The View from the Bubble

Just another update for the progress of recovery from the retinal detachment, vitrectomy and retinal reattachment surgery in my left eye (find links to the complete story here). As of Thursday, it's been 5 weeks since they implanted the bubble of C3F8 (perfluoropropane) in the eye to keep the retina in place as it reattached. It is expected to last about 6 weeks, and that timeline still seems plausible. The bubble still occupies about a quarter of the visual field in that eye when I look straight forward, a curved arc on the lower edge of vision, because the image formed on the retina is bassackwards to reality. When I look down, I can easily see around the whole bubble, and watch it shrink day by day. If I actually try, I can still use that as a low power microscope, seeing in focus about two inches from the eye. I hope that by next Saturday's report, I can report the bubble is gone, but that might be cutting it close. 

As far as my vision, I can see above the apparent bubble pretty well, and with both eyes I have decent binocular vision, depth perception and decent peripheral vision looking level. If I look too far up or down the bubble interferes. The view from that eye is not entirely straight; straight lines have some "wiggle" in them, and vertical and horizontal lines lean right. I call it my Fox News eye. Using both eyes diminishes the waver and lean, but does not entirely eliminate it. I'm still hoping that it's caused by the bubble, but, alas, I'm not convinced. However, the focus is surprisingly sharp, and it seems my old glasses prescription is still not all that far off.  I was about to get a new one two days before this whole thing started anyway. If I have any new complaint, it's that the bottom of the bubble is acting like a mirror, and casting annoying images on the retina, particularly in bright lights.

Anyway, I hope that this might be of some use someday to somebody beginning a similar journey. I have to say one of the failing of the medical system is for the doctors to slow down, and tell you what to expect, and what represents 

Flotsam and Jetsam on a Snowy Sunday Morning

As predicted, a dusting of snow arrived late last night/early this morning. An almost totally useless amount, not even thick enough to scrape up for a snowball fight, although Gabi and Corwin might get in some runs on a plastic sled if they go out soon. Although the air temperature finally made it below 32 in the last hour, the ground is probably still warm enough to melt it soon except in deep shade, of which we have little now that the leaves are mostly out of the trees. The air temp is supposed to linger near 30 all day, then plunge to 20 overnight. 

So, today's new news is shootings. There was a mass shooting at Brown University in RI yesterday, leaving 2 dead and 9 wounded that dominated the news, without saying very much. Despite 800 cameras on the campus, only 1 was shown yesterday, a black clad suspect walking calmly away. A suspect has been detained, but no details released. In Australia, another mass shooting at a Jewish festival killed 11 and wounded many more. One of two shooters, detained at the scene by a bystander, was named Naveed Akram. And, from Ace, Two U.S. Soldiers Killed By ISIS Islamist In Syria, "2 US Army Soldiers, Civilian Interpreter Killed by ISIS Gunman in Syria." Sundance at CTH, President Trump Warns of “Very Serious Retaliation” Following ISIS Attack in Syria Killing Three Americans. Trump need to mow down ISIS again after the Biden regency allowed them to re-sprout.

From OilPrice.com, Shadow Fleet on Edge After U.S. Seizes Tanker in Venezuelan Waters. Good. Now seize 5 more. At WUWT, The Gulf of America Is Back "After years of market swings, regulatory uncertainty, and deep staffing cuts, America’s energy workforce is overdue for a stabilizing signal. December 10th provides exactly that: the first federal Gulf of America lease sale in nearly two years, offering long-awaited certainty for the companies and workers that power America’s offshore energy engine." At Breitbart, Buried Treasure: Miners Discover Massive Supply of Rare Earth Minerals in Utah. "The discovery, made while mining clay in Utah’s Silicon Ridge, includes high grades of 16 different rare earth minerals, ranging from lithium and alumina to germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium, and niobium." Curiously, none of the elements named are rare earths, the lanthanide series elements.

At Da Signal, the Great Victor Davis Hanson notes Europe Is Angry Trump Told It the Truth and wonders Will Western Civilization Still Exist in Europe in 100 Years? Chronic chronicles Europe’s Unending Tragedy. Stephen Moore at Hat Hair has ideas about How Trump Can Help Accelerate Argentina's Economic Comeback.

Morning Chicago News sees the Debate Over Killing the Filibuster Intensifies as Heather Higgins Warns Republicans Not to “Show Up to a Knife Fight With Boxing Gloves.” Show up with an RPG. At ET, Trump Suggests He Would Work With Democrats on Health Care. "The comment at the congressional ball on Thursday comes ahead of a deadline to end health care subsidies before the end of 2025" and Senate Rejects Dueling Health Care Bills Tackling Expiring Obamacare Subsidies. OK, we honored the bargain, and gave you a vote.

Sundance celebrates President Trump Attends Army-Navy Game with Thunderous Applause. From the Balmer Sun, Army-Navy Game: Trump, Moore visit sidelines but do not meet.

NYT reports the National Trust Sues to Block Trump’s White House Ballroom Construction. Hamilton Nolan at How Things Work says If He Builds It, Tear It Down on the ballroom, "As soon as Republicans leave the White House, the next president should tear it down. "It should not be torn down quietly. Its destruction should be a public event. It should be pledged on the campaign trail by Democratic candidates. The day after inauguration, there should be a fireworks show over the White House as wrecking balls and backhoes smash the white walls of the fascist hangar. Citizens should gather in Lafayette Square and the National Mall and cheer as the gaudy pillars of the insulting structure are imploded by demolition experts. Let barbecues and block parties spring up around the nation as Americans watch the event on live television. Let there be a celebratory concert in front of the pile of rubble. Let us create a historic moment of national catharsis. Let us nonviolently smash the Trump era into dust."  

Althouse still watches SNL, Did Trump say something about Karoline Leavitt's mouth? "I'm trying to understand the background to the satire in last night's "SNL" cold open: . . . Wow, he actually said, about Leavitt, "When she goes on television, Fox, like I mean, they dominate. They dominate when she gets up there with that beautiful face and those lips that don't stop — pop pop pop — like a little machine gun."" And, Help me think of a term to apply to articles like this, something that expresses why it bothers me so much. "It's not "fake news," because it's not even news . . . "

Matt Margolis at PJM thinks Joe Biden Is Getting a Brutal Lesson on How Irrelevant He Is. Nobody wants to donate to his presidential library. Washington Free Beacon @FreeBeacon, "Remember the Biden administration’s pentagram-sporting monkeypox czar? Or the mastermind of New York’s race-based COVID policies? Good news! They’re on Zohran Mamdani’s health advisory team. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis made national headlines during the monkeypox outbreak when he encouraged those most likely to transmit the disease—gay men—to keep engaging in “risky” and “joy-forward” behavior, and now he’s moving on up in the world." I&I identifies Who Made Life In The U.S. Unaffordable? "From their ancient habit of adding regulation onto regulation to their affinity for taxing everything that moves to their inflationary fiscal policies and deep affection for subsidies for their favored causes and grifters, Democrats make life unaffordable for those who aren’t connected to them. Naturally, they want to twist the truth, because the facts clearly show they are the offenders."

