Recall Biden saying, "Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security," - August 14, 2012

What in the world are Obama and the house dems doing???!!!

Though I've long referred to Reagan as the all time "Great Capitulator" for his stunning beyond all reason reversal of "No negotiations with terrorists of any kind", to become chief supplier of American military weapons to those Iranians who chant, "Death to America", my dear President Obama is carving out a new political name for himself, pick whichever is your fancy:

The Serial Caveman, or The Serial Capitulator.

What a bitter disappointment, I'm here left clinging to hope that our next president will be more like FDR, and not at all Reagan. Obama is too eager to grovel for republican approval. His legacy looks like it will be to simply further Reagan's legacy. I'm just hoping he doesn't tip the Supreme Court further to the right.

Hey Joe Biden, it's time to give your boss an attitude adjustment, PLEASE!!!

I'm afraid you are completely right about the damage the 30 years of Reaganomics has cost the country; but, I must add, look at the cost to the country from the bone-head move to discontinue funding of our psychiatric institutions.

I'm no fan of psychiatric institutions having a brother who after a tragic accident at birth was confined to one, but the release of patients from these facilities of last resort certainly contributed to every psycho murder spree we have had from the Batman movie to Sandy Hook. Or, on the other hand, helped to conceal the real culprits behind these heinous crimes.

Thom, without facts to back up the claims I cannot support or discredit any of the conspiracy theories I've heard. The dangerous fact that remains is that because of the US Government's corrupt handling of everything from the Kennedy murder, to Vietnam, to 911, I cannot in good conscious without the facts dismiss the ridiculous conspiracy theories I've heard so far concerning Sandy Hook.

I'm no particular fan of far-out conspiracy theory's; but, since the grassy noel and the Kennedy Warren Commission fiasco, I like every other devout American accept nothing the Government feeds us as facts without rigorous research and logical personal analysis.

With all due respect it seems to me that the only legitimate rational for Reagan's abandonment of psychiatric facilities would be to explain an untold number of "lone psycho murders" as lone nut theories instead of legitimate investigations. In short, to cover Reagan's own, and the Republican Party's own, nefarious activities.

It is truly sad that every "lone nut" murder spree we now face is legitimized by the same "lone nut" explanation of the original Warren Commission instead of legitimate investigations. Instead of reinstating our previous psychiatric institutions we dozily accept the explanation that legitimately disturbed people are committing these atrocities and there is nothing we can do about it but sacrifice our constitutional rights.

Thom, I'd be shock and disappointed if someone of your intellect would be swayed by this neophyte propaganda.

What the hell is going on, Obama has the ball but he's trying to score at the Teapublican end of the court?.... maybe it's just an electrolyte imbalance?...... what's up with that?

Obama needs to realize that his capitulation amounts to a serious miscalculation of representation. He may think he's appeasing the 47% who unknowingly voted for more poverty. In reality he's simply representing the handful of billionaires who spent billions to convince the 47% to vote for more poverty, more union busting, and lower wages. Will someone please tell him what DEMOCRACY smells like. A BILLIONAIRES VOTE COUNTS NO MORE THAN MINE! Raise the damn cap, drop the retirement age, and make the payments a true cost of living amount. Who in the middle class can stash money for retirement anymore anyway, and why should anyone work their ass off to make someone else rich and then retire in poverty?

The point about branding the opposition with the concessions is critical. The media consistently presents the situation as simply Obama wanting to raise taxes. You never hear that the Republicans simply want to cut Social Security and other well run nonprofit programs. It's the nonprofit part that really pisses them off, case in point, the Post Office privitization attempt. It all really has nothing to do with the deficit. It just piggish individuals wanting more from the vast majority of us who have nothing left to steal.

Leostar: Thanx for those links...Jesse Ventura is one of my favorite people...although I have not seen very many of his shows...a few....I have seen enough to know where he comes from and I agree with most everything he has said. As soon as I download those links I'll watch them. Just reading the YouTube blurb sounds like what I have been thinking all along..reinforcing my ideas on that probability.

Look out for the mass exodus of Senior Citizens to Mexico where they will still be able to get their meager SS checks and then spend them more frugally down there....not to mention the cheap prescription drugs all without needing a prescription...just walk into any pharmacia and get them even without a prescription. And the doctors are just as capable as those golf club swinging witch doctors in the US...maybe better...and cheaper. I noticed a lot of people from not only the US but from a lot of other countries living in communities around Lake Chapala just south of Guadalajara. The communities looked about like any nice community one would find in the US. It is generally warmer in the winter as well. Overall, a very nice place to live. I think Jesse Ventura has the right idea...although he lives down near the southern tip of the Baja peninsula part of the year..nice ocean views....and "off the grid" with solar panels...you can even see them on Google Earth. But I won't tell you exactly where his place is..sorry...you'll have to figure that out yourself...like I did.

I don't know about anybody else but I do not make enough SS to live on. Only reason we are doing OK right now is because my husband has income. When that disappears I will be one of those loney people you see with a shopping cart pushing along all their worldly goods. NOT!!! I will find a current Dr. Kavorkian and take care of the problem myself. Cannot see myself living in a society that is run by people like BONER, CAN'TER! AND, NOW, OBAMA! Since I do not believe in an afterlife and believe that what we have here on earth is it, do not think that is the end that I want to have to endure.

GROW SOME CAJONES, OBAMA, AND KEEP YOUR WORK - FOR ONCE!!!!!!!! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN OF THE YEAR IF YOU CANNOT PULL SOMETHING OFF BETTER THAN THIS.

