Category Archives: political news

medical news, national news, political news

Stop telling the lie about ACA ‘failure,’ Mr. Leader

I am not going to label U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar, even though he’s just told another whopper about the Affordable Care Act.

He has called it a “failure.” He now plans to ask his Senate colleagues to repeal it and then seek to pass a replacement for it separately to smooth the “transition” from one health insurance plan to another.

“Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” McConnell said.

Good bleeping luck with that, Mr. Leader.

The ACA is not failing. It is stabilizing, according to medical and insurance studies. Millions more American have health insurance coverage now than they did before the ACA was enacted in 2010.

Still, Republicans in Congress want to wipe out Barack Obama’s signature domestic legislation. It doesn’t matter now whether they can have a replacement bill in place. They want the ACA gone.

McConnell’s new strategy came to light after two more Senate Republicans, Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas, signaled their opposition to the GOP monstrosity that came forward just before the Fourth of July recess. Senators went home and got a bellyful from their constituents about how much they hate the GOP plan. Moreover, an increasing number of Americans are on board with the ACA; they don’t want it trifled with.

Not one to listen to reason, Leader McConnell is going to try to get the Senate to toss the ACA into the crapper and then hope the Senate and the House of Representatives can cobble together a replacement.

Forgive me for repeating myself: Why not summon Democrats to the table, too, to work out a bipartisan repair of what you think is so terrible about the Affordable Care Act?

legal news, national news, political news

No dirt on Hillary? Really!

Let me try to keep this straight.

Donald J. Trump Jr. accepts an invitation to meet with a Russian government operative who tells him she’s got some dirt on Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States.

Don Jr. goes to the meeting along with his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, then the campaign chairman for Don’s dad, Donald J. Trump Sr., the Republican presidential nominee.

He meets with the lawyer/government operative. What does Don Jr. get out of it? He says nothing came of it. There was no dirt of any use to the Trump campaign.

In other words, Hillary was clean.

The story, of course, isn’t entirely that the Russians didn’t have the goods on Clinton; it is that Trump the Younger thought they did and that he “loved it.” He didn’t call the FBI to rat out the Russian government. Indeed, the only grownup from the Trump team — Manafort — didn’t bother to blow the whistle, either. Oh, no. Don Jr. was accepting “normal” opposition research — from a hostile government that was hacking into our electoral process, undermining our democratic system.

As for the Hillary story, the Russians came up with as much actionable dirt on the Democratic nominee as congressional Republican investigators were able to find over the course of several years. That would be, um, nothing, man!

What a coincidence!

medical news, national news, political news

Two more senators to vote ‘no’ on Trumpcare … what’s next?

U.S. Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas are now “no” votes on Trumpcare.

Do you know what that means? It means the Senate Republican concoction meant to replace the Affordable Care Act lacks the votes it needs for approval. Now that Lee and Moran have climbed aboard the No Vote Bandwagon, there might be other fence-straddlers who will climb aboard, too.

What, oh what does the Senate GOP do?

Here’s a thought: How about getting on the horn with Senate Democratic leaders and start to hammer out a bipartisan compromise? Perhaps something that includes repairing and mending the ACA is in order. Hmmm? How about that?

Former President Barack Obama — who’s off doing whatever it is former president do — has made it clear: He doesn’t claim any particular pride of ownership of the ACA. He said while he was still president that he’d be willing to work with Republicans who wanted to improve the health care law.

The Senate caucus now appears irreparably split on the ACA repeal/replacement plan.

So … why not actually legislate right alongside Senate Democrats to make improvements to an existing law?

Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

medical news, national news, political news

Get well, Sen. McCain, and vote to nix GOP health plan

It is with heartfelt concern for a great American that I must point out a fascinating irony relating to his current medical condition.

U.S. Sen. John McCain is recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot in his skull. I honor this great man’s service to the country and the extreme sacrifice he paid when he was held captive for five years during the Vietnam War.

I wish him a complete recovery.

The irony? It exists in the debate that the Senate Republican caucus us having over a health care plan it has cobbled together ostensibly to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The Senate GOP has put together a plan that the Congressional Budget Office says will cut millions of Americans out of their health insurance in the next decade. It will slash Medicaid spending that helps poor Americans pay for health insurance. It lacks the “heart” that the president of the United States said he wanted.

Meanwhile, Sen. McCain is getting some of the best health insurance possible because of his government service.

What is wrong with this juxtaposition? Nothing in and of itself, of course. It’s just that McCain is one of those Senate Republicans reportedly straddling the fence: does he support the bill or oppose it?