At WUWT, Save Okefenokee Swamp from UNESCO Control "In Episode 21 of Conservation Country, host ‪@GabriellaHoffman‬ investigates a Biden-era policy to designate Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. She found locals overwhelmingly oppose this policy. They don’t want the United Nations in their backyard. The Trump administration withdrew from UNESCO in July 2025 effective December 31, 2025."

From Stacy McCain, Red States, Blue Cities: Minnesota, Somalia and ‘The Great Replacement’ "Red States, Blue Cities — that’s the fundamental reality of politics in America today, and it explains why Democrats have dug in their heels to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants." Sundance hears Stephen Miller Predicts the $1+ Billion Somali Fraud in Minnesota “The Greatest Financial Fraud Scandal in American History” I suspect USAID was even bigger, but it wasn't really fraud, they were just abusing the system. From Fox, Omar accused by GOP opponent of opening up the door to massive Minneapolis fraud: 'Deep, deep ties' "Republican challenger John Nagel alleges that Omar has ties to individuals involved in fraud scandal."

From RVM, Zohran Mamdani Suggests NYPD May Arrest ICE Agents Instead of Illegal Aliens. FAFO. Across da Pond at De Telegraph, New York is becoming the next London, home only to immigrants and the super-rich. "The irony of Mamdani’s election is that he is likely to accelerate the middle class exodus, ending the city as an engine of social mobility."

Breitbart notices Jack Smith Partners with Trump Lawfare Thugs to Form a Law Firm. WUWT documents how America’s Energy Independence Threatened By “Dark Money” Lawfare.

TownHall's Dmitri Bolt notes Democrats Demand Due Process for Narco-Traffickers—but Mock the Murder of Charlie Kirk. Jason Cohen @JasonJournoDC "ANDREW SCHULZ: "It's just funny to me that there are people that were happy Charlie Kirk got shot because they disagreed on opinions, and they're fighting for due process for people who are driving fentanyl into the f*cking country.""

From LifeZette, Kilmar Abrego Garcia Will Be Deported Again says Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, Minneapolis Police Chief Threatens to Fire Officers Who Don’t Confront ICE During Arrests and Homeland Security Hearing Goes Sideways, Terrifying Terrorist Data Revealed Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " HOLY CRAP! NCTC Director Joe Kent reveals JAW-DROPPING amount of terrorists let into America “18,000 known and suspected terrorists the Biden administration let come into our country." There’s no other way to put it. Treason." RVM sees Democrat’s Veteran Gotcha Collapses as DHS Exposes Full Criminal Record. At ET, ICE Arrests 2,824, Deports 11,870 in New Orleans in November "DHS said it had arrested more than 250 criminal illegal immigrants in New Orleans as part of Operation Catahoula Crunch." The Big Uneasy. Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "This data is mind blowing “Non-citizens Social Security numbers issued during the Biden Administration 2021: 270,425 2022: 590,193 2023: 964,163 2024: 2,095,247 - The Biden administration gave more non-citizens Social Security cards in 4 years than live in the state of Iowa - If we just took the amount of people they gave those to in 2024. That's more people than live in Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, DC, Vermont and Wyoming It would be the 39th largest state in the union. Just the amount of people, non-Americans, they gave Social Security cards to last year.” “Gee, I wonder why that escalated so much in 24. Because what are you probably more likely to legitimately be able to claim if you've got a social security card, citizenship voting. Mm-huh.”"

At the Other McCain, the Wombat bids A Warm Welcome To Our Chinese Affiliates "I have been in contact recently with a gentleman named Liu, who advises me that some business or people in West Taiwan wish to purchase various theothermccain.com.cn URL. Now, there is a strong possibility that this is some kind of scam intended to get Stacy and I to shell out hundreds of bucks to buy these URL ourselves, but on the off chance this is actually a legit heads-up, I would like to welcome our new West Taiwan affiliates and warn them that the Ministry of State Security* may take a dim view of their association with our blog. As you loyal members of the Commentariat are well aware, the policy of this blog has long been that the best place for Communists is in free fall from a helicopter. We are also firm believers in Taiwanese independence, and support reasonable military and commercial steps to discomfit the vile betrayers of the Three People’s Principles currently bedeviling the good people of West Taiwan."

From Twitchy, David Frum Explains Why DOJ's Use of 'Franklin' Parody Is a Form of Transnational Organized Crime. Washington Free Beacon @FreeBeacon, "@AndrewStilesUSA writes: The New York Times published a profile of Jennifer Welch, the “radical wine mom” podcaster who has become—for reasons that defy conventional explanation—one of the most influential figures in the Democratic Party. Basically she thinks Democrats are a bunch of p—ies who don’t fight hard enough and aren’t passionate enough about the issues that matter, such as Trump’s “cankles.” Every serious presidential contender will have to go on her show in 2028 and face her wrath. Have fun, everyone!" Dave Strom at Hat Hair finds out Ugh! Oliver Sacks Was a Fraud, "It turns out that all his works were some variety of autobiography, in which he described aspects of his own personality, quirks, loves, hates, torments, and flights of fancy through the false biographies of his patients."

From Campus Reform, MSU Denver Writing Center calls ‘Standard American English’ a tool of white supremacy. To be a serious academic you have to assert something antithetical to common sense at least twice a day.

Harrison Lowman @harrisonlowman "For the love of god why would you make this a light hearted comedy. Then they went and reversed the message to make it anti-capitalism rather than anti-communism. Orwell is spinning in his grave." Quote DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm, "First trailer for Andy Serkis’ animated adaptation of ‘ANIMAL FARM’ Starring Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner and Iman Vellani."

At Twitchy, Childless Strategist Bitecofer Declares Kids Ruin Lives – X Users Clap Back Hard. We Used to Be a Proper Country @Mzandthropic, "This should instantly disqualify someone for social security as they aren't breeding the next contributors" Quote Rachel Bitecofer @RachelBitecofer, "I can 100% confirm that having kids kills your lifestyle unless your lifestyle is staying home on Friday nights cleaning up poo and vomit. For 3 years."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: A Week In The Ruts available for browsing at the usual place and time.

