- A Conservative Case for Climate Action (NYT) "On-again-off-again regulation is a poor way to protect the environment. And by creating needless uncertainty for businesses that are planning long-term capital investments, it is also a poor way to promote robust economic growth. By contrast, an ideal climate policy would reduce carbon emissions, limit regulatory intrusion, promote economic growth, help working-class Americans and prove durable when the political winds change. We have laid out such a plan in a paper to be released Wednesday by the Climate Leadership Council. Provided all four elements are put in force in unison, this plan could meet America’s commitment under the Paris climate agreement, all by itself. Democrats and environmentalists may bemoan the accompanying regulatory rollback. But they should pause to consider the environmental value proposition. Republicans are in charge of both Congress and the White House. If they do nothing other than reverse regulations from the Obama administration, they will squander the opportunity to show the full power of the conservative canon, and its core principles of free markets, limited government and stewardship."
- A Conservative Answer to Climate Change (WSJ) "We suggest a solution that rests on four pillars. First, creating a gradually increasing carbon tax. Second, returning the tax proceeds to the American people in the form of dividends. Third, establishing border carbon adjustments that protect American competitiveness and encourage other countries to follow suit. And fourth, rolling back government regulations once such a system is in place. Controlling the White House and Congress means that Republicans bear the responsibility of exercising wise leadership on the defining challenges of our era. Climate change is one of these issues. It is time for the Grand Old Party to once again lead the way."
- U.S. Utilities Seek Sun as Trump Sides With Coal, Fossil Fuels (ABC News) "Sunshine-capturing technology has become so cheap, so quickly, that utilities are moving to preserve their core business against competition from household solar panels. The transition away from coal-burning power plants now seems unstoppable, even if Trump scraps rules requiring utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The average lifetime cost for utility-scale wind and solar generation in the U.S. is now cheaper than coal or nuclear and comparable to natural gas, according to financial advisory firm Lazard, which compared the fuel costs without their federal tax subsidies."
BUSINESS:
- Dodd-Frank Rollback May Fall Short of G.O.P. Hopes (NYT) "He [Trump] signed an executive order that he said would slash Dodd-Frank red tape. Yet the White House directive only really asks the Treasury secretary to work with regulatory agencies to review rules and ensure they promote certain principles, like fostering economic growth. The secretary is supposed to put together a report on the findings within 120 days — although the nominee, Steven T. Mnuchin, has not yet been approved by the Senate."
HEALTHCARE:
- Republicans Have Lost the Plot on Their Obamacare Repeal (NYT) "Congress blew past a self-imposed Jan. 27 deadline to introduce legislation to end the health law. Mr. Trump told Fox News in an interview that ran Sunday that a replacement for the health law might not be ready until next year. Meanwhile, Republican senators like Lamar Alexander and Orrin Hatch have started talking about 'repairing' the A.C.A., or Obamacare, rather than removing it root-and-branch."
- One-Third Don’t Know Obamacare and Affordable Care Act Are the Same (NYT) "Knowledge of the policy consequences of repeal without replacement differed especially sharply along partisan lines. Though Republicans were more likely to know that Obamacare is another name for the A.C.A., only 47 percent of them said expanded Medicaid coverage and private insurance subsidies would be eliminated under repeal (compared with 79 percent of Democrats), while 29 percent said Medicaid and subsidies would not be affected and 24 percent said they didn’t know."
- Obamacare Provisions Gain Unexpected Backers as GOP Moves to Rewrite Law (WSJ) "When the Affordable Care Act was debated in 2010, the country’s biggest gynecologists’ group spoke out against it, saying it wouldn’t help doctors get paid more fairly or avoid frivolous malpractice lawsuits. Today, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is fighting efforts to fully repeal the law, pushing especially to keep a ban on charging women higher health insurance premiums than men. 'Today, as we sit here in 2017, we have clearly recognized the benefits in women’s health care that are contained in the ACA,' said Hal Lawrence III, the group’s chief executive. The change reflects a shift in how the health industry is approaching the ACA under the Trump administration. After years of criticizing many of its central provisions, big health industry groups now emphasize parts of the law they like—from insurance subsidies to coverage requirements—as Republicans work to rewrite it."
NEWS:
- Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Calls Trump’s Comments on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’ (WSJ) "Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Wednesday called President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the judiciary 'demoralizing and disheartening' in a closed-door meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), the senator said."