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell debated any further open consideration of the bill until McCain returns to the Senate. He needs McCain’s “yes” vote. I should add that McConnell and many of his Senate Republican colleagues are part of a distinct American minority: only 17 percent of Americans favor the GOP monstrosity.

I wish nothing but the best for Sen. McCain. I want him to return to the Senate full of his usual ration of p** and vinegar. I also would prefer that he oppose the Senate health plan.

political news, State news

‘Lyin’ Ted’ makes a comeback

Flash back for a moment to the 2016 Republican Party primary campaign for president of the United States.

One of the candidates was tossing out insulting nicknames: Low Energy Jeb, Little Marco, Crooked Hillary … oh, and Lyin’ Ted.

All of those insults were disgraceful displays of petulance from the man who tossed them, Donald John Trump.

But now it seems that “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz is showing that he might have earned that moniker. He said that “No one in Texas cares about the Russia” story. Really, Sen. Cruz? No one in Texas? He says he has attended numerous town hall meetings and no one brings up the questions about the president’s relationship with the Russian government, or whether that government sought to tilt the 2016 election in his favor.

Excuse me, Sen. Cruz, while I say it out loud and for the record: That is a lie.

Social media erupted with comments from Texans who do care about the Russian investigation and what it might produce.

According to the Austin American-Statesman: “Washington is obsessed right now. It is the Democratic talking point du jour,” Cruz told reporters on Capitol Hill … “But when I go back to Texas, nobody asks about Russia. You know, I’ve held town halls all across the state of Texas, you know how many questions I’ve got on Russia? Zero.”

Read more from the American-Statesman here.

My trick knee is throbbing once again and it is telling me that Cruz has, indeed, received questions about Russia. I also am going to toss out the notion that this issue is far more than just a Washington, D.C., parlor game.

So, with that, allow me only to say, with extreme vigor and conviction: Stop your lyin’, Ted.

International news, national news, political news

Bush ethics lawyer: Why not give Putin clearance, too?

Richard Painter teaches law at the University of Minnesota.

He once served as ethics adviser to President George W. Bush, so his Republican credentials are well-known. However, he’s demonstrating that ethical conduct ought to ignore partisan consideration.

Professor Painter is furious, fuming, outraged over what he believes is a lack of ethical decorum permeating Donald J. Trump’s administration. Exhibit A: the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Painter believes Kushner should surrender his top-secret White House security clearance because of his numerous contacts with Russian government officials who might have been involved in that Russian hacking and their efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

Painter said via Twitter that Kushner’s clearance needs to be revoked, but if the government is going to allow the young man to keep it, then it should just give one to Russian President Vladimir Putin, too.

Check out The Hill report.

Painter has been making the rounds for several months commenting on Donald J. Trump. He isn’t a fan. Perhaps he owes his antagonism to the president’s vocal criticism of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq War. It might have something to do with the insults that Trump hurled at the former president’s brother, Jeb, during the 2016 GOP presidential primary campaign.

Whatever. Professor Painter isn’t holding back.

I cannot blame him for demanding that Donald Trump seek to develop some understanding that “government ethics” need not be an oxymoron.

medical news, national news, political news

What part of ‘representative democracy’ doesn’t GOP get?

Seventeen percent!

That, dear reader, is the apparent standing of the Senate Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The 17 percent figure represents the latest public opinion polling of the GOP plan. Fewer than one in five Americans favor the GOP plan. Health insurers don’t like it; the medical profession opposes it; GOP conservatives opposes, right along with Republican moderates; and, oh yeah, Democrats — who also comprise a big part of the voting block — hate it.

Senate Republican leaders, though, keep insisting that the replacement plan is moving forward.

I keep coming back to the fundamental question: Why can’t the congressional GOP leadership try to mend what they believe is wrong with the ACA instead of tossing it out altogether?

I’ve heard about the flaws contained within the ACA. Premiums are too great; health insurers are bailing out of some states.

But the ACA isn’t “failing” or “collapsing,” according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. It is stabilizing in many states.

I know that the ACA is far from perfect. It needs work to improve it. Why not start there?

A 17-percent approval rating on a plan that guts Medicare and Medicaid protection and tosses Americans off the rolls of the insured would suggest a different approach than the train wreck that awaits this GOP abomination.

That’s the view of a significant majority of Americans. Do these folks in Congress represent their views … or don’t they?

national news, political news, religious news

Evangelicals’ support of Trump: as perplexing as ever

An article that was published slightly more than a year ago remains relevant today.

It comes from Esquire magazine. The noted documentary filmmaker Ken Burns asks: What is it about Donald Trump that reminds evangelical voters of Jesus Christ?

