Kautzman's AP GO PO Blog

SNL – “The Rock Obama” Oct. 17th

Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)

5 Comments Leave a comment.

1. on October 21, 2009 at 7:13 pm Jeremy Wales Said:
   

   A. What you learned?
   Well, I did not learn much from this video. This is a video with meaning to poke fun at the presidency of corse. However, there was the use of the term “blue dog” within this setting. I forgot what the term meant. So I did some research on the internet and found out that the blue dogs are a group of moderate and conservative Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives. Without knowing this term, I was confused on that little portion of the skit when senator “Bacchus” is explaining himself.

   B. What you think?
   I think that this is a very funny skit and I like the fact on how it pokes fun at both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party (or presidency). Nothing makes me laugh more than satire upon everybody! I do not have much to say about the serious issue being pressed with healthcare though. I still hear a lot about it from my business owning mom and her discomforts with it. “Put head in hand… I smash it now!” I am sure president Obama doesn`t get THAT angry! Extension: I have been seeing this “viral video” all over the web on political blogs and other sites. Not many people have seemed to take offense to this video. That is good, I do not like debates anyways. Yet, there has not been much of this in the Paper (at least from what I have seen). It seems that this kind of humor and setup is quite common for television.

   C. What you would like to know?
   I would like to know if all three of the people mentioned in this skit are real (of corse I know they are being played by actors) and what they exactly do within the government. To be honest, I do not know anything about who is in our senate and other branches of our government.

2. on October 22, 2009 at 4:57 pm laraestotts Said:
   

   A. I knew that in general, Democrats are more receiving of the idea of universal healthcare, and in general, the Republicans cannot stand it. However, I didn’t know Obama ripped people’s arms off when they didn’t agree with him. :}

   B. I learned, after looking it up, what the Baucus Bill is. The Baucus Bill has been proposed by Max Baucus, the head of the Senate finance committee. First of all, many of the changes in his plan would not be applied until 2013. Under his bill, no one can be turned away due to pre-existing conditions. Also, families will receive tax credits based on income to provide them with a little extra to pay premiums. It also gives tax credits to small businesses. It would require all people to either purchase insurance, or pay a fine for choosing to forego coverage. It doesn’t include a government-run option to compete with private insurance companies. Illegal immigrants would not be allowed to be insured, however, if they had US born children, they could purchase insurance for their children.

   C. What do Americans want their healthcare to look like? Which elements are the most important to us?

   Connection: I remember discussing how much it takes to get a Bill passed in Congress, and I can see why a type of healthcare gridlock is occurring. It will take a lot of debate and discussion and processing for a Bill to be passed, which is a good thing, because the new reforms will be receiving a lot of our time, money, and resources.

3. on October 22, 2009 at 7:13 pm Kyle Hicks Said:
   

   In response to Jeremy Wales:
   “I would like to know if all three of the people mentioned in this skit are real…and what they exactly do within the government.”

   All three Senators mentioned in the video are real. Mitch McConnell is a Republican from Kentucky, and is the current Senate minority leader. Max Baucus (spelled B-A-U-C-U-S) is a Democratic Senator from Montana and, as said in the video, is a “Blue-Dog” Democrat. Olympia Snowe is a Republican Senator from Maine who “crossed party lines” and recently voted in favor of the proposed health care bill.

   I got most of my information from good ol’ Wikipedia. The rest I picked up on the streets.

4. on October 22, 2009 at 11:16 pm kesslan Said:
   

   A. The first and most important thing I learned was not to mess with The Rock Obama! On a more serious note, I learned a little bit about those three Senators. Of the three I caught that the lady, Senator Snow, “got a voice” from “crossing party lines” and voting for the Baucus bill. I have never actually heard of Senator Snow, the Baucus bill, or the other two guys before. Extension: Through Google, I also learned that the Baucus bill got its name from Max Baucus, the senior U.S. Senate member from Montana. (http://baucus.senate.gov/) Other than that, this video didn’t really have much else except hilariousness!
   B. I think that although this skit is supposedly shining a “bad light” on Obama by saying he has anger issues and throws people out windows, it is still beneficial to him. It basically gives Obama more ratings and has people see him as a funny person even though he wasn’t actually in the skit himself. I also think that this shows a lot of diversity in the Senate, from Blue dogs to line crossers. Most importantly, this was a funny political skit from SNL!
   C. I really would like to know what exactly the Baucus bill is. Like what its overall purpose is and what the approval ratings are.

   NO CREDIT: Missing Extension/Connection

5. on October 25, 2009 at 11:28 am Daniel Lipuzhin Said:
   

   @ Kesslan (“I really would like to know what exactly the Baucus bill is.”) :

   Baucus is actually a Senate Finance Chairman from Montana, a Democrat. Besides not including the public option, “America’s Healthy Future Act” costs approximately $856 billion dollars and consists of 223 pages; you can read it on the Internet. If this act passes, over the next 10 years, $500 billion will be paid for by cost savings and revenue raising. $215 billion will come from taxes placed on really expensive insurance policies. $93 billion will come from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers’ annual fees. $48 billion will be unaccounted for.

   Big businesses will be required to provide health coverage to all employees; if they don’t comply, they will have to pay penalties. Small businesses will be encouraged to provide health coverage to employees, because their health-care plans will be tax-deductible for a while.

   Insuring companies will rate their plans as bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. The bronze plan will include at least preventative and emergency services, hospitalization, maternity, and pediatric services.

   Source:
   http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/16/obamacare-health-care-business-healthcare-baucus-faq.html