Blogs: Real Security

As more details of Bin Laden's life "in hiding" take shape, we may find ourselves with more questions than answers. A quick round of Internet research reveals that he lived in a beautiful climate, in a town along a well-traveled tourist route, near some military sites that included an advanced hospital. He lived in a luxurious neighborhood, a short drive from a golf course and an airport.

And if all that weren't enough, the most hunted man on the planet was also just down the road from a Red Onion Restaurant. There he could presumably enjoy a standard Red Onion appetizer like Thai-Style Steamed Mussels with Lime Leaf, Chilies, Coconut Milk and Mint, followed by a choice of entrees like Grilled Blackfish with Watercress Sauce over Celery Root Puree and Wild Chanterelle Mushrooms. (But remember, Sheikh Osama: No substitutions!)

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Osama bin Laden's demise came after President Barack Obama restored counter-terrorism operations to America's top national security priority, reversing President George Bush's decision -- before and after the 9/11 attacks -- to deprioritize the effort to destroy al Qaeda. more »

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There's been so much noise about what Paul Ryan's budget plan does to Medicare and Medicaid that the damage it does to Social Security has gone unnoticed.

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When Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) called for "raising the cap" on Social Security's taxable wage base at a "Back Off Social Security" rally and press conference a week ago, he elicited roars of approval and chants of "raise the cap" from the hundreds-strong crowd. But if, as Sen. more »

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Halloween has come early this year for Wall Street Democrats who are busy disguising their plans to gut Social Security as "progressive"--and smearing Social Security while they're at it.

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I was as the Summit on Jobs & America's Future yesterday, so I didn't get to hear Keith Ellison's testimony at Rep. Peter King's hearing on "Islamic radicalization." Instead, I heard Ellison speak eloquently at the summit about the the "jobs and economic justice tour" of America, which the congressional Progressive Caucus will launch this summer as an alternative to the "so be it" agenda of the GOP.

In the midst of anemic job creation,  an unemployment crisis that's deeper than any one in the media wants to admit, and a jobs deficit of 28 million threatening our economic future, Rep. Eillison — along with Rep. George Miller — had to leave capitol hill to find people in Washington who were talking about jobs.

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"You've got a country that is stupid, a government that is stupid," Fiscal Commission Co-Chair and Fmr. GOP Senator Alan Simpson said, in an interview on CNN this past Monday morning. His words sum up the feelings of a band of elitist budget hawks, who blame ordinary Americans for our current economic and budgetary problems. Call it the real "Blame America First" crowd.

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If Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is so concerned about the price of public sector workers’ health care benefits, why isn’t he clamoring to cut underlying costs?

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What would legendary House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (D-MA) do, if he were here right now? That seems like an important question to ask now that President Obama has invoked the 1983 Reagan-O’Neill deal on Social Security as a model of responsible, bipartisan “entitlement” reform. But in order to understand what O’Neill would do, we need to accurately recall exactly what he did and the circumstances in which he did it. A closer look at the history reveals that President Obama has a lot to learn if he is to live up to O’Neill’s legacy.

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We should all thank the President for refusing to include Social Security cuts in his 2012 budget. But we should not take the President’s decision for granted. Apparently, the White House was prepared to include specific cuts in Social Security benefits in the 2012 budget just to bring Republicans to the table, but a groundswell of progressive opposition helped stop it in its tracks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The lesson is clear: What we are doing is working. But we are still facing a real threat to Social Security, and a White House whose idea of negotiating is conceding in advance to Republican demands. We must temper our praise for the president now with vigilance for the future. Cuts are not yet dead; we need to keep up the pressure.

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