Forget it Jake, It's Baltimore

The Balmer Sun, Luigi Mangione case: ‘Deny Defend Depose’ banner appears over I-83 in Baltimore

A banner referencing the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has appeared in Baltimore over southbound Interstate 83. Luigi Mangione, a Maryland native who attended Baltimore’s Gilman School, has been arrested and charged in connection with the New York City shooting.

Hanging on an overpass just south of Cold Spring Lane, the banner reads, “Deny Defend Depose” and Health Care 4 All.” “Deny,” defend” and “depose” were the words found emblazoned on the ammunition used to gun down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Those three words are often used to describe a strategy by large insurance companies to avoid paying claims. “Delay, Defend, Deny: Why insurance companies don’t pay claims, and what you can do about it” was also the title of of a 2010 book by legal expert Jay Feinman that was critical of the health insurance industry. Amazon has ceased selling that book.

Mangione, Gilman’s 2016 valedictorian, was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania. The killing has gripped the country and ignited debate about health care in America.

It's perfectly appropriate for somebody in Baltimore to celebrate murder. 

Oregon, My Oregon

 UPI, Thousands of Oregon hospital patients may have been exposed to hepatitis, HIV

After an anesthesiologist may have exposed thousands of people treated at several hospitals in Oregon to hepatitis and HIV, those patients are being advised to get tested for the diseases.

Two health care providers in Portland -- Providence and Legacy Health -- have been told to offer the tests as a safety precaution.

"We recently learned that Providence's comprehensive infection control practices may not have been followed by a physician during some procedures at Portland-area hospitals, including Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center and other non-Providence hospitals," Providence said in a statement issued Thursday. "The physician was employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG), which no longer provides services for Providence."

The physician is no longer employed by OAG, according to the statement.

But I'll bet he/she/ze got his/her/hir DEI procedures right. 

Oregon, My Oregon

At the Free Bacon,  Oregon Doctors Could Soon Lose Their Licenses for ‘Microaggressions’ Under Proposed Medical Board Rule

"America is the land of opportunity." "I believe the most qualified person should get the job." "America is a melting pot." Those are examples of harmful "microaggressions," according to Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue, lauded by Oregon's state government as a "microaggressions expert."

Now, under a soon-to-be-finalized ethics rule from the Oregon Medical Board, doctors who commit "microaggressions" risk losing their medical licenses.

Under Oregon law, doctors who fail to report "unprofessional conduct" from themselves or a colleague within 10 business days can face severe penalties, including loss of license. The state's medical board is in the process of shoehorning "microaggressions"—innocently intentioned behaviors interpreted by women or minorities to be subliminal communications of bias—into its definition of "unprofessional conduct," according to the proposed rule, which the board unveiled in April.

The rule, which has thus far flown under the media radar, expands that definition to include "discrimination through unfair treatment characterized by implicit and explicit bias, including microaggressions, or indirect or subtle behaviors that reflect negative attitudes or beliefs about a non-majority group." Discrimination, the rule states, is defined as "differences in the quality of healthcare delivered that is not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness or intervention."

The proposed crackdown on microaggressions, a concept that germinated at elite Ivy League universities and has since spread to the legal and medical fields, marks the latest example of medical institutions infusing left-wing cultural trends into their work.

At the University of California, Los Angeles medical school, for example, a mandatory "health equity" class taught future doctors that weight loss is a "hopeless endeavor" and featured a guest speaker who led students in chants of "Free, Free Palestine" and demanded they bow to "mama earth," the Washington Free Beacon reported. UCLA launched a probe into the class in April.

For Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a former University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine associate dean who leads the anti-woke medical group Do No Harm, Oregon's bid to make microaggressions a potential career-ending offense will have a chilling effect on doctors.

"Physicians need to be able to speak frankly and honestly with their patients," said Goldfarb, the father of Free Beacon chairman Michael Goldfarb. "If they believe that they can be sanctioned because they deliver bad news or make a comment that the patient misinterprets, this will lead to a chilling effect on speech and ultimately lead to deterioration in the patient-physician relationship."

Such a deterioration means "going down a path that will lead to even further declines in the quality of delivered health care," Goldfarb added. "I cannot imagine that the physicians in Oregon will be able to tolerate such a ridiculous proposal."

Oregon Medical Board policy analyst Elizabeth Ross said the board will consider permanently adopting the proposed microaggression rule during a July 11 meeting. The proposal says that rule "may favorably impact racial equity by making discrimination a ground for discipline for OMB licensees" and could prompt "additional board investigations" given the creation of a "new ground for 'unprofessional conduct.'"

Oregon, My Oregon!

Fox, Oregon lawmakers pass bill to make illegal immigrants eligible for Medicaid, Dem gov expected to sign into law 

Oregon’s State Senate on Saturday passed a bill that would make illegal immigrants in the state eligible for Medicaid-funded medical services -- sending the legislation to Democratic Gov. Kate Brown for signature.

The bill, HB 335, expands eligibility to adults who would otherwise qualify for Medicaid-funded state medical assistance program but are excluded due to their immigration status. It passed 17-11 in the Senate, after having passed the House 37-21 earlier this week.

The development was first reported by The Lund Report, an Oregon-based outlet. The outlet had previously cited estimates that there are more than 110,000 illegal immigrants in the state and that the program would cost $100 million in the next two years.

Lawmakers in favor of the bill had estimated that the bill "would expand Medicaid coverage to include approximately 100,000 Oregonians who would otherwise be eligible except for their status as undocumented immigrants."

Oh well, it's not my money, right? Oh, wait. Medicaid funding:

The Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and states. The federal government pays states for a specified percentage of program expenditures, called the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). States must ensure they can fund their share of Medicaid expenditures for the care and services available under their state plan.

As near as I can find, the FMAP for Oregon is 64.47%.

Annals of the Biden Crime Family - Bitch Set Him Up!

Starting with the icing on the cake, from Tristan Justice at Da Fed, Hunter Biden Bragged About Smoking Crack With Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. It's an elite group at the top.

More importantly, though, from Miranda Devine at NYPo,  his laptop shows Hunter Biden brought VP Joe to dinner with shady business partners. NYPo, Joe Biden was a ‘regular’ at DC hotspot where he met Hunter’s Kazakh associates. And from Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Laptop BOMBSHELL: Hunter Biden Introduced His Dad to Business Cronies in 2015

Hunter Biden invited guests to the dinner on April 16, 2015, held in the private “Garden Room” at Café Milano, a Georgetown restaurant whose catchphrase is, “Where the world’s most powerful people go.” The New York Post first reported on the emails on Wednesday.

