Monday, October 7, 2013

Popular Opinion

obama, obama jokes, stilton jarlsberg, hope n' change, hope and change, cartoons, political, obamacare, healthcare.gov, unemployment, tea party, conservative, shutdown

90 million Americans got a boost to their self-esteem this week when the Obama administration and mainstream media declared that not working is proof of popularity!

At least, that's what they're claiming for the Obamacare website, which is apparently so screamingly popular that almost nobody can actually use it.  And impressively, of the excruciatingly small number of people who have somehow managed to machete their way into the online jungles of Healthcare.gov, it is estimated that 99 out of 100 of their applications will fail to go through the system because of poor design, poor implementation, and the fact that Joe Biden is using the Healthcare.gov computer to play "Farmville."

Based on our own testing here at Hope n' Change, it's been impossible to even log on to the site after six days of trying. Although in fairness, we did make some new progress today: we got a message that the system was down, but we could call a customer support "specialist" who's likely had neither training nor a background check, give them all of our personal identification data, and then tell them that we're experiencing "error Reference ID: 0.cdd7c17.1381088033.694c3ba."  

Which, coincidentally, is probably the same number which will eventually be printed on our government-issued toe tag.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment to the president is that his healthcare website couldn't be included in his government shutdown, because it would have to be in service to be taken out of service.


Still, the website does have something in common with our other national monuments: it's completely blocked from public view by government barricades like this one...


obama, obama jokes, stilton jarlsberg, hope n' change, hope and change, cartoons, political, obamacare, healthcare.gov, unemployment, tea party, conservative, shutdown

BONUS CARTOON: Blown Circuit...

cartoons, conservative, healthcare.gov, hope and change, hope n' change, obama, obama jokes, obamacare, political, shutdown, stilton jarlsberg, tea party, lewinsky, piers morgan

30 comments:

Bruce Bleu said...

This whole scenario could be expressed by ANYONE in the military in a sentence including the word "CLUSTER"! And what is it with these imbeciles, do they think EVERY day is a Calvin and Hobbes opposite day? "It doesn't work worth a crap" means "it is great", "you will see your premiums go down $2500.00" means "your premiums will go UP $3500.00".
The SAME guy who said "...words mean something" is the one who interprets his own words in some kind of "reverse-o-world"?

Anonymous said...

Hey Stilton, How's it going? Hope all is well. I'm surprised you didn't mention that the help phone number for Obamacare is 1-800-F1U-CKYO.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Bruce Bleu- You're right, we have entered "reverse-o-world" thanks to this magnificent president (see what I did there?).

@Anonymous- Even without my help, I think everyone is going to know that's Obamacare's number soon...

Thomas said...

I laughed so hard I quit breathing....................................................................................................

Thomas said...

Save ME, Obamacare!

Colby said...

So it's opposite day, eh?
Stilton,
This was the worst cartoon you have ever posted; it sucks more than my shop vac!

Last Friday, I read the total number of people that successfully(?) bought obuttmacare in North Carolina. Wanna guess? One person! Yep, some lucy schmuck in NC actually made it through to Health Care Nirvana. Of course, I think I saw it on the Fox News website, so they probably exaggerated to make it look worse than it really is because they are right wing nutjobs. It was probably more like 2 or 3 people that signed up.

And meanwhile, the libs are already saying the the Republican's refusal to budge is going ot make the dollar crash. Really? I suppose the years of the Fed printing worthless paper has nothing to do with that....

I'm still considering moving to a less socialist country like Sweden or France. Of course, Sweden did ONE thing right. They eliminated their Senate. I can only dream....

Anonymous said...

While Monica is certainly responsible for her actions / history, she has become a victim of sorts while Bill does not appear to suffer in a similar manner.

Have a heart-give this girl a break. She is someone's daughter, just not yours.

John the Econ said...

Now there's another "shutdown absurdity" I hadn't considered. (Considering "absurdity" with this bunch is more than a full-time job): Why is it that most other "important" government sites like the employer E-Verify site or the national AMBER Alert website get shutdown, but ObamaCare at least tries to stay up?

Remember over 4 years ago when we were promised the "most transparent" government in history? "Transparently corrupt" wasn't what we had in mind. If the GOP wants to play the "shutdown" game, they should demand that the ObamaCare site get pulled as least as long as the E-Verify or AMBER Alert sites do.

