MEET THE OBAMA-SUPPORTING COUPLE who just got hosed by ObamaCare. I have absolutely zero sympathy for them, but what truly irks me is their solution: earn less so thay can qualify for a subsidy too.

MOST UNINSURED ignoring healthcare exchanges.

The reality is this law was passed to satisfy a political agenda, not to satisfy the demands of the citizenry. And that reality is demonstrated by this sort of indifferent reception. Even though the rollout has been a disaster, the biggest problem remains government butting into a market where it was neither needed or wanted. The results are predictable.

That's a theme I've written about several times over the last several years since President Obama took office: when the government gets too 'buttinski', Americans tend to just ignore it and move on. When the 'ignorers' get too numerous, there's not much a government can do short of using excessive force.

OBAMA CARES:

Linked from Investor's Business Daily.

SMART KID:

I was eating breakfast with my 13-year-old granddaughter and I asked her, "What day is the 20th of February?"

She said "It's President's Day!" I asked "What does President's Day mean?" I was waiting for something about Washington or Lincoln, etc. She replied, President's Day is when President Obama steps out of the White House, and if he sees his shadow we have one more year of unemployment."

You know, it hurts when hot coffee spurts out your nose!

From my email.

ZEKE THE BLEAK: Emanuel should be Obama's personal physician; their arrogance is a match made in Heaven.

BUT, BUT ... we're the good guys.

Original story is here.

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES: Here we go again. My favorite:

IT WOULD BE SWEET JUSTICE if every Democrat who attacked the insurance companies for canceling pre-ObamaCare health plans had their own healthcare policies canceled and were told they must renew through Healthcare.gov.

RANDOM THOUGHTS from the retirement lane: an argument in favor of gay marriage. Now that the ObamaCare marriage penalty news is out, I suggest that gay couples be required to marry so that they can share the 'benefits' of marriage with the rest of us.

PRESIDENTIAL CURRENCY:

George Washington, our nation's first president and leader of the American Revolution!

Abe Lincoln, honorable leader who pulled our nation through its darkest time.

Alexander Hamilton, founding father, first Secretary of the Treasury and leader of the constitutional convention.

Andrew Jackson, "Old Hickory " fought the British in New Orleans.

Finally, we have someone to put on the food stamp.

Obama's policies have put more people on welfare than any president before him, so this placement is most appropriate. Unlike the Nobel Peace Prize, this he richly deserves.

From my email.

ANOTHER OBAMACARE BUG FEATURE:

The Massachusetts Health Connector website ... cuts off people with hyphenated last names, suggesting that having obnoxious progressive parents is now a pre-existing condition.

Heh.

LET'S FIX OBAMACARE: increase the subsidies. Pay for it with other people's money.

FRIDAY JOBS REPORT: 204,000 net new jobs, but unemployment and underemployment rates up.

So what does it mean? I suspect two things: (1) the government shutdown slowdown had little effect on the overall economy, and (2) most of the new jobs are part-time.

THE OLYMPIC TORCH visits the International Space Station. I understand the symbolism and desire for publicity, but risking two flight crews strikes me as a bit much.

PRESIDENT ASTERISK* backtracking on promise to have Healthcare.gov working by the end of November.

*every promise comes with an expiration date.

AMERICAN SPECTATOR: The Sabotage Republicans.

D.C. OBAMACARE NUMBERS show five people signed up for exchange. That's significant, because Washington D.C. has a very large (~100,000) population of uninsured. If they're not showing up in larger numbers, it's likely that they recognize the bum deal that is ObamaCare.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Why Obama's non-apology won't work.

NOT LIKELY.

SEATTLE: Machinists slam Boeing’s 777X contract proposal.

The unemployment line in Seattle is about to get a bit longer....

AUTUMN LEAVES V: Here's today's picture of the leaves no longer on the trees in our yard. We've had some rain and high winds; and the difference between this week and last week is dramatic.

Like last week, here's a shot taken from the front porch. The leaves are gone. Gone, gone, gone. When it rained (lightly) Thursday, every raindrop that hit the ground brought two leaves with it.

Here's an expanded version of the picture above. Note that most of the yard has been cleared, except at the bottom left. That is what the whole yard looked like early Friday morning before I started blowing leaves.

Winter is arriving.

FIRST JUAN WILLIAMS; now Mara Liasson.

On the bright side, NPR seems to have learned its lesson with Juan Williams.

THANKS, MR. PRESIDENT: Former MSNBC Host’s Health Plan Cancelled, New Plan Costs 3.5 Times More.

I'm sure he's pleased to have gotten out of that 'substandard' plan he used to have....