The next day, Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive at Burisma, emailed Hunter Biden to thank him for introducing his father.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your fatherand spent [sic] some time together,” Pozharskyi wrote on April 17, 2015. “It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure.”

Pretty much proving Joe Biden lied about his involvement in Hunter's Ukrainian affairs during the campaign (Andrea Widberg at Am Think). Geller, BIDEN BIG LIE BLOWS UP: VP Joe Biden Met with Hunter Biden’s Corrupt Foreign Business Associates. Ace, New Emails Reveal That Joe Biden Did Meet With Hunter Biden's "Business" Partners -- Despite "The Big Guy's" Claim That He Had Absolutely No Knowledge Of Hunter's "Business" Dealings

Let's review:

Hunter Biden's laptop -- CENSORED and BLACKLISTED by social media with the legacy media's urging. Kept topic from being discussed during a presidential election. But the laptop is REAL.

Discussions of covid's origins -- CENSORED and BLACKLISTED by social media with the legacy media's urging. Kept topic from being discussed during a presidential election. But the lab leak theory is the most viable theory, and almost certainly the true one.

The Russiagate Hoax and "Pee Pee" Dossier - not only permitted by social media, but literally a topic on every single leftwing news channel at least three times a week -- and every single day on CNN. Kept topic being constantly discussed for not just an election seasons, but for two election seasons. But the Russiagate Hoax was FAKE, created by Hillary Clinton for purposes of interfereing with an election.

Breitbart,  ‘Breaking the News’ Reveals: Secret Service Records Show Hunter Biden Took at Least 23 flights Through Joint Base Andrews, Home of Air Force One and Two and Exclusive — Devin Nunes on Revelations of Hunter Biden Trips Through Joint Base Andrews: ‘Proof of Corporate Media’s Utter Corruption’

NYPo, Biden received funds from top Russia lobbyist before Nord Stream 2 giveaway, In short, according to Larry O'Connor at Town Hall, The ‘Big Guy’ Is Compromised. Yep. Am Mil News, Biden’s top intel lawyer pick won’t rule out working for China and Huawei again. Again, get that?

Henry Rodgers at Da Caller, Tom Cotton Presses Biden’s ATF Nominee Over Prosecuting Hunter For Lying On Background Check To Purchase Firearm "Chipman responded by saying: “I will ensure that all violations of law are investigated and referred.”" First, Biden ATF Nominee Promises To Give Hunter Biden Gun Background Check Form To Senate, Probe Any Crimes, but a day later, ATF Will Not Release Information About Hunter Biden’s Guns Because Of ‘Substantial Privacy Interests’ (Both at Da Wire). Quick, now do the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers. 

Which is a good segue into Biden's nominations and appointees, House Republicans Say Biden’s ATF Pick Should Be Disqualified For ‘Alarming Ignorance’ And ‘Anti-Gun Bias’. Seriously? That's why he was nominated! Natalie Winters at TNP, REVEALED: Biden’s India Ambassador Pick, Eric Garcetti, Praised China’s Xi As ‘Extraordinary’ And Privately Messaged Communist Influence Chiefs. At the Wa Free Bee, Biden’s Top Energy Regulator Lobbied for Company Behind Admin-Approved Wind Farm "FERC chair Richard Glick now working to aid Biden's green energy push" Insty, BIDEN APPOINTEE’S RENEWABLES CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: "You may never have heard of Richard Glick, President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an obscure federal agency with significant energy industry power (no pun intended). Biden would probably prefer that your ignorance continue." Not to mention, Granholm’s Green Energy Millions "Biden energy secretary nets $1.6 million after offloading admin-backed electric bus company" (Wa Free Bee).

Also from Wa Free Bee, Labor Board Swats Down Biden Appointee. J. Christian Adams at PJ Media,  You Knew DOJ's Kristen Clarke Was a Radical, But It's Much, Much Worse Than They're Letting On. Chris Bedford at Da Fed, Biden Purges Non-Partisan US Commission On Fine Arts In Unprecedented Move Against Popular Classical Architecture. There's nothing too trivial to ignore in their march to destroy the culture. 

Breitbart, Biden Spends as Much on Health Care for Illegal Aliens as Trump Did on the Wall

Sundance at CTH, Biden Administration Will Import Metals and Close U.S. Mines To Appease Environmental Wing of Party. Insty, YOU F*CKED UP, YOU TRUSTED US:

Then: Biden campaign tells miners it supports domestic production of EV metals.

Now: Exclusive: Biden looks abroad for electric vehicle metals, in blow to U.S. miners.

Nick Arama at Red State, Biden Officials Shut Down State Department Investigation Into Wuhan Lab Leak Theory, Capt. Ed at Hot Hair, Biden admin shut down Wuhan lab-leak inquiry: CNN. Of course, now that it becoming clear the there's a strong likelihood that the WuFlu escaped from the Wuhan Virology Institute, he has started a new study.

Sundance, JoeBamanomics, New Home Sales ‘Unexpectedly’ Drop in April, March Results Revised Sharply Lower. "Unexpectedly"

Reason #6380 that Trump was Elected

Trump Administration Pushes To Make Health Care Pricing More Transparent

President Trump will sign an executive order Monday on price transparency in health care that aims to lower rising health care costs by showing prices to patients. The idea is that if people can shop around, market forces may drive down costs.

"The president knows the best way to lower costs in health care is to put patients in control by increasing choice and competition," Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said at a phone briefing for reporters Monday morning.

Like several of President Trump's other health policy-related announcements, today's executive order doesn't spell out specific actions, but amounts to an expression of the president's desire for HHS to develop a policy and then undertake a lengthy rule-making process.

Azar outlined five parts of the executive order, two of which are directly related to price transparency.

It directs the agency to draft a new rule that would require hospitals to disclose the prices that patients and insurers actually pay in "an easy-to-read, patient-friendly format," Azar said.

I don't see how that hurts. Knowing the cost of something isn't everything, but it's not nothing.

The new rule should also "require health care providers and insurers to provide patients with information about the out-of-pocket costs they'll face before they receive health care services," he added.

Again, I think people need to know this.

The idea is simple. Health care is an industry where consumers don't have access to the kind of information they have when making other purchasing decisions. The executive order could — if it leads to finalized, HHS rules — pressure the industry to function more like a normal market, where quality and price drive consumer behavior. Some consumer advocates welcomed the move.

"Today patients don't have access to prices or choices or even ability to see quality," said Cynthia Fisher, founder of a group called Patient Rights Advocate. "I think the exciting part of this executive order is the President and administration are really moving to put the patient in the driver's seat and be empowered for the first time with knowledge and information."