Burns was troubled a year ago over why evangelical Christian voters glommed onto Trump’s candidacy. I remain puzzled in the extreme as to why they remain loyal to this guy a year later, and six months into his presidency.

Burns said, for example: “The Republican Party has been extraordinarily successful at getting many groups of people to vote against their self-interest. Evangelicals are voting for Donald Trump. What part of Donald Trump reminds you of Jesus Christ? Trump lusts after his own daughter on national radio, talks about women’s bodies and breasts in such a disparaging way, and mocks them. How is this in any way Christian? When you make the ‘other’ the enemy, how is that Christian?”

Check out the Esquire link.

Burns noted a year ago that Trump once lusted after his own daughter, Ivanka. He carried on highly publicized extramarital affairs on his first two wives. Of course, we have that infamous “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is overheard boasting about how he grabbed women by their genitals.

He routinely denigrates women and there is zero evidence anywhere in his professional or personal history of any commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

But he remains on evangelicals’ A-list. He’s their guy. Their “dream come true,” in the words of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.

Someone has to explain it to me. I’m all eyes and ears.

political news, State news

Gov. Abbott seeks to nationalize governor’s race

There he goes again.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has launched his re-election bid by nationalizing a fundamentally internal contest. Texans need no reminder from the first-term governor that Nancy Pelosi or George Soros have little in common with rank-and-file voters here.

Abbott said in San Antonio: “Every far-left liberal from George Soros to Nancy Pelosi are trying to undo the Texas brand of liberty and prosperity,” Abbott said, referring to the Democratic mega donor and U.S. House minority leader, respectively. “I have news for those liberals: Texas values are not up for grabs.”

Read the Texas Tribune story here.

Fine, governor. I get that. Many of us in Texas get it right along with you.

The question, though, will be as it is with any public official seeking re-election: What are you going to do during the next four years in office and why should Texans cast their vote for you?

Truth be told, Abbott inherited a state economy that was in good shape four years ago. It continues to rock along, even with a dramatic reduction in the price of oil.

But I found it fascinating to hear about the progress made by the state during his first four years. The end of sanctuary cities? Business tax cuts? Abortion restrictions? Road construction?

Hmmm. Who made all that possible? I believe I’d heap the responsibility on the Legislature, which sent these bills to Abbott’s desk, which he then signed into law.

Well, I understand how pols take credit for others’ work. It’s part of the political process, I suppose.

Abbott is likely facing an easy ride toward re-election. I’m not expecting a major Republican Party primary contender … although I do believe House Speaker Joe Straus would provide a serious challenge for the governor — if he doesn’t run for lieutenant governor.

The Democrats? Pfftt! The state remains as Republican Red as any in the country.

But I’ll await Gov. Abbott’s myriad pledges for how he intends to govern for the next four years. Just keep Nancy Pelosi and George Soros out of it.

business news, media news, national news, political news

This guy speaks the truth … at Fox!

It’s become a cliché of sorts that “only Nixon could go to China.”

The communist-hating U.S. president was the man in 1972 to open the door to the People’s Republic of China and that remains one of President Nixon’s everlasting legacies.

So, then, it might be said that “only Shepard Smith at Fox can speak the truth” about Donald J. Trump’s “mind-boggling deception.”

I single out Smith because of the network he works for. Fox News Channel is known far and wide — and beyond — as being quite friendly to the president of the United States. Trump is a frequent guest on “Fox and Friends,” and Fox commentator Sean Hannity is quite fond of extolling the president’s virtues while overlooking some of the other, um, non-virtuous qualities of the man and the team with which he has surrounded himself.

Smith isn’t part of that cadre of Trump acolytes.

He took aim at the controversy swirling around Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with that Russian lawyer and the ever-changing reasons/excuses/dodges he keeps offering for why he accepted a meeting he thought would produce some dirt on Hillary Rodham Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

“If there’s nothing there, and that’s what they tell us, why all these lies?” Smith told fellow Fox anchor Chris Wallace. “The deception is mind-boggling and there are still people out there who think we’re making it up. And one day they are going to realize we are not.”

You all know that I don’t watch Fox News regularly. My own bias forces me to wrestle with the notion that the network that once called itself “fair and balanced” has been neither “fair” or “balanced” in its coverage of U.S. politics.

Read The Hill’s report here.

Every now and then, one of the on-air folks at Fox shows us that journalistic integrity presents itself in a media organization well-known for the policies that come from the top of its chain of command.

Shepard Smith, I suppose, has become an “enemy of the American people” because he dares offer us a view that doesn’t comport with the president’s way events should be reported.

Welcome to the club, Shep.