The irony of GOP opposition to the individual mandate: It was their idea first

A little history regarding the individual mandate: Republicans thought of it first.
Moreover, contrary to GOP complaints that they were shut out of the process of crafting the legislation, the Affordable Care Act reflects the input of Republicans in both the House and the Senate. One can read a couple pieces detailing Republican involvement in the ACA here and here.

Maddow "A" Block, 9/30/13
Republican Shutdown Evil and Planned
http://bit.ly/1hl2IWx

The Reign of Morons is Here
Esquire 10/2/13
http://bit.ly/18PuBDo

"Well, that was pretty awesome" ...

"I had studied astronomy and I had studied cosmology, and I fully understood that the molecules in my body, and the molecules in my partners’ bodies and in the spacecraft, had been prototyped in some ancient generation of stars. In other words, it was pretty obvious from those descriptions, we’re star dust. Well, that was pretty awesome. And powerful." - Edgar Mitchell, Sc.D., lunar module pilot of Apollo 14.

The word "awesome" gets used overmuch, often in mundane, trivial, and banal contexts. Not so in  The Overview Effect. In inarguably some of the more worthwhile minutes you'll spend today, listen to astronauts, accompanied by profoundly beautiful visuals, describe the experience of viewing and contemplating Earth from space. The experience produced in them overwhelming feelings of reverence, admiration, wonder, and awe ... Which they expressed, properly, as awesome.

Jefferson and Madison, in brief, on Separation of Church and State

Taken from the facebook page of my friend Joanne:

One of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, is directly responsible for giving us the phrase,"the separation of church and state." In his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, then-President Jefferson used the phrase — it was probably not the first time, but it is the most memorable one. He said:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, [the people, in the 1st Amendment,] declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."

Jefferson did not have a hand in the authoring of the Constitution, nor of the 1st Amendment, but he was an outspoken proponent of the separation of church and state, going back to his time as a legislator in Virginia. In 1785, Jefferson drafted a bill that was designed to quash an attempt by some to provide taxes for the purpose of furthering religious education. He wrote that such support for religion was counter to a natural right of man:

"... no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."

Jefferson's act was passed.

On June 8, 1789, Representative James Madison rose and gave a speech in the House where he introduced a series of articles of amendment. One concerned religious freedom:

"The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, NOR SHALL ANY national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed."