monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

So Priebus’s RNC ended up a valuable ally to Trump’s team. That included Spicer, who became a tireless advocate for Trump in the press. When the plagiarism of Michelle Obama in Melania Trump’s convention speech was discovered, Spicer absurdly argued that it may not have been plagiarism because My Little Pony used somewhat similar wording too.

And when Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments leaked and Spicer was asked whether they described sexual assault, he told a reporter, “I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.” He subsequently denied ever saying this, but his comment turned out to be on tape

And when Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments leaked and Spicer was asked whether they described sexual assault, he told a reporter, “I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.”

blatham wrote:

Aetna claimed this summer that it was pulling out of all but four of the 15 states where it was providing Obamacare individual insurance because of a business decision — it was simply losing too much money on the Obamacare exchanges.

Now a federal judge has ruled that that was a rank falsehood.

Not surprising that you BOLD a reporter's unwarranted opinion, rather than the facts actually reported in the story, eh, Blathy. In fact, the story dispels his characterization as a "rank falsehood."

Quote:

As for Aetna’s claimed rationale for withdrawing from all but four states, Bates [the judge] accepted that the company could credibly call it a “business decision,” since the overall exchange business was losing money; he just didn’t buy that that was its sole reason. He observed that the failings in the marketplace existed before Aetna decided to withdraw...

You don't traffic in facts. You simply promote opinions (that you want others to adopt) as "fact."

Newt Gingrich has a new proposal for the Trump administration’s efforts to delegitimize and weaken critical journalists: turn White House press briefings into a “town hall” format where presumably hand-picked citizens would join the “total left-wing propagandists” in the press corps, while banning the most critical reporters from asking questions.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, Fox News contributor, and sometime adviser to President Donald Trump, has urged the new administration to use the power of the White House to shatter the credibility and influence of the press. He previously said the administration should respond to critical coverage from CNN by blackballing a reporter for months and including more “courteous,” less “adversarial” journalists from local outlets, in addition to “propaganda organizations” like CNN and The New York Times.

During a January 23 interview on Fox & Friends, Gingrich suggested moving the briefings to a “larger auditorium” in order to allow “one-fourth or one-half of the people at the press conference to be citizens.” “Are you suggesting that it’s kind of like a town hall with some journalists in it?” responded co-host Steve Doocy. “Sure,” Gingrich replied.

Once again, here's the link to the reporting on Aetna including the judge's findings. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-aetna-obamacare-20170123-story.html

Go read and see who has this described accurately.

If there’s a saving grace in this episode, it’s that the company’s goal to protect the merger hasn’t worked, so far. The DOJ brought suit, and Bates has now thrown a wrench into the plan. Aetna has said it’s considering an appeal, but the merger is plainly in trouble, as it should be.

Has it occurred to you that you are becoming a bit monotonous and reptitious.

The ACA was doomed from the start.

Obamacare Repeal Threatens A Health Benefit Popular In Coal Country

...The Affordable Care Act includes special provisions that make the process of getting black lung benefits easier for coal miners. If the ACA is repealed, gaining these benefits could become much more difficult, effectively harming a group of people that President Trump has promised to protect.

Debbie Wills coordinates the black lung program for Valley Health primary care system. She says that prior to the ACA, it was almost impossible to qualify for the compensation benefits. Coal companies pay the benefits, and also pay into a federal trust fund that pays when coal companies can't. Wills says the process of getting benefits was arduous for miners.

"Coal company lawyers would doctor shop around the country and find two, three, four, five, seven doctors to say, 'Yes this miner is disabled, but it's not because of black lung,'" she says.

First, it told staffers who work for Trump: this is what we expect. If The Leader is reeling from a narcissistic wound (crowd figures too small) you will be expected to sacrifice dignity and best practice to redress that wound. That’s what you bought into when you agreed to work for President Trump. This is a stark statement. No wonder Spicer sounded tense.

A second message was to the press. You will be turned into hate objects whenever we feel like it. We can do that to you without providing right of reply because… what are you going to do about it? Small mistakes quickly corrected will be treated as evidence of malicious wrong doing by the entire group. (And you deserve that.) We are not bound by what you call facts. We have our own, and we will proceed to put them out regardless of what the evidence says. It’s not a problem for us if you stagger from the room in disbelief. We’re not trying to “win the news cycle,” or win you over. We’re trying to demonstrate independence from and power over you people. This room is not just for briefings, announcements and Q & A. It’s also a theater of resentment in which you play a crucial part. Our constituency hates your guts; this is the place where we commune with them around that fact. See you tomorrow, guys!