Medicare != Welfare

Ryan Defends Medicare Privatization As Strengthening 'Welfare For Those Who Need It' | TPMDC: "Though billed as an effort to revamp his widely criticized budget, Ryan avoided describing his health care plans in specific detail, eschewing even the friendly terms he and other Republicans have used to explain it since he first unveiled it earlier this year. Instead, Ryan reframed the entitlement cuts in his budget as 'strengthen[ing] welfare for those who need it,' and accused Democrats who have attacked his budget as engaging in class warfare."

Ronald Reagan On Raising the Debt Limit

Political Animal - WWRD (What Would Reagan Do) on the debt limit: "If they’re not willing to listen to economists, American business leaders, the financial industry, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department, maybe they’ll listen to Reagan, who decried policymakers who would “bring the government to the edge of default before facing [their] responsibility. This brinksmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the Federal deficit would soar.”"

Bon The Geek on Assisted Suiicide

Zandar Versus The Stupid: Suicide Tourism Survives Vote:

"I'm a fan of choice. I've also seen what happens when desperate and terrified people take matters in their own hands. I've seen the devastation of cancer and other terminal illnesses firsthand. I think everyone has the right to make decisions for themselves. Nobody owns anyone else's life. The exceptions to that should be radically few and far between. "

I have to concur 100%. Go read the whole piece (it isn't very long)

Smacked our head on the debt ceiling this morning

U.S. hits debt ceiling - Meredith Shiner - POLITICO.com: "The United States government hit its $14 trillion borrowing limit Monday, forcing the Treasury Department to begin taking a series of extreme steps to stave off default, including suspending payments into public employee pension plans."

Canadian living in China and duelling bureaucrats

Chinese vs Canadian Bureaucracy: Cage Match - The Squid Zone: "For complicated reasons related to evil banks I had a problem with my passport. The problem, you see, is that my marriage certificate (required to get a mortgage with my wife) has my old passport number on it. Naturally my new passport doesn't match. The bank, and the housing authority, are inflexible on this point. Photocopies of my old passport don't count: I need to have my real old passport so that the numbers match.Well, after careful investigation there were three options we could go with:"

On Why The Stock Market Being Up isn't good for Average Folks

Monetary policy. I'm sorry, it's just not doing it for me. | Angry Bear - Financial and Economic Commentary: "I'm going to be bold here and state right out that I'm speaking for the middle-class. (Those of this class can correct me if I'm wrong.) Five trillion dollar in new stock market wealth is not reaching us. I'm happy for you all that are now more wealthy, but really, you're only a small percentage of the population and thus your success is not representative of how well We the People in total are doing."

The Evacuation Zone Widens

Residents leave 2 more Fukushima towns : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri): "Most of Iitatemura is located more than 30 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. However, the level of radiation detected in the village was as high as that in areas within a 20-kilometer radius of the power plant, which has been designated as a no-entry zone."