social security - The Nicole Sandler Show

Alan Grayson vs the Fools on the Hill

Mondays are always a bit difficult. But coming back to dealing with the ineptitude of our broken political system was doubly difficult after an amazing weekend of music. But deal we must, and who better to help navigate through the troubled waters than our favorite Congressman Alan Grayson? He led the charge from the House against President Obama's horrific budget proposal to cut Social Security benefits with chained CPI and higher rates for Medicare beneficiaries by writing a letter and helping to gather 2.3 million signatures on petitions, delivered to the White House last week. As for the Fools [...]

By nicolesandler|April 15th, 2013|Tags: Alan Grayson, chained CPI, Fools on the Hill, medicare, Nicole Belle, Rock the Ocean, social security, Tortuga Music Festival|Comments Off

Opposition World

The ugly part of politics is the politics. "Oppo Research" is an ugly necessity for anyone in a campaign. You have to know who your opponent is, especially the ugly parts of their history. It's the ugliest part of the ugly side of politics, which is in itself, usually an ugly game. But not all candidates use the oppo research they gather in the same way. There are some unspoken "gentlemen's rules" - but it seems as if Mitch McConnell doesn't know or care. Mother Jones, the go-to magazine if you have a surreptitious recording to leak these days, [...]

By nicolesandler|April 10th, 2013|Tags: Amy Simon, Dave Johnson, filibuster, gun control, Mitch McConnell, Obama Budget, Oppo Research, social security|Comments Off

Nobody’s Fault But Reid’s

Poor Harry Reid. He's shocked. Shocked, I tell you, that the assholes in the Republican party would threaten to filibuster any gun legislation he brings to the floor. Or anything else, for that matter. Harry Reid had more than ample opportunity to enact real filibuster reform, but he chose instead to be bamboozled a second time by Mitch McConnell who assured him they would no longer abuse the procedure. So, when Harry took to the Senate floor yesterday to, once again, issue empty threats and feign surprise that his opponents could be so heartless and ruthless, I fumed. It's [...]

By nicolesandler|April 9th, 2013|Tags: filibuster, GottaLaff, guns, harry Reid, medicare, Obama, RJ Eskow, social security|Comments Off

Et Tú, Obama?

By now, no one should be surprised that President Barack Obama is trying and trying and trying to appease the Republicans who so despise him by offering them everything including cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits, but the lack of surprise doesn't stop the sting. President Obama will release a budget next week that proposes significant cuts to Medicare and Social Security and fewer tax hikes than in the past, a conciliatory approach that he hopes will convince Republicans to sign onto a grand bargain that would curb government borrowing and replace deep spending cuts that took effect March 1. Obama will break [...]

By nicolesandler|April 8th, 2013|Tags: austerity, budget, Margaret Thatcher, medicare, Nicole Belle, Obama, privatization, social security, Susie Madrak|Comments Off

Voting Rights…Or Not

Welcome to democracy's nightmare. Today, it comes in the form of a lawsuit brought by Shelby County, Alabama challenging the Voting Rights Act working its way up to the Supreme Court. More specifically, the part of the Voting Rights Act under attack today is Section 5 of the law that gives the Justice Department the right to review any changes in voting procedure proposed by a county or state that's covered under this provision before it's enacted. Greg Palast, author of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits, has been covering the subject of voter suppression efforts for years now, and has [...]

By nicolesandler|February 27th, 2013|Tags: Alan Grayson, brad friedman, bradblog, Greg Palast, Medicaid, medicare, no-cuts.com, section 5, social security, voting rights, voting rights act|Comments Off

It’s Come to Jesus Week for Guns in the US

Thankfully, this country seems to have reached the tipping point on guns. I say thankfully because we can't take another Newtown or Aurora or Tuscon or Portland or Ft. Hood .... Yesterday, on the second anniversary of the Tuscon shootings, former gun rights advocate and shooting victim, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly announced the formation of a new group (PAC) called Americans for Responsible Solutions for the purpose of raising money to fight back against the NRA. Today, VP Joe Biden and his task force begin three days of meetings with different groups from all [...]

By nicolesandler|January 9th, 2013|Tags: Alaska, Amy Simon, Biden, guns, John Amato, Jon Stewart, NRA, Pebble Mine, Shannyn Moore, Shell, social security|Comments Off

Congress, Guns & Money

Another day, another mass shooting... in Aurora, CO! When will the madness end? Never, if the GOP gets its way. The chart above shows some common sense regulations that could be put in place immediately - and I think even the majority of NRA members would agree that these are practical ideas. Ten bills pertaining to guns were introducedin the House on the first day of the 113th Congressional session, eight of them by from Democrats seeking new restrictions on gun ownership. Dianne Feinstein is expected to introduce legislation in the Senate this week. And Joe Biden's White House [...]

By nicolesandler|January 7th, 2013|Tags: Al Jazeera, Aurora, Cliff Schecter, Current, Fools on the Hill, guns, Nicole Belle, Pat Robertson, social security, Tom Brokaw|Comments Off

This Time it’s Real – Allen West is History!

I've been waiting for this day for almost two years. Good riddance Allen West; may we never be subjected to your hatred and insanity ever again! Early this morning, the former congressman conceded victory to his challenger, Patrick Murphy, in the congressional race for Florida's 18th district. I actually supported West's bid for a recount, as there were serious problems with the vote counting (what else is new?). Although two judges turned down West's requests, the St. Lucie County canvassing board actually gave him what he asked for - a recount of that county's early votes. The recount widened [...]

By nicolesandler|November 20th, 2012|Tags: Allen West, FL18, gaius Publius, GottaLaff, Patrick Murphy, social security|Comments Off

The Plight of the Pre-Old

Listen to this episode: {play}http://traffic.libsyn.com/radioornot/20120822_Nicole_Sandler_Show.mp3 {/play} Podcast: Play in new window I am of the Pre-Old group. We poor, unfortunate sots who are currently just under 55 who will be screwed (and not in a good way) if Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney have their way. Yes, they'd preserve Medicare benefits for our current seniors (or so they say), but those of us under that magical 55-year old mark will have "more choices". (If you believe that I have some lovely swampland for sale just a few miles west of where I sit right now.) As much as the GOP [...]

By nicolesandler|August 22nd, 2012|Tags: abortion, Akin, Deborah Newell Tornello, Hurricane Isaac, medicare, platform, Richard Eskow, RNC, social security, TSA|Comments Off

The Scariest Thing This Halloween

I'm not nearly as scared of witches, ghosts and goblins as I am of over-zealous police officers following unconstitutional orders to break up peaceful encampments of protesters exercising their constitutional rights of assembly, protest and free speech. My respect today is reserved for one magistrate in Nashville, TN (Tennessee of all places), where Night Court Magistrate Thomas Nelson keeps letting the arrested protesters out! Via: However, in Nashville, a few hours after the protesters were taken into custody Thursday night, Night Court Magistrate Thomas Nelson let them all go. He did the same thing the next night when troopers brought in [...]

By nicolesandler|October 31st, 2011|Tags: Crooks and Liars, medicare, occupy, Occupy America, social security|Comments Off

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