daily trivia

zoolander trivia!

1. ben stiller is related to christine taylor in what way?

2. what oscar winning actor plays derek zoolander's father?

3. other than zoolander what 2 other movies have stiller and taylor (credited role) been in together?

2001:a space odyssey a film by michael bay

most badass torch lighting in history

dammit kpop is awesome

and this video is one of the best i've ever seen.



(kpop = korean pop music, for the un-cultured)

atlanta....world class public transportation!

BOOM! suck it, world!

oh gracious, my people are so silly

the shake weight of korea!!!

you go guv'ment!

fuck you airlines!

daily trivia!

the four counties that have some part inside the i-285 perimeter in atlanta.

murdah kroger

its the worst place to shop in all of Atlanta
you could lose your life over twelve pack of Fanta



been here quite a few times. just go during the day, not problemo. me and cvd did happen into there one night right after they had pepper-sprayed someone, so that was fun.

heh.

tru tru.

universal health care

interesting blog post from a christian conservative about universal health care.

(here's the link)

man of steel

teaser trailer.....not too shabby, but we'll see.

how tsunamis work

daily trivia!

bon jovi music lyrics!

1. when she cries in the night, tommy whispers, baby it's okay, someday

2. no silent prayer for the faith departed

3. i've seen a million faces and i've rocked them all

4. you ask me if i've known love, and what it's like to sing songs in the rain

pretty damn cool

human bubble rings (aka, people who spend too much time in the water)



dolphins do it too (much cooler)



when two bubble rings interact



when two bubble rings interact in the lab

daily trivia

name the 6 cities in the US that have hosted an olympic games.

dan cathy? seriously?

how hard is equality?
seriously.
people who are against gay marriage are on the wrong side of history
much like those who opposed interracial marriage, integration, etc...
your kids are going to see you in history books at those "protect marriage" rallys
and you're going to have to explain to them how dumb you were
or your grand kids will hate going over to grandma/grandpa's house cause they're so bigoted

i also wonder if these people on the wrong side of history, after all is said and done
and we have true equal rights for all people
that they will lie to themselves and say, "no, i was totally for that"

this is all preaching to the choir, though.
cause i'm sure that most everyone/one reader reading this has two brain cells to rub together
and is on my side, but i get a little angry about this....anyhoo

since i'll have to boycott cfa
here's how to do it at home.
i'm going to try the shit outta this very soon.




edit**
totally forgot the ingredient list:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup pickle juice (sour dill is my favorite)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
Optional: up to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a spicy sandwich
Oil for frying (about a cup)

love it

this is from another blog (here)
i don't get too religious on here, but i really like this post
it's about being a stereotypical "conservative" and how that relates to being a christian.


I must be a naive, lazy, bum.

I wish I was conservative. I really do. It seems nice, to be able to live in a world where the rich work hard and the poor are lazy. I wish I could live in a world where the lines of right and wrong are always clear. I want to live in a world where there is no racism, where systems do not punish entire populations for the accident of being born in the wrong place. It would be nice to know that every woman that wants to take birth control is a slut, and that every woman that wants access to a safe abortion is a baby-killer. I want to live in a world where court systems can be trusted – where an eye could be taken for an eye, and a tooth could be taken for a tooth. I wish I could trust the almighty free market to bring us all to the promised land. It would be nice to see wealth trickle down to every nook and cranny of our communities.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s where I live. I look around and I see cycles of poverty. I see schools failing. I see migrant workers mistreated. I see people kept out of our churches for loving the wrong person. I see mothers struggling. I see children hungry. I see injustice. And for wanting that to change, I am called naive.

For wanting a world where there is enough for everyone, I am called a socialist. For wanting people to have a safety net, I am told that I support lazy people. For wanting peaceful, law-abiding, immigrants to have a realistic path at citizenship, I am told that I don’t care about American workers. For thinking that things like environmental justice and human rights are important, I am told that I hate business. For thinking that steadfast, unconditional love between two people is a precious gift from God and should be celebrated, I am told that I don’t believe the Bible. For thinking that we are all in this together, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, that I am my brother’s keeper, I am called naive. Or worse.

It would be so much easier to be conservative. I am tired of having my preconceived notions get challenged. Evolving, growing, and changing my mind can be hard work. It would be much easier to fall back on a clear set of guidelines, the letter of the law, and never deal in shades of gray.

