Imagine that!!

A Dem poll supports Dem positions.

Did they ask them if they liked mom and free apple pie also??

I wonder what Weiner has to say. Maybe he's giving a speech to 45,000 and some one threw a pie. Would he spend 2 hours addressing the person who through the pie?

What if it was a hot co-ed from Washington State? Or Ginger Lee - she's smoking hot.

Any who, I was surprised to see that there are now 318 Republicans in the House. The vote yesterday was 318 against and all.

Joe in Albany

Imagine that!!

A Dem poll supports Dem positions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can bet that GOP internal polling is telling them the same thing. The brave front Boehner and company are putting on isn't going to last as we get closer to 2012. The only question at this point is will they just throw Ryan under the bus or is there enough room under there for the speaker and Senate minority leader as well.

Spanky

Palin looked smoking hot in leather did.t she?

...and Hoyer and Wasserman and Pelosi voted against it. Was 180 votes shy of a majority. Those dems sure showed some courage. Need to check the polls in their district to see how to vote.

Now why didn't I think of this? lol

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – Presenting what he called a revolutionary plan to slash the nation’s mountain of debt, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) today proposed eliminating the Social Security program in its entirety and replacing it with Groupons.

“Instead of waiting each month for a check from Social Security, America’s elderly will receive valuable Groupons for everything they need, from Ramen noodles to cat food to caskets,” Mr. Ryan said in an appearance on Fox News.

Adding that Groupons would also help provide for elders’ medical needs, the congressman illustrated his point by holding up a Groupon offering 30 percent off on open-heart surgery in Cincinnati.

Moving on from Social Security, Mr. Ryan also proposed replacing Medicare with a new program in which seniors are shot at by Predator drones.

Additionally, Mr. Ryan said, in his new budget so-called “friends with benefits” would lose their benefits.

“If they’re really friends, they should be satisfied if the evening ends with a voucher,” he said.

Speaker of the House John Boehner, appearing alongside Rep. Ryan, offered these words of praise for the Wisconsin congressman: “Preachers like Harold Camping go around predicting the end of the world, but it’s guys like Paul Ryan who do the hard work of making it happen.”

What did the poll say about the Democrats plan to save Medicare? Oh, wait . . . . .

I guess you don't work do you Fiesty? You must be just another leach on society. You are only worried about yours not what the future holds the young people just as long as you get yours to hell with everyone else. You don't offer anything but foul words for anyone that will get in your way of getting your handout. I knew the State of Illinois was a waste land but I had thought there was some help for the people of that trash can you call a state but your words and actions show there is no hope for that dump at all

You must be just another leach on society.

I sure hope you feel better now that you got that off your chest! ;o)

Leach? That's the best you could do? LMAO!

So much for an 'open mind'...

JS1 The democratic plan is to offer no plan until republicans finish self destructing with the Rev Jim Jones uh I mean the Paul Ryan plan, we got some time, medicare is solvent for at least ten years, then we will show you our plan to fix medicare without screwing our dear sweet mothers and grandmothers.

JS1 The election in NY district 26 says they like the democratic plan better than the Ryan plan. I guess that means you got less than zero with the Ryan Plan.

I'm not a fan of the Ryan Plan, but I'm still waiting for a democratic plan. I know Grump you think this isn't important,so you laugh it off with we will wait until repubs. finishing their self destruction. This is why we are in trouble in 2012 one district in N.Y. doesn't convince me of a landslide.The Dems need to be leaders,sitting back and waiting is not a winning model.

q

What do you think the republicans will let them do while they have a majority they won't even let their own speaker of the house be reasonable! SS and medicare are solvent for years, Not everything I post is a joke, and not everything I joke about is because I think it is funny or unimportant, pay closer attention to my posts or just ignore them altogether. No matter what happens nobody is getting out of this life alive so you might as well have a little chuckle once in awhile. Hell it does not cost anything, it's not like it raises the deficit, and it is tax free, so I don't think my republican friends have a big problem with it.

