Fmle Former Rep. John Dingell hospitalized after heart attack
The House voted down a Republican proposal that would have prohibited the Pentagon from paying for gender transition surgeries for transgender service members, 209-214. Twenty-four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure.GOP Rep. Vicky Hartzler, of Missouri, had introduced an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act  NDAA  that would have rolled back an Obama directive requiring the Defense Department to pay for transgender surgeries. In a statement about the amendment, Hartzler argued that the government shouldn t be paying for  very expensive gender change surgeries that even most private insurance plans don t cover.                                                                                                         How lifting of military ban impacts transgender service membe stanley website rs          02:56                   stanley vaso                                                     She also suggested that spending funds on the surgeries -- which she pointed out would cost about a billion dollars over the next decade -- would damage the country s military readiness, and she said that her proposal would ensure  our defense resources are allocated in a way that is smart and good for our national defense.                         stanley quencher                  Rep. Duncan Hunter, of California, who supported the bill, doesn t believe American taxpayers shouldn t have to pay for the treatments.  Figure out whether you re man or a woman before you join,  Hunter said.House Democratic L Fflg Texans view state s economic growth as a good thing but feel pinch of higher prices  mdash; CBS News poll
IN WHICH A DINOSAUR DEFENDS HIS TURF...Since I ve been called out on the v-log issue  151; and also because I m a little bored right now  151; here s a moderately detailed defense of my  stanley thermobecher agreement with Nick Yglesias that v-logging kind of sucks.  However, lest anyone take this too seriously, let me disclaim up front that this is a purely personal reaction.  If you enjoy v-logging yourself, that s fine with me.  Honest.That said, here are my complaints, in reverse order of importance.The first objection is the most obvious one: it s so slo-o-o-o-w.  A 20-minute v-log usually contains remarkably little co stanley termosy ntent amidst all the interruptions, verbal tics, and hemming and hawing.  I prefer my bloviating in more concentrated form.  On a re stanley cup lated note, v-logs are also almost impossible to scan, which I find endlessly annoying.  I can scan a 3,000 word article in little more than a minute or so if I m looking for a particular passage.V-loggers tend not to think out their arguments very well before turning on the camera, which means that I usually have to sit and watch for 20 minutes as they slowly and painfully piece it together.  On a purely selfish basis, I d rather that they spend the time it takes to hone their argument and write it down in a form where I can read it quickly, instead of blathering aimlessly and forcing me to spend the time to pick out the wheat from the chaff.Finally, I just don t get it.  There s a reason political blogging has become popular: it s a genuinely di

Fmle Former Rep. John Dingell hospitalized after heart attack
The House voted down a Republican proposal that would have prohibited the Pentagon from paying for gender transition surgeries for transgender service members, 209-214. Twenty-four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure.GOP Rep. Vicky Hartzler, of Missouri, had introduced an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act  NDAA  that would have rolled back an Obama directive requiring the Defense Department to pay for transgender surgeries. In a statement about the amendment, Hartzler argued that the government shouldn t be paying for  very expensive gender change surgeries that even most private insurance plans don t cover.                                                                                                         How lifting of military ban impacts transgender service membe stanley website rs          02:56                   stanley vaso                                                     She also suggested that spending funds on the surgeries -- which she pointed out would cost about a billion dollars over the next decade -- would damage the country s military readiness, and she said that her proposal would ensure  our defense resources are allocated in a way that is smart and good for our national defense.                         stanley quencher                  Rep. Duncan Hunter, of California, who supported the bill, doesn t believe American taxpayers shouldn t have to pay for the treatments.  Figure out whether you re man or a woman before you join,  Hunter said.House Democratic L Fflg Texans view state s economic growth as a good thing but feel pinch of higher prices  mdash; CBS News poll
IN WHICH A DINOSAUR DEFENDS HIS TURF...Since I ve been called out on the v-log issue  151; and also because I m a little bored right now  151; here s a moderately detailed defense of my  stanley thermobecher agreement with Nick Yglesias that v-logging kind of sucks.  However, lest anyone take this too seriously, let me disclaim up front that this is a purely personal reaction.  If you enjoy v-logging yourself, that s fine with me.  Honest.That said, here are my complaints, in reverse order of importance.The first objection is the most obvious one: it s so slo-o-o-o-w.  A 20-minute v-log usually contains remarkably little co stanley termosy ntent amidst all the interruptions, verbal tics, and hemming and hawing.  I prefer my bloviating in more concentrated form.  On a re stanley cup lated note, v-logs are also almost impossible to scan, which I find endlessly annoying.  I can scan a 3,000 word article in little more than a minute or so if I m looking for a particular passage.V-loggers tend not to think out their arguments very well before turning on the camera, which means that I usually have to sit and watch for 20 minutes as they slowly and painfully piece it together.  On a purely selfish basis, I d rather that they spend the time it takes to hone their argument and write it down in a form where I can read it quickly, instead of blathering aimlessly and forcing me to spend the time to pick out the wheat from the chaff.Finally, I just don t get it.  There s a reason political blogging has become popular: it s a genuinely di