Here’s the problem. I’ve read the New Testament, and I keep hearing Jesus tell the Pharisees to look beyond the letter of the law. Then I hear him tell people to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and love one another. I’ve read the Prophets, and I keep hearing them call out the kings that refuse to take care of the least of their people. I’ve read the Psalms, and wondered too why the wicked seem to prosper. Somewhere along the way, I found this crazy notion that maybe a government should take care of its citizens when they need it. I’ve got this crazy notion that Jesus healed people. He fed people. He crossed lines of nationality, ethnicity and gender, and I don’t remember him asking people for resumes. He didn’t ask them who they loved. He didn’t ask them to earn anything. He simply said, “Go, and do likewise.”

So let’s be clear, I’m honestly not sure what the proper course is for our country. I’m sure our current welfare system could be improved, but I think it’s a good thing that we don’t just let people starve. I don’t know every detail of the Affordable Health Care Act, but I think taking care of sick people is something that is worth working toward. I don’t know all the nuances of our tax code, but it seems like it should be simpler to figure out, and that taxes should be harder to avoid. I’m not an expert on immigration, but I don’t like considering people to be illegal.

I don’t have all the answers. I’ve changed my mind before, and I’m sure I will again. A few things have remained the same. I was created in the image of God. I love Jesus. I am strengthened by the Holy Spirit. And I love conservatives. I know, respect, and love a lot of people that are conservative. Maybe that’s the place to start, with love. I think that might be the key: start with love, and move forward with room for disagreement.

I don’t believe that conservatives are heartless, greedy xenophobes. So please don’t consider me to be a lazy, naive bum. I’m desperate to find some common ground. I’m hoping to find a voice crying out in the wilderness that says it doesn’t have to be this way, but I fear that the Presidential Election is going to get ugly. I fear that it is going to get harder and harder to scroll through my newsfeed. I’m afraid that people will continue to tear down, attack, and name-call. I don’t know who will win in November, but I’m pretty certain that I know the outcome.

The sun will rise. The Kingdom will not come (not in November, anyway). Neither candidate is the Messiah. Neither is flawless. God’s promise will remain. God’s love is steadfast and eternal. The world is a broken place, and it needs healing. Maybe that can be our starting point.

hurdlers can be sexy too

AND she wins

daily trivia!!!

according to box office mojo, which actor/actress is the highest grossing of all time (if you added up all the money from all the movie they have done)?

another list of books

here's a link (click this) to a list of 88 books by american authors that the library of congress thinks shaped america. not too shabby.

daily trivia!

in the cyndi lauper song "true colors", your true colors are beautiful like a what?

the punisher

thomas jane (while a wholly underwhelming punisher) did a really awesome job in this short film made for comic con. dammit i wish i was out there.

careful. lots of nsfw language and violence.

daily trivia

i played some manuel's tavern trivia last night. served by my new friend and bartender-extraordinaire, e-dawg. here are the ones i missed:

1. name the two elements highlighted in the "breaking bad" logo.

2. "everybody dies" is the title of the series finale of what 8 year long show that ended this year?

3. what movie process had the tagline "what puts you in the movie."
a. cinerama
b. cinemascope
c. imax
d. 3d

4. what longtime kansas coach played for james naismith and was called "the father of basketball coaching"?

5. in 2004 tommy douglas was named "the greatest canadian of all time". was he a...
a. politician
b. athlete
c. scientist
d. eviromentalist

6. halftime question: give the song titles to these 80's lyrics:
a. one look at you and i can't disguise
b. making love to you was never second best
c. instead you laid still in the grass, all coiled up and hissing
d. there's something about you, girl, that makes me sweat.

7. this was the final question that i nailed. lets see if you are as smart as me...
from most to least, put these states in order of population density
alabama, arkansas, california, maryland

daily trivia!

name the band each of these celebrities is a part of:


1.  jared leto
2.  russell crowe
3.  keanu reeves
4.  jada pinkett-smith
5.  zooey deschenal

ocp

yes, please.

sexy

the very first pic the was uploaded to the web. and it's a sexy one!

i'm a little surprised it wasn't porn.

it's a group of ladies made up of admin assistants and scientist wives from the cern institute in geneva. they were a comedy musical group. sounds amazing. one of them was the wife of one of the men who invented the internet, tim berners-lee.

boom! knowledged!

oh no, he dih-int!

if you've been  following georgia football recently. one of our star players, crowell, got booted off the team bc he was arrested and charged with 2 felony counts of weapon's possession and tampering. he's been a problem player as soon as he stepped foot onto campus. i don't like these kinds of players, and he got way too many chances anyway. ao i'm glad he's gone.

some of the other uga players and stepped up and supported him. and some of them have even taken to social media! one of them being cornelius washington. 