If we raise the medicare payroll tax by .5% it would extend the life of our current Medicare significantly. (Even better would be to have Medicare for all and have those who are not retired yet pay a nominal premium. That would extend it indefinitely and lower health care costs significantly in addition.)

FG: SS and medicare are solvent for years,

For FY2010, mandatory spending, was about $2.2 trillion dollars, of which SS, Medicare/Medicaid, and interest on the debt was $1.65 trillion. The amount needed to fund those programs is increasing with Baby Boomers retiring, and it soon will exceed the amount of income the Federal government taxes from the American people. That problem needs to be solved, the entitlement programs need to be brought in line with what we can afford, else they will bankrupt the country.

Is that clear to you? Do you understand why it important that these problems be addressed today, and not just kicked down the road?

Heartlight3: now, that would just be too easy. Talk about getting rid of waste, imagine how much money is wasted in paying a bonus to each major health insurer's executives (the so-called not for profits determine the bonus, in part on how much is left so they can still be "not for profit") and other costs of insurers.

If the amount of money spent on regular health insurance was converted to Medicare, and the Medicare payment reimbursement rates were enacted, we could all be healthier, and everything would be covered, for less than we pay now.

JoAnnaSmith - The Democrats have a plan....it's called Medicare. Don't you remember???? You can address the programs without eliminating them.....Raise the Medicare part of the FICA by a nominal amount and you can fix the problem for years to come. There's an easy fix JoAnna but Republicans don't really want to save the program, they want to eliminate Medicare and we know it and throw it to the private sector. I would suspect that a majority of Americans would agree with me to raise the FICA tax on Medicare so it will be there for all of us.

The future, the future what is going to happen in ten years, too many people are worried about making it to the end of the month much less ten years from now. Nobody wants to make things hard on their children in the future, but they have the immediate problem of keeping a roof over their head today.

Note to all LIBBY-DEMOCRATES, there aint enough wast, fraud, and abuse to add up to a hill of ju-ju beans!!!!! Maybe they have a good thought though, stealing is a bad thing !!!!

It's interesting that Republicans think seniors misunderstand that the changes affect people under age 55 and not current Medicare recipients. Of course seniors understand -- subsidy, vouchers, Premium Support, what ever it is called is lipstick on a pig. Seniors understand very well that the GOP/TP want to throw their children under the buss, and have already made changes to current Medicare benefits.

Seniors trust the GOP/TP as far as they can throw them, which isn't far at their age. That Republicans continue to harp on what they think is just a messaging problem shows how idiotic and out-of-touch they are.

And Joe, the poll showed that seniors and Independents are against the Ryan/Insurance Lobbyist plan even more than Dem-leaning respondents.

The one message that comes across loud and clear is privatization. Privatization usually means costing more for less. Why doesn't Congress just terminate THEIR current medical benefits while serving in DC? Maybe that would help those dependent on Medicare. After all, they do have a slush fund after elections of donations from contributor$ that becomes "their own" after the campaign bills are paid.

You might collect some taxes from corporations, you might cancel subsidies for the oil companies, you might reign in the insurance companies, you took a trillion from the middles class for Iraq, you took a trillion more for the drug companies, and another trillion to bail out wall street (they were to big to fail which means they were to rich not to be rich anymore so we had to make them rich again). After all that you want you want more by asking us to vote to throw our mothers and fathers to the dogs, and them to vote to throw us to the dogs. It's about time for the 80% that ain't going there to slap some sense into the other 20%, I don't mean actually mean spanking them like a spoiled child I mean it in a political sense. Screw it! If the whole world is going to end unless I give up Granny, then I will just hold Granny's hand and we will ride this damn thing till the freaking wheels come off.

the major problem of the health care system in this country is that there are more and more people with no health insurance are piggybacking off those who're paying for health insurance. hosptials can't reject anyone searching for health care on their doorsteps. this systems is putting the burden entirely on people like us who're paying for healthcare insurance while the ceo's and high level managers of the insurance companies are making millions and millions more for themselves every year. the 'obamacare' will solve most of thesee issues in ensuring everyone to have his/her health insurance. however, statistics also show that there are an amazing number of travellers from the developing countries are having babies in the hospitals while they're travelling in these country. they're getting the 'best' healthcare in the world for free while we're paying an arm and a leg. don't think the 'obamacaree' covers this. but then republicans must LOVE these foreign travellers. it's obvious that these travellers are very much against abortions. they are really supporting the republicans in having as many babies as they can in this country. republicans must really love these people who're LEACHING on our healthcare system and getting as much benefits from us in giving birth in this country. well, it must be GOD's will!

