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Today, President Barack Obama fights relentlessly for his liberal priorities. Like the Terminator, he never gives up, he never stops. And Republican leadership responds to every challenge by surrendering at the outset. President Obama demands of Congress: fund all of Obamacare, with no changes to help the millions being hurt by that failed law, or he will veto funding for the entire federal government. And Republican leadership backs down. ... President Obama demands: give $500 million in taxpayer money to Planned Parenthood, a private organization under criminal investigation—or he will veto funding for the entire federal government. And Republican leadership backs down. The core of this capitulation comes from Republican leadership’s promise that “There will be no government shutdown.” On its face, the promise sounds reasonable. Except in practice it means that Republicans never stand for anything. (Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, 9/23)

Congressional Republicans are again playing brinkmanship with the budget — some are even threatening to shut down the government — in order to score ideological and political points. On Tuesday, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, introduced a bill to keep the government running for a few months past the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30 — as long as Democrats agree to cut off money for Planned Parenthood. (9/24)

The looming possibility of a U.S. government shutdown threatens more than the normal functioning of federal agencies. It imperils everything the Republicans have been trying to accomplish since winning control of both houses of Congress last November. Once again, the danger stems from the party's all-or-nothing stance on a divisive issue. The last time Congress failed to pass a budget on time, two years ago, House Republicans refused to approve any funding for Obamacare. This year, it's Planned Parenthood. (9/23)

For the right reasons, congressional Republicans want to end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion provider. ... These Republicans’ motive is sound, but the problem is tactics. Some in the GOP say that unless Planned Parenthood is defunded, they’re willing to shut down the federal government—which would be a disaster for the pro-life cause. (Karl Rove, 9/23)

Historical precedents aren’t fazing some conservative congressional Republicans. For the third time in 20 years, GOP lawmakers are threatening a government shutdown to force a Democratic president to accept their position, this time the elimination of federal funding for Planned Parenthood health services. As some of the GOP’s saner voices are pointing out, Republicans lost both the 1995 battle against President Bill Clinton and the 2013 fight against President Barack Obama. Not only did they fail to get their way, but they damaged the party’s brand, something Republicans probably don’t need, given the problems their 2016 presidential candidates are creating. (Carl P. Leubsdorf, 9/22)

Consider the Food and Drug Administration's unapproved-drugs initiative, launched in 2006. The program is well known to some physicians and hospitals and their patients, who blame it for huge increases in the price of drugs that have been in common use for decades -- even, in one case, for millenniums. It's little known to the general public. That's a shame, because it underscores an enormous flaw in our drug-approval process that rewards a few clever manufacturers at the expense of patients. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/23)

Diagnostic errors are thought to be a substantial source of avoidable illness and death in the United States. Although diagnosis has always been central to the practice of medicine and diagnostic errors have always been prevalent, systematic efforts to measure these errors and analyze their underpinnings have been limited .... we would argue that diagnostic errors are clinically and financially more costly today than ever before and that they therefore require greater attention and more dedicated resources. (Dhruv Khullar, Ashish K. Jha and Anupam B. Jena, 9/23)

Gov. Pat McCrory has long resisted expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, despite health care advocates’ contention that the $2 billion-a-year federal infusion would create 43,000 new jobs and save the state $318 million. I want a North Carolina Medicaid plan, he kept saying. The Medicaid overhaul he signed Wednesday? It targets a well-regarded program created by North Carolina doctors and healthcare providers and sets it up to be overrun by private managed care firms from out-of-state. (9/23)

Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli is taking a lap as the Internet’s most vilified personality, but his rude tweets and callous business decisions are serving a useful purpose. Sky-high drug costs are now a front-and-center political issue. It’s been simmering on the back burner for months. Several members of Congress, including Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, have sought information about seemingly arbitrary price hikes of prescription drugs. (9/23)

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) approximately 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by 14; yet the average delay between onset of symptoms and receiving treatment is eight to 10 years. Like all illnesses, if left untreated these disorders can worsen and create obstacles to a child’s development and success. ... we can lighten the load for families in our community affected by mental illness by educating and supporting overwhelmed parents, schools and teens. (Louise McDermott, 9/23)

New research that examined the brains of 91 deceased football players found signs of a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in 96 percent of them. ... the study also found that 40 percent of the afflicted had been linemen, players who get hit on almost every play. This bolsters previous evidence that repeated minor blows to the head could be more dangerous, over the long term, than the single violent hits that get more attention. And it confirms that confronting CTE will require ambitious changes to football programs at every level. The place to start is with practice. (9/23)