“‘all (of you) think you know so much, but in reality you know

nothing. You don’t know what we come from, you don’t know our struggles, all you

know is the number on our jersies. 99% of you don’t give a crap about us

outside of football. When we’re doing well you’re all in our faces, when things

get tough and we need encouragement you’re nowhere to be found. You’re

fake and I despise you for it. We shall band together guys, we’ve been

working hard and we only need each other. NONE of those outsiders will contribute

to our survival as a team or as individuals, you can guarantee that.

#stickclosetoeachother ~corn washington”

but an angry fan spoke up for the rest of us.

"OK Mr. Corn, I’ll bite, what oppressive circumstance that none of us can possibly understand are you referencing? Are you suggestingthat none of us come from families that struggled to make ends meet? Maybe none of us were raised by a single parent? Perhaps some of us didn’t eat grilled cheese sandwiches, cheap hot dogs (with no bun), ramen noodles, or fishsticks for dinner AS A TREAT because we came from an era of economic recession that makes today’s seem tame?

Let me tell you something you shortsighted little moron, poor when I was a kid meant something entirely different than it does now.. and we had it good compared to our parents and grandparents who survived on hope, sunshine, and tap water…

When I was a kid, I didn’t have a video game system, the TV in the LIVING ROOM was 19 inches of black & white goodness and it got 4 channels; two of them without adjusting the rabbit ears every few minutes, and one of those channels was PBS – so Sesame Street & Mr. Rogers all freaking day. This TV was shared by 4 people, you dig?

Hell, I woke up everyday wondering if Russia was going to nuke our asses for no apparent reason or if I might spontaneously explode if I didn’t wear a condom during sex…

I grew up listening to Georgia football on the radio – A.M. RADIO! We were lucky if 4 games were televised a year. I never missed a second of ANY game. I would sit in a 120 degree car until the final whistle if need be.

We had one telephone, with a cord and it was a rotary that I had to ask permission to use. I ate in a restaurant 4 or 5 times a year and wore clothes til they either fell off or I outgrew them. We had 2 window units in our house and I didn’t own a car until I was a senior in high school – guess who bought it and insured it?

Crime was high and if we wanted to go somewhere during the day, we walked – often many, many miles. When I started looking for a job, it took 47 applications before I finally got one – at McDonalds, making $3.35/hour. I attended ****** Georgia Public schools that were UN-air- conditioned (you may find it hard to believe, but it actually used to get hot back in the 70s and 80s… who knew?)

I played high school football in the era where coaches only let us drink water once per practice, before there were limitations on when we could start practicing each year, so we practiced all summer if we wanted to start. My helmet had straps inside, not pads – and spearing, clothesline tackles, horse collar tackles, head slaps, and taking cheap shots @ wide recievers & quarterbacks was not only legal, but expected…

I’ve never run a 4.4, never benched 500 lbs and never been visited by a college coach. I paid my own way to college and worked at Pizza Hut wearing brown polyester for 40 hours a week while attending a full load of classes.

My family is full of nuts, my neighborhood kind of sucked, and so did my my prospects. I would have killed to have worn the red & black, just to run onto the field and stand on the ******** SIDELINE – ONCE.

When I screwed up and got a DUI, no one came to bail me out, I went to court alone, paid my fine, did my community service and dealt with it. It sucked, but I figured I learned that was probably something I shouldn’t do again… So that I could afford my DUI fine, I went without electricity and gas for a summer, which meant the only 2 things that worked in my house were the door lock and the toilet… I ate white bread and canned mushrooms for many weeks in a row because that’s what the gas station on the corner had.. When I was feeling fancy, I’d buy eggs or *gasp* Chef Boyardee Ravioli…

So now, here we are.. one of your poor downtrodden teammates has suffered unjustly from some heretofor unknown boogey man that clearly has stacked the deck against him.

Nevermind that 3/4s of the state would have loaned him their car and put him up for the night after he decided to stay in state and play for dear old UGA. Nevermind that 65% of the state forgave him the 1st 4 or 5 times he failed a drug test, acted like a petulant little ***** about school or classwork, came out of every game that an opponent busted him in his little ***** assed mouth, and generally acted like a little dreadlocked flower with all of the toughness of a three legged kitten, possessing the

smarts of a window licking retard with water on the brain…

So now he’s taken to driving around with the next generation of UGA players with a gun that apparently

isn’t his and lo & behold, the serial number has been removed ( a Federal Offense that carries a penalty of 2-10 year in the joint).

