by TOM COBURN

Last week President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public-health emergency, pledging to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction. Opioid addiction kills more Americans than AIDS and has taken a terrible toll on families in my state, Oklahoma. From 2007 to 2016, drug-related deaths there grew by nearly 70 percent, with two-thirds of them involving opioids. What pains me most as a physician is the knowledge that this epidemic is largely man-made, fueled by federal regulations linking pain management to Medicare reimbursement. That linkage encouraged many physicians to treat common aches ” such as lower-back pain with powerful opioids meant to blunt pain from serious diseases. Full Story....Here

By Mark P. Mills

The global embrace of electric cars is being hailed by myriad enthusiasts as yet another kind of digital disruption coming out of Silicon Valley. But if that transformation comes to pass, what it would actually signal is a new era of mega mineral mining and chemical processing and rising American import dependencies.

Batteries are, after all, not digital but chemical machines. Given the scale of global transportation, using electricity as the primary fuel for personal mobility would mean fabricating gigatons of batteries. And that, in turn, would require mining astounding quantities of minerals and processing a virtual sea of chemicals. Full Story....Here

By D.C. McAllister

We're used to anti-gun zealots shamelessly using national horrors to take political cheap shots, but following the Las Vegas massacre, they've hit a new low by blaming masculinity for the bloodshed that shocked our nation.

******

Anti-gun activists would like you to think that gun violence is a growing problem in the United States as alpha males flock to gun shows to buy weapons. But this is completely untrue. Gun violence has decreased almost equally with the increase in gun ownership. States with higher gun ownership don't have more murders. Not to mention, since 1993, the gun homicide rate has fallen by nearly 50 percent, despite recent increases in some urban areas. Full Story....Here

by Right Wisconsin

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin has staked out her opposition to the unified framework for tax reform with the excuse that it doesn't do enough to help working families, which begs the question: what is Baldwin's record on working families? Full Story....Here

By Henry Oliner

Advocates for a single-payer health care system address legitimate concerns for the shortcomings of our prevailing system. They philosophically believe that a free market has limitations, especially in an area of such individual and social importance as our health care system.  They also believe that single-payer systems abroad with vastly different dynamics have admirable results that we can emulate by adopting their more evolved solution.

Full Story....Here

By M.D. Kittle

[Madison, Wis...] Described as the "bonding house of last resort," the Public Finance Authority issues higher-risk bonds for government and not-for-profit projects.

So why is Wisconsin's Legislature looking to give this controversial, quasi-public entity more authority - including the power of eminent domain?

Even some lawmakers and political insiders don't know the answer. Full Story....Here

Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his plan for extending Medicare to all Americans.

Sanders' proposal would provide more generous coverage than Medicare currently does. Private insurance would be a thing of the past, as would premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Dental, vision, and hearing coverage would be included. In short, health care would be "free" for everyone.

Sen. Sanders must be making his bid to be the third Grimm Brother - because his Medicare-for-All plan is nothing more than a fairy tale. Government-run, single-payer health care has proved time and again to be a costly, destructive fantasy. Full Story....Here

by DAVID FRENCH
Their proposals would do nothing to stop mass shootings. By now you've seen it a thousand times. On Twitter, in print, and on the air, Democratic politicians and progressive activists try to name and shame conservatives - especially conservative politicians - who offer thoughts and prayers in the aftermath of a mass shooting. Your job isn't to pray, they argue. Your job is to legislate. Your job is to fix the problem. Full Story....Here