Our TeaPublican governor, Paul LePage, just vetoed a health insurance related bill, for reasons that would make Ayn Rand proud, that had passed the state legislature unanimously. The bill would have allowed providers to charge lower fees to smaller insurance companies, increasing competition in the insurance industry and benefiting providers not associated with hospitals. LePAge vetoed it on the principle that the government should not interfere with private contracts. Mind you, Blue Cross nearly has a monopoly in Maine, and they were against the bill.

Now it has to go back to the legislature in order to override the veteo. LePage's own Party, who hold the majority, are, needless to say, incensed. Voters are confused. Do we have three partys now? It seems that way.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/republicans-face-test-on-lepage-veto_2011-06-01.html?pageType=mobile&id=1

No matter how much Americans gripe about payroll taxes and raising the caps on SS, they want these programs.

Great programs, too bad they're both going broke. So what happens when the SS checks stop showing up, and the doctors refuse to see elderly patients because the government has stopped paying for them? Think Americans will be looking for some answers as to why these programs failed?

That's good news for the dems

It sure is. Demagoguery certainly is a cornerstone of their political rhetoric.

JoAnnaSmith1..

First..they're not going broke and won't for a long while. Medicaid will get fixed. Social Security checks will come in the mail. The sun will come up tomorrow. Stop the fear mongering without a single fact to support your post.. Google how long the programs are projected to be solvent. Then come back with a post.

Hey...worst that happens is we get the Death Panels the GOP promised.

Demagoguery certainly is a cornerstone of their political rhetoric.

Thank God the GOP would NEVER engage in any demagoguery of its own!

GM: First..they're not going broke and won't for a long while. Medicaid will get fixed. Social Security checks will come in the mail. The sun will come up tomorrow.

Yes, and magic fairies will sprinkle Happy Dust on everyone.

You're too much GM. All this will happen how? You must live in Fantasy-land at Disney. But you're right, if a problem is too hard, to difficult, just bury your head in the sand, or somehwere else in your case. Everything will turn out just fine, just like in those Fairytale books that say: "And they lived happily ever after".

DN: Thank God the GOP would NEVER engage in any demagoguery of its own!

Yeah, you're right Noid. When the Democrats said "No!" to the GOP plan to save Medicare, it was beyond the pale of the GOP to ask the Dems: "So, what's your plan?"

JS1 "Great programs, too bad they're both going broke".

How many SS checks = a police helicopter ride to a high school baseball game and a Limo give Governor Christie Creme's fat ass a ride across the infield. Fiscal responsibility, Republicans make a joke of the term.

JoAnnaSmith1.

Yes, and magic fairies will sprinkle Happy Dust on everyone.

You didn't Google the info did you? If you did you saw you were wrong.

So the only thing left for you to do was leave a smart assed comment.

Love the intellect there JS1.

GM: Love the intellect there JS1

Just trying to keep it at a (low enough) level that you might have a chance to understand the issue. Apparently I failed.

Hey GM, did'ya notice that all of the income the federal government takes in from taxes is paid out in entitlements, you know, to like SS and Medicare? And if you look closely, you'll notice the trend on those entitlement payments is going up sharply. So all of our discretionary spending kind of equals what we deficit spend. This is today GM, this is now. And you want to ignore that entitlements spend every dollar the feds take in. You have no clue, do you?