- Melania Trump ‘has no intention’ of profiting from public position, representatives say (WaPo) "The suit alleges that an article published in August falsely claimed that she once worked for an escort service and that the assertion had hurt her ability to build 'multimillion dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world.' The suit against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, says the article caused Trump’s brand to lose 'major business opportunities.' The complaint said the article had damaged her 'unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to 'launch a broad-based commercial brand' during this period." and Melania Trump Inc. Imperiled (NYT) "But any veneer of plausible deniability about the Trump family’s greed and their transactional view of the most powerful job in the world was shattered this week by a defamation lawsuit the first lady, Melania Trump, filed. But her assessment of the damage the claim has done to her earning potential is galling, and revelatory. There is no benign way to look at that claim. Mrs. Trump evidently believes her new title affords her a chance to rake in millions of dollars." and Melania Trump Lawsuit Argues 'Once In A Lifetime' Chance To Make Millions Is Lost (NPR) "Beyond demonstrating that the Trumps are more than willing to take the offensive when it comes to lawsuits, the complaint also reveals plans for yet another extension of the Trump empire, arguing that Melania's brand has 'lost significant value' and has impacted 'major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her.'" and Melania Trump Is Hoping to Profit From Her 'Multi-Year Term' in the Public Eye, Court Documents Show (Time) "While the new documents don't specifically mention her term as first lady, the unusual statement about her expected income drew swift condemnation from ethics watchdogs as inappropriate profiteering from her high-profile position, which is typically centered on public service."
- The Thomas Hobbes Presidency (WSJ) "In 2009, Mr. Obama gave a series of speeches containing passing expressions of regret for vaguely specified blemishes from the American past. Examples: 'The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in history.' And 'we’ve made some mistakes.' This was the so-called Apology Tour, in which the word 'apologize' was never uttered. Even so, conservatives still fume about it. For the most part, the left’s various indictments of the U.S., whether well- or ill-grounded, have had a moral purpose: to shame Americans into better behavior. Mr. Trump’s purpose, by contrast, isn’t to prevent a recurrence of bad behavior. It’s to permit it. This also explains why Mr. Trump doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, calling the idea 'insulting [to] the world' and seeing it as an undue burden on our rights and opportunities as a nation. Magnanimity, fair dealing, example setting, win-win solutions, a city set upon a hill: All this, in the president’s mind, is a sucker’s game, obscuring the dog-eat-dog realities of life. Among other distinctions, Mr. Trump may be our first Hobbesian president. Nationalism is usually a form of moral earnestness. Mr. Trump’s genius has been to transform it into an expression of cynicism. That cynicism won’t be easy to defeat."
- Who’s ‘Normalizing’ Donald Trump Now? (WSJ) "Now Mr. Trump’s progressive opponents seem determined to eat their own. Recently they protested outside Mr. Schumer’s Brooklyn home, under the banner of that same four-letter obscenity, which is highly popular among those who regard Mr. Trump as the triumph of the vulgar."
- Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie (NYT) "The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos — a wealthy philanthropist from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system — to be steward of the nation’s schools. It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian."
- U.S. Utilities Seek Sun as Trump Sides With Coal, Fossil Fuels (ABC News) "Sunshine-capturing technology has become so cheap, so quickly, that utilities are moving to preserve their core business against competition from household solar panels. The transition away from coal-burning power plants now seems unstoppable, even if Trump scraps rules requiring utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The average lifetime cost for utility-scale wind and solar generation in the U.S. is now cheaper than coal or nuclear and comparable to natural gas, according to financial advisory firm Lazard, which compared the fuel costs without their federal tax subsidies."
BUSINESS:
- Dodd-Frank Rollback May Fall Short of G.O.P. Hopes (NYT) "He [Trump] signed an executive order that he said would slash Dodd-Frank red tape. Yet the White House directive only really asks the Treasury secretary to work with regulatory agencies to review rules and ensure they promote certain principles, like fostering economic growth. The secretary is supposed to put together a report on the findings within 120 days — although the nominee, Steven T. Mnuchin, has not yet been approved by the Senate."
HEALTHCARE:
- Republicans Have Lost the Plot on Their Obamacare Repeal (NYT) "Congress blew past a self-imposed Jan. 27 deadline to introduce legislation to end the health law. Mr. Trump told Fox News in an interview that ran Sunday that a replacement for the health law might not be ready until next year. Meanwhile, Republican senators like Lamar Alexander and Orrin Hatch have started talking about 'repairing' the A.C.A., or Obamacare, rather than removing it root-and-branch."
- One-Third Don’t Know Obamacare and Affordable Care Act Are the Same (NYT) "Knowledge of the policy consequences of repeal without replacement differed especially sharply along partisan lines. Though Republicans were more likely to know that Obamacare is another name for the A.C.A., only 47 percent of them said expanded Medicaid coverage and private insurance subsidies would be eliminated under repeal (compared with 79 percent of Democrats), while 29 percent said Medicaid and subsidies would not be affected and 24 percent said they didn’t know."
- Obamacare Provisions Gain Unexpected Backers as GOP Moves to Rewrite Law (WSJ) "When the Affordable Care Act was debated in 2010, the country’s biggest gynecologists’ group spoke out against it, saying it wouldn’t help doctors get paid more fairly or avoid frivolous malpractice lawsuits. Today, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is fighting efforts to fully repeal the law, pushing especially to keep a ban on charging women higher health insurance premiums than men. 'Today, as we sit here in 2017, we have clearly recognized the benefits in women’s health care that are contained in the ACA,' said Hal Lawrence III, the group’s chief executive. The change reflects a shift in how the health industry is approaching the ACA under the Trump administration. After years of criticizing many of its central provisions, big health industry groups now emphasize parts of the law they like—from insurance subsidies to coverage requirements—as Republicans work to rewrite it."
