In reality, Ryan’s plan doesn’t actually protect current seniors Medicare. With no new people joining traditional Medicare, its pool would steadily shrink, making doctors less willing to accept it.

The best measure of the real economy over the next couple years is probably going to be the employment-population ratio

On Tuesday, Marcy Wheeler pointed out that the meeting in Washington between Leon Panetta and his Pakistani counterpart, ISI head Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was cut short. A key topic in the meeting was the ongoing tension over US drone strikes in Pakistan. On cue, and apparently while Pasha was still in transit back from Washington, four drone-fired missiles struck in South Waziristan on Wednesday, killing four and prompting more protests from Pakistan. This strike was the first since a strike on March 17, the day after Raymond Davis was released, killed a large number of civilians, provoking widespread outrage in Pakistan and leading to a halt in US strikes.

The GOP House leadership is really pissed at Tim Pawlenty for trying to derail the deal, and this report will only anger them further. Boehner’s whip operation is definitely nervous and trying to nail down the last few votes.

The reaction among liberals to the President’s speech Wednesday reminds us how thirsty liberals/progressives have been for President Obama to show the slightest hint of courageous, progressive leadership. So when Obama, who has repeatedly betrayed liberal values cherished by the Democratic Party since FDR, finally said what liberals/progressives have been saying for months, much of the liberal community cheered or at least said, “finally!” But this was easy.

• BREAKING: GOP opposes tax hikes for millionaires.
• BREAKING: Pentagon opposes defense cuts.
• Goldman Sacked?
• Frothy Mixture: now, more than ever.
• AZ making a play for wingnuttiest state.

More pages out of the Republican playbook on social security

Bob Dylan — Thunder On The Mountain.

As all serious people know, the most immediate menace to America is Social Security. We face the very real, imminent danger that it may suddenly turn into 2037, when the program will have to pay out 75% of currently expected benefits. This catastrophe could happen at any time, unpredictably, much like other historical national nightmares, [...]

The rhetoric is tough: the Fed calls the deficiencies from the servicers “significant and pervasive compliance failures” which constitute unsafe and unsound practices. In Fed-speak, that sounds serious enough.

It’s not.