Actually, since the ObamaCare site is clearly not-ready-for-prime-time, you'd think that they'd be happy to pull the plug to give themselves more time to get it right.

@Anonymous: All of us (who are not top-level Democrats anyway) are responsible for our actions, and get to endure the consequences. And yes, it certainly seems unfair that the consequence that Monica faces is to spend the rest of her life as a late-night comedy punchline while Bill Clinton at least appears to still garner some degree of "respect". (Although, 40 years on when history is more objectively written, I doubt that will remain the case)

Every day, frivolous young women face making similar "mistakes" without considering the long-term consequences. Perhaps the experience of Monica will make at least some of them think twice.

Marine4ever said...

Why reinvent the wheel? I stole this.

Unmercifully, and with no hesitation, I've re-blogged this in it's entirety on my site... linked back to you, of course!

Keep going the way you are and I may just put you on the payroll. YOU'RE GREAT!

Grumpy Curmudgeon said...

John The Econ: remember, 'Transparent' means you can't see it! From HnC past....

WMD said...

Well, I just read some good news about the shut down. king hussein is reinstating the space program so they can send park rangers to shut down the moon sites from being observed from earth. Oh happy day!

This is what happens when people elect (Through a lot of fraud also) a shallow, selfish, self-centered, arrogant neo-marxist child. As I've said here before, the marxtists know how to run a revolution and murder people, but they don't know how to run a government or a world economy. They excel at envy, jealousy, class warfare, division, derision, scapegoating, blaming, finger pointing, race warfare, stealing, lying and death.

Their ideology is a fraud, it's an illusion, it does not work, it can never work, it will never work. It is a total and complete lie. It was dreamed up by an angry, bitter paranoid who let his own family starve to death because he was so focused on his hatred. But, what the hell, why let over one hundred years of failure after failure stop you, huh? Two hundred million people have been murdered in the name of that psycopath since he wrote that treatise on evil.

Even little billy ayers said in the late sixties, when asked about what would happen to the people that would not accept his new world order, that he figured about 30 million people would have to be sent to their death because they wouldn't accept his "re-education".

Thanks, but no thanks little bill.
No, lets just keep going with this complete delusion that somehow we'll build this "collective" where all are equal and everything is "fair". Except for those in the ruling class where things are "more fair".

I honestly feel sorry for those weak-minded enough to believe in that horsesh*t. And, for being such believers in evolution, it seems to me that communism is the complete opposite of evolution. They want equality and fairness, show me one place in nature where things are fair. Is survival on the Serengeti fair? If evolution were true, then we, as a society, should be getting smarter, I challenge any neo-comm to prove that. If we were, king hussein would have never even gotten close enough to sniff the presidency. I guess they'll achieve their survival of the fittest with their death panels?

Sorry, just HAD to rant. I'm just growing really weary of what passes as "our government" these days. Best and brightest my ass.

And my genuine and sincere thanks to Stilt and everyone else here at HnC. Y'all are the best.

Earl said...

@WMD. Excellent rant. I have nothing to add.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Thomas- If you quit breathing and need help from Obamacare, they can give you some hot air.

@Colby- There was a good piece in the WSJ today about the fact that the Healthcare.gov website isn't just "too popular" - it's crap computer code. And as far as I know, the same people are doing the coding which will eventually determine what services we do or don't receive. Be afraid.

I'll admit that I'm somewhat worried about what's going to happen with the debt limit confrontation. Negotiating with Obama on the economy is like negotiating with a suicide bomber - you don't have much leverage when your opponent wants things to blow up.

@Anonymous- You make a legitimate point, and in fairness I don't wish any ill to Monica. She made a stupid mistake, as many (most?) young people do - especially when being manipulated by an older predator.

But that being said, when you use the president of the United States as a chew toy, there are repercussions which affect a lot of people, and which don't go away. Would a less-distracted Bill Clinton have nailed Osama bin Laden instead of his intern? Possibly. And the Lewinsky scandal gave us MoveOn.org (originally named because we should just "move on" from Bill lying under oath and waggling his stinky finger at the camera) which remains a powerful force for evil in the world. "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" was Hillary's creation during the scandal, and the Left has clutched the concept to its heaving bosom.