Republicans are masters of the manufactured crisis. They declare something a crisis so they can whip everyone up into a frenzy trying to solve it while ignoring the REAL problems. Interesting how no one worried about the debt when Bush was manufacturing a crisis solved by two wars in the Middle East, and a prescription drug crisis solved by Medicare Part D, and demanding tax cuts for the rich in order to "create jobs", thus bankrupting the country and causing major job losses. Now that President Obama has managed to begin bringing us out of Bush's near depression, more crises are being manufactured to make sure he does not succeed. Suddenly Medicare is a crisis, the deficit is a crisis, the debt is a crisis, Social Security is a crisis, we can't afford any social safety net programs or environmental protections and it's all Obama's fault. No wonder the world is laughing at us. We look like the Keystone Cops.

JoAnnaSmith1

Hey GM, did'ya notice that all of the income the federal government takes in from taxes is paid out in entitlements, you know, to like SS and Medicare?

.................................................................

Really, ALL of our income, every penny?

I thought 42 cents of every dollar goes to borrowing? Where did that come from?

How's that look-up of when the entitlements expire coming?

Move the goal posts again with your next comment.

Moving on....

GM: Really, ALL of our income, every penny?

My, you do catch on quick, the others were saying you didn't have a clue. Yes, every penny of Federal income goes to mandatory spending.

GM: I thought 42 cents of every dollar goes to borrowing?

Goes to? No. Comes from. Our current deficit spending each year covers our discretionary spending.

GM: Where did that come from?

China. And the big banks. And both are looking for better investments.

GM: Moving on....

More like slinking away.

JoAnnaSmith - I can guarantee you that SS checks and Medicare payments are not going to stop no matter how much you and Republicans try to scare people into thinking that's going to happen. It's not. These programs are not going broke as you claim and any trouble that may occur for them are years in the future, the fixes that are needed can be gradually implemented and they are not nearly as draconian as you and your pals the Republicans would like to make them. So put down your mega phone because you're screaming past the Republican graveyard at this point.

Heartlight - so government projections on the upcoming medicare insolvency isn't a crisis? The continuing insolvency of SS since the 80's isn't a crises? The ever increasing interest payments we make on our national debt isn't a crises? Just crank up the printing presses right? To think of all the bandaids used over the years for the little stuff, giving way when our debt trully becomes unsustainable and a big azz pressure bandage won't even help.

Laurie - anyone can kite a check. What the libs don't realize is that medicare/medicaid is going to suck up taxpayer $$$ faster than a kid sucks up chocolate milk. That will occur even after increasing FICA taxes, simply because no politician knows how to keep their hands off of a pile of cash just sitting there.

If you girls want to selectively inspire fear in our seniors, go for it, for you do it so well.

Frank Grimes - Count me in on that 98%.

Most hated teams in sports:

Yankees - Baseball (They just win too much with their bloated salaries)

Cowboys - Football (Unwarranted press and adulation heaped on them and only 1 playoff win in a dozen yrs.

Miami (Heatles) barely beating out the Lakers - Basketball. (Player created super team) - Will lose to a real team this year. Go Dallas Mavs!

greetings gentlemen - I am glad that someone put some perspective behind this poll. What amazes me is that the authors of the above artical didn't provide a link to the poll in question.

DiPA: have any of you asked YOUR parents what they think of the Ryan plan?

If your parents are over 55, how does the Ryan plan affect them?

And for those 55 and under, are you okay with Medicare not being there for yourself when you retire if nothing is done to reform that entitlement?

JoAnna, there is a huge distinction between transforming or reforming something. Medicare needs some fixing, which the Health Care Reform Law has initiated. More fixing can be done. But to totally transform the program into a "giftcard" for buying insurance is crazy.

Saw on the news last night that Vermont just passed and signed single payer health plan which will put every citizen in Vermont on a Medicare type program in the coming years!!

MN Nice - YOu just can't get through to JoAnna, she's a Republican talking puppet. You are absolutely correct that these programs need adjusting and should be having periodic adjustments as a matter of course. I'm glad about the Vermont program and hope it becomes a blueprint for other states to follow...one state at a time and we'll get the single payer health care reform this country needs despite the likes of Ms. JoAnna and her Republican naysayers.

