Russ Latino: Comparing the House and Senate Medicaid expansion plans
In February, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted for full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”). That plan went over like a lead balloon with Republican senators, who developed their own Medicaid expansion plan, one which stops short of full expansion.
Other Editors: Biden does an Iran sanctions two-step
Two days after reissuing a $10 billion Iran sanctions waiver, the Biden Administration on Friday threatened coordinated Group of Seven sanctions against Iran if it delivers ballistic missiles to Russia. The policy signal these two moves send is incoherence.
Adam Ganucheau: Senate Republicans should know: This is literally life-or-death.
The single most transformative policy Mississippi lawmakers have considered since William Winter’s education reform of 1982 is just two Senate votes from becoming law.
Froma Harrop: Are these Republicans mocking social conservatives?
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace was in Washington telling a story about how her “fiance” wanted more action in bed earlier that day. “And I was like, ‘No baby, we don’t got time for that this morning.’” To which she added, “He can wait. I’ll see him later tonight.”
Wyatt Emmerich: Dept. of Defense reports there are no aliens
The U.S. Department of Defense just released a new report to Congress: There are no aliens.
By aliens, I don’t mean illegal immigrants. I mean alien aliens. As in, from another planet.
Froma Harrop: Build anything anywhere threatens communities
YIMBY sounds nice. YIMBY stands for “Yes in My Backyard.” It’s a positive-sounding rejoinder to NIMBY, “Not in My Backyard.” The NIMBY label is being used to stigmatize defenders of zoning laws, with the goal of bulldozing the rules.
Bobby Harrison: Some state politicians may be moving beyond name-calling in health care
Riding around curvy roads in northeast Mississippi campaigning for reelection in 2007, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour unveiled to a reporter his plan to create a state exchange where individuals and businesses could shop for health insurance at a lower rate.
Sean of the South: Tupelo
It was late. I had just finished performing my one-man spasm in Tupelo, Mississippi. We were tired. My wife and I had a long drive ahead.
Other Editors: The Supreme Court Trumps Jack Smith
You can’t say the current Supreme Court lacks courage. The safe political play for the Justices would have been to dodge the issue of Donald Trump ’s immunity from prosecution. But on Wednesday they decided to hear his appeal on the merits of the law and presidential power, though a ruling is sure to infuriate one side or the other.
Other Editors: House weighs fix to felon voting ban
Mississippi’s lifetime ban on most — but not all — felons is being challenged in the courts and at the state Capitol.
Ben Shapiro: The dirty little secret of the 2024 campaign
This week, new polling showed what Democrats have long feared: Donald Trump is now in commanding position to defeat Joe Biden and win reelection in 2024.
David McRae: Tax credits available!
It’s tax season in Mississippi! Many are gathering their W-2’s, organizing the various other documents they’ve received in the mail, and filling out the IRS’s onerous paperwork. It’s a lot, but I might have one more piece of paper to add to the mix that could shave a little extra off your tax bill.
Geoff Pender: Maybe health care policy just isn’t Gov. Tate Reeves’ thing
With his fellow Republican leaders set against him and pushing Medicaid expansion through the Legislature, Gov. Tate Reeves had a statewide platform last week with his State of the State address to warn Mississippians of the perils of this policy.
Sean of the South: Wise ole words
I have here a letter from Randy. “Sean,” the note begins — people are always calling me that. “Do you have any words of wisdom I can give to my son?
Armstrong Williams: The critical testimony of Robert Hur
In the days since special counsel Robert Hur released a report that described President Joe Biden’s memory as “significantly limited,” there’s been a notable response from presidential appointees and allies.
Mona Charen: IVF and the GOP
The Alabama Supreme Court set off political tremors last week with its decision that frozen embryos have the status of “extrauterine children” and thus are covered by a state law that permits parents to seek damages for the wrongful death of a “minor child.”
Veronique de Rugy: Is another child tax credit expansion really the best way to help families?
In the well-intentioned rush to support American families by expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC), critical questions are often ignored: Aren’t we already doing enough, and is this the best way to help? It’s imperative to step back and examine the assumptions at the heart of this ongoing debate.
Bobby Harrison: Imagine public school underfunding with no objective formula
Despite an objective school funding formula that state law says shall be fully funded, public schools were underfunded a cumulative total of a little more than $1 billion from 2012-2016 during the first term for Phil Bryant as governor and Tate Reeves as lieutenant governor.
Russ Latino: You hate poor people
On a steamy July day in 1981, I emerged into the world. My dad was off in California living a 1960s dream of becoming a musician. My mom had dropped out of high school and married him at 16. She’d had my oldest sister at 18 and our middle sister a few years later. I was last.
Ben Shapiro: Putin is pushing where there’s mush
This week, Vladimir Putin finally — allegedly — murdered his chief political rival and critic Alexei Navalny. Navalny’s death followed an attempt by Putin’s operatives in 2020 to kill him by poisoning; Navalny survived the attempt, worked with online specialists to unmask the actual agents responsible for the poisoning and then returned to Russia, where he was promptly arrested on trumped-up charges and sent to a Gulag in the far north.