And finally, although I'm not without sympathy for Monica, the idea that she can slip quietly out of the national spotlight is simply wrong as long as the Clintons remain politically active. When Hillary makes her next run for the White House, all of the Clinton sex scandals will be brought up again. And why shouldn't they? Hillary herself was in charge of "bimbo control," and gave her lying dog of a husband the political cover he needed to do vast harm to the office he held.

@John the Econ- It's really depressing to watch "the shutdown game" from the sidelines and see minimal cuts being used to inflict maximum pain on the American public.

And you're right that the Healthcare.gov website should shut down entirely until it's well and truly fixed (assuming that such a thing is even possible). The longer they leave up a crippled system, the less confidence people are going to have in Obamacare in general. Which wouldn't be a bad thing if there was any way to avoid it - but there isn't.

@Marine4Ever- Thank you, sir! Anything I publish here is free to share or link to as long as my identifying information remains in there someplace, and nothing is repackaged for sale.

And say - I like the sound of being on a payroll. I keep looking in my mailbox for a check from the Koch brothers, but nothing has appeared yet.

@Grumpy Curmudgeon- You know, I should really print some t-shirts with Obama using that phrase...

@WMD- A fine rant indeed, and I agree with all the particulars. Nicely said!

txGreg said...

I think I might have found a wonderful solution to our nation's problems today in this local story.

For whatever reason, some dude dressed up as a police officer, and tried to pass himself off as such at a local mall. At the end of the story above, it concludes with this: "...remains in jail on a $100,000 bond for impersonating a public servant."

Really!? Is that illegal at the national level too? Cause if it is, I just figured out how to clean house in D.C.

Grumpy Curmudgeon said...

People, you can't make this stuff up:
New Air Force Cargo Planes Fly Into Mothballs

Queso Grande said...

It's not nearly as good as having my COuntry back the way it was, but to put a smile on your lips and a song in your heart, go read the HealthCare.Gov's facebook page's comments.

Ripping it to shreds they are.......

As it should be......

alan markus said...

Stilton - you must go over to the I Like Obamacare Facebook page and post your cartoons. I put the "Bi Partisan" picture in a comment and it posted - I immediately deleted it. Anyway, this Facebook page (owned by OFA) was supposed to be a place to post positive experiences about Obamacare - it's anything but & all kinds of anti-Obama people are "bonding" at this site. Even the old posts are getting comments every hour.

alan markus said...

Here's the Facebook page - go and trash up the place a little - might gain a new audience.

https://www.facebook.com/ilikeobamacare

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Alan marcus- thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll go over there and rabble rouse a bit!

Duke Mantee said...

Facebook can handle over a billion users. The government run Obamacare site can't handle but a couple of hundred. Just one more reason the private sector is better than the government.

Bruce Bleu said...

I went over to the dark-side to check out the fecesbook page Alan Marcus suggested but I had to leave after about 2 minutes because all the gushing about lamontocare and the people who OBVIOUSLY use Preparation H for lip gloss made me hyperglycemic!

John the Econ said...

I wouldn't take the "gushing" messages over ObamaCare on social media too seriously. Odds are that they're astroturf:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2430875/Barack-Obama-19-5m-fake-Twitter-followers.html

More than 19.5 million of Obama's 36.9 million Twitter followers are accounts that don't correspond to real people.

Makes sense. No "real" person would be impressed by ObamaCare.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Duke Mantee- There's certainly no lack of online sites handling MUCH more traffic than Healthcare.gov. But then, those websites are forced to compete and don't have the luxury of a law forcing customers to their door.

By the way, I just read that the government has created a "virtual waiting room" which keeps too many people from accessing the system at once. That's right - they're rationing access to insurance providers as a prelude to rationing access to medical services. It would be funny if it weren't tragic.

@Bruce Bleu- I visited but couldn't post anything (other than a comment, I suppose). But it was too sickening to linger long.

@John the Econ- At this point, I take it for granted that nothing about Obama is real, including his followers. Or, for that matter, his voters.

Mike Porter said...

I guess I could laugh at yet another abysmal progressive failure, except that the ACA was never designed to actually 'work' as advertised. Instead, it's working as designed: as an axe handle shoved into the spokes of our economy. And just as the EPA is penalizing refineries for not utilizing a yet to be developed fuel additive, we will be penalized for not utilizing a yet to be developed 'healthcare system'. Now every American can be designated a criminal by the powers that be, and the selection of those to punish may be predicated upon your choice of words in the public square.

