Obamacare Can't Be 'Fixed'

Larry Elder / Townhall Columnist

The moment Republicans bought into the notion that Obamacare must not just be repealed but "replaced," Democrats won.

Democrats argue that health care is a "right." Republicans claim they disagree, that nowhere in the Constitution does the federal government guarantee health care treatment or health care insurance. But Republicans' behavior suggests otherwise.

President Donald Trump, for example, says that in replacing Obamacare no one should be worse off; that insurance companies cannot decline those with pre-existing medical conditions; that insurance carriers must allow parents to keep their "children" on their insurance plans until the age of 26; and that insurance companies cannot drop people under any circumstances. Polls show that these are the most popular features of Obamacare. But forcing an insurance company to cover people with pre-existing conditions completely destroys the concept of insurance. Insurance is about pooling groups of people whose premiums cover unknown risks, not known ones.

The "replacement" plan runs head-on against two principles of economics. Competition makes products and services better, cheaper and more accessible. And there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Health care -- just like cars, sweaters and smartphones -- is a commodity. But health care is one of our most regulated industries, a far cry from a free-market-based system.

Sessions May Appoint Outside Counsel to Investigate Obama's DOJ

Cortney O'Brien / Townhall Tipsheet

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not opposed to appointing an outside counsel to investigate the many scandals of President Obama's Department of Justice and IRS.

To jog your memory, recall two major, yet underreported stories - "Fast and Furious" and the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress for covering up the former scandal, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) unfathomably allowed illegal gun sales to and from Mexico to track drug cartels. As for Obama's IRS, they unfairly withheld tax-exempt status from groups who dared to oppose the president's agenda, and subjected them to extra scrutiny. Matt had interesting news on that just this morning.

In a conversation with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Sessions left the door open for a special counsel to take the lead on the investigation into these Obama-era scandals.

“Well I’m going to do everything I possibly can to restore the independence and professionalism of the Department of Justice,” Sessions said. “So we’ll have to consider whether or not some outside counsel is needed. Generally, a good review of that internally is the first step before any such decision is made.”

If the counsel finds wrongdoing, it will have the authority to bring charges, Sessions noted. He insisted it will only come to this if he concludes it will be necessary to restore the "independence and professionalism" of the department.

Sessions recently had to overcome his own controversy for not disclosing his meeting with Russian leadership last year, eventually recusing himself from any investigation into Russia's supposed interference in the 2016 election.

Illegals Crossing Border Drop 40 Percent

NEWSMAX

The number of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico declined by 40 percent from January to February, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Wednesday.

The downturn came after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 vowing to deport many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

The flow of illegal border crossings as measured by apprehensions and the prevention of inadmissible persons at the southern border dropped to 18,762 persons in February from 31,578 in January, Kelly said in a statement.

He said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which compiled the data, historically sees a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal immigrants from January to February.

On Jan. 25, Trump ordered the construction of a wall along the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border, moved to strip federal funding from "sanctuary" states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants, and expanded the force of U.S. immigration agents.

"Since the administration's implementation of Executive Orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years," Kelly said.

Pakistan: Facebook helping Pakistani officials remove “blasphemous” content
By Robert Spencer / Jihad Watch

Meanwhile, Facebook restored the page of Fatah, the “Palestinian” jihad terror group, after it was briefly taken down, and has blocked referrals to Jihad Watch at the rate of roughly 10,000 a day. Get the picture? “Place names of blasphemers on Exit Control List, IHC orders govt,” by Rizwan Shehzad, Express Tribune, March 8, 2017: […]
 
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Obama’s Attorney General Lynch Signed Off on ALL FISA Applications to Wiretap Trump

By Pamela Geller / THE GELLER REPORT

A rogue and lawless regime — I don’t know that we’ll survive Obama’s coup on the republic. The fifth column is hard at war to destroy our current president and our constitutional republic. If it’s war they want, it’s war they’ll get.

A.G Lynch Signed Off on ALL FISA Applications to Wiretap Trump

          Conservative Byte, March 7, 2917:

Attorney General Loretta Lynch would be the key cog in the machinery to enable a President Obama desire to wiretap Donald Trump. Nothing is done at the FISA Court without her sign off on the request. As a minion of Mr. Obama, this would not be hard to secure that from her. It would be perfectly legal, but not morally correct.

From Gateway Pundit:

The FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance) Court is in the news this weekend after President Trump tweeted that former President Obama had petitioned a court twice in order to wire tap current President Trump when he was running for office.

The FISA Court was put in place in 1978 when Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA):

Read entire article here: http://pamelageller.com/2017/03/obamas-attorney-general-lynch-signed-off-fisa-applications-wiretap-trump.html/