Exactly how the rules the executive order calls for would work is still to be determined, administration officials said.

Predictably, some people aren't happy

Push back from various corners of the healthcare industry came quickly, with hospital and health plan lobbying organizations arguing this transparency requirement would have the unintended consequence of pushing prices up, rather than down.

"Publicly disclosing competitively negotiated, proprietary rates will reduce competition and push prices higher — not lower — for consumers, patients, and taxpayers," said Matt Eyles, CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans in a statement. He says it will perpetuate "the old days of the American health care system paying for volume over value. We know that is a formula for higher costs and worse care for everyone."

Some health economists and industry observers without a vested interest expressed a similar view. Larry Levitt, senior vice president for health reform the Kaiser Family Foundation, tweeted that although the idea of greater price transparency makes sense from the perspective of consumer protection, it doesn't guarantee lower prices.

"I'm skeptical that disclosure of health care prices will drive prices down, and could even increase prices once hospitals and doctors know what their competitors down the street are getting paid," Levitt wrote.

I doubt that's a mystery to them.

Obamacare Schadenfreude Revived

It's been a while since we had one of these, CBO Report: 1.4 Million Lost Health Insurance Since 2016 — And Obamacare Is To Blame

The number of uninsured climbed by 1.4 million from 2016 to 2018, according to a report out last week from the Congressional Budget Office. Naturally, this led those on the left to blame the Trump administration for its Obamacare “sabotage.”

But the data in that report — which was released on the same day the Mueller report came out and largely ignored — tells an entirely different story.

All of the increase in the uninsured over the past two years — all of it — is the result of the massive rate increases Obamacare’s mandates and regulations caused. According to the Health and Human Services Dept., premiums in the individual insurance market doubled from 2013 to 2017. They shot up again in 2018.

For those eligible for Obamacare subsidies, the rate increases were meaningless. The amount they had to pay didn’t change much, and in many cases went down.

But for the millions of middle-class Americans who buy insurance coverage on the individual market and aren’t eligible for Obamacare subsidies, the result has been financially devastating.

The CBO report shows the impact, plain as day . . .

But congressional Republicans lacked the guts to kill it.

Reason #6973 That Trump Was Elected

Hospitals required to post all prices online beginning January 1

Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday. The program is also starting a comprehensive review of how it will pay for costly new forms of immunotherapy to battle cancer.

Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the new requirement for online prices reflects the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to encourage patients to become better-educated decision makers in their own care. “We are just beginning on price transparency,” said Verma. “We know that hospitals have this information and we’re asking them to post what they have online.”

Hospitals are required to disclose prices publicly, but the latest change would put that information online in machine-readable format that can be easily processed by computers. It may still prove to be confusing to consumers, since standard rates are like list prices and don’t reflect what insurers and government programs pay.

Patients concerned about their potential out-of-pocket costs from a hospitalization would still be advised to consult with their insurer. Most insurance plans nowadays have an annual limit on how much patients must pay in copays and deductibles — although traditional Medicare does not. . . .

I myself will be comparison shopping for a lobotomy. All this worrying about healthcare costs is killing me!

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.

Obamacare Schadenfreude: It's Dead, Jim!

It's been a long time, and I've let a bunch of stories accumulate in the Obamacare bin, but I'm going to delete them now: With the individual mandate dead, the rest of Obamacare is unconstitutional

Almost no one saw it coming.

In 2012, Chief Justice John Roberts famously ruled the Affordable Care Act’s provision mandating most people purchase health insurance or else pay a fine constitutional on the basis that Congress has the authority to tax individuals, and the so-called Obamacare “fine” is effectively a tax.

As the now-deceased Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out in his dissenting opinion, in classifying the Obamacare penalty as a “tax,” Roberts ignored history, the language of the healthcare law, statements made by the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress, and common sense. (The obvious difference between a fine and a tax is that the purpose of a tax is to raise revenue, not to force people to behave in a particular way.)

Interestingly, however faulty Roberts’ decision may have been, it now serves as the foundation for a legal argument that could eventually lead to Obamacare’s demise.

One of the most overlooked aspects of Roberts’ opinion, one that could become increasingly important over the next year, is that he joined the Court’s four dissenting justices in rejecting the alternative arguments made by the Obama administration regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate. Most importantly, Roberts stated plainly the argument the individual mandate is constitutional under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause is false.

In fact, the only basis for the mandate’s constitutionality, according to Roberts, is that it’s a tax — not a fine, penalty, or anything else. This is a vital point, because when Republicans passed their tax reform legislation in December 2017, they included a provision in the law that lowers the individual mandate penalty to $0 beginning in January 2019, effectively eliminating any hope the individual mandate could still be considered a “tax.”

If the tax-less individual mandate is now found to be unconstitutional, it could very likely result in the entire healthcare law being struck down. In their 2012 dissenting opinion, four Supreme Court judges argued the ACA could not survive absent the individual mandate. Although Roberts never addressed the question in his opinion, there are good reasons to believe he should agree to throw the entire law out.
. . .
It’s also worth noting I’ve spoken to well-informed legal experts, including Ken Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia, who have said the Trump administration doesn’t need to enforce the ACA once the individual mandate penalty is reduced to $0. President Trump has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, and this law is now or will soon become in violation of the Constitution, even if one continues to accept the dubious argument the individual mandate’s penalty is really a tax.

This means all it would take to end Obamacare is a decision by the Trump administration not to enforce this illegal law by agreeing to settle the lawsuit brought by plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate. Such a move would likely trigger lawsuits from left-leaning states and intense legal battles, but perhaps in the process, Congress would finally be motivated to repeal and replace Obamacare — something it has failed to do despite its leadership having promised to do so for eight years.

Never discount the Supreme Court's ability to twist law and logic.

A Stake to the Heart of Obamacare Schadenfreude?

Yet  another  reminder of why Obamacare sucks: The Healthiest State In The Country Has Some Of The Steepest Premiums

Via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 11.14.17", the ever sensible Megan McArdle reports that Surprise! Obamacare Enrollment Is Actually Rising. Is there nothing Trump can't fix?

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal opines that The Individual Mandate Is The Worst Tax Ever
"It doesn’t even further the ACA’s core goal of helping people with pre-existing conditions get coverage."

If you were deliberately trying to design the most arbitrary, painful and pointless tax possible, how would you go about it?