But it’s clearly not his fault, I mean.. how could it be, he’s been a model citizen since he left Columbus and arrived on the big stage. Every gesture, every nuance would lead the dispassionate bystander to the opinion that this just COULDN’T POSSIBLY be IC1′s gun!

What the **** is the matter with you morons?

I was around when Frank Ros and the boys stole a pig before the 1980 season.. I was aware of the entire defense getting suspended before playing Miami of Ohio in the Tangerine Bowl ( a game I watched on that black & white TV – we lost as a result in spite of being heavily favored), hell I even vaaaguely remember some of the expoilts of Jake Scott…

Every one of those guys was punished in some way that made them want to die & then they contritely returned to the team, better men for it. (Well, except for Scott who told Dooley to **** off and went to play in Canada before becoming a Super Bowl MVP eventually.. but he didn’t whine like a freaking ***** that nobody understood **sniff**, *******, and besides, I’m pretty sure Jake Scott could kill any one of you just by yelling)

How did your boy IC1 fare after his 6 or 7 chances?

Your little boy brains need to catch up to your full grown man bodies before you find yourselves hanging off the back of a trash collection truck IF YOU’RE LUCKY!

You’re blessed with health, superior athletic ability, and keen minds.. every advantage possible. Free school, a huge support system, the adulation of fans everywhere.. and somehow, we just don’t understand?

Understand what, that you’re a freaking moron? That some of you waste these gifts and then whine like a ***** because instead of giving you a 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th chance we dare wonder what’n the hell is the matter with you?

I suppose instead I should EXPECT YOU TO FAIL? Then I would understand, right?

Are you idiots eating lead paint sandwiches between all the bong hits you’re apparently doing?

Be a freaking man and own up to your situation. It’s not everyone else’s fault, the quicker that takes root in your addled brain the better. Take the gifts that are given you – the OBVIOUS advantages the wheel of fortune has allowed you to enjoy and make something out of yourself.. or disappear into oblivion (preferably quietly, lest we think you are an even bigger idiot than you have led us to believe already)

I hope your dad is en route to Athens to kick you in the ***

(because I doubt our candy-assed coach will), you need it…

Your Pal,

Bobby

you know what i think about that?

daily trivia

name the 6 presidents with the first name "james".

muthafuckin lake house, bitches!

we grilled. we drank. we swam. we boated. we pee-holed-island-ed. we lake beer-ed.

not too much more to say...

action, trivia adam, and mrs. trivia (also sigfus the dog) boatin and chillin

me and beasley being awesome on the lake

floatin in the lake with lake beers

THIS is pee-hole island. 

the most magical island in all the land

sigfus guarding the boat from the ducks

trivia adam driving like a boss

we're going back soon. and it'll all happen again. but probably more awesome.

ultimate 80's movie day extravaganza!!!

it was a crazy day. we started at 830 in the morning and didn't let up till midnight. it was a relentless assault on our senses...the best the 80's had to offer (according to our nomination process). 

THE PROCESS!!!

1. nominations

2. vetoes

3. voting

4. time slots

i started out by sending a list of about 70 movies from the 80's. classics, cults favs, everything and anything, just to whet people's minds. everyone then sent back a list of 3 movies they wanted to see. i complied the list, then sent it back out for a veto round. everyone was allotted one veto. one movie that would definitely not make the final day. IF anyone had all their movies eliminated, their first pick in the voting round would automatically be chosen for viewing. then a final vote on when the 8 chosen movies would be shown.

it was a long arduous process, but a fun one.

and i present to you....our films for ultimate 80's movie day extravaganza!

830am - the breakfast club - mr wonderful made breakfast

"dear mr. vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. what we did was wrong. but we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. you see us as you want to see us... in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. but what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal...does that answer your question?... sincerely yours, the breakfast club."

