From: Alan K. Simpson
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 6:52 PM
To: Owl
Subject: To Ashley Carson re 4/27/10 article

Ashley B. Carson Executive Director, OWL

Dear Ms. Carson,

Someone was good enough to forward me your column of "Enough with the Pink Panthers Bit" of April 27, 2010.

Some of what you say is true. Much is not - but that's nothing new about public life for me! I have news for you too, my friend. There may be no group called the Pink Panthers working to protect Social Security but I sure as hell am! I've spent many years in public life trying to stabilize that system while people like you babble into the vapors about "disgusting attempts at ageism and sexism" and all the rest of that crap.

Now hold on tight, because you won't like what I'm sending you. You may obviously be aware that the Social Security system is "in trouble." If you don't agree with that, then there is no need to read any further. But I wish to share with you the presentation by Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration on May 12, 2010 to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. If you think the statistics on poverty for seniors are alarming - then you need to read this little pamphlet to know what is really alarming.

If we can't get a handle on this system and make it sustainable and assure long term solvency, and make some changes that are "minor" at the present time and will become "major" as each year passes, then take a look at the chart on Page 6 which I hope you are able to discern if you are any good at reading graphs - or anything that might challenge your biases and prejudices.

Anyway, have a look at it and if you should choose, you might communicate with me. If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know. And yes, I've made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. You know `em too. It's the same with any system in America. We've reached a point now where it's like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Call when you get honest work!

Al

He recently said, "We're slipping and sliding and sweating, and the other side, the Republicans, they're standing with their Slurpees watching us."

He added, "Finally, we get this car to level ground ... and what happens? [Republicans] want the keys back. Well, you can't have the keys back ... You got us in the ditch."

With the nation's unemployment rate at 9.5 percent and jobless claims at their highest level in nine months, Milhizer said, "Many people would say we're in the ditch now."

and

During his speech in Seattle, Obama said, "The truth is it's going to take a few years to fully dig ourselves out of this recession. It's going to take time to bring back 8 million jobs. Anybody who tells you otherwise is just looking for your vote. But here's what I can tell you: After 18 months, I have never been more confident that our nation is headed in the right direction."

Bankers get rich off of short sales and foreclosures

I know. I know. Business as usual. Both sides, etc.

Linsday Lohan was released from her court-mandated rehabilitation at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after only 23 days, according to multiple reports.....

.....According to Lindsay Lohan's medical report from UCLA, the actress was not addicted to cocaine as once suspected. Instead, it is believed she was misdiagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder and given the prescription drug Adderall, which may be to blame for triggering her often bizarre behavior.

FOX441.com reportedly exclusively this week that Lohan apparently wanted some form of apology or compensation from the courts....

...Lohan also has been offered a reported $1 million from a tabloid magazine for her first post-rehab interview.

Then again, could just be the rain.  This weekend it's supposed to be 80 and sunny.

I stopped at a local OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware, a local hardware chain) and on the way out I witnessed an employee having a bit of a confrontation with a guy in a pickup truck who had a bag full of squashes he was picking from a vine that was planted near the store's entrance.

At first I thought it odd that a squash vine would be part of a chain-store's landscaping but it quickly became clear that the vine was planted by that employee. and I assume she had watered and tended to it all summer.

Anyway, she said to the guy, referring to the squashes he was taking and not showing any signs of giving up, "But they're not yours!"

And I thought to myself, she's absolutely right. This guy was at least 35 y/o and he was stealing. It's something I have to tell my kids no occasion(11 & 8) - "It's not yours." But a 35 y/o guy?

The New York Police Department has confirmed to TPM that a cab driver in Manhttan was allegedly stabbed by a passenger  who asked if the cabbie was Muslim, and says the incident is being treated as a hate crime. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes.