Lunch Buffet

by Ed Kilgore
Politics

Deadlines in every direction today, but hey, I’m on schedule, which is more than most writers can say at any given moment, myself included.

Here are some timely midday news/views treats:

* At Vox, Sarah Kliff outlines the new administration plan to begin making Medicare payments reflect health outcomes, not just the type and volume of procedures ordered. More about this later.

* Dave Weigel explains that Bibi’s speech to Congress next month fulfills a long-time aspiration of Louie Gohmert.

* Jonathan Chait wades into the liberal/Left controversy over speech codes, “trigger” warnings, and the very concept of “political correctness.”

* Democratic filibusters stop Keystone XL pipeline in the Senate, for now.

* In wake of his “victory” at the Iowa Freedom Summit, Scott Walker forms 2016 exploratory committee.

And in non-political news:

* Big buzz over faulty “historic blizzard” forecasts for NYC.

As we break for lunch, here’s slide guitar virtuoso Elmore James, who would be 97 today, performing “Blues Before Sunrise.”

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Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.