NEWS:
- Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Calls Trump’s Comments on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’ (WSJ) "Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Wednesday called President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the judiciary 'demoralizing and disheartening' in a closed-door meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), the senator said."
- Melania Trump ‘has no intention’ of profiting from public position, representatives say (WaPo) "The suit alleges that an article published in August falsely claimed that she once worked for an escort service and that the assertion had hurt her ability to build 'multimillion dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world.' The suit against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, says the article caused Trump’s brand to lose 'major business opportunities.' The complaint said the article had damaged her 'unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to 'launch a broad-based commercial brand' during this period." and Melania Trump Inc. Imperiled (NYT) "But any veneer of plausible deniability about the Trump family’s greed and their transactional view of the most powerful job in the world was shattered this week by a defamation lawsuit the first lady, Melania Trump, filed. But her assessment of the damage the claim has done to her earning potential is galling, and revelatory. There is no benign way to look at that claim. Mrs. Trump evidently believes her new title affords her a chance to rake in millions of dollars." and Melania Trump Lawsuit Argues 'Once In A Lifetime' Chance To Make Millions Is Lost (NPR) "Beyond demonstrating that the Trumps are more than willing to take the offensive when it comes to lawsuits, the complaint also reveals plans for yet another extension of the Trump empire, arguing that Melania's brand has 'lost significant value' and has impacted 'major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her.'" and Melania Trump Is Hoping to Profit From Her 'Multi-Year Term' in the Public Eye, Court Documents Show (Time) "While the new documents don't specifically mention her term as first lady, the unusual statement about her expected income drew swift condemnation from ethics watchdogs as inappropriate profiteering from her high-profile position, which is typically centered on public service."
- The Thomas Hobbes Presidency (WSJ) "In 2009, Mr. Obama gave a series of speeches containing passing expressions of regret for vaguely specified blemishes from the American past. Examples: 'The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in history.' And 'we’ve made some mistakes.' This was the so-called Apology Tour, in which the word 'apologize' was never uttered. Even so, conservatives still fume about it. For the most part, the left’s various indictments of the U.S., whether well- or ill-grounded, have had a moral purpose: to shame Americans into better behavior. Mr. Trump’s purpose, by contrast, isn’t to prevent a recurrence of bad behavior. It’s to permit it. This also explains why Mr. Trump doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, calling the idea 'insulting [to] the world' and seeing it as an undue burden on our rights and opportunities as a nation. Magnanimity, fair dealing, example setting, win-win solutions, a city set upon a hill: All this, in the president’s mind, is a sucker’s game, obscuring the dog-eat-dog realities of life. Among other distinctions, Mr. Trump may be our first Hobbesian president. Nationalism is usually a form of moral earnestness. Mr. Trump’s genius has been to transform it into an expression of cynicism. That cynicism won’t be easy to defeat."
- Who’s ‘Normalizing’ Donald Trump Now? (WSJ) "Now Mr. Trump’s progressive opponents seem determined to eat their own. Recently they protested outside Mr. Schumer’s Brooklyn home, under the banner of that same four-letter obscenity, which is highly popular among those who regard Mr. Trump as the triumph of the vulgar."
- Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie (NYT) "The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos — a wealthy philanthropist from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system — to be steward of the nation’s schools. It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian."
READ THIS:
- The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder (Peter Zeihan) "In The Accidental Superpower, international strategist Peter Zeihan examines how geography, combined with demography and energy independence, will pave the way for one of the great turning points in history, and one in which America reasserts its global dominance."
SCIENCE:
- Tiny chip looks deep inside your body with millimeter-wave radiation (TechCrunch) "The pint-size millimeter-wave radiator could lead to better scanning of tissues and organs, but may also work as part of our everyday wireless data ecosystem. The useful thing about millimeter-wave radiation is that it penetrates the body to varying amounts depending on the energy and wavelength, and by carefully monitoring the reflection you can get a detailed picture of what’s lurking underneath the skin. The improved size and power could make possible a handheld scanner that automatically penetrates to the desired depth, monitoring tumors or searching for anything suspicious."
- Launching Rockets Is a Business—So Sometimes Things Go Boom (Wired) "On Thursday, United Launch Alliance confirmed it would lay off up to 400 people from its workforce by the end of the year, following a smaller round in 2016. Meanwhile, government investigators apparently found a flaw in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets—crack-prone fuel-pumping fans."
TECHNOLOGY:
- The inside story of the rise and rise of Uber (TechCrunch)
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:
- Dating wasn’t working for me — until I went out with 15 guys in one month (WaPo) "'So, tell me, where did you and your fiance meet?' I asked, wondering what bucket her answer would fall into. 'I gamified dating,' she said, sipping her hot chocolate. 'What does that mean?' I shot back. I finally understood that love is a numbers game. One where I must keep putting myself in front of new people until finally I find one who feels a bit different than the rest."
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