Wiretap: Universal health care saves lives, capital punishment does not

 
Here’s a surprise for you: A study in Massachusetts found that universal health care … saves lives. Yes, really! The research covered mortality rates in Massachusetts from 2001 to 2010 and found that they fell by about 3 percent in the four years after Romneycare began. And there’s more: The steepest decline was in counties that had the highest proportion of previously uninsured people. So, it could turn out to be that having health insurance is actually good for you. Go figure, like the people doing the study – published in the Annals of Internal Medicine — did. Via the New York Times.

Dana Milbank argues that it was Obama administration obsession with secrecy that helped Republicans turn Benghazi from a nothingburger into a Double Big Mac. Via the Washington Post.

Dahlia Lithwick writes in Slate that, thanks to the latest 5-4 Supreme Court ruling, you should be prepared to have a lot more Jesus in your life.

John Oliver on how Oklahoma managed to kill Clayton Lockett while trying to put him to death… Oliver reminds us that he knows something about the death penalty, because he’s from Britain, where capital punishment is now outlawed but where it has a rich and horrific history. “Yeah, we did that. We boiled people! And, in the grand tradition of British cuisine, if anything, we over-boiled them.”

No fiction allowed. LexisNexis took down the discredited Lara Logan 60 Minutes Benghazi report. TPM.

In case you missed it: Veep and the V.P.

Borowitz Report: In landmark decision, Supreme Court strikes down main reason country was started. Via the New Yorker.

Isn’t it time to stop making fun of Chris Christie for being fat? After all, there are so many other reasons. Via Vox.

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