The Goat Pen

hedge wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:48 pm I agree with all of that. If you substitute "national defense" for 'health care", I would say the same thing. Yes, I realize nobody else can conduct national defense but the federal government, but you never hear anybody (certainly not ostensible republicans or conservatives, ever) talk about the literally trillions of dollars that have been either wasted, misappropriated or outright stolen from the American taxpayers, year after year, decade after decade, every second of our entire lifetimes, since before we were born and long after we die. Everybody complains that the federal government is incompetent to run, well, anything, but nobody - nobody - ever says a goddamn words about the hundreds of billions of dollars that are appropriated by and to them every goddamn year to oversee "national defense." Think of the tens of trillions of dollars that have been completely stolen, wasted and not one penny used for what it was supposedly appropriated for our national defense. And nobody seems to give a shit, Oh, but if some overweight black women gets $9000 a year in welfare, everybody is like "the government can't manage shit!! Somebody needs to do something about this!!". But hey, at least Prof made an entire career out of being paid by our taxpayer dollars to support him for doing jackshit nothing, ever. And he's laughing all the way to the grave. Godspeed, motherfucker...

The father of one of my best friends is a retired Air Force colonel (full bird). He is as conservative as they come, but he is the first to tell you that the DoD is the most wasteful entity imaginable and so corrupt with kickbacks and bribery that Boss Tweed and Tammany would be appalled. Everyone thinks that it's the the military equipment, systems, etc, but they forget all of the buildings, housing and general infrastructure. Tony Soprano would be proud of what DoD does...

Re mail in ballots...

In case anyone forgot, the GOP was engaged in a massive voter fraud operation in NC that was based upon harvesting absentee ballots. There is a reason that bunch of mouth breathers in NCGOP legislative leadership didn't include absentee voting in its voter suppression efforts prior to the shenanigans in 2018....

Prof, FERS is better than retired military pay for someone who retired at least O-4 with 20+ years active duty? I am not doubting you, but it usually the other way around for the retired military folks with which I deal, which means that prison chaplains must be making $90k+ in the FBP. I practice family law and have done so for ten years in two military towns. I have divided up my fair share of military retirements and FERS retirements as well, including FBP retirees like yourself. I'm not doubting you, but I haven't seen a FBP retiree with a FERS that's considerably better than that monthly check from the DFAS teet. It must be lucrative preaching to those who ran afoul of Uncle Sam or who had drug money that the local law enforcement agency wanted to obtain post conviction...

Also, I am willing to bet that Prof is receiving VA disability too. Heck, if you have sleep apnea when you retire from the military, that's a fifty percent disability rating for VA purposes. You can get close to $3,300.00 in VA disability, and it's tax free (for those who do not know). Given what I see, you must be getting at least $2k per month. The Army / VA seems to give someone that for sneezing hard. The VA disability on top of his military retirement, and even though military retirement pay is reduced for VA pay, that is no longer the case for most folks thanks to CRDP and CRSC. It would take too damn long to explain that stuff in detail.

I will give an example from a post separation support hearing I had to sit through recently (pre-pandemic) before my hearing started, and since this isn't my client or case, I am. not violating confidentiality. These were the figures presented (they stick in my head because I sat through the entire hearing thinking about all of this), and given my experience, the figures are not exaggerated. The husband is a retired E-9 (highest enlisted rank; Sergeant Major in the Army) with 30+ years of service (the amount needed to hit 75% of the average of your highest three years in the service if you entered between 80-86...100% at 40 years) and not even so much as an associates degree who receives the following:
1) a pension well in excess of $60,000.00 per year;
2) nearly $40,000.00 per year TAX FREE for a 100% VA disability rating;
3) a $84,000.00 per year civil service job (that he was able to obtain because of his military service) despite the fact that the federal government has declared him to be disabled;
4) add on top of that free health care and having two forms of government provided health insurance that will combine to insure he will never pay a medical bill.
NOTE: he has a TSP that he hardly touches due to the amount of money he receives each month.

If this gentlemen was self employed, he would need to earn at least $235,000.00 per year (rough estimate) to have the type of disposable income that this person's current government payments provide, and the guy would need to pay for high end insurance that will still have a deductible and still not provide as much coverage. Plus, that $235k amount does not include the amount the person would need to save and invest each year for a retirement on par with his current lifestyle, whereas the military retiree does not need to worry about retirement planning

So, let's summarize: Prof is receiving health insurance free of charge from two separate government programs and close to $100,000.00 per year in government income (with a sizable portion that is tax free), but Prof is a self proclaimed conservative libertarian who hates socialism, welfare, big government, social security, universal healthcare, etc...

At some point there's going to be internet voting. Can you imagine 50 years from now when literally everybody conducts nearly all of their transactions via the internet except for voting? Yeah, neither can I. That's when it's all going to go to hell for the current iteration of the republican party. They know it, which is why they want to make it as difficult as possible for people to vote. If everybody could securely vote by internet, the repubs would be swept out to sea like trash with the tide. They know it, everyone knows it...

there should be internet voting

but then democrats would say its racially bias because only more affluent Americans can afford high speed internet

which in turn would push for subsidizing internet for people at the poverty level because "voting" is their right.

no argument there is waste

but there is a cost to being the worlds super power.

And if you think about all these western countries that have socialized health care, part of the reason they can afford it is because they don't have to spend money on a huge national defense. Why? because everyone in the world knows that America will come to your defense if you are threatened.

Let them create a huge standing army, air force and if they have a coast, Navy - equip them to the extent they would have to be able to mount a defense if they were ever invaded without aid of foreign countries - and then lets see how much money they have for socialized health care.

I think this pandemic has already proven that the internet is not a luxury but a necessity. Unless you don't want young kids in poverty going to school right now.

"Let them create a huge standing army, air force and if they have a coast, Navy - equip them to the extent they would have to be able to mount a defense if they were ever invaded without aid of foreign countries"

Yeah, we saw what happened when Germany and Japan did that in the 1930's. Like you said, there's a cost to being a superpower, and part of that cost, which is in our best interests, is not having other potential superpowers build up their military. Yeah, maybe it means they have more money for social programs, but that's the price you pay if you want to be the world's foremost superpower...

I hope we have high speed fiber internet nationwide, and a 21st century version of new deal rural electrification is the way to get there.

Parkers Blue Ash Tavern (Local Cinci place) has announced they will close and not reopen.

One of many Covid 19 casualties I'm sure.

Great prime rib. Sad.

Jack Ryan Season 2, Episode 7. President Reyes pre election speech. Horrible chills of Trump.

I'm just posting this b/c I figured Crotch would love it, b/c, well, it's the kind of schmaltz he loves...

Is replying to your own tweets a thing on twitter?

It is when your mind is riddled with dementia. Right crotch?

hedge wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:02 am I'm just posting this b/c I figured Crotch would love it, b/c, well, it's the kind of schmaltz he loves...

One of your better, more mature posts Hedge. Thanx for sharing.

....Hedge, couldn't help but think of you and Rat when I came across this. Praying you guys change also.

I always thought it was odd. Without Christianity there would be no Satan worshipers. Satan is a Christianity entity.

Also, why would you pray to god and include "If it be they will"? If it's god's will, your prayer is worthless, and if it's not god's will, then your prayer is actually insulting. Just shutup and accept whatever happens...

free will, God's will , just leave me in the will Grandma