Thanksgiving is right around the corner, even though it's just another attempt to distract from the failure of Obamacare. A study finds parents with daughters are more likely to become Republican over time, because it takes firsthand experience to know just how badly your daughter's health services need to be taken away. And according to a government spokesperson, HealthCare.gov's functionality will be upgraded from "Amtrak WiFi" to "Comcast customer support" by December. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, November 25th, 2013:
HEALTHCARE.GOV WILL BE GOOD-ISH BY DECEMBER 1: ADMINISTRATION - If the website is still glitchy, the plan is to redirect all visitors to a YouTube video of the president doing his best Al Green. The Hill: "Administration officials said Monday that some visitors to ObamaCare's federal enrollment site would experience outages, slow response times or messages to try again later during the month of December. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) delivered the message in the latest attempt to downplay expectations surrounding Nov. 30, the administration's self-imposed deadline for fixing HealthCare.gov. CMS spokeswoman Julie Bataille said errors that persist past this weekend would be 'intermittent' and, in line with a promise made by the White House, would not affect the vast majority of the site's users. But Bataille acknowledged that some people would still experience 'periods of suboptimal performance' by the system due to either heavy traffic or technical issues that are still being addressed. 'The system will not work perfectly on Dec. 1, but it will work much better than it did in October,' Bataille said." [The Hill]
THE FRANKSGIVING DAY MASSACRE - Before Obamacare, Hurricane Katrina, Monica Lewinsky, Iran Contra, Watergate and Vietnam, there was "Franksgiving." Seventy-four turkey days ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would no longer be celebrated on the last Thursday of November but rather a week earlier. The switch earned a derisive moniker, and it remained unpopular until Congress restored the holiday to its rightful place two years later.... The American Institute of Public Opinion, led by Dr. George Gallup, released a survey in August showing 62 percent of voters opposed Roosevelt's plan. Political ideology was a determining factor, with 52 percent of Democrats approving of Roosevelt's move and 79 percent of Republicans disapproving. "Politics Tints Views On Thanksgiving Date," said a contemporaneous New York Times headline. [With HuffPost's Sam Stein]
Hat trick: "House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., announced Friday that she and her husband delivered their third child, making her the only member of Congress ever to give birth three times while in office." [National Journal]
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - "As farm bill negotiations continue in Washington, D.C., it's fairly certain that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will be cut. One proposal would trim the food stamp program by $4 billion over the next decade; the other would cut roughly ten times that much. That's after the Obama Administration's recession-era boost to SNAP expired November 1st, leaving the average family with about $30 less to spend each month.... 36-year-old Becky Miller is the head of one such household. The divorced mother of two girls lives and works in Sandoval, Illinois, where she makes $9.00 per hour at a daycare center. She relies on $200 each month in SNAP benefits to feed her kids, and says other forms of aid aren't easy to come by. 'You can usually go to churches, but if you need any help, it's such a struggle around here to get help.' Miller said." [WUIS.org]
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PRESIDENT NOT TRUSTWORTHY: POLL - Somewhere fifth year Barack Obama should have a beer with fifth year George W. Bush. George can grouse about privatizing Social Security and Barry can get tips on his kill list. Reuters: "A growing number of Americans doubt President Barack Obama's ability to manage the nation, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Monday that reflects the possible larger impact of his administration's fumbled rollout of its healthcare law. The poll also found that 53 percent of those polled said Obama is not honest or trustworthy, marking the first time that the CNN/ORC polling found a clear majority questioning the president's integrity, CNN said. Forty percent of the 843 U.S. adults surveyed in the telephone poll early last week said Obama can manage the government effectively, down 12 percentage points from June...It found that 56 percent of respondents said they did not admire Obama, disagreed with him on important issues and said he does not inspire confidence, while 53 percent said they do not see him as a strong and decisive leader, CNN said." [HuffPost]
STRONG MAJORITY SUPPORTS PATH TO CITIZENSHIP - Times: "A consistent and solid majority of Americans -- 63 percent -- crossing party and religious lines favors legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the United States illegally, while only 14 percent support legal residency with no option for citizenship, according a report published Monday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. Those surveyed expressed strong support for citizenship for 11.7 million immigrants in the country without documents just as Congress appears to be shifting away from that approach, with Republican leaders in the House working on measures that would offer legal status without a direct path to naturalization. Sixty percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents and 73 percent of Democrats favor a pathway to citizenship, according to the report. Majorities of Protestants, Catholics and Americans with no religious affiliation also support that plan. The institute found that there is slightly less support for limiting the immigrants to legal residency than there is for a tough enforcement strategy of identifying and deporting them, a policy favored by 18 percent." [NYT]
So unloved: "Hecklers interrupted President Barack Obama during a speech on Monday to demand he halt deportations, which have risen to record levels during his time in the White House. 'Our families are separated,' a young man yelled during remarks in San Francisco at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center. 'Mr. President, please use your executive authority to halt [deportations]. We agree that we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, but at the same time, you have the power to stop deportations.' 'Actually, I don't,' the president replied, 'and that's why we're here.' Other people in the crowd began to yell as well: 'Stop deportations. Yes, we can.'" [HuffPost's Elise Foley]
