The Gunny Has Passed

This is still one of the most OMG scenes in Hollywood history. A real USMC Drill Instructor playing a USMC DI. Whoa.

Comments

[boris]

Tick Tock people

[Sue]

Aww...Gunny. ::sad face::

[Sue]

And in case y'all didn't know it, Gunny was a Kansas boy and all y'all thinking you all is a word down south...well, bless your heart.

[Sue]

I loved watching Mail Call.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Sorry to see him go. He was quite the patriot.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/04/16/politico-dismisses-joe-bidens-hands-iness-children/

[Lock Jimbo Up]

6/16/18: President Trump at 51% Approval -

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-eight percent (48%) disapprove. "

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration/prez_track_apr16

"Former FBI Director James Comey has taken to print and the airwaves to angrily denounce President Trump, the man who fired him last year. But voters don’t rate Comey’s FBI performance too highly, and more think he should be legally punished for leaking to the media.

Forty-six percent (46%) of all voters believe Comey should be prosecuted for leaking information to the media at the time he was director of the FBI. That’s up from 41% last June following Comey’s admission under oath to a U.S. Senate committee that he leaked memos of his private meetings with Trump as FBI director to The New York Times through a friend.

Just 34% disagree and say Comey should not be prosecuted, down 13 points from 47% in the previous survey. Twenty percent (20%) are not sure. "

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/april_2018/few_praise_comey_s_tenure_at_fbi_more_want_him_prosecuted

[if 6 were 4]

should be 4/16/18 not 6/16/18 on poll above

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

The President has left for Miami. He will do a tax event followed by 2 days of meetings with Abe of Japan.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/16/treasure-of-legendary-danish-king-bluetooth-unearthed-in-germany?CMP=share_btn_tw

This is the king who brought Christianity to Denmark.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Josh Caplan
‏ @joshdcaplan
21m21 minutes ago

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Rod Rosenstein is possibly under investigation for supervising Uranium-One deal

https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/985895396584108032

Video clip at link.

[Sue]

Miss Marple the Deplorable | April 16, 2018 at 10:52 AM

Why not? They dismissed Bill Clinton's rap-iness.

[daddy]

When I went thru AOCS Bootcamp in 1978 my Drill Instructor was Gunnery Sergeant Daggs United States Marine Corps!

It's funny but I can still rattle off the first 3 or 4 General Orders of a Sentry at the top of my lungs without skipping a beat.

Me: Sir, The First General Order of a Sentry is to take charge of this post and all government property within view!

Him: I can't hear you, poopie!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Sue,

That's true, but Breitbart makes the point that it's CHILDREN and there are photos and video clips everywhere.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://twitter.com/unseen1_unseen/status/984626731498770434

An explanation of 3-D chess, not that I want to start THAT up again. LOL!

[pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

From Lucianne++

" ABC interview´s big bombshell -- James Comey reveals
he is neither sinner nor saint... he´s a fraud
Someone in ABC ad sales has a sense of irony.
First ad for last night's big interview was for toilet paper."

[Captain Hate]

To carry on Clarice's willowed comment, Giuliani's prosecution of Milken was an iron fisted disgrace and threw the financing options for small businesses into turmoil.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

I can still drop into front leaning rest and give you 20. LOL

[Captain Hate]

Biden being a creepy perv isn't what I'd call breaking news.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

At Ft. Sill, we had one drill sgt whose favorite method of blowing his nose was to just close one nostril with his finger and then blow as hard as he could. Crap went everywhere!

God help you if you were in the way. LOL

[Captain Hate]

I hope it hasn't come to this:

I can imagine Highlights now.

Goofus uses hate speech like "him" and "her."

Gallant understands a person's right to define themselves as male or female.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at April 16, 2018 10:54 AM (kqsXK)

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

Hillary, the First "Female" POTUS.

What "cisgenered", "gender normative", sexist, misogynistic (wait ... can I still use that word?) bigots.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Captain Hate,

What's news is that Politico sees the danger of Biden's behavior enough that they will try to depress any mention of it.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

fdcol63,

ChiTown says you have described "the fireman's noseblow."

Being the more fastidious sort, I wouldn't know anything about it.

[Extraneus]

Good Althouse link by Ralph in the last thread.

So first Chris Wallace calls Comey "bitchy," and Althouse follows that with "Cat Person" and #MeