And then he fires this shot across the alter:

Typo alert — the word is “ALTAR” not “ALTER”

IF Fluke sues Limbaugh, it will be for “defamation of character” — and the law would be on HER side because she is a private citizen, who was exercising her right of free speech in testifying before a Congressional committee.

It’s highly unlikely to reach SCOTUS, and even if it did, Fluke’s rights were violated NOT Limbaughs. Having a nationwide radio show does not give you the right to commit assault.

I am a New Deal Democrat — your desire to destroy the safety net — just like the financial industry convinced the Congress to destroy Glass Steagal — tells me that you do not have the best interests of your fellow citizens in mind.

Frankly, I think you’re psychotic…

So what happens if someone opts out, makes investments that wipe out their money, and therefore they have nothing for retirement?

Don’t you see that we’ll still have to support these individuals?

Have you any idea of how many folks either won’t have the money to invest or the ability to make wise investments?

Maybe you’re unaware that Social Security benefits are the ONLY income some beneficiaries receive — their employers might have been too small to have had a pension plan, or their minimum wage job didn’t leave them enough disposable income to save, or a medical emergency wiped out the savings they did have.

Then there are the “grasshoppers” — the folks who never thought they’d retire, so why bother saving any money at all? Who thought the pension my job carries will be enough — then they find out that “generous” pension barely covers their Medicare premiums?

Or the individual who asked me how he can increase his SS benefit — only he’s already retired, and doesn’t understand that there’s no way to do it now?

The payroll tax is the price we pay to have a civilized society — and I for one am glad to pay my share.

For the last 33 years my own earned money has paid for the roof over my head. And I currently have a parent living with me because they can’t afford to live alone.

I suspect you’re the one who can’t afford to move out of your parents’ basement. Grow up, or find a better line of bullshit.

The only natural disasters I haven’t had any experience with are floods and forest fires. I remember Hurricane Debbie in Hampton, VA when I was a child and Hurricane Ike visited Central Ohio a couple years ago and stole my power for a week. I’ve had a tornado chase the car I was in down the freeway, and I’ve experienced earthquakes. I was hiding in the basement of my dorm at Ohio State when a tornado headed our direction took out a little town called Xenia instead…

It makes me madder than hell that the Republicans are pretending to fiscal virtue while there are people in dire need of those funds. I was lucky — the most the disasters I’ve experienced took out of me were the cost of the contents in my refigerator/freezer, some bags of ice and some batteries. In all cases, I had a roof over my head and financial security (a/k/a a job or a parent).

Hey — I want Congress to fund FEMA — but I’m against the offsets. We’ve never done that before, and I think it sets a bad precedent to do so this time.

What I’m trying to point out to Mr. Pork is that the agencies have rules they have to follow in spending funds, and that moving money around in a way that violates those rules isn’t possible.

Mr. Bacon, if you have a problem with how many Federal jobs are available, I suggest you take it up with your Congressional Reps –

The money for those jobs was part of the FY 2011 budget which Congress passed in April, and the FY 2012 budget will have those positions factored into it. If no one is hired, the money budgeted for that position gets returned.

Congress holds the purse strings — and whatever the Federal Government spends — your Senators and Representatives had the ability to place limits on that. It is not the Federal employees fault that Congress is not doing its job.

You really don’t know anything about Federal government funding, Mr. Bacon.

One Federal agency (FEMA, in this case) cannot spend funds that are in another agencies’ account. There may be functions that should not be funded, and I will agree that many expenditures are wasteful, but your “worthless accounts” don’t exist.

If FEMA runs out of money, they will not be furnishing funds to aid the victims of the most current disasters.

Every agency has to submit a funding request every fiscal year — in this request, there are specific amounts for supplies, office rental, pay, benefits, etc. When the agency receives its appropriation for the fiscal year the individual offices are told how much they can spend per quarter, and many times they do not receive the amount they requested.

All funds are obligated to specific functions — they MAY NOT BE SPENT ELSEWHERE.

So no there’s not extra money just waiting in some account — if it isn’t spent at the end of the current fiscal year IT GOES BACK TO THE TREASURY.

Big AG gets it’s money from the US Department of AGRICULTURE not the Food and Drug Administration (an agency under Health and Human Services umbrella) — a totally different department.

There has never been a total government shut-down (under Clinton it was about a half dozen agencies) as some functions are continued by law — any agency function related to national security has to remain open — but the people working don’t get paid until Congress passes a CR, appropriation bill or an omnibus funding bill.

You’re not going to be able to “end this corrupt system” until you can prevent private industry from bending Congress by dumping money in the Reps and Senators’ pockets.

So you don’t care if the meat you buy is inspected, or if security screenings at airports cease, or if the drugs you use are safe, or if a major hurricane or tornado is coming, or if the elderly or disabled don’t get their benefit checks…

I wish the President really would shut every goverment function down for 48 hours — including the airports, the military and our border security, just to show the fools who say “Shut it all down” exactly what they’re asking for…

I never was an Obama supporter, or a Hillary supporter — my candidate was John Edwards.

Also, all executive government employees from Presidents to the last retired parasite living the good life via the taxpayers are switched to the healthcare and SS system that’s good enough for the rest of us.

All Federal employees hired since 1984 have been paying into Social Security and Medicare — so has anyone who was elected to Federal office during the same time period.

The new retirement system, known as the Federal Employees Retirement System, replaced the Civil Service Retirement System in 1987. While there are still a few CSRS employees most will retire within the next 10 years.

This information is readily available for research at the Office of Personnel Management website, opm.gov.

Why not cut the size of the federal government, one of the few sectors that is still hiring?

Hiring?! Where have you been?

Today OMB warned all Federal agencies to plan for their FY2013 budgets to be 10% less than FY2012.

The number of agencies requesting permission to offer early-outs and buyouts has increased every day this week. Many of the rest are “considering” doing so.

Yes, there are open Federal positions, but with the nutcases in Congress taking hostages over every budget related bill, the odds of another government shutdown are very good.

The Republicans have set out to demonize public employees — if they keep it up, recruiting for Federal positions is going to become very difficult, why would anyone want to work in an organization where their pay is frozen, there is no possibility of promotion because the budget won’t bear it, and where you may not have a paycheck because some political twit is having a hissy over the existence of your agency?

Those 12 million people — IF they are working in jobs that withhold income taxes — ARE paying FICA taxes, usually under a fake SSN. Do you think that the government gives them that money back?

If you do, I have bridge in Brooklyn I’d love to sell you.

I was working for SSA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals when Reagan pulled that stunt. Our Judges were supposed to have each case scheduled for a hearing within 120 days of receiving the request for a hearing. Well, that time limit went right out the window — it was just insane.

I started looking for another job when I came back from lunch to find a Federal Marshall (with a rifle) in the Reception area of the office. Seems one of our ALJs had received a death threat. Since I was one of the receptionists, I really wasn’t too keen on dying for the job…

The facts are available to you on the Social Security Administration website — those responsible for the Trust Fund are required to publish are report every year on the health and sustainability of the Fund.

The last report, in December of 2010, showed that SSA will be able to pay out full benefits (even if the economy is still as shitty as it is now) until 2037 — and at that point, with the funds that will be coming in, it will still be able to pay 80% — if you increase the FICA cap by 2%, SSA will be solvent until 2070.