REID SOFTENS LANGUAGE ON IRAN SANCTIONS BILL - Ah "if," sweet, sweet, conditional "if." It's the most low-maintenance conjunction. Totally chill with whatever happens. Roll Call: "Suddenly Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., doesn't sound as committed to a new Iran sanctions bill. Reid last week said he 'will support' a bill that would tighten the sanctions. 'The Senate must be prepared to move forward with a new bipartisan Iran sanctions bill, when the Senate returns after Thanksgiving recess. And I am committed to do so,' he said. But Reid said Monday morning that the Senate will act only 'if we need to do stronger sanctions.' Reid said his views haven't changed. 'What I said last week, I still feel the same way today,' he said, speaking to NPR from his home in Searchlight, Nev. 'I said when we come back, we'll take a look at this to see if we need stronger sanctions... and if we need more work on this, if we need to do stronger sanctions, I'm sure we will do that." Before the weekend's announcement of an interim agreement, Reid seemed to go further, outlining elements of a new sanctions package that he would support taking up after the Thanksgiving recess. Menendez and No. 3 Democrat Charles E. Schumer of New York sounded more definitive than Reid in a statement Sunday, saying that he expected the Senate to take up additional sanctions, meaning it is quite likely that a bill will be produced, perhaps in short order." [Roll Call]
In yet a further sign of the War on Christmas, sanctions against Iran could be loosened around Jesus' birthday. AP: "Sanctions against Iran could be eased as soon as December, France's foreign minister said Monday, after a potentially history-shaping deal that gives Tehran six months to increase access to its nuclear sites in exchange for keeping the central elements of its uranium program. The deal, announced Sunday, envisages lifting some of the sanctions that have been crippling the country's economy, and put in place over fears that Tehran is using its nuclear program to build atomic arms. Iran denies it wants such weapons. 'A Europe-wide decision is necessary" to ease EU sanctions on Iran, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio. "That's expected in several weeks, for a partial lifting that is targeted, reversible.' The United States and U.N. have separate sanctions." [HuffPost]
DEMOCRAT HERRING DECLARED WINNER OF VIRGINIA AG RACE - Now that Mark Herring has officially defeated Mark Obenshain by the narrowest of margins, let us pontificate about it's utterly profound implications for Chris Christie in Iowa. Luke Johnson: "The Virginia Board Of Elections certified State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudon) as the winner of the Virginia attorney general's race on Monday. Herring defeated state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) in the election, the closest statewide race in Virginia history. Herring had a 165-vote lead out of over 2.2 million votes cast. On Monday morning, the Obenshain campaign told The Huffington Post he had not made a decision on whether or not to ask for a recount. Obenshain has 10 days under state law to request a recount, which the law allows the trailing candidate to do if the final margin of victory is less than one-half of 1 percent. 'Over the next few days, we will continue to review these results. Margins this small are why Virginia law provides a process for a recount. However, a decision to request a recount, even in this historically close election, is not one to be made lightly. Virginia law allows ten days to request a recount. We will make further announcements regarding a recount well within that time, in order to ensure the closure and confidence in the results that Virginians deserve,' campaign manager Chris Leavitt said. A victory by Herring would give Democrats the top-three statewide offices in Virginia." [HuffPost]
HuffPost Haircuts: PSLGOPL, Johanna Barr (H/Ts PSLGOPL, Johanna Barr). HuffPost readers: Someone in This Town get a haircut? Make sure we know about it -- email huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com.
It's never too soon, except when it is too soon. And this is too soon. Politico: "The off-shoot of the Democratic-leaning research shop American Bridge is launching its first effort against a potential GOP 2016 presidential target Monday -- taking aim at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker over his pledge for jobs creation by 2015. The move from Correct the Record, the offshoot led by Hillary Clinton 2008 strategist Burns Strider and stocked with donors and staffers who have Clintonland ties, puts the target squarely on Walker, who is seen as a potentially strong 2016 presidential contender, but who has a tough re-election battle next year to get through first." [Politico]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here are dogs that love Thanksgiving.
STUDY: DAUGHTERS TURN PARENTS INTO REPUBLICANS - Ah, yes, the, "You're not going out dressed like that, young lady" effect. Pew: "Two sociologists have found that parents who have daughters are more inclined to support the GOP and turn a cold shoulder to Democrats. In newly published findings that challenge earlier research, Dalton Conley of New York University and Emily Rauscher of the University of Kansas found that having more daughters than sons and having a daughter first "significantly reduces the likelihood of Democratic identification and significantly increases the strength of Republican Party identification." Not only is the daughter effect statistically significant, it's substantively large. They found that overall, "compared to those with no daughters, parents with all daughters are 14% less likely to identify as a Democrat....[and] 11% more likely to identify as a Republican than parents with no daughters," they write in the journal Sociological Forum. .The daughters effect is considerably stronger among better educated and wealthier parents, they find. But among those farther down the socioeconomic ladder, it weakens to statistical insignificance.Their startling conclusions are based on data collected two decades ago from 661 respondents with biological children interviewed for the 1994 General Social Survey conducted by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center." [Pew]
COMFORT FOOD
- Penguins chase after butterflies because OH MY GOD THAT IS A THING THAT HAPPENED [http://bit.ly/1bcs0s2]
- How dry cleaning works... because elves have been phased out. [http://read.bi/1cLpIwK]
- The Michelangelo of pancake art. [http://bit.ly/IaReug]
- Advanced scarfing techniques. [http://bit.ly/17KrQoM]
- Famous graffiti from Walt Disney, Henry Miller and other. [http://bit.ly/IcJvvz]
- James Franco and Seth Rogen reenact the music video to Kanye West's "Bound 2." [http://bit.ly/1dw1knJ]
TWITTERAMA
@alexlundry: The GOP data gap, in one screenshot: pic.twitter.com/PCWRM0XTZB
@realDonaldTrump: Don't worry, THE UNITED STATES WILL BE GREAT AGAIN!
@daveweigel: What's the best place to watch Canada's by-election results? #Trudeaumentum #Freedlandslide
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