SAR #13103

“There was no affordable private health insurance for 85-year-old Americans before Medicare was created. And there will be none when Medicare is swept away.” Simon Johnson

Right On Schedule: Fifteen minutes after Obama unveiled his 'gesture' to Republicans by making a well-known gesture to the seniors who voted for him and not those other guys, the Republicans repaid him by labeling it “a shocking attack on seniors,” which it is.

Asked & Answered: Is the concerted effort to cheapen Social Security related to the fact that for the last 30 years Congress has refused to raise enough money via taxes to pay for all their spending, forcing the Treasury to borrow about $3 trillion from the Social security Trust Fund and now that the Trust Fund (for which read retired citizens) want some of their money back, Congress hasn't got the guts to raise taxes enough to pay their debts?

Details: Surveys show that 66% of Republicans oppose gay marriage. The rest have gay children.

Ah, Spring: In recognition for their services to his regime – namely withholding anesthesia while operating on injured protesters – Egyptian President Morsi has promoted three senior generals. The attacks on injured demonstrators while they were in the hospital was not specifically cited at the promotion ceremony, nor were the over 800 deaths. The Egyptian defense minister said none of these claims are true.

Balloon Barrage: The Obama Administration “is considering the sale of all or part of the Tennessee Valley Authority” in order to placate some politically powerful interests to lower the national debt by $35 billion, leaving only $16,812,254,000,000 to raise at next week's garage sale.

Unclear on the Concept: Mumbling and staring at their shoes, 47 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus refused to pledge to “ vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits.” 'Progressive' doesn't seem to mean what it once did.

Small Comfort: Gold bugs are pointing out that gold hasn't taken as deep a dive as Apple.

Mutally Assured Destruction: Obama's proposed mutual destruction treaty does not include sufficient funding to continue the already inadequate federal food safety program, so slaughterhouse operators have stepped forward with a promise to behave. Never mind that they have a financial interest in cutting corners and a long record of not following existing rules, this time they promised us their promises were... promises. Can you spell Salmonella?

The Light Dawns: The IMF's Christine Lagarde has concluded that “ultra-low interest rates and purchases of government bonds may be shifting instability from banks to other parts of economy”. Ben gave her an A.

Inconvenient Facts: Of course it’s a benefit cut, a tax hike for everybody but the wealthy. It won't lower the deficit because Social Security does not affect the deficit, cannot, by law. It ends the charade that the Democratic Party has become and delivers the vote of retirees and those near retiring – who vote in larger percentages than younger Americans – to the Republicans. And, lastly, introducing the chained CPI is unnecessary because the deficit is already rapidly shrinking.

The Human Condition: American ignorance about the world and what's going on it is not a new phenomenon and did not start with Fox. Nor is it exclusively an American disease, it is the default position for any population. Which goes to explain much of history. If events do not present an immediate impact on our lives, most citizens in most countries simply do not pay much attention. Yes, pictures of starving children get a bit of fleeting attention, as do the shattered bodies of massacred school children – but only on the same level as a 14-car NASCAR pileup or tornado wreckage in another state. It also explains why we do not respond to unjust wars or the eventual effects of global warming. We were hardwired by evolution to worry about here and now. It's just as well; most societies would not hold together under prolonged critical examination.

Homiletics Text: World’s first successful uterus transplant recipient is pregnant via in vitro fertilization.

The Parting Shot:

 

Giant Chickweed