11:19-20) the disciples were scattered and went to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and  Antioch preaching to the Jews who spoke Greek.
Acts 11:21-22 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number  believed and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things came to the ears of  the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.”

Acts 11:25-27 Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And brought him to  Antioch. “So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and  taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in  Antioch. And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.”
This city in Syria became a main hub for Christianity

They had changed their name in this area for some reason that made them think of  them as more in relationship to Jesus and had been named as those who were like  him, following in his steps. Three of Paul's missionary journeys began in  Antioch. revisiting this city on his first mission tour Acts 14:21) .

At the church council in Jerusalem the apostles and elders, with the whole  church, sent men to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:22). Acts 15:35  “Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of  the Lord, with many others also.”

Still after this they were known as the way throughout the land. Acts 19:8-9  “And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and  persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.  But when some were  hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he  departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of  Tyrannus.”

Acts 24:14 Paul before Felix spoke: “But this I confess to you, that according  to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing  all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.”
V.22 “But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the  Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes  down, I will make a decision on your case.”

They were called Christians by those outside and inside and called themselves  saints inside the church as well.
Both names were used in the land. Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You  almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

1 Peter 4:16: “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed”

We know the name Christian became popularized throughout history mainly to  distinguish who the church preaches, follows and serves.

The first church was called The Way. The people that went to The Way were called Christians and Saints. All these man-made names came later.

Denver neighborhood fights back against racist letter

Copies of an anonymous and hateful letter left in the Whittier neighborhood of Denver ended up having the opposite effect than their author likely intended.

  Instead of dividing the neighborhood and frightening residents, the letter served to bring the community together and rally behind "Miss Monica," an 81-year-old African-American woman who was the target of the letter. It read, "the n----- at [her address] needs to hg [sic] to the ghetto theres [sic] no room for n------ or jews in this area," according to CBS-Denver.

The woman was unaware that she'd received the letter until police came to her door and told her about it.

Via ABC-7:

"Police came up and rang the doorbell. He asked me if I had been having any problems with the neighbors, I told him 'no.' He asked me if my kids have been having problems at school, I told him 'no.' He said, 'Well, has anybody bothered you?' I said 'no.' He said, 'Well I don't really want to show you this. I have a letter in my car that's been distributed among the neighborhood.' He took me out to his car and he was teary eyed, and I looked at it and I just broke down."

Copies of the letter were distributed throughout the neighborhood, and they reportedly all referenced "Miss Monica," who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, CBS-Denver reports. Her friends and neighbors quickly came to her defense, organizing a rally and distributing letters of their own that advocated for community and diversity over hate.

“I can’t believe anybody in this day and age would do something like that, and why?” the woman told CBS-Denver.

Denver police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, ABC-7 reports. One theory floated by neighbors according to CBS-Denver is that the letter was written by someone who wants to use scare tactics to get the woman to sell her home.

The moral of the story is that good will always conquer hate. There are still people around that will stand up for what's right. 

First let me make something perfectly clear, Alan Keyes never was and never will be a spokesmen for the Black community. Alan Keyes is no one of note in the Black community. He is seen as a token for repubs and an Uncle Tom. How dare he try to explain away what Bundy said? Whether it was a Freudian slip, we don’t know. We do know that he said it and then elaborated on it. Would we be better off being slaves? He!! No!

1. Slaves were property
2. Slaves had no rights
3. Slaves were slaves for life
4. Children of slaves were slaves
5. Forbidden to be taught to read and write
6. Slaves suffered cruel and usual punishment
7. Hired out to pay off debts
8. Sold to pay off debts
9. Slave women and girls were raped                                                           

10. Families were split up

11. Men were bred like cattle; even with another family member

12. Life of a slave was expendable

13. Slave’s marriage was not recognized

14. Slaves were worked unmercifully

15. Slaves were beaten for the slightest offence

16. Slaves lived a life of HOPELESSNESS

No, Mr. Bundy, you try your hand at being a slave for a while, then tell us how it worked out for you.

A married freshman Republican congressman who campaigned on his Christian, conservative values apologized Monday after surveillance video surfaced purportedly showing him in a lengthy liplock with a staffer.

In the Dec. 23 footage, obtained by a local newspaper, Rep. Vance McAllister, R-La. - who ahead of his election last fall ran multiple campaign ads trumpeting his faith and family - is seen kissing and embracing a woman for about 20 seconds at his Monroe, La., district office. The Ouachita Citizen reports the woman is the congressman's 33-year-old part-time scheduler, who is also married.

"There's no doubt I've fallen short and I'm asking for forgiveness. I'm asking for forgiveness from God, my wife, my kids, my staff, and my constituents who elected me to serve," McAllister said in a statement. "Trust is something I know has to be earned whether you're a husband, a father, or a congressman. I promise to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I've disappointed."

