Posted on Categories News & Comment

PBC News & Comment: GOP House Rams Through Obamacare Repeal

Effectively issuing death sentences for millions, House GOP guts Obamacare in reckless, cavalier action to fund tax cuts for rich….--arms were twisted, plums were promised to get bare minimum 217 votes to repeal Affordable Care Act

--bill was passed without cost scoring, and many provisions were not known; bottom line: millions will lose coverage

--the bill includes 1-year defunding of Planned Parenthood Medicaid payments, about $550 million a year—none of which pays for abortions

--it also hammers funding for senior nursing home care, reports The Intercept

--GOP leader Jason Chaffetz wheels in for vote following fully covered foot surgery for a 12-year-old pre-existing condition

--Republicans took a huge risk in this vote, as the bill may never pass the senate, and House votes may be liability in elections next year

--Apple CEO Tim Cook pledges $1 billion to expand US manufacturing, with a bit of extortion attached

--FBI Director’s offhand remark indicates that Bill Clinton’s actions led Comey to go public last July, says Dana Milbank

--also in The Post, James Downie accepts Comey’s challenge to second-guess him

--Kevin Gosztola focuses on Comey’s comments about WikiLeaks at Shadowproof

The FBI Director’s Unsettling Argument For Why WikiLeaks Doesn’t Deserve First Amendment Protection

--in our latest in-depth interview, State Dept veteran Peter van Buren thinks the State Dept needs a shakeup, but Rex Tillerson isn’t likely to do it right

--45 grandstands for evangelicals with religious freedom order

--Russia, Iran and Turkey agree to create safe zones in Syria

--Trump plans to visit Saudia Arabia, Israel and the Vatican this month

--in new airline passenger confrontation, family is booted from Delta flight over seating dispute