Excuse me what the hell does SS have to do with Budgets or the Deficit??? And how much can be cut; and what if anything does that do to the Deficit. WTF? What's going on? Am I going insane or is the news? Is or is not SS a separate account?

I have NO TROUBLE with responsibly fine-tuning Social Security based on the realities of demographics. Tying SS to a more realistic Cost of Living Index, may even make sense ... as long as it provides the overall safety-net, within realities of keeping a healthy Sr. Retirement program. I can deal with that too.

However, as part of the Deficit-Reduction ??? ??? -- Any diddling with Social Security seems trivial and irrevelient. What am I missing???

The Twain Report
All The News That Mark Twain Says He Would Report If He Was Alive Today'
12-19-2012

After careful thought, The Twain Report has arrived at the inescapable conclusion that there is a grain of truth to the republicans' saying that American sins are to blame for the murders of the school children in Connecticut. Admittedly, that grain is heavily-ergotified, but republicans have experience with ergot dating back to the witch trials. (No wonder republicans are terrified of psychedelics: they do stupid, bad things when they're high, so they think that everyone else would, too.)

Unfortunately- and as always- the republicans have conveniently misplaced a key component of the equation. But hey, they're trying, you have to give them that. Anyway, here's what they're missing: our military has been murdering children in Iraq and Afghanistan for over ten years, and absent honest repentence it is impossible- absolutely, completely irrevocably IMPOSSIBLE- to initiate an energy wave like that and not have it return to sender. And even successfully confiscating every gun that every American has, would not and could not stop the violence that America has sent out into the world, from coming back to haunt America. Besides which, it is impossible to confiscate every gun, and even if it was possible, more guns would come across every border to fill in the gap. That is the unfortunate reality of it: whenever people want something enough to pay money for it, other people find a way to sell it to them, regardless of whether it's legal or illegal. It's always been that way.

Anyway, karma is something that is sometimes easy to trace by using two-dimensional logic- action "A" causes reaction "B." Every time- just look at the history of any country and you'll see it. Unfortunately, two-dimensional logic is a pretty big stretch for republicans, because their party line is, "Damn Proud to be One-Dimensional."

Let me give you an example of one-dimensional thinking: when the flounder of The Twain Report (and former bearded lady at a sideshow) was a kid, he beat up on his dog one day because he was feeling angry about something that had nothing to do with the dog. And like God's grace, the dog took the beating in silence and still loved him. Then, a few days later the flounder was riding his bike to school and a dog ran out of a yard and bit him. But because our flounder is smarter than the average picnic basket, it only took him... let's see, one plus one is four... No, wait, one plus one is eighteen, that's it, everyone knows that. No, that doesn't sound right either. Ok, let's do this on paper: one... plus... one... equals... TWO!!! Damn, I'm smart! So anyway, it only took our flounder fifty-three- count them- 53 years to figure out why that dog bit him. For 52 years he was very concerned with the trauma that he felt from that dog biting him, and yet he was unconcerned about the beating that he had given his dog. Hmm, does that remind you of any group of people? No, don't tell me, I know this one... YES! It reminds me of our current moldy crop of republicans! Damn, I'm smart again!

Ok, so allowing for the intelligence differential between our flounder and republicans, and the fact that our flounder is a real Christian instead of a possessed devil worshipper pretending to be a Christian, within maybe 1,000 years- hypothetically speaking and with a bow to Heisenberg who in spite of the fact that he wasn't real sure of himself, became the republicans' patron saint because he figured out that "here's how you ignore the direction things are going." thing- the republicans should figure out that there is a pretty clear karmic connection between American troops and American drone strikes murdering foreign children, and American children being murdered.

And until the republicans figure out this oh-so-ellusive fact, ever true to form, they will continue their casual murder of countless foreign children, and when American children are murdered, the republican will continue to blame gay people or people who don't support our troops, or people who wear green suspenders on Tuesdays.

You know, the onlly difference between hypocritical christian fanatics and hypocritical muslim fanatics is the hat. Which brings me to a possible solution to our republican problem: if every progressive sneaks up behind a republican and superglues a turban or a fez to their heads, then the other republicans would shoot them:

"No, Bubba, don't shoot me! I'm yer brother!"

"You do look like him, but my brother would never wear a damn turban."

BLAM!

And just like that- and without any need for re-districting or other jerrymandering, we'd be rid of half ot the republicans.

I can't help but feel Obama is using the Republicans as an excuse to do what he actually wants. Why else would he capitulate to them so often and repeatedly allow them to dictate the boundaries for every negotiation? People have said that both parties are working for the same corporate interests and that they are essentially playing "good cop bad cop" with the public. To make matters worse the cycle only continues because they insulate each other at election time since voters are afraid of wasting their votes on a third party

.

You have a good point, but that's only one, or even a small group, but what if everyone in the Occupy Movement for example decided they needed to apply some force and the Military refused to gun down their own? which I understand that 80% of the Military would support standing down if the situation ever arose.

What if Obama tells the fascists that he'll cut so much SS from the budget and they bite? Then he can say, SS isn't part of the budget. There's nothing to take.

Lawyers lawyer.

I am horrified and greatly saddened that Obama has decided to propose this. I thought he said he would not balance the budget on the backs of the poor, the senior citizens, the disabled. That he would not touch Social Security. Of all things, why did he decide to do this? Is someone paying him off or threatening him? I hope Boehner does not get reelected. I don't get why Obama has to favor the Republicans. I don't understand why he did not stick to what he wanted, and promised The whole election and the promises----lies. He betrayed us. He thinks we are fools? I do not know how he is not ashamed. I am greatly saddened by all of this and my heart sinks.