Uninsured Rising; He said, She said

To Your Health: The number of Americans with health insurance has slipped by 3.5 million under President Donald Trump, according to the  Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index.

Trump has claimed Obamacare is collapsing, but he’s also nudging it to the brink.

He stopped federal payments that reimburse insurers for lower copays and deductibles for low income customers. His administration slashed the advertising budget for 2018 sign-ups, cut the length of open enrollment in half, and reduced federal grants to groups that help people understand the process and buy insurance.

She Said, He Said: The spat between the White House and Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson is deepening as she accuses the administration of racism. She revealed yesterday that White House chief of staff John Kelly misrepresented her remarks, accusing her of delivering a political speech at the opening of a new South Florida FBI building dedicated in the names of two FBI agents killed on the job. A recording of the speech shows she did not do that, although she did thank both Democratic and Republican politicians for making it happen.

The slugfest began after President Trump’s phone call to the widow of a Green Beret that Wilson overheard and described as “insensitive.” Kelly called Wilson an “empty barrel” that makes the most noise.

Wilson, who is black, told the NY Times Kelly lied and that, “The White House itself is full of white supremacists.” She said, “They are making themselves look like fools. They have no credibility,” she said. “They are trying to assassinate my character, and they are assassinating their own because everything they say is coming out and shown to be a lie.”

Asked yesterday by CBS Correspondent Chip Reid to produce Kelly to answer questions, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “I think that if you want to get into a debate with a four-star Marine general  …

that’s highly inappropriate.” No, That’s America.

The New Front: As questions mount about the deaths of four Green Berets in Mali less than three weeks ago, Defense Secretary James Mattis told two senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US will be stepping up counterterrorism activity in Africa, putting decision-making authority in the hands of field commanders on the use of lethal force against suspected terrorists.

Permawar: The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks on two mosques in Afghanistan that left at least 60 people dead.

A gunman shot up a  Shia mosque in Kabul before detonating an explosion, killing 39 people. An attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in Ghor province killed 20 people.

In Egypt, at least 52 police officers and conscripts were killed in a shootout during a raid on an Islamic militant hideout in the western desert. Authorities say a of five vehicles was ambushed from higher ground by militants firing rocket-propelled grenades

The Boys of Autumn: Houston Astros center fielder George Springer robbed the Yankees of a three-run homer with a leaping catch and that was it for New York. Houston, 7, Yankees, 1. The Yankees and Houston play one more game today in Texas to decide which team goes to the World Series against Los Angeles.

Walk on the Wild Side: Playboy magazine announced its going to feature its first transgender playmate. French model Ines Rau, a slim brunette, will be the November centerfold. Cooper Hefner, son of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, said “We’re at a moment where gender roles are evolving.” It would appear that France is evolving as well.

-30-

Friday, March 29, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.