I think that'd be a better system, too, as I described. I happen to know I'm not a threat, so me looking at my own boarding pass harms no one. And as others have stated, this little bit of notoriety is likely to get the system changed.

You'll note I didn't say it was a good system.

The obvious answer for the problem is to scan the barcode at security, which could just be a unique identifier, and look it up in a database of who's cleared for PreCheck that day.

My boarding passes seem to have PDF417 barcodes on them. I've tried several but haven't found an Android app that'll read them yet. The Android app from the airline displays a QR code boarding pass, but then I can't scan it with my phone. Anyone know an Android app that'll scan it? Or a program for Mac that'll scan a QR code from the camera? No, I'm not looking to change it, but finding out if I got the PreCheck lane would be nice in advance.

Right, but what's your point? If it's that budgets aren't being passed, they're optional and don't carry the force of law. Sure it'd be nice to agree on a blueprint for spending, but Congress is split and the appropriations bills are where the money gets spent anyway.

It sounds like you're talking about democracy and don't like being in the minority.

You brought up the credit rating hostage issue. The Republicans threatened to default on the U.S. debt. It didn't happen, but just the threat led S&P to downgrade our credit rating. And the top Republican in the Senate said publicly that "it's a hostage that's worth ransoming."

Those actions and impositions are why so many atheists openly mock and disdain religion. That behavior grows out of belief in a god. Attacking the belief is like striking at the root instead of the leaf.

Actually, women do have the right to equal pay. It's the law. You seem to prefer that everyone is free to discriminate, but I think you can probably understand why most women would not want to give up their right to equal pay.

It's not a straw man, since there are many Republicans supporting so-called "personhood" measures, which would outlaw hormonal birth control. Romney and Ryan have both voiced support for that idea.

Yes, of course abortion is not just a woman's right. But to me (and to many), a few cells do not deserve the rights of a fully formed human being, with a brain, a heart and so on. If I were a woman, I'd be offended by the GOP telling me what to do with my body.

I like your signature.

Many countries pay much less, have better health outcomes and cover everyone. Do you want to stay on that old system without trying the new one? I'd prefer we dump Obamacare for something we know works - single payer or at least a public option, but I don't think that's what you meant.

Well, at least he was just acting.

Yeah...about the only thing he had going for him was that he had better policy positions.

Solely with your choice of username, that is. :)

Why don't you explain to women why equal pay, access to contraception and abortion shouldn't really be important to them?

The truth is everyone was better off before the Bush tax cuts and with stronger financial regulations.

The other side of that coin, of course, is that the Republicans are holding hostage the middle class tax cut to benefit the wealthy.

So that might seem about even at first glance. But in reality, the Democrats know that as soon as the whole thing expires they can pass a middle class tax cut and the Republicans will go along with it (or give up any pretense of actually caring about it, and suffer in the next election).

If you can't tell the difference, you're not paying attention.

Cloture votes to break a filibuster are 60% of Senators (whether present and voting or not), and that may change as the next Senate votes on its rules.