Affordable Care Act to Die Another Day

Dickhead Mitch McConnell scrapped the vote on latest G.O.P. health care bill, but John McCain won't live forever.

Page 1 Roundup (07/28)

The New York Post: This would be a must-watch television show if not for the havoc these lunatics are wreaking on innocence people's lives

The Daily News: Anthony Scaramucci bashes rivals Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon in expletive-laden tirade

This one's not doing much to dispel any ethnic stereotypes, is he?

The New York Times: Trump Administration Lands 3 Punches Against Gay Rights

I'm tired of fighting.

The Wall Street Journal: Spain Has a Debt Problem and So Now It Has a Zorro Problem

ACLU to Trump: SEE YOU IN COURT! -- UPDATE

Donate HERE.

When extremists control all three branches of government, the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center are about all we have. Today, the ACLU issued the following statements:

On Trump's so-called religious freedom executive order :

We’re headed to court to stop Trump again. He just signed an executive order that clears the way for extremists to use religion as an excuse to discriminate and deny women reproductive healthcare. It also damages our country’s long-standing commitment to the separation between church and state. We need monthly donors, Guardians of Liberty, to provide the ongoing support that enables us to fight this battle and so many more in the Trump era. Help us protect people’s rights at this urgent time—make your monthly donation now.

On the House passing the Unaffordable Care Act:

The American Health Care Act aims to take health care coverage away from millions of Americans, costing many of them their lives. It’s a giant step backwards to repeal a health care law that has helped end discriminatory policies against women, people with disabilities, people of color, and LGBT people. This cruel bill cuts off access to reproductive health care for millions who depend on Planned Parenthood. It also does grave harm to people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for critical services that allow them to live in the community instead of an institution. “Now that this misguided legislation moves to the Senate, we urge senators of both parties to declare this bill dead on arrival. The voice of the people will not be silenced until they do.

Let's hope there are at least three adult Republicans in the Senate, although I sincerely doubt it.

Donate HERE.

UPDATE:

No wonder Bible thumpers were so disappointed yesterday -- it turns out Trump's executive order was just lip service. (I'd still donate to one of these causes, though.)

House Cancels Vote on GOP Health-Care Bill

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Page 1 Roundup (03/24)

New York Post: Paul Ryan gives Trump the "bad" news before health-care vote.

The Daily News: President Trump demands Friday vote for faltering Obamacare repeal plan 

The New York Times: How House Republicans Are Planning to Vote on Obamacare Replacement

The Wall Street Journal: Artsy-Craftsy Booze Is Giving Kentucky Rabbis a Headache

Page 1 Roundup (02/28)

Kudos to The Wall Street Journal for solving the the mystery of Oscargate. Now how about using those top-notch investigative reporting skills to figure out why Trump & Co. have such a hard-on for Putin?

NYPD commissioner reminds cops to ignore President Trump’s immigrant deportation orders / Read HERE.

My 10-year-old niece knew that health care was "so complicated," Don. Read HERE.

What Combines Iron Maiden, Dinosaurs and Play Dates? Hevisaurus, the Heavy-Metal Sensation for Children / Read HERE.

Republicans Suddenly See Huge Cost Savings in Obamacare

Rand Paul Defects on Proposed Health Law Repeal

Republican senator says measure to begin process of repealing Affordable Care Act adds too much to federal budget deficit

Wait, NOW a Republican is speaking up about the $9 trillion-plus savings of "Obamacare"? It was actually called the AFFORDABLE Care Act for a reason. People (like my parents) who continue to oppose something they know nothing about based on second-hand anecdotes are bad enough -- of course the ACA isn't perfect. But for Republican lawmakers to spend seven years trashing President Obama when they really knew this law was helping millions of Americans AND cutting the U.S. debt is beyond the pale.

Here's the thing: There is no way to "repeal and replace" the ACA with something "better." The law was ALREADY thought through at length, and given the for-profit insurance industry we have combined with our refusal to go single-payer, this was the best we could do. But instead of building upon it and tweaking to IMPROVE it, Republicans in Washington and especially GOP governors have spent the past seven years chipping away at it so they could "prove" it doesn't work that well -- and make no mistake, it's been dealt multiple setbacks -- yet it's still better than anything they can come up with.

It's soul-crushing to think of where we would be today if all politicians had worked toward making the Affordable Care Act work at its best. (Even ultra-rightwing Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is raving about the positive outcomes from the Medicaid expansion, which so many other state leaders refuse to accept.) But sadly, most Republicans and many moderates could only see the health law as a "handout to brown people," instead of boost to all Americans.

Meanwhile ...

Everyone knew "Benghazi" was an attempt to discredit Hillary Clinton. But when "email" somehow caught on fire, they dropped it like security at an embassy. What is this latest scheme really all about? Republicans with a hardon for Israel no matter how out of shape she gets want to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, even though everyone knows doing so would effectively end any possibility of a two-state solution given that Palestine also considers the city to be its own. How to solve this debate? Threaten to cut off security at all embassies, of course.

Sick and Tired

Page 1 Roundup (01/05)

Only the New York Post could depict our (Democratic) mayor as a dictator on the same day our president-elect announced plans to dismantle U.S. spy agencies after he didn't like their conclusion that Russia interfered in our elections so he could win! 

You're better off reading their list of New York's most eligible (hunky) nerds.

Amazing no one was killed in this LIRR accident that left 103 injured.

The only way to dismantle the Affordable Care Act but wind up with something that offers better coverage at cheaper prices is to have Medicare for all. I'm game!

The secret to a career in an RV? Always be reselling ...

Page 1 Roundup (04/20)

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I'm all for criminal charges in Flint -- god knows the lack of prosecutions in the 2008 financial crisis still bothers millions of us -- but wouldn't getting the water fixed be the No. 1 priority at this point?

This story about UnitedHealthcare pulling out of Arizona's health-insurance exchange drives home why we need a single-payer system in the U.S.: If companies can't make money participating in Obamacare -- or as much money as their shareholders desire -- they walk, leaving many in the lurch. Capitalism doesn't mesh nicely with basic human services -- Bernie is right yet hardly the first to realize this -- but Republicans will never admit it. You say you want a revolution? Vote Democrats back into control of the House and Senate and show up at the midterms. President Clinton wants to build on the Affordable Care Act -- and with the necessary people in place, a public option could on the horizon.

The Bitterest Pill

There's a special report on Fox News about how easy it is for scheisters to hack into the Obamacare website and steal all of your personal information. This is perhaps the cruelest irony of the president's signature health-care law given that Fox is also reporting that website problems make it impossible for you to sign up for it! #HavingTheirHateAndEatingItToo

Jon Stewart Gives the GOP a Lesson on the Constitution

Kudos to Jon Stewart for finally explaining what this "crisis" in Washington is really all about -- the Republican Party subverting the Constitution, a document they claim to sleep with under their pillows. The Affordable Care Act was a bill. It passed both houses of Congress. It was signed into law by the president of the United States. Some people thought it was perhaps unconstitutional. It went to the U.S. Supreme Court. They ruled it was constitutional. Now it's Oct. 1 and major parts of the law need to be put into effect -- it's the LAW now -- but now the Republican Party is still trying to act like we're debating the law and deciding whether or not to vote on it. We're NOT. It IS the law. You're stopping a law -- you CAN'T do that.

ObamaCare for Dummies

 The Simpson explain the health-care ruling HERE.

THESE are good, too!