JoAnna,

My parents are over 55 and the Ryan plan screws them too by removing the subsidy to offset the Medicare Part D doughnut hole. You remember that one right? Where Bush and company gave a cherry deal to those poor downtrodden pharmaceutical companies without funding it and preventing Medicare from negotiating for lower prices on medications like the VA and EVERY other for-profit insurance company is enabled to do?

I realize that you are unable to accept anything that is not provided by or confirmed for you by Rush, Sean, Bill, Glenn, and the rest, but it is really not difficult to verify for yourself if you are willing to separate yourself for a moment and (on blind faith if nothing else) try accessing an alternate news source and see what you might find. If you are feeling really chipper, try actually formulating your own opinion about what you read and stop relying on what you are told to believe. You might be surprised at how exhilarating it feels to exercise free and independent thought!

disgusted - nice try with the fear mongering.

If a person can't afford obamacare insurance premiums wasn't the government going to issue vouchers to them to pay the insurance premiums?

So nice that you bring up the "unfunded" medicare part D plan as being so bad while obama care is largely unfunded or as some would say one can take $500 billion from medicare thru a variety of cost savings to fund obamacare. Good of you to be advocating "robbing peter to pay paul"

perhaps you should stop listening to those you mention in post 5.4 so that you can learn to think.

American,

Not sure where you get fear mongering in my post. I was asked how the Ryan plan would affect those already on Medicare. I answered the question truthfully as based on the plan itself. I also pointed out the fact that Medicare Part D was an unfunded mandate and also hamstrung Medicare from negotiating for lower rates.

Has the private insurance market and all the "competition" that ensues there lowered the cost or improved the outcome for ANYONE? Do you believe that the "voucher" or "Premium Subsidy" will really allow a senior to obtain affordable care that actually covers anything? If we had actually gone with single payer (as we should have) we would ALL be covered under an affordable plan with an administrative overhead of about 3%. There is not one private FOR-PROFIT insurance company with less than a 25-30% admin overhead. Plus, where do you think all those nice multi mullion dollar executive contracts come from?

As for how to pay for the HCRA, it has already been scored by the CBO as SAVING a trillion dollars. Where does the Ryan plan save anything or balance the budget in less than 60 years?

I love the way those that were screaming about death panels and decrying the 500 billion cut to Medicare Advantage, NOT Medicare (that coincidentally are ALSO in the Ryan plan) are the ones attempting to characterize a statement of FACT as fear mongering...

"The Peoples Budget" Produced by the House Progressive Caucus.

It does 2 things Ryans (aww hell), The GOPs plan doesn't.

1) actually eliminates the deficit / Debt

2) preserves our country's beloved social safety net.

Check it out!

When will you post a Story about this Sick Individual that is Sending Pictures of his Penis out over his Phone

It's not always ALL about YOU - ya know! ;o)

Nasty Redhead..

Yawn................................ we understand you dont want to talk about this Pathetic excuse for a Human especially since you support him. Just like you Defend the RACIST BLACK WOMAN beverly from Chicago.

XXXX

If only Weiner and his family would revert to the appropriate pronunciation of their surname--it would be WINE-er, not WEEN-er. German pronunication "rules" require the second vowel not the first determine the sound. As for his current problem, enough already. this is hardly a felony or misdemeanor. it is largely manufactured by fox news and their troll Breitfart. We know what their record is. Also--could First Read please make scrolling a bit smoother and faster??

FEMA is a republican org? Is it run by repubs? This is happening now not 3 years ago. This is because many people mis-represented themselves. FEMA gives assistance to those who don't have insurance, it's not up to FEMA to rebuild after a hurricane. Much of this money was given out in the last 3 years.

Hurricane Katrina didn't wipe out New Orleans, a mayor and a govenor didn't rebuild a levy that was in need of repair. Money they received and didn't use on the levy. New Orleans was sitting prettty good after Katrina passed, this same mayor and same govenor also told Washington D.C. they didn't need their help. Then the levy broke and guess who waited too long to ask for help. Bush was not a good President, he over spent like crazy, but the Dems are to blame for the destruction of New Orleans. Sorry.