10am - heathers

"well fuck me gently with a chainsaw"

12pm - say anything
"lloyd dobler...all right"
also...
"that'll never be me, that'll never be me. that'll never be, never be me. NO... NO, NEVER, NEVER, EVER. and don't you EVER THINK IT"

2pm - clue

no photo proof cause i was having too good a time watching it.
"fl.....flam....flames on the side of my face. breath...breathing...heaving breaths...heaving"

4pm - better off dead
"he uses it as an excuse to put his testicles all over me!"
"excuse me?!"
"you know, like octopus? testicles?"
"ooooh, tentacles. n-t. tentacles.big difference"

6pm - beverly hills cop
"tell victor that ramon - -the fella he met about a week ago? - -tell him that ramon went to the clinic today, and i found out that i have, um, herpes simplex 10, and i think victor should go check himself out with his physician to make sure everything is fine before things start falling off on the man."

8pm - goonies
"andy, you goonie!!"

10pm - lost boys
"pray you never have to call us"
"i pray....i never have to call you"

12am - aliens

unfortunately, the 80's movie assault on my brain won, and we decided to call it quits, before we could start the last movie.



to wrap up. it was amazing. i laughed. i cried. it was better than cats. we are definitely doing this again. with another theme. 90's comedies. black and white movies. movies with male/female nudity. anything really. just an excuse to watch movies all day long and not feel terrible about it.

everyone brought some snacks to chew on, but dr.p went above and beyond, and bought 2 steamer packs of krystals. here they are in all their glory.

till next time.

daily trivia!

sorry everyone/my one reader! i've been slammed at work and busy at home, so no time to update! but i promise i'll inundate this page with awesome stuff. but to tide you over here's a little music lyric trivia!

name the band and song!

1. "shoutin in the street, gonna take on the world some day"

2. "showin how funky, strong is your fight"

3. "in my thoughts i have seen, rings of smoke through the trees"

4. "i'd trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss"

talent...

daaaamn.

daily trivia

seven times in history time, newsweek, and sports
illustrated had the same entity on the cover in the same week:

for example, in July 2012, kermit the frog appeared on the cover of time, newseek, and sports illustrated all in the same week.

so name the 7 "entities". hint: here's a break down to make it a little easier.

1 white male
1 white female
2 black males
1 animal
2 sports teams

it's game over man!

and other famous unscripted lines...

flying around in the iss

amazing...

1-800-AMAZE-BALLS

see if you phone number has any cool spellings

boacdo burger stack

one of the best burgers in atlanta. this one and holeman and finch are neck and neck for the number one spot for traditional burger. it's two homemade patties, american cheese, house made pickles, with garlic herb fries. simple, elegant, and fucking good to eat. DO IT!

heh. pretty girls.

so very tru.

nerd time!

great SIMPLE explanation of the higgs boson (which they found today). it's what gives us matter, often called the "god particle". honestly, the dude explaining this should be a teacher somewhere. he obviously has a mastery of his subject BUT he can also explain it to someone who has no idea about the subject area.

The Higgs Boson Explained from PHD Comics on Vimeo.

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!

i'll be heading over to hottie hawgs bbq today for their grand re-opening. there's nothing more american than stuffing your face and getting drunk! to celebrate this glorious american birthday...a song that fits the occasion!

daily trivia

busy today, so it's another movie link!

which actor/actress has appeared in all three of these movies?

malcolm x
romeo must die
the cider house rules

obamacare broken down

so i ganked this from reddit (user CaspianX2) great explanation of the law, what it does and does not do (this was written in the subreddit titled "explain it like i'm 5")

if you want an explanation of the "individual mandate" jump to the date 1/1/2014.

Okay, explained like you're a five year-old (well, okay, maybe a bit older), without too much oversimplification, and (hopefully) without sounding too biased:

What people call "Obamacare" is actually the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, people were calling it "Obamacare" before everyone even hammered out what it would be. It's a term mostly used by people who don't like the PPACA, and it's become popularized in part because PPACA is a really long and awkward name, even when you turn it into an acronym like that.

Anyway, the PPACA made a bunch of new rules regarding health care, with the purpose of making health care more affordable for everyone. Opponents of the PPACA, on the other hand, feel that the rules it makes take away too many freedoms and force people (both individuals and businesses) to do things they shouldn't have to.