CRAZY PROGRESSIVE said...

You tea-partiers and Republicans are INSANE! Harry Reid just said so and it must be true! Because he holds the progressive mindset that actually CARES that millions of people do not have healthcare, and Mr. Obama (got a FREE phone or two from him) and ALL the democrats desperately want everyone to have FREE healthcare, keeping our fav doctor and insurance plans! My gosh, it is a dream come true! I cannot believe I lived to see the day when EVERYONE will have healthcare because our compassionate government has seen fit to make it possible! Hallelujah, Praise Obama, Praise Pelosi, Praise Reed, Praise.......Oh, this is just PRY, being the least bit sarcastic today! Good to see Monica again!Down, girl! Good dog!

REM1875 said...

Be nice to mz monica - she has offered to do her part during the shut down by offering to suck start B-1 bombers. While waiting for the paperwork to clear she has been entertaining the troops by sucking chrome off of trailer hitches and occasionally sucking bowling balls through garden hoses. Three cheers for mz monica!

REM1875 said...

@Colby
This group has saluted and run the 'cluster' penant, with multiple awards, up the yard arm long ago and appears to be embracing and operating under the 'cluster policy' as SOP. They appear to have fine tuned it to an art. I expect we will be continously posting changes as they make up rules and policy as they go along.
If you can embrace the motto of the msm "Semper Gumbi" (always flexible) we may find it less painful.

John the Econ said...

Personally, I'm enjoying the "shutdown" even more so that I enjoyed that other phony Obama creation, the "sequester". I really don't think the Progressives appreciate the help they're giving us. Even die-hard liberals can't deny the silliness, and the Gestapo-like behavior of the Federal bureaucracy. It really doesn't matter whether the orders came from the White House or not. Personally, like with the IRS scandal, I think it's a better narrative if they didn't. It all undeniably demonstrates what the Tea Party has been arguing all along; that the Federal government has utter contempt for the free citizens of America, and is completely out-of-control.

More Federal insanity:

'Gestapo' tactics meet senior citizens at Yellowstone

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1442580353/Gestapo-tactics-meet-senior-citizens-at-Yellowstone

"For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard.

The tourists were treated harshly by armed park employees, she said, so much so that some of the foreign tourists with limited English skills thought they were under arrest.

When finally allowed to leave, the bus was not allowed to halt at all along the 2.5-hour trip out of the park, not even to stop at private bathrooms that were open along the route.

“We’ve become a country of fear, guns and control,” said Vaillancourt, who grew up in Lawrence. “It was like they brought out the armed forces. Nobody was saying, ‘we’re sorry,’ it was all like — ” as she clenched her fist and banged it against her forearm.


What a wonderful impression to make upon foreign visitors, who must have thought they had been teleported back to Nazi Germany circa 1938.

Keep it up Feds! The Tea Party can't buy this kind of validation!

David in SoCal said...

Yup, just when you think Oomnipotent has crapped on our Military Heroes for the last time, he outdoes his crapiosity again. NOW the America hating sonofabitch has stopped funding for Military Death Benefits, and won't pay to fly our dead Soldiers home to Dover AFB. How much longer do we have to be spit on and kicked around before Impeachment Proceedings begin? Like Howard Beale; "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this any more!" And neither should the rest of this Country. Get up, get on the phone, and call your Representatives to voice your displeasure with this Socialist/spoiled, brat-face doody head......I double-dog dare ya!
This just in: BUT the Dilbertment can have a 'Immigration Reform Rally' at the National Mall, yes the same National Mall CLOSED by the Obama/Reid shutdown, and locked out to our WW ll heroes, but reopened for illegals seeking to 'deform' the Immigration Laws even further....The last 5 years of this Regime PEGS my Wierd Shitometer......I want my country back, dammit.

John the Econ said...

Unbelievable @David in SoCal. Just unbelievable.

As I've argued here before, Democrats refuse to present an honest budget, because doing so would put in writing what their priorities really are.

But actions like this are the 2nd-best thing. Veterans? You're so last-century; there are too few of you left and you don't vote properly anyway. But illegals? We Democrats need them! So they can do as they wish.

By playing these games, the Obama Administration and the bureaucracy are again demonstrating who counts and who they don't care about. Get that middle-America? You're on the "don't care about" end of the list.

Remember that the next time you consider letting the government take responsibility for your heath care, or well-being in general.