First, you would structure it to inflate the cost of an essential product. Then, you’d create exemptions so vast that only 5% of taxpayers were subject to it. You might even ensure that it hit people only when they were particularly vulnerable—like when they’d lost a job. Finally, you would use it to drive enrollment in entitlements, so that it increased the federal deficit by $338 billion.

and Killing the individual mandate can serve the cause of tax and health-care reform. The CBO estimates that Repealing Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Would Reduce Deficit By $338 Billion, not that anyone seems to care.

The budget office predicts that eliminating the mandate would reduce the deficit by $338 billion from 2018 to 2027 and would decrease the number of those with health insurance by 4 million in 2019 and by 13 million in 2027. Even with this loss, the report says that markets would remain stable in almost all areas of the United States over the next decade.

"We're seeing with the CBO report that repealing the mandate would reduce the deficit by nearly $340 billion over 10 years," says Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute. "The report estimates that by 2027, about 13 million fewer Americans would enroll in ACA-compliant plans."

Which is because a lot of people don't actually want to by an "ACA-compliant" plan.

Today I am announcing my intention to amend the Senate tax bill to repeal the individual mandate and provide bigger tax cuts for middle income taxpayers.

The mandate repeal is a promise we all made and we should keep. It also allows an additional $300 billion+ in tax cuts.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 14, 2017

The Washington Post reports that Senate GOP changes tax bill to add Obamacare mandate repeal and the usual suspects are hemming and hawing:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the Republicans who opposed earlier attempts to roll back the health-care law, said Tuesday that including the repeal measure “complicates” the tax effort. But she suggested she might be able to support it if the Senate also passes a bipartisan bill to preserve other aspects of the Affordable Care Act.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who along with Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted down an Affordable Care Act repeal effort this summer, declined to say whether he would back a tax bill that included repeal.

The Hill: Senate GOP tax bill will include repeal of ObamaCare mandate.

Sen. John Thune drops the mic on Dems objecting to adding individual mandate repeal to tax bill

Dems object that Rs are inserting health care into the tax bill with individual mandate repeal.

"My understanding is the individual mandate is a tax," Thune responds, referencing SCOTUS decision

— Joseph Lawler (@josephlawler) November 14, 2017

The mandate is the heart of Obamacare. Without it, it's really just zombie entitlement.

Obamacare Schadenfreude Drags On and On

Yeah, yeah, yeah: I wish this was over with, too

Obamacare continues the famous death spiral: Obamacare Silver Plan Premiums Up An Average Of 34%

And the estimable Megan McArdle: Soaring Premiums Mean Soaring Risks for Obamacare

Could we be looking at the dreaded death spiral, in which rising premiums keep pushing healthy consumers out of the market, and insurance becomes more and more expensive, until the cost of buying insurance approaches the uninsured cost of being very sick? Perhaps in the future. There’s a little-known provision of the law that prevents subsidies from growing too large: When total expenditure on premium subsidies hits 0.504 percent of GDP, the subsidies will no longer be pegged to whatever the cost of the “benchmark” Silver plan is, and will instead grow by a formula tied to inflation. If premiums rise too fast, we could hit that cap -- at which point, even subsidized people will be exposed to further premium increases, and the market will be at greater risk of collapse.

But for now the biggest dangers are somewhat less cataclysmic. The first is simply that more insurers will decide that the political and economic risks are too big, and exit the exchanges. That risk will mitigate somewhat if the CSR issue is resolved, but that doesn’t look all that likely. A judge just issued a stinging rebuke to states that sued to force the administration to make the payments, and the much ballyhooed bipartisan efforts at a legislative fix don’t look all that promising.

She also offers advice on How to Break an Obamacare Exchange: "

Start with a rural state where hospitals aren't competing. Sign up relatively few policy holders and insurers. Add one $12 million patient.

CBO Confirms ‘Stability’ Bill Provides A Multi-Billion-Dollar Insurer Bailout - "Overall, insurers could receive a windfall of $4 to $5 billion from the Alexander-Murray subsidies spigot. That’s plenty more than the ‘specific benefit’ to taxpayers." A billion here, a billion there, and eventually you're talking about real money. They'll find someone to take it.  Insurers make billions off Medicaid in California during Obamacare expansion.

Judge Backs Trump on Obamacare Subsidies

Judge Chhabria, an Obama appointee, pointed out such inconvenient fact that nearly all of the states involved in the lawsuit had already ensured that the majority of enrollees would not be harmed by Trump’s decision to halt the payments:

The truth is that most state regulators have devised responses that give millions of lower-income people better health coverage options than they would otherwise have had… This is true in almost all the states joining this lawsuit.

His ruling on the case, which he clearly considered frivolous, concluded with this zinger:

If the states are so concerned that people will be scared away from the exchanges by the thought of higher premiums, perhaps they should stop yelling about higher premiums… perhaps the states should focus instead on communicating the message that they have devised a response to the CSR payment termination that will prevent harm to the large majority of people while in fact allowing millions of lower-income people to get a better deal on health insurance in 2018.

Democrat complains that Republicans are acting like Democrats: House Democrat: Jamming Obamacare through Congress 'didn't work'

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., admitted on Friday that it "didn't work" to try to rush Obamacare through the Democrat-controlled House and Senate in 2009 and 2010, and said that shows why Republicans shouldn't try to rush a tax bill.

"Yes, we're replicating the Affordable Care Act," Hoyer said on the House floor about Republican plans to rush through its tax bill. "Put on the table, quickly passed, jammed through, sent to the Senate, and it didn't work."

Yeah, they're really rushing: U.S. lawmakers will not tackle healthcare this year, Ryan says: Reuters interview. Repeal of ACA’s Individual Mandate Could Be Part of Tax Overhaul. Two Birds With One Stone: CBO Boosts Efforts To Undo ObamaCare Mandate In Tax Reform:

Late this afternoon CBO will publish an updated estimate of the effects of repealing the individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance meeting specified standards and that imposes penalties on those without an exemption who do not comply.
In that document, CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that repealing that mandate starting in 2019 would reduce federal budget deficits by $338 billion between 2018 and 2027 relative to CBO’s most recent baseline. Other information about the policy’s effects on the budget, health insurance coverage, and premiums will be included in today’s report.

That would go a long way to solving a problem that has split the Republican caucus in the Senate. In fact, it might get Republicans all the way across the finish line, assuming they take advantage of it. In order to qualify for reconciliation, the finished tax reform bill cannot add to the deficit outside of the boundaries of the recently passed budget resolution, which has a 10-year, $1.5 trillion deficit, which was controversial enough to draw a no vote from Rand Paul last month. If the red ink goes beyond that point, the bill can’t qualify for reconciliation.
. . .
In the long run, though, Senate Republicans may be very leery about the impact of repealing the mandate while leaving the rest of ObamaCare in place. If the death spiral accelerates and the markets collapse, they’ll get the blame, and that might take place just as voters go to the polls next November. Would any of the balkers over the summer suddenly take that risk? Susan Collins? Lisa Murkowski? John McCain? Bueller? Bueller?