He went on: "From day one, I've always tried to be an honest man. I ran for Congress to make a difference and not to just be another politician. I don't want to make a political statement on this, I would just simply like to say that I'm very sorry for what I've done.

"While I realize I serve the public, I would appreciate the privacy given to my children as we get through this," McAllister added. He and his wife Kelly have five children.

During his four months in office, McAllister has proven something of a penchant for controversy. In January, he told his district Chamber of Commerce that his new job on Capitol Hill "sucks;" about a week later, he drummed up considerable chatter when he brought as his State of the Union guest "Duck Dynasty" star Willie Robertson despite backlash surrounding an elder Robertson's disparaging remarks about same-sex marriage.

While it is very unfortunate what happened to Rep. Vance McAllister, it is not uncommon. To say that one party does it more than the other is just going tit for tat. All of them need to change their filthy doggish ways or go back home.

My friend Isatou has just received an invoice from Kaiser Permanente, testament to her new coverage through the Affordable Care Act -- usually called "Obamacare." She's thrilled to finally have health insurance so she can get regular checkups, including dental care.

A reasonably healthy middle-aged woman, she knows she needs routine mammograms and screenings for maladies such as hypertension. But before Obamacare, she struggled to pay for those things. She once had to resort to the emergency room, which left her with a bill for nearly $20,000. (She settled the bill for far less, but it still left her deeply in debt.)

She is one of more than 7 million people who have signed up for health insurance through the ACA, stark evidence of the overwhelming market demand. Despite a badly bungled initial roll-out, a multimillion dollar conservative media campaign designed to discourage sign-ups, and a years-long Republican crusade against it (50 votes to change the law), millions got health insurance.

That hardly means Obamacare is a raging success. It's much too early to know how it will affect health outcomes for the previously uninsured. But it's abundantly clear that the ACA has already made great strides in improving access to health care. And that alone is quite an accomplishment.

Now, young adults can stay on their parents' health insurance policies until they are 26 years old -- a boon in an economy where many young folks are struggling to find decent jobs. Now, patients with previously diagnosed illnesses ("pre-existing conditions," in insurance lingo) can't be denied coverage. Now, the chronically ill don't have to worry about hitting a lifetime cap that would deny them essential procedures or pharmaceuticals. Now, working folks who don't get insurance through their employers can purchase affordable policies.

Factoring in the Medicaid expansion, the ACA has extended health care coverage to an additional 9.5 million people, according to the Los Angeles Times, which gathered data from national surveys. Needless to say, millions more would have been covered if so many Republican governors, mostly located in Southern states, had not callously refused to accept the Medicaid expansion despite the fact that it is largely paid through federal government funds.

The GOP's relentless opposition has been puzzling. Republicans have resorted to extreme measures to try to derail Obamacare, including an implicit threat to prevent the National Football League from participating in a marketing campaign to encourage people to sign up.

Oh, did I mention 50 votes to repeal or alter the law?

Even acknowledging that our politics have become bitterly polarized, I don't understand this one. Even taking into account the GOP's irrational hatred for President Obama, I don't get it. Even though I know that Republicans believe in less government, I don't understand their approach to Obamacare.

First off, the ACA adheres to market-based ideas, many of which were first suggested by conservatives. Instead of a single-payer system like, say, Medicare, the ACA relies on private insurance companies. It adopts the individual mandate that was supported by many Republicans, including Newt Gingrich, back in the 1990s and later adopted by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts.

Second, Republicans are free to offer up a health care scheme that is more in keeping with conservative principles. But the "repeal and replace" mantra is rarely heard anymore since it has become increasingly clear that the GOP has no intention of coming up with a plan to replace Obamacare. While there are various counter-proposals floating about, none has garnered the support of a majority of Republicans in Congress.

Is the ACA perfect? Absolutely not. There is much in the law that needs to be worked on, refined, improved. But the GOP doesn't seem interested in that. Instead, its members have taken to engaging in increasingly ridiculous criticisms, including the charge that the White House has made up the number of successful enrollees.

It's strange. Could it be that Republicans are simply furious that millions of Americans like Isatou finally have health insurance?

(Cynthia Tucker, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a visiting professor at the University of Georgia. She can be reached at cynthia@cynthiatucker.com.)

I have to agree with Cynthia's assertion that the Republicans are fighting against the ACA because of their hate for President Obama, plain and simple. The first eighteen years of my life I was without health insurance and received it at the age of 18 only because I was given a 1A status and was immediately drafted into the military. I often think about what would have happened if I suffered a major illness during my earlier years. I think it is a shame and disgrace to let someone die because of no health insurance. In my opinion, that is cruel and unusual punishment.