Day 53: Who needs health insurance?

So, the Republican healthcare plan is bad. Spectacularly bad.

• So bad, it's worse than predicted. You know how the Affordable Care Act basically extended coverage to 20 million people? It's estimated that 24 million will now *lose* coverage under this new plan, over then next ten years. That's not even including employers who decide to stop granting health insurance as a benefit. Also, essentially all savings from the new bill come from gutting Medicare/Medicaid. This is a disaster. The Trump administration's response? Discredit the Congressional Budget Office!
• Customs and Border Patrol are demanding access to US citizens' phones and passwords when entering or leaving the country. This story is horrifying, and an important read. If you leave the country temporarily, you may want to leave your phone behind.
• Faced with a deadline to provide any evidence of wiretapping, the administration told the press that when they said "wiretapping", they didn't mean that "wiretapping", they meant the other "wiretapping". Which is about as bullshit as you get.
• Preet Bharara was investigating Fox News. It seems his firing will blunt that investigation, benefiting Trump. Something about the independence of the judiciary?
• Another fucking nightmare of a nomination: Scott Gottlieb to head the FDA. This guy has deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, and has actively stoked fears about Obamacare's birth control mandate.
• Trump refuses to release proof that he's donating his paychecks. Is anybody surprised? I didn't think so.