Three pieces, the first of which, in its irony, you may find particularly interesting. (For the full columns, follow the links embedded in the headlines.)
Trump v. Kavanaugh. (Yes, you read that right.) And Trump rightly rules. (Oct. 4). Buried in the latest executive order from President Trump is a provision that’s apparently a wise and necessary corrective to perhaps the worst judicial decision now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ever made.
The irony here is heavy, but the Trump team is to be commended for paying attention to details.
The executive order is a lengthy one aimed at “protecting and improving Medicare for our seniors.” In truth, almost all of its provisions don’t actually change current regulations. Instead, they merely direct relevant officials to propose regulatory changes to accomplish a series of sometimes vague goals such as “to reduce the burden on providers and eliminate regulations that create inefficiencies or otherwise undermine patient outcomes.”…
One provision, however, should stand out.
It directs the secretary of Health and Human Services to “revise current rules or policies to preserve the Social Security retirement insurance benefits of seniors who choose not to receive benefits under Medicare Part A.” In principle at least, this is quite important.
The Trump team aims to reverse a horrible series of rulings [the last one, by Brett Kavanaugh] that had the perverse effect of telling seniors they could not save other taxpayers’ money by declining to accept Medicare benefits unless they also forfeit the Social Security benefits to which decades of paycheck withholding had entitled them…
Sen. Grassley rightly moves to protect whistleblower (Oct. 2).
Chuck Grassley deserves credit for stepping up to the plate. Grassley, the veteran Republican from Iowa, has for decades been the Senate’s foremost advocate for and defender of government whistleblowers…. [Grassley now says] the [Ukraine-related] whistleblower “appears to have followed the whistleblower protection laws and ought to be heard out and protected.”…
Former Rep. Jack Edwards, last of the ‘Goldwater Republicans,’ R.I.P. (Sept. 27). [Edwards was a stalwart for defense and conservationism, and a wonderful man.]….