Trump can even make Obamacare work (slightly) better: ObamaCare signups surge in early days to set new record. But not all of it: That Maine Medicaid Expansion Isn’t Happening Just Yet

The Never Ending Obamacare Schadenfreude

UnitedHealth Revenue Grows Despite ACA Exit. As Instapundit quips "What do you mean, despite?"

End To ObamaCare Subsidies Leaves Congress In A Tight Spot. Trump Gives Congress A Kick In The Rear To Finally Act On Health Care.  But is one enough? While liberals complain that "Trump Executive Order On Obamacare Is “Pen And Phone” Legislation", David French (no Trump fan) Trump Was Right to End Unconstitutional Obamacare Subsidies

t’s a sad sign of our times that the constitutionality of any given government action is now seen as a wholly secondary consideration, subordinate to politics and arguments about politics. And so it is with Donald Trump’s necessary decision to halt federal payments of cost-sharing subsidies to insurance companies.

For example, here’s how the Washington Post led off its coverage of Trump’s decision: “President Trump is throwing a bomb into the insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act, choosing to end critical payments to health insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage.” . . .

The Constitution doesn't matter to Dems when it's contrary to their wishes.

18 States Sue Over Trump-Halted ObamaCare Payments. You'll never guess who controls those states. Trump Opposes Bipartisan Obamacare Rescue Plan, where "bipartisan" equals 1 Republican and 47 Democrats.

Trump reverses course on emerging Senate health care deal

A bipartisan Senate deal to curb the growth of health insurance premiums is reeling after President Donald Trump reversed course and opposed the agreement, and top congressional Republicans and conservatives gave it a frosty reception.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced their accord Tuesday after weeks of negotiations and five days after Trump said he was halting federal subsidies to insurers. Under the lawmakers’ agreement, the payments would continue for two years while states were given more leeway to let insurers sidestep some coverage requirements imposed by President Barack Obama’s health law.

In remarks Tuesday in the Rose Garden, Trump called the deal “a very good solution” that would calm insurance markets, giving him time to pursue his goal of scrapping the Affordable Care Act, the target of Republican derision since it was signed into law in 2010.
Although top Democrats and some Republicans praised the Alexander-Murray agreement, Trump backed off after a day of criticism from many in the GOP.

In an evening speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, he said that “while I commend” the work by the two senators, “I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.”

Sorry Everybody, But Trump Hasn't Instigated The Obamacare Apocalypse

The Trump White House has issued two Obamacare-related policy announcements this week: announcements that some characterize as “gutting” or “sabotaging” the health care law. But a sober, factual analysis reveals that the Trump decisions will be fairly modest—and largely positive—in their effect.
. . .
Trump’s executive order simply reverts back to the pre-2016 rules. When some pundits hysterically describe this change as the “sabotage” and “gutting” of Obamacare, they’re talking about rules that were in place for 7.5 of Obama’s 8 years in office.

Iowa abandons bold attempt to jettison ACA rules

Iowa is abandoning its quest to shed major elements of the Affordable Care Act, after federal health officials failed to approve the plan in time for the insurance-buying season that begins in just over a week.

The state’s withdrawal comes two months after President Trump telephoned a top federal health official with instructions to reject Iowa’s proposal.

In announcing the withdrawal of what the state has called a crucial “stopgap” plan to prevent its marketplace from collapsing, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Monday did not mention the president’s intervention, instead thanking Trump for trying to repeal the ACA and blaming the law itself for what she called its inflexibility.

Much to the Washington Post's disappointment.  The Health 202: Obamacare may lose 1.1 million people because of advertising cuts. Do they really think advertising is that effective?

Warren: fighting for a single-payer healthcare system is a “winning issue” for Democrats nationally in the 2018 midterm elections.

“Healthcare is a basic human right and that means we’re going to get Medicare for all, it means we are going to make the kind of changes we need to make in this country so everyone gets access to healthcare and nobody goes broke doing it,” she said. “I think this is about our values. It’s about what we are willing to get out there and fight for.”

What single-payer means: Britain's National Health Service provokes fury with indefinite surgery ban for smokers and obese. Who among us has no bad habits? Besides Georgia, I mean.

Post Obamacare Schadenfreude Bliss

I didn't really want to do another one so soon, but right after I pushed publish on the last one, Wombat-socho posted this "In The Mailbox: 10.13.17" with this link to an excellent essay by the usually sensible but always interesting Megan McArdle on Trump's decision to revoke the subsidy funding for Obamacare insurers: 

Obamacare Was Built With the Flaws Trump Now Exploits

. . . After threatening it for months, the president has finally ended the cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, which subsidize the provision of special policies with lower out-of-pocket expenses for people who make less than 250 percent of the federal poverty line. At the very least, this will probably mean a further increase in premiums, and growing instability in at least the parts of the individual market that aren’t eligible for subsidies to offset the increase. At worst, especially if it gets bogged down in lawsuits, it may cause insurers to say “enough is enough,” leaving broad areas of the country without any firm willing to sell individual policies through the Obamacare exchanges.

While the Congressional Budget Office has issued a delightfully counterintuitive forecast that ending the subsidies could actually increase insurance coverage, there’s little question in my mind that these policies are bad for the exchanges.  At the very least, I think we can all agree that they put the exchanges at greater risk. There is also little question that this is at least part of the reason that the administration is pursuing them. And yet, believe it or not, there are still arguments for both.

It has become evident that millions of uninsured Americans are uninterested in buying insurance on the exchanges, because it’s too expensive, or the “narrow networks” don’t cover enough doctors and hospitals. The new options the administration aims to create could be a genuine boon to those people. If you have spent years bemoaning the dire fate of the uninsured, you have to take that benefit seriously.

As for ending the subsidies … what am I, some sort of monster? Do I just hate the poor so much that I can’t stand to see them getting help paying for health care? Well, no. I have no particular objection to the payments as policy. Except for one small thing, which is that they seem to be sort of illegal. . .

Read the whole thing,; it won't hurt that much. Also from  "In The Mailbox: 10.13.17" , Legal Insurrections Trump Throws Another Blow at Obamacare, Reportedly Scrapping Obamacare Insurer Subsidy Payments and Don Surber reports Fake News on Obamacare:

Bleating Democratic talking points.
CBS: "Trump Cutting Obamacare Insurance Subsidies."
Baaa.
CNN: "Trump begins Obamacare dismantling with executive order."
Baaa.
NBC: "White House Says It Will End Key Obamacare Subsidies to Insurers."
Baaa.
President Trump had no choice.
The money was never appropriated.