So what does it do? Well, here is everything, in the order of when it goes into effect (because some of it happens later than other parts of it):

(Note: Page numbers listed in citations are the page numbers within the actual document, not the page numbers of the PDF file)

Already in effect:

• It allows the Food and Drug Administration to approve more generic drugs (making for more competition in the market to drive down prices) ( Citation: An entire section of the bill, called Title VII, is devoted to this, starting on page 747 )
• It increases the rebates on drugs people get through Medicare (so drugs cost less) ( Citation: Page 216, sec. 2501 )
• It establishes a non-profit group, that the government doesn't directly control, PCORI, to study different kinds of treatments to see what works better and is the best use of money. ( Citation: Page 665, sec. 1181)
• It makes chain restaurants like McDonalds display how many calories are in all of their foods, so people can have an easier time making choices to eat healthy. ( Citation: Page 499, sec. 4205 )
• It makes a "high-risk pool" for people with pre-existing conditions. Basically, this is a way to slowly ease into getting rid of "pre-existing conditions" altogether. For now, people who already have health issues that would be considered "pre-existing conditions" can still get insurance, but at different rates than people without them. ( Citation: Page 30, sec. 1101, Page 45, sec. 2704, and Page 46, sec. 2702 )
• It forbids insurance companies from discriminating based on a disability, or because they were the victim of domestic abuse in the past (yes, insurers really did deny coverage for that) ( Citation: Page 47, sec. 2705 )
• It renews some old policies, and calls for the appointment of various positions.
• It creates a new 10% tax on indoor tanning booths. ( Citation: Page 923, sec. 5000B )
• It says that health insurance companies can no longer tell customers that they won't get any more coverage because they have hit a "lifetime limit". Basically, if someone has paid for health insurance, that company can't tell that person that he's used that insurance too much throughout his life so they won't cover him any more. They can't do this for lifetime spending, and they're limited in how much they can do this for yearly spending. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2711 )
• Kids can continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance until they're 26. ( Citation: Page 15, sec. 2714 )
• No more "pre-existing conditions" for kids under the age of 19. ( Citation: Page 45, sec. 2704 and Page 57, sec. 1255 )
• Insurers have less ability to change the amount customers have to pay for their plans. ( Citation: Page 47, sec. 2794 )
• People in a "Medicare Gap" get a rebate to make up for the extra money they would otherwise have to spend. ( Citation: Page 379, sec. 3301 )
• Insurers can't just drop customers once they get sick. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2712 )
• Insurers have to tell customers what they're spending money on. (Instead of just "administrative fee", they have to be more specific).
• Insurers need to have an appeals process for when they turn down a claim, so customers have some manner of recourse other than a lawsuit when they're turned down. ( Citation: Page 23, sec. 2719 )
• Anti-fraud funding is increased and new ways to stop fraud are created. ( Citation: Page 699, sec. 6402 )
• Medicare extends to smaller hospitals. ( Citation: Starting on page 344, the entire section "Part II" seems to deal with this )
• Medicare patients with chronic illnesses must be monitored more thoroughly.
• Reduces the costs for some companies that handle benefits for the elderly. ( Citation: Page 492, sec. 4202 )
• A new website is made to give people insurance and health information. (I think this is it:http://www.healthcare.gov/ ). ( Citation: Page 36, sec. 1103 )
• A credit program is made that will make it easier for business to invest in new ways to treat illness by paying half the cost of the investment. (Note - this program was temporary. It already ended) ( Citation: Page 830, sec. 9023 )
• A limit is placed on just how much of a percentage of the money an insurer makes can be profit, to make sure they're not price-gouging customers. ( Citation: Page 22, sec. 1101 )
• A limit is placed on what type of insurance accounts can be used to pay for over-the-counter drugs without a prescription. Basically, your insurer isn't paying for the Aspirin you bought for that hangover. ( Citation: Page 800, sec. 9003 )
• Employers need to list the benefits they provided to employees on their tax forms. ( Citation: Page 800, sec. 9002 )
• Any new health plans must provide preventive care (mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) without requiring any sort of co-pay or charge. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2713 )

1/1/2013

• If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes go up a tiny bit (0.9%). Edit: To address those who take issue with the word "tiny", a change of 0.9% is relatively tiny. Any look at how taxes have fluctuated over the years will reveal that a change of less than one percent is miniscule, especially when we're talking about people in the top 5% of earners. ( Citation: Page 818, sec. 9015 )

1/1/2014

This is when a lot of the really big changes happen.

