Apparently, they are still doing that. Someone else posted the video from John Oliver’s last show where he covers this, but Bill Akins, secretary of the Republican Party in Florida, confronted some citizens who were angry about the possibility of gutting the ACA with the death panel spiel yet again. When he was booed,…

Thanks, but I am not so optimistic. The problem here is that a few slight changes in wording can actually make a big difference to some but seem the same to people in the general public who aren’t affected by them. Just as one example, they are considering changing the “subsidies” to “refundable tax credits”. This…

It is really frightening, but I have students that think they can fake their way through tests the same way he is trying to fake his way through being president. If I gave a test with a question that would be the equivalent to asking, “What precise policies would you propose to improve the healthcare system in the…

Really? My worry is that I’m going to lose my healthcare...

“nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.”

“I don’t need a safe space. You need the safe space, you need the safe space...”

This isn’t going to affect their attempts to report the news; this is solely an attempt to delegitimize them as news sources. They’ll have to report the “official” position second hand (which opens them up to even more accusations of media bias and peddling “false news”), and it will prevent them from confronting the…

I mostly agree. The idea that having any kind of real debate or dialogue with hate groups or that both sides need to be heard equally is bullshit. At the same time, excluding anyone from the other side of an issue lends itself quite well to the whole false narrative these groups absolutely love which is that their…

(as if the world isn’t already tailored to maximize the comfort of cisgender people)

No, I’ve just always done my own taxes. I’ve never had an occasion where itemizing would have made a difference, but there were some occasions where I benefited from tax credits.

The problem is that they are proposing a child-care tax deduction rather than a child-care tax credit. A tax credit could, at least in principle, benefit everyone, but tax deductions only benefit those who itemize deductions rather than taking the standard deduction. Tax deductions disproportionately benefit…

Pretty much, but you missed the third step: Step 1: Ride coat tails to personal success, Step 2: Deny coat exists, insist it was all just “moxie” on your part, Step 3: Use your personal success to help a bunch of dudes who want nothing more than to set the coat on fire.

I’ve seen conflicting reports on that. Some indicated she was opposed to this and was strong-armed into going along with it while others suggested she wasn’t really opposed but was advocating a slower process with a period for public comment. The cynical interpretation would be that she knew how narrowly she got…

You know how you always hear that sharks have to keep swimming constantly or they will die...

Ben, I’m pretty sure that Bruce Wayne didn’t want to be Batman either; he’d rather have a mom and dad. Deal with it.

Right? I mean, Besty DurrVos never had the benefit of a public education, after all...

Funny, that’s the same reaction I have whenever anyone tells me that Titanic is a good movie.

I recall Moffat being against a female Doctor, but with someone else taking over the reins, maybe that would be a real possibility. I’d totally back that one. In fact, the only other choice I would have ahead of your pick is someone who would almost never sign on to do it, but one can dream...

I would pretty much agree. I wanted to like his run, I mostly liked his take on the Doctor, but aside from a few points, his seasons have been pretty lackluster, just due to the scripts. Since Capaldi’s Doctor has a fair bit more overt bitterness and cynicism than Smith’s (and will likely have more more post-Clara),…

Me, too, and I think it is just the wording. If she had said, “Thanks, but I don’t need an abortion,” that would have been fine, but the wording here sounds like the kind of thing you’d say to a server who’s offering to refill your coffee for the third time. “Thanks, but I don’t need any abortions; I’ve had more than…