Yeah - Joe Bob.

There is SO much mis(dis?)information out there about SS. Most people don't realise what you just stated. And Bush - when he was trying to privatize it was operating on that ignorance - I am sure he was aware - he just hope most Americans were not.

What I want from my government is to come out and state these facts and outline how the "borrowed" surplus is to be paid back. If it comes from increased taxes on working people who paid the surplus to begin with, or decreased benefits on those same people then it needs to be owned up to now - because that means working people are taxed at a much higher rate - for naught.

I want the plan for payback to be talked about NOW, and I want a discontinuance of using SS surplus as a slush fund for other spending. Stop hiding the deficit.

captcrisis - waiting 24 hours and requiring then 2 visits DOES make it harder to get for a lot of women - especially the poor and/or young who don't have the jobs that provide sick time, or for women who have to travel and therefore stay another day . . . .

And that is just why the 24 hour wait period was put in. Make it harder and there will be less abortions.

Of course - it also leads to more abortions occuring later, more women having children they can't deal with, more women losing their poorly paid job due to pregnancy . . . .

And that is what "they" want too = pregnancy is the punishment.

Hey masaccio!

This was Reagan/Greenspan reasoning on changing SS from a pay as you go to a create a surplus:

1) Collect extra, a surplus, and use that to pay down the national debt.

2) In 2016-2018 there will be more people pulling out than putting in for about 10-15 years.

3) at that point, fill the SS gap by borrowing the difference.

4) since SS had been paying down the debt, the money saved (interest)over the years would make it worth going into 10-15 year borrowing mode until the bulk of the boom was past.

So - not a bad idea per se.

But what those jokers did at the SAME time was reduce revenue (tax cuts to rich and corporations) and increase military spending resulting in a huge increase in the debt, thus wiping out what collection the extra bucks from us working people was supposed to do.

Basically - the surplus SS has been a cash cow to our government and I doubt there is any intention in giving it back - though I would love to cut pensions from those who spent it to help a little.

There is no convenience in using the ER. If it is an emergency then you get care, with or with out insurance.

If it is not really an emergency - you could spend hours there. Convenience?

And if you do have insurance - they would most likely deny ER coverage for something not an emergency.

AG - how can your wife "cheat"? Haven't you said time and time again that the two of you are free to fuck at will?

The consequences of having sex? Or having a baby.

Bristol's sleepless nights are the consequences of having a baby.

@bookgrrrrl, marc22309

Young people ARE beautiful and nice to look at. Nothing wrong with it. And both men and women just don't look as objectively "hot" at 40/50 as they did at 20/30. Subjectively though - I think we are all capable of seeing the beauty in someone we love. However, I dislike the "biological" justification because the other side of that coin is that women are "hardwired" to find weath attractive, and personally, I know that is not the case in many women.

marc22309 - I think it is great that you still see your wife in that way. That is what I think is great about long term relationships that work well - we see our loved ones at their best, that image is more true than any gray or wrinkles - and this goes for men AND women.

bookgrrrrl - I would stay away from Broadsheet if you want some of your idealism to remain intact - Not because of the topics but because it attracts some really horrible misogynists who seem to delight in being as derogatory towards women as they are towards having a loving long term relationship. If you continue - you may end up swtiching to anger and disgust at some of the posts written here - and wonder if this really is what men are. I have come to the conclusion that the more of the usual suspects I read here - the less fond I grow of men. Eventually I will just stay away for good. If this truely is representative of the male gender - I'd rather my idealism.

And in general to those who insist women aren't interested in ses . . . there are a great many women who are "no longer interested" in sex that are actually very much interested in having a good sex life. A good sex life - you know, something fun and playful. They just resent feeling like servicing their man is something else they HAVE to do at the end of a long day of "have to do". And really, men sometimes think they can sit at the computer or in front of the TV all evening not having any connection with their woman, and then after brushing their teeth, have sex with the woman they ignored all evening.

That is not sex - that is getting serviced and that attitude is countered with non-interest on the part of the woman.

Hormonal imbalances do exist and people are happier if in balance. Sometimes it requires medical assistance - but much can be improved with getting in shape - and feeling good about yourself in that way is a great testosterone boost - for both genders.