 And to round out the news, Rand Paul Squashes The Idea That Trump’s New Healthcare Order Will Hurt The Poor

According to Paul, the ability for many low-income workers to come together to form a group represented by one person would give the power to the consumer, allowing many who can’t afford good insurance plans on their own to become a pile of accumulated money that can.

Paul said that this kind of group plan “requires no discrimination,” and “protects against pre-existing conditions,” since the coverage would be the same kind you get at big corporations. Corporations do not refuse you employment because you have a pre-existing condition, or fire you because you get sick.

Paul explained that his plan that was enacted on Thursday allows individuals to have the same purchasing power as corporations, essentially putting purchasing power into the hands of the people.

That makes almost too much sense to be true.

And fresh in from Instapundit, CHARLES SCHUMER WANTS TO HOLD THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO HOSTAGE TO THE FINANCIAL WELLBEING OF HUGE INSURANCE COMPANIES: Dems float putting ObamaCare money in funding deal

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is signaling Democrats will try to get ObamaCare's insurer subsidy payments included in a December funding deal, adding another legislative item to an already packed end-of-the-year schedule.

"I think we're going to have a very good opportunity in the omnibus to get this done in a bipartisan way, if we can't get it done sooner," Schumer told reporters during a conference call on Friday.

"Democrats are going to work very hard to get these cost-sharing payments restored, but remember there are a whole lot of Republicans who want to get them restored, too."

Trumping Obamacare Schadenfreude

A lot of new developments since the last update, but lets get back and remind ourselves why Obamacare sucks for the country (although it can be a pretty sweet deal, especially if you're an insurance company):

Obamacare's death spiral continues: Democrats Need To Admit That ObamaCare Failed. But that would require honesty and self-reflection. As Deadline Approaches, Anthem Pulls Out Of Obamacare Exchange In Maine. Thank Susan Collins. Michelle Malkin reports Obama Lied. My FOURTH Health Plan Died. Mary Katherine Ham  Schools #Resistance troll in back-and-forth over Obamacare. Trolls are notoriously difficult to school. Majority of Households Paying Obamacare Penalty Are Low and Middle-Income. And probably not Obama voters.

Just an ancient history link now Obamacare’ survives; GOP concedes on last-gasp repeal try  The Republican Fight to Repeal Obamacare Is 'Dead as a Doornail.' For Now. So now you tell us Lindsey Graham: I Didn’t Really Know What I Was Doing On Health Care, And Neither Did Other Republicans. You might have thought about that before the last election.  Why The Republican Health-Care Bill Keeps Coming Back From The Dead. Because it needs to.  John McCain Ran On Repealing Obamacare. He Broke His Promise. Yep, and he seems to be heading the same way on tax reform for the same reason. Then he could always vote with some Democrats.  He should just officially change his party registration. But then he wouldn't be a "maverick" (a little lost cow). Pro-Lifers Call Obamacare Repeal Failure ‘Unacceptable’- Failure to defund Planned Parenthood infuriates pro-life groups. It infuriates me too, and I'm not exactly pro-life. GOP Lawmaker: McConnell Snubs 'Judeo-Christianity Land,' Moses by Not Repealing Obamacare. DISPATCHES FROM THE HOUSE OF STEPHANOPOULOS: ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir Gushes to Kimmel: People ‘Will Remember’ Your ‘Bravery’ ‘Standing Up’ For Health Care. Flashback: George Stephanopoulos discloses $75,000 contribution to Clinton Foundation.

Jump forward a few days and find Trump says he called Schumer to broker deal with Democrats for ‘a great HealthCare Bill’, which is basically a way to guarantee further Democratic obstruction. Then something interesting started to happen. Trump found his pen and phone, and started gutting Obamacare: Trump Administration Rolls Back Obama Rule on Birth-Control Coverage. So the nuns don't have to pay for birth control anymore. Trump Executive Order Would Give People An Out From ObamaCare; Dems Want To 'Save' ObamaCare By Closing All The Exits. And  Trump Drains Obamacare’s Regulatory Swamp:

Having provoked much progressive sputtering and head spinning last Friday by issuing new regulations weakening the notorious HHS contraception mandate, President Trump is poised to sign an executive order that will further dry up Obamacare’s regulatory morass. The Wall Street Journal reports that the order will expand enrollee options restricted by the Obama administration — allowing coverage to be purchased through association health plans, encouraging the sale of short-term medical insurance, and permitting pretax funds from health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) to be used for premiums on health plans. The impending order has already drawn satisfying charges of “sabotage” from Obamacare apologists.

Rand Paul Says Trump’s Obamacare Order ‘Has The Potential To Be Amazing’

“Millions of people are going to choose it and it doesn’t force people to do anything,” Paul said. “My plan today that the president enacted costs zero.”

Trump: ‘We’re Going to Have Great Health Care Across State Lines’, then  President Trump Signs Executive Order That Will Allow Sale of Health Insurance Across State Lines

The order is intended to expand choices to current Obamacare plans and increase competition so that costs come down for consumers.

"The time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines, which will create a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring costs way down and provide far better care," President Trump said.

Trump On ObamaCare Insurer Subsidies: Guess What? We Checked The Budget And The Constitution, And …"Surprise! It turns out that Congress didn’t fund direct subsidy payments to health insurers." And then the final (at least so far) cut: Trump declares Obamacare payments illegal; deals second blow to health law. Well, we all knew that the payments were not authorized by Congress, and thus illegal, but democrats had been ignoring that little detail. By way of Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 10.12.17". Powerline explains how Trump Takes An Important First Step On Healthcare
The Washington Post, of course, went into a hissy fit: Trump to end key ACA subsidies, a move that will threaten the law’s marketplaces Trump to end key ACA subsidies, a move that will threaten the law’s marketplaces. Well yes, because they were being illegally subsidized. If you don't like it, fix it. Trump moves from firing shots at Obamacare to all-out war, Trump’s Obamacare order could destroy the health-care system. No, but it could destroy Obamacare, which is a good thing. Throwing a bomb into the insurance markets, Trump now owns the broken health-care system. It's still got Obama's name on it.

The Brits got into the act, with the Daily Mail intoning Trump to end subsidy payments to Obamacare insurers in a move derided by Democrats as 'spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage'

State AGs ready to sue Trump over health care subsidies. You won't be able to guess which states, right?