Tag: Talking Points Memo

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Add one more item to the #MAGA Christmas gift guide. Roger Stone, the “dirty trickster” of Republican politics and former adviser to Donald Trump, has autographed an untold number of rocks and is selling them on his website. “Here’s your chance to own your very own ‘Roger’ Stone paperweight- signed by the New York Times Bestselling author, legendary political operative and Trump intimate himself,” the listing reads. “LIMITED EDITION. The perfect Christmas Gift for the Trump supporter, InfoWarrior or Stonetrooper. David made good use of a similar artifact against Goliath. https://stonecoldtruth.com/product/get-your-own-roger-stone/ As Stone notes on Instagram, the “paperweights” are being sold to help shore up his legal bills, which are mounting as he contends with a number of legal issues, including a potential indictment from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office. Corsi reportedly lied to investigators about whether he had prior knowledge of WikiLeaks’ plan to release the emails. “All of these statements are not true,” he wrote as part of a statement that will be published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. He added that he “failed to do proper research before making those statements.” Stone is selling the signed rocks for $8, marked down from $10.

But unlike every election since 2010, this year finds the Democrats playing offense and the Republicans back on their heels. There is one health proposal most Democrats and Republicans agree is a good idea — providing “reinsurance” to help insurers pay for their sickest patients, thus enabling them to lower premiums for everyone. But legislation in Congress that would extend those programs nationwide failed to get a vote in either the House or Senate earlier this year — another casualty in the partisan fight over health care. This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call. Democrats are playing up the Trump administration’s contention in a lawsuit that since the Congress got rid of the penalty for people who don’t get health coverage, insurers don’t need to cover preexisting conditions. Republicans are seeking to prove that they care about health care too, by pointing to their efforts to cut taxes on health care industries and to expand health savings accounts that allow consumers to set aside money for medical bills in tax-free accounts. A growing number of Democrats in the House and Senate are also expressing support for a “Medicare-for-all” health care system. Rovner also interviews KHN’s Emmarie Huetteman, who wrote the latest Bill of the Month. It features a very expensive surgical bill and a very persistent patient. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “Meet the Rebate, the New Villain of High Drug Prices,” by Katie Thomas Anna Edney: USA Today’s “Hospitals Know How to Protect Mothers.