You can’t stretch the definition of “free press’ far enough to include the MSM in Amerika. Completely controlled by corporate propaganda and ideology.

There is not a single promise to labor that Obama has not broken.

On the opposite end, there is not a single promise to the 1% that Obama has not kept or exceeded.

All the stories and comments by the D’s about how stupid the R base was for voting against their own interests have come home to roost. Hillary 2016!

It has become painfully obvious that Obama is a bad actor and his administration is not upholding and defending the Constitution he swore to defend but the bigger question is why? This will sound somewhat “Manchurian Candidate” like but Obama and Clinton are similar examples of how the system can produce, support, and ultimately create a tool for the 1%. Both came from poor backgrounds and went through the educational system of the upper crust, both have charisma and great oratory skills and both seem to be more driven by wealth and power than principle or morality. Both are great at polarizing the masses and fomenting the R v. D dialogue that the 1%ers want and both were ostensibly Democrats but have no real democratic ideals. Even the most cynical evaluation of Clinton the candidate undershot the real damage he did to our Country and you can’t keep up with the destructive actions of Obama to our “America”. Do the PTB have people identifying and guiding these charlatans or do they just take advantage once they make a name for themselves?

Understand but getting back to the point of Jon’s post I am seeing the poverty with old AND disabled who are desperate for a job, like your friend, and our Government tries to solve the problem by first fudging the numbers and making things seem better. The cocktail party set in NY and D.C. are cruel fuckers if you ask me. The middle class aren’t going up the ladder they are going down and it’s getting overwhelming.

Will this effect sentencing? It seems like it should.

Not really quoting your comment but the combination of yours with alan1tx. I see you are not in agreement with his inference. Should have replied to his but I have sworn off fallacious arguments.

Your story is sadly commonplace these days. From a few of the earlier comments it seems if you had cut out cable T.V. 20 years ago you would be much better off. Now you can give up some of the necessities like food to make ends meet. We are the richest and cruelest Country in the World. Definitely the cruelest BECAUSE we are the richest. I work with people everyday with similar stories as yours; good people for the most part, and some can’t go to their doctor simply because they have no money for the bus ($1.50 where I am).

Won’t cutting back and downsizing your budget cause our consumer driven economy to contract. Being frugal by choice is one thing but deciding on T.V. or food, or bus fare or medicine is not a lifestyle. Subsistence living for a majority of our senior citizens and under 25 youth is basically what the CURRENT numbers are showing. Only wall street is robust.

He will if he is relying on a robust economy and stocks and bonds. The second and Greater Depression is on the way. It was postponed with the “bailout” which was essentially just stealing from the kids piggy bank to make this months mortgage payment. Stock market is up so all is well (except that it’s not).

I think these Kaiser study numbers depict current Seniors worse off than the Seniors BEFORE SS was enacted. Especially if you take into account the recent politics that has gone into fudging the poverty level in the last 20 years. More and more retirees are applying for services and part time jobs to supplement their incomes. We are rapidly becoming Spain or Greece and our tipping point will be the total collapse of the World economy.

The .1% are multi national beings and are looking at “austerity” to provide the growth engine they need for their portfolios to increase. Austerity isn’t an American issue it is worldwide and just beginning to take hold. We are in for great suffering until the “American Spring” which will happen soon.

Very good comment. With or without the ACA by the time O is out of office how many people will be uninsured? It is estimated at around 47 million now and my guess is it will grow to about 90 – 100 million by 2016. Most of us are at the tipping point now and if the only solutions are stay the course or ACA my guess will turn out to be a conservative guess at that.

In fairness Obama was only really talking to the people in “his” club (which costs $500k to join according to his very transparent price list). He, like many Harvard Grads do not see all people as equals.

Are the sources that are terrified representing the left or the right half of the 1%. I can’t remember an AP story that was unbiased truth. They are not an example of free press but I agree with you that we the people could take this little fight and blow it up into a real discussion of the First Amendment.

Just croaking seems to be the goal. Reduce the surplus population and reset the Earth so poor people are less noticeable when we travel. Imagine there’s no people, it’s easy if you try….greed kills.

Media serves Corporate interests first and then the 1%ers who have direct access and then the Totalitarian State they own so there are bound to be inconsistencies and conflicts like this one. The 1% is not a hegemenous bunch of Frat brothers and the top takers will soon have enemies in their own ranks. Who owns AP? It’s not the people. This is less about freedom of the press and more about what stories the PTB want covered and how they want them propagandized.