ObamaCare a throwaway applause line in a campaign speech?

This surprises me not at all.

(Hot Air) Knowing what you know about him, if you had to guess the genesis of his biggest domestic legislative initiative, which would you guess? That he spent years studying the issue, consumed by the intricacies of health-care policy and determined to make a difference if ever placed in a position to do so? Or that he needed a killer line for one of his speeches and couldn’t let pass a golden opportunity to grandstand? QED. Even the transformation of American health care is but a subplot to Hopenchange image-making. 

Read the rest here...

Senator Cruz will speak before the senate until he can no longer stand.

(National Journal) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, rose to speak on the Senate floor at 2:41 p.m. He stood up to in opposition to Obamacare, he said. And he said he would continue to speak until he could no longer stand.
It's not a filibuster. But it's looking like it may be a very, very long speech from the Texas senator who has been the center of attention in D.C.'s budget fight, and the Senate leader in a doomed-to-fail movement to strip funding for Obamacare out of any resolution that Congress passes to fund the government. If Congress fails to come to an agreement, the government will shutdown at the end of September.
Ted Cruz stood up to "make D.C. listen," he said repeatedly. "Washington depends on the American people not paying attention."
But what we'll hear during the duration of Sen. Cruz's speech is his view of how to be successful in modern American politics. And, in the reactions to his speech from members of his own party, we may get a sense of just how successful the ambitious senator can be.  Read more...

Update:
He's into his 21st hour!

Also.  Rep. Peter King (RINO-NY) is an asshole! (h/t Weasel Zippers)

Sheepdog! British hero of the mall massacre: Ex Royal Marine with a handgun saved 100 lives as terrorists ran amok.

Via Daily Mail:

A former marine emerged as a hero of the Nairobi siege yesterday after he was credited with saving up to 100 lives. The ex soldier was having coffee at the Westgate mall when it was attacked by Islamists on Saturday. With a gun tucked into his waistband, he was pictured helping two women from the complex. His story emerged as sporadic gunfire continued to ring out from inside the mall early today as Kenyan security forces battled Al Qaeda-linked terrorists into a fourth day.  Despite Kenyan police assurances that they had taken control of the building, a security expert with contacts inside the mall said at least 10 hostages were still being held by a band of attackers, possibly as many as 13.  Read more...

h/t Weasel Zippers

Glitch?

(Fast Company) Obamacare has hit a snag. The insurance marketplace that's supposed to launch in two weeks can't reliably determine how much people will have to pay for health care coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports. The government has until Oct. 1 to fix the issue, when the exchanges running its software will roll out in 36 states. The other 14 states will use their own software for their marketplaces.

Back in June, a Government Accountability Office report cast doubt on the administration's ability to execute on health care reform, saying "much remains to be accomplished within a relatively short amount of time." However, Gary Cohen in a congressional testimony Thursday displayed more confidence: "We may encounter some bumps when open enrollment begins but we'll solve them," he said. A Medicare spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that it is "confident" consumers will see accurate pricing on these exchanges come Oct. 1

Here's what Time has to say.

The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has seen its share of logistical issues, from delaying the mandate that large businesses offer insurance to employees to postponing limits on individuals’ out-of-pocket costs. Now, there’s a new and more urgent setback: the software that’s supposed to let people buy federally subsidized health insurance starting in October doesn’t work all the time.

House sends government spending bill to the Senate without Obamacare funding!

(Yahoo News)  The House on Friday approved a bill to temporarily fund the government that would strip funding for the 2010 federal health care law known as Obamacare, a move that will set up a showdown with the Senate next week that could result in a government shutdown.

The bill, which Democrats in the Senate plan to reject in its current form, would set spending levels at $986.3 billion through Dec. 15. Congress must pass a bill to set federal funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR) by Oct. 1, or the government will partially close. House Republicans see the mandatory deadline as a final opportunity to cripple the 3-year-old health care law.

The bill passed largely along party lines. Only two Democrats, Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, voted for the CR.