More fake news. An employee finding malware on their personal laptop does not equal "Russia hacking our electric grid"...

More anti-Russian #FakeNews from WaPo? Malware found in single laptop not connected to grid: https://t.co/5RnnbYd8vL https://t.co/5HoBgTlL8l

— WikiLeaks Task Force (@WLTaskForce) December 31, 2016

1/2 That Vermont power grid story was a complete embarrassment. Some details here from @ggreenwald: https://t.co/Mz4h9UYvkP

— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) December 31, 2016

Russian #hacking malware found on Vermont energy company computer https://t.co/RpPTJ0xfjX

— ABC News (@abcnews) December 31, 2016

More fake news. An employee finding malware on their personal laptop does not equal "Russia hacking our electric grid"... https://t.co/GqCZZqTzhF

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) December 31, 2016

Daily Caller: “Last night, U.S. utilities were alerted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of a malware code used in Grizzly Steppe, the name DHS has applied to a Russian campaign linked to recent hacks,” a spokesman for the Burlington Electric Department said. “We acted quickly to scan all computers in our system for the malware signature. We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organization’s grid systems.”

The Vermont Public Service Commissioner Christopher Recchia told The Burlington Free Press, “The grid is not in danger.”

However, this false Washington Post story about a Russian intrusion into the American electrical grid has caused panic among journalists....

Why single payer died in Vermont

◼ Vermont was supposed to be the beacon for a single-payer health care system in America. But now its plans are in ruins, and its onetime champion Gov. Peter Shumlin may have set back the cause. - Politico

Advocates of a “Medicare for all” approach were largely sidelined during the national Obamacare debate. The health law left a private insurance system in place and didn’t even include a weaker “public option” government plan to run alongside more traditional commercial ones.

So single-payer advocates looked instead to make a breakthrough in the states. Bills have been introduced from Hawaii to New York; former Medicare chief Don Berwick made it a key plank of his unsuccessful primary race for Massachusetts governor.

Vermont under Shumlin became the most visible trailblazer. Until Wednesday, when the governor admitted what critics had said all along: He couldn’t pay for it.

This liberal governor has made a horrifying discovery about single-payer health care.

◼ What? It would cost money? - Dan Calabrese/CAINTV.COM

Vermont's liberal governor abandons single-payer plan because state couldn't handle the taxes

◼ Vermont’s Giving Up On Single-Payer Health Care Over Ballooning Costs - Daily Caller

“I am not going to undermine the hope of achieving critically important health care reforms for this state by pushing prematurely for single payer when it is not the right time for Vermont,” Shumlin said in a statement Wednesday. “In my judgment, now is not the right time to ask our legislature to take the step of passing a financing plan for Green Mountain Care.”

The problem is, of course, how to pay for it. Even while plans were moving forward for a 2017 launch of the single-payer system, to be called Green Mountain Care, Shumlin had held off on releasing a plan for how to pay for the system, waiting until his announcement Wednesday.

Tax hikes required to pay for the system would include a 11.5 percent payroll tax as well as an additional income tax ranging all the way up to 9.5 percent. Shumlin admitted that in the current climate, such a precipitous hike would be disastrous for Vermont’s economy.

Vermont Paid $170 Million for Healthcare Exchange Website to Insure 40,000 People

◼ Vermont's exchange, healthconnect.vermont.gov, is nearly entirely non-functional, and the vast majority of prospective customers have found themselves unable to actually purchase the insurance plan they selected. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin assured Vermonters that the site would be functional on Nov. 1, but as of today, Nov. 3, the only thing on the website is an error message. - Christine Rousselle/Townhall

The population of Vermont is approximately 626,000 people. Of these 626,000, roughly 42,000 lack health insurance. If Vermont had divided up the amount used to fund the non-functional exchange equally amongst all uninsured Vermont residents, the state could have doled out roughly $4,000 per person.

The failure of the Vermont exchange could have dire consequences for thousands of Vermont families. Due to state law designed to increase enrollment in the exchange, individuals or employers that employ fewer than 50 people cannot legally purchase private insurance after January 1, 2014, and they must enroll in the exchange. Their previous plans also evaporate on the first of the year. Vermont residents who work for small businesses were never given the "if you like your plan, you can keep it" promise–and with a broken exchange, they could easily be without insurance coverage through no fault of their own in less than two months.

◼ Governor invokes 'safety valve' provision for health exchange: After trying to remain upbeat despite a month of malfunctions, Gov. Peter Shumlin last week invoked the legal safety mechanism that will give thousands of Vermonters the option to temporarily bypass Vermont Health Connect to obtain health insurance coverage for 2014. - Burlington Free Press

◼ Oh, Good Grief… Oregon Health Exchange Website Only Works with Internet Explorer, so far no one has signed up for Obamacare in the state. - Gateway Pundit

So all those young people that like to use Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc… are out of luck…

CoverOregon.org, was “built and tested for use with Internet Explorer,” and may “not work properly” if used on other browsers, according to the site.

◼ Obamacare is Set to Throttle Young Men Throughout Ohio - Mediatrackers

Data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prove that health insurance premiums for young men in all 88 Ohio counties will skyrocket because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.

SUPER CHOOSEDAY...

RESULTS: TONIGHT
◼ Dividing the spoils: Santorum takes Tenn. and Okla.; Romney wins 3 states and Gingrich captures Georgia - Washington Post via Drudge

As polls closed on Super Tuesday, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were dividing up Republican primary votes around the nation, with each winning important states , but the key battleground of Ohio remained too close to call.

Romney won Republican presidential primaries in Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts, the state he served as governor, while Santorum snagged an important victory in Tennessee and also won Oklahoma. Gingrich boosted his struggling campaign with a victory in his home state of Georgia.

In Ohio, Romney was battling Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania who has emerged as his chief rival in the tumultuous Republican presidential primary fight. The contest remained too close to call. Official results have not come in from North Dakota, where caucuses ended at 8 p.m. Eastern time....

In all, more than 400 delegates will be awarded Tuesday, more than the combined total of all 12 states that have voted so far. That won’t be enough to give any of the candidates the nomination, but Super Tuesday could still be super enough to reshape the primary season.

◼ SANTORUM WIN OK, TN... - New York Times

Mr. Romney did less well than usual with some of his of the groups that have provided him the most supporters in the past. While Mr. Santorum won less-educated voters, he essentially tied Mr. Romney among the better educated, which has not been the usual pattern.

Mr. Santorum did well among strong Tea Party supporters, but he he also did well among those less supportive of the Tea Party movement.

Like the voters in other states, 4 in 10 Tennessee voters said Mr. Romney was most likely to defeat Mr. Obama in November.

◼ Super Tuesday Results - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ Super Tuesday Thread - Ohio Too Close, Romney Wins VA But Has Major Problems In South - Marooned in Marin
◼ Super Tuesday Update: Romney Declared Winner in 3 States; Santorum 2; Gingrich 1; Ohio Too Close to Call - Michelle Malkin
◼ Super Tuesday Backgrounder * Open Thread [Updates] - NoQuarter
◼ SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS HQ - The Other McCain