In The News

It's T minus six and counting to the government shutdown. The Institute for Policy Innovation put together some fun facts about federal government shutdowns.

The Keystone  pipeline system has been transporting oil sands from Canada to U.S. refineries  in the Midwest for three years -- with no major leaks and, more importantly, no  major complaints from environmentalists.

States facing Medicaid challenges should integrate mobile phones and other existing technologies to increase access to care, lower costs and improve health care quality for Medicaid beneficiaries, says a new IPI publication, “Reforming Medicaid with Technology.” 

Will individuals will face higher health insurance premiums next year? Many will, but the bigger problem will be in years two, three and four, because some (maybe most) of the health care plans could go into what actuaries derisively call a health insurance “death spiral.”

Congress has a clear choice: Make complete and permanent the ban on Internet access and multiple or discriminatory taxes online, encouraging broadband access and e-commerce, or turn away from that national priority and allow the pro-tax thugs the chance to loot our digital future.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that will help determine whether there are, in fact, constitutional protections from the ability of states to impose tax burdens on other states. Task Force Co-Chairman Bartlett Cleland of the Institute for Policy Innovation said, "The threat to the commercial Internet and to our constitutional rights from extraterritorial assertions of power by the government cannot be overstated. The Supreme Court needs to hear this case immediately to reaffirm the physical presence rule to protect our rights and to ensure the Internet continues to grow and improve human welfare."

Republicans put forward a new alternative to Obamacare on Wednesday that seeks to expand coverage, increase the options for buying insurance, and equalize the tax treatment of insurance bought on the individual market. Merrill Matthews at the Institute for Policy Innovation said some parts of the bill are a good idea, while others will not have much of an impact.

Greg Abbott has managed what no one expected: He’s got conservatives bristling. The Texas attorney general has joined with Eric Holder in opposing the merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways.

There's a reason why conservatives believe in letting markets rather than governing elites determine outcomes. That's why it was disappointing to see Texas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott join the Obama administration in opposing the nearly concluded merger between American Airlines and US Airways.

When the president speaks he may be telling the truth, he may not be, or he may be parsing his words to mislead. It has been his pattern since, well, forever, as John Heilemann and Mark Halperin demonstrate in their excellent book on the 2008 presidential election, Game Change.