Open Thread For August 14, 2017

Trump Won’t Say It.  His pathetic spinners can’t get him to call white nationalist terrorism for what it is.  Because appealing to white nationalists is how he made his political bones. Birtherism, anybody?

Why The Sinclair-FCC Lovefest Is Dangerous.  At best, at best, it’s Rupert Murdoch Part Deux.

Canadians Pay More In Taxes, Get More Services, And Are Generally Happier. The disconnect in the brains of too many Americans that taxes are inherently bad is based at least in part on what Americans do, and do not, get for their money.

It’s Official: Trump Is Sabotaging Obamacare.  I just have to provide a rare extended quote from this article:

A wide array of groups that partnered for several years with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House to promote open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act say this year has brought a deafening silence from the Trump administration, with no sign the partnerships will continue.

Both representatives of the former partner groups and former HHS officials say the relationships with gig economy companies, youth organizations, churches, women’s groups, and African American and Latino civil rights non-profits were critical to keeping Obamacare’s markets functioning, and their termination is a clear example of sabotage.

“The failure to invest in local assistance and these enrollment partnerships will reduce enrollment, increase costs and drive up the uninsured rate,” warned Andy Slavitt, former head of HHS’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama. “Hopefully they will reconsider taking these destructive actions.”

Without the partners’ help reaching out to young and healthy people who are less likely to sign up for health care, Slavitt explained, the government will find itself with a drastically smaller, older, sicker individual market with sky-high insurance rates.