Not to split hairs but the money you paid into the system in the past went to help people that year. Others are now helping you. Don't try to make it sound like all the money you paid in the past is in the basement at the capital and you are just taking a little of it back. No, the money you paid in the past went to benefits paid in the past - that money is long gone.

Its pay as you go.

And you can tell me to mind my own business if you want to but what exactly prevents you from earning a wage? You certainly seem capable to me of holding any number of jobs (philosophical differences not withstanding :).

I have explained this ad nauseum in at least a couple of old threads which I now can't find. My situation is complex and I deal with an array of neurological and anxiety related disorders. Thank you for the compliment. I'll let it go at that.

Mari went over the job issue about a month or so ago.

And Mari, you get back any money you put into SS in less than 2 years...so depending on how long you've been on SSDI, you might have already gotten it all back.

You just contradicted yourself again!

So do you rely on voting records or not? Nevermind, I give up. It's OK to admit you like George W. Bush, really. You don't have to keep making excuses.

Too funny!

For the record, I'm not a bad Republican but I do differ from the fellow in the cartoon as follows:

I'm really not a religious wacko and I do oppose prayer in schools (I think prayer is a personal thing not a public thing except in church)
I support conditional abortion legislation. I think late-term abortions are flat out murder.
I don't mind the idea of gay marriage but I can't figure out what a gay family is and, until I do, I oppose it. I support civil unions till then.
I fucking despise the French. As someone famous once said: "France is a nation of whores."
Ultimately, I voted for Bush because he's more American than European.

There are lots of socialist countries around the world but there is only one America. And I'm not about to let a liberal socialist fuck it up.

I'm not a "good" republican because I see no need to appease the liberal left. A moderate position should does not necessarily imply a lack of conviction in one's position.

Ouch, the "Ugly American" finally makes an appearance.

Have you ever been to France, Beestie? I have, and it is a beautiful country with great food, and in my opinion, very nice people (and no, I don't speak a lick of French).

Whoever that "someone famous" is that you quote is a complete and total moron. It speaks more of ignorance than patriotism on your part.

By dubious, I mean inconclusive but leaning in the wrong direction. For example, I was hesitant to think that John Kerry really did vote down every major weapon system bill because he really wanted to cripple our defensive capability. I was also reluctant to believe that he voted 98 times to increase taxes because he wanted 98 separate tax increases.

Sometimes, politicians vote against something because its not enough of what it is (i.e., a repub voting against a tax decrease bill because it was too small of a decrease and he's hoping to defeat the bill so a larger decrease can be put into the next one). Sometimes, bills are created JUST to elicit a vote to use against that person in the future. Same example applies.

So, while Kerry's voting record on the surface was/is dubious, I resisted weighting it as much as some might because how one votes does not always necessarily reflect one's position. What made it hard in Kerry's case is a 20-year record of a similar pattern.

It wasn't as simple for me as you might think. Ultimately, I am happy with the decision I made but I was genuinely undecided at various points.

I was born there and raised there until I was almost 8. I'm an American who hates the French from personal and first hand experience.

But, you are right, France is beautiful. Too bad the French live in it.

Very sad you hate millions of people you've never met based on their nationality.... Perhaps an eight-year-old isn't really a good judge of who should be "hated"? Just a thought.

I spent two weeks in Frande in 1992 digging people out of the mudslides that year and all I got was a cold shoulder and a derisive sniff.

Fuck France(tm)

So you're saying they treated you comparably well, for them. ;)

The downside of Bush being reuped is I was looking forward to the blood in the streets that Slang alluded too awhile back. :apistola:

Slang was looking forward to the distraction as well. He needs the live fire practice.

Just because you had a good experience with a relatively few people in France doesn't mean other people did. I have been to France numerous times, and every single time I was rebuffed, treated rudely, and once I was literally derided in the street.

So don't talk to me about how great the French are.

oh c'mon - they go great with a cream sauce. make sure you rinse them first, though.

So because YOU had a bad experience with people in France, that means that every single person in France is an asshole? Sorry, that's just a silly generalization.

From my three trips to France, I've noticed the majority of Americans who go there on vacation ACT like Americans (i.e., we expect THEM to speak our language, take our currency, and embrace our culture). Last time I was in France a few Americans in line in front of me at a store were upset that they didn't take American dollars (no, the cashier wasn't nice to them, either). American ethnocentricity has pissed off a lot of other countries, and to be perfectly honest, I don't blame the French for being less-than-polite to us. Sorry you had a bad time there, but I didn't.