The Lumineers

We found out that under Obamacare, the health insurance premiums in 11 states and DC are down about 20% from projections for 2014. Obamacare is working!

Don't worry, Republicans have tried 39 times to (symbolically) repeal Obamacare and there's no hint that they will stop trying over and over to repeal it. (Mostly so they can go back home and say, like Michele Bachmann did, that we repealed Obamacare. Fine, except that the Senate didn't and so it is a moot point. It is not repealed.)

If that doesn't work, here's something that might work and it's from Freedom Works, so right there in the name it makes it sound as if it just might work. They are announcing a "Burn Your Obamacare Card Campaign to Resist the Compulsory Health Care Law. So, I'll stop for a few minutes and you go get your Obamacare card out of your wallet.

Music to listen to while I wait for you to get your Obamacare Card.

What?!? You can't find it????? Well, that's because there is no such thing as an Obamacare Card. Not to worry. Freedom Works is going to make up one and put it on their website or some such thing. Then you can use that, or as Stephen suggested, print it, cut it, laminate it, and then burn it.

Back in the 1960's, people, meaning 18 year-old guys, would burn their draft card. This was to show opposition to the Vietnam War. Some are suggesting there is a similar thing happening here, but Stephen wasn't buying it completely. To be in harmony with what they did way back then, you would also need to move to Canada.Which is a wonderful idea because they have a great health care plan there.

In order to clear up the whole Benghazi controversy, Representative Steve Stockman rolled out a 60 foot-long petition on the steps of the Capitol. Wow! Do you have any idea how many thousands of signatures would be on a petition that long? Well, actually, only 1000 signatures were on it, but they were very big signatures. Stephen Colbert has plans to do better than that. He has a 65-foot petition that is 2-ply and he's not just going to roll it down the steps of the Capitol, he's going to  drape the place with the petition.

We had a little bit of British culture and a little bit of North Carolina humor and then The Lumineers were on the show. That was Wesley Schultz, Neyla Pekarek, and Jeremiah Fraites. They are one of the few bands I know of that have made a point of emphasizing their Before and After talent. They had a subdued conversation with Stephen and then they played some music and of course if you go to Colbert Nation, there's a bonus song.

Update: I now realize that Stephen wasn't telling a joke about North Carolina, he was explaining existing or planned laws in North Carolina. Such things as making couples wait two years before getting a divorce, allowing North Carolina to declare a State Religion, deciding that Charter School teachers don't really actually need to have a college degree to teach core subjects, (let the 6th graders teach the 5th graders was Stephen's great idea) and allowing people to bring guns to bars and playgrounds. Then instead of kids in the playground playing Duck Duck Goose, they could play Duck Duck DUCK!