• No more "pre-existing conditions". At all. People will be charged the same regardless of their medical history. ( Citation: Page 45, sec. 2704, Page 46, sec. 2701, and Page 57, sec. 1255 )
• If you can afford insurance but do not get it, you will be charged a fee. This is the "mandate" that people are talking about. Basically, it's a trade-off for the "pre-existing conditions" bit, saying that since insurers now have to cover you regardless of what you have, you can't just wait to buy insurance until you get sick. Otherwise no one would buy insurance until they needed it. You can opt not to get insurance, but you'll have to pay the fee instead, unless of course you're not buying insurance because you just can't afford it. (Note: On 6/28/12, the Supreme Court ruled that this is Constitutional, as long as it's considered a tax on the uninsured and not a penalty for not buying insurance... nitpicking about wording, mostly, but the long and short of it is, it looks like this is accepted by the courts) ( Citation: Page 145, sec. 5000A, and here is the actual court ruling for those who wish to read it. )

Question: What determines whether or not I can afford the mandate? Will I be forced to pay for insurance I can't afford?

Answer: There are all kinds of checks in place to keep you from getting screwed. Kaiser actually has a webpage with a pretty good rundown on it, if you're worried about it. You can see it here.

Okay, have we got that settled? Okay, moving on...

• Medicaid can now be used by everyone up to 133% of the poverty line (basically, a lot more poor people can get insurance) ( Citation: Page 179, sec. 2001 )
• Small businesses get some tax credits for two years. (It looks like this is specifically for businesses with 25 or fewer employees) ( Citation: Page 138, sec. 1421 )
• Businesses with over 50 employees must offer health insurance to full-time employees, or pay a penalty.
• Insurers now can't do annual spending caps. Their customers can get as much health care in a given year as they need. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2711 )
• Limits how high of an annual deductible insurers can charge customers. ( Citation: Page 62, sec. 1302 )
• Cut some Medicare spending
• Place a $2500 limit on tax-free spending on FSAs (accounts for medical spending). Basically, people using these accounts now have to pay taxes on any money over $2500 they put into them. ( Citation: Page 801, sec. 9005 )
• Establish health insurance exchanges and rebates for the lower and middle-class, basically making it so they have an easier time getting affordable medical coverage. ( Citation: Page 88, sec. 1311 )
• Congress and Congressional staff will only be offered the same insurance offered to people in the insurance exchanges, rather than Federal Insurance. Basically, we won't be footing their health care bills any more than any other American citizen. ( Citation: Page 81, sec. 1312 )
• A new tax on pharmaceutical companies.
• A new tax on the purchase of medical devices.
• A new tax on insurance companies based on their market share. Basically, the more of the market they control, the more they'll get taxed.
• The amount you can deduct from your taxes for medical expenses increases.

1/1/2015

• Doctors' pay will be determined by the quality of their care, not how many people they treat. Edit: a_real_MD addresses questions regarding this one in far more detail and with far more expertise than I can offer in this post. If you're looking for a more in-depth explanation of this one (as many of you are), I highly recommend you give his post a read.

1/1/2017

• If any state can come up with their own plan, one which gives citizens the same level of care at the same price as the PPACA, they can ask the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for permission to do their plan instead of the PPACA. So if they can get the same results without, say, the mandate, they can be allowed to do so. Vermont, for example, has expressed a desire to just go straight to single-payer (in simple terms, everyone is covered, and medical expenses are paid by taxpayers). ( Citation: Page 98, sec. 1332 )

2018

• All health care plans must now cover preventive care (not just the new ones).
• A new tax on "Cadillac" health care plans (more expensive plans for rich people who want fancier coverage).

2020

• The elimination of the "Medicare gap"

.

Aaaaand that's it right there.

The biggest thing opponents of the bill have against it is the mandate. They claim that it forces people to buy insurance, and forcing people to buy something is unconstitutional. Personally, I take the opposite view, as it's not telling people to buy a specific thing, just to have a specific type of thing, just like a part of the money we pay in taxes pays for the police and firemen who protect us, this would have us paying to ensure doctors can treat us for illness and injury.

Plus, as previously mentioned, it's necessary if you're doing away with "pre-existing conditions" because otherwise no one would get insurance until they needed to use it, which defeats the purpose of insurance.

Of course, because so many people are arguing about it, and some of the people arguing about it don't really care whether or not what they're saying is true, there are a lot of things people think the bill does that just aren't true. Here's a few of them:

Obamacare has death panels!: That sounds so cartoonishly evil it must be true, right? Well, no. No part of the bill says anything about appointing people to decide whether or not someone dies. The decision over whether or not your claim is approved is still in the hands of your insurer. However, now there's an appeals process so if your claim gets turned down, you can challenge that. And the government watches that appeals process to make sure it's not being unfair to customers. So if anything the PPACA is trying to stop the death panels. ( Citation: Page 23, sec. 2719 )