"New Orleans was sitting pretty good after Katrina passed"

The Bush administration's Federal EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Agency took three days to get bottled water to people in New Orleans. We can bomb anybody on the planet in a matter of hours but could not get water to New Orleans for 3 days. The girl scouts can deliver millions of boxes of cookies during cookie week but GW and (your doing a heck of a job) Brownie took 3 days to provide fresh drinking water for people who were truly suffering. My niece is an MD, she was at Memorial hospital, she was rescued along with some nurses by the husbands of some of the nurses in a jon-boats FIVE days after the Hurricane. The first responsibility of FEMA is to manage the emergency, in the case of New Orleans and Bush's response those people would have done better to call in the girl scouts, they would have had milk and cookies there inside of three days. You struck a nerve there Time4 when you mentioned Bush and FEMA in the same post.

Ryans plan is a bad plan but doll face you don't have everything right there.

Repubs bad plan,Dems NO PLAN

"The Peoples Budget" Produced by the House Progressive Caucus.

It does 2 things Ryans (aww hell), The GOPs plan doesn't.

1) actually eliminates the deficit / Debt

2) preserves our country's beloved social safety net.

Check it out!

Ted, yea right, if it's so good why isn't Obama and the rest of the liberals jumping on board and proclaiming this so called "peoples budget" will save the world.

Hope your union non-productive career and belief in the Obama socialism project turns out well for you personally. Sure won't for the nation. Of course, since when does anything beyond you own WELFARE mean anything?

Let me tell you something milcon those union guys make a decent fair wage, they work for reputable employers, who don't hire illegals, who pay the proper taxes due the government, and provide a safe work environment. Do you really think that makes people less productive? Why that defies the principle of capitalism which says you will work harder if you can make a better living. Your dead wrong, the facts are that the American unionized worker is the most productive in the world, management will tell you the same, how do think they negotiated those contracts, do you think businessmen just give them the extra money because they feel generous. You are confusing productive with cheap, you are confusing decent, honest, American companies and owners with those who are willing cheat anybody and everybody for max profit. The other point is that these union guys who work for good companies and made decent wages for 25 years have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in Taxes into SS and medicare, so don't even pretend that it is welfare, welfare for unions. Why don't you stop being a worm and stand up for yourself and the man next to you. Join a union, they will teach you how to work hard for your employer, be a responsible American, and provide a better living for your family, instead of just kissing cheaters asses even when they tell you to screw you own granny.

They do. How much have your medical insurance premiums gone up over the past 5 years? Consider then that these beneficiaries will be in their own group, all over 65, turned over to the tender mercies of the for profit health care insurers who do not want their business, and will not compete for it. the first year, vouchers will cover only half of your total premiums. two years later, it will be 4 months, 5 years later it will only be 3 months. during this same time, your portion of those same premiums will have increased by 45%. For many, SS beniifits are between $800 to 1800 a month, which goes towards housing, food, gas, repairs, and entertainment. Deduct 1000 a month for 8 months and you will see the retiree cannot afford this plan. Several years into the new Ryan plan, the retirees will be forced to drop Medicare, as they value eating ad housing over medical treatment, as the ER would be available for serious issues.

The Ryan plan is about ending Medicare, not saving it. 15 years into the program over 60 % of the beneficiaries will be forced to drop out out of sheer financial necessity.

The current composition of the GOP wants smaller government, period. entitlements and social programs are a waste of taxpayer money. They will accomplish their goals through any means possible. Gear up for a major credit default engineered by the Tea Pary/GOP as that only is one radical means by which their ultimate goal of smaller Federal Government could be accomplished.

This "plan has been around for decades, now following the failed Bush Administration, they are now in a position to implement it.

K2mn..

Thx.

Juanita, You can defer going on Medicare when you turn 65. You can continue to be insured by your employer's heath insurance. You must make sure that your private insurance has coverage for drugs comparable to Medicare part D. So you do have choice.