What about the Independent Medical Advisory Board? Death Panels!: The Independent Medical Advisory Board is intended to give recommendations on how to save Medicare costs per person, deliver more efficient and effective care, improve access to services, and eliminate waste. However, they have no real power. They put together a recommendation to put before Congress, and Congress votes on it, and the President has power to veto it. What's more, they are specifically told that their recommendation will not ration health care, raise premiums or co-pays, restrict benefits, or restrict eligibility. In other words, they need to find ways to save money without reducing care for patients. So no death panels. In any sense of the (stupid) term. ( Citation: Page 407, sec. 3403 )

Obamacare gives free insurance to illegal immigrants!: Actually, there are multiple parts of the bill that specifically state that the recipient of tax credits and other good stuff must be a legal resident of the United States. And while the bill doesn't specifically forbid illegals from buying insurance or getting treated at hospitals, neither did the laws in the US before the PPACA. So even at worst, illegals still have just as much trouble getting medical care as they used to. ( Citations: Page 122, sec. 1402, Page 123, sec. 1411, Page 125, sec. 1411, Page 132, sec. 1412 )

Obamacare uses taxpayer money for abortions!: One part of the bill says, essentially, that the folks who wrote this bill aren't touching that issue with a ten foot pole. It basically passes the buck on to the states, who can choose to allow insurance plans that cover abortions, or they can choose to not allow them. Obama may be pro-choice, but that is not reflected in the PPACA. ( Citation: Page 64, sec. 1303 )

Obamacare won't let me keep the insurance I have!: The PPACA actually very specifically says you can keep the insurance you have if you want. ( Citation: Page 55, sec. 1251 )

Obamacare will make the government get between me and my doctor!: The PPACA very specifically says that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (who is in charge of much of the bill), is absolutely not to promote any regulation that hinders a patient's ability to get health care, to speak with their doctor, or have access to a full range of treatment options. ( Citation: Page 165, sec. 1554 )

Obamacare has a public option! That makes it bad!: The public option (which would give people the option of getting insurance from a government-run insurer, thus the name), whether you like it or not, was taken out of the bill before it was passed. You can still see where it used to be, though. ( Citation: Page 92, sec. 1323 (the first one))

Obamacare will cost trillions and put us in massive debt!: The PPACA will cost a lot of money... at first. $1.7 Trillion. Yikes, right? But that's just to get the ball rolling. You see, amongst the things built into the bill are new taxes - on insurers, pharmaceutical companies, tanning salons, and a slight increase in taxes on people who make over $200K (an increase of less than 1%). Additionally, the bill cuts some stuff from Medicare that's not really working, and generally tries to make everything work more efficiently. Also, the increased focus on preventative care (making sure people don't get sick in the first place), should help to save money the government already spends on emergency care for these same people. Basically, by catching illnesses early, we're not spending as much on emergency room visits. According to the Congressional Budget Office, who studies these things, the ultimate result is that this bill will reduce the yearly deficit by $210 billion. By the year 2021, the bill will actually have paid itself and started bringing in more money than it cost.

Obamacare is twice as long as War and Peace!: War and Peace is 587,287 words long. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, depending on which version you're referring to, is between 300,000-400,000 words long. Don't get me wrong, it's still very long, but it's not as long as War and Peace. Also, it bears mention that bills are often long. In 2005, Republicans passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 2005, which was almost as long as the PPACA, and no one raised a stink about it.

The people who passed Obamacare didn't even read it!: Are you kidding? They had been reading it over and over for a half a year. This thing was being tossed around in debates for ages. And it went through numerous revisions, but every time it was revised, it was just adding, removing, or changing small parts of it, not rewriting the whole thing. And every time it was revised, the new version of the bill was published online for everyone to see. The final time it was edited, there may not have been time to re-read the entire thing before voting on it, but there wasn't a need to, because everyone had already read it all. The only thing people needed to read was the revision, which there was plenty of time to do.

Pelosi said something like, "we'll have to pass the bill before reading it"!: The actual quote is "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy", and she's talking about all the lies and false rumors that were spreading about it. Things had gotten so absurd that by this point many had given up on trying to have an honest dialogue about it, since people kept worrying about things that had no basis in reality. Pelosi was simply trying to say that once the bill is finalized and passed, then everyone can look at it and see, without question, what is actually in the thing (as opposed to some new amendment you heard on the radio that they were going to put in).

I think those are some of the bigger ones. I'll try to get to more as I think of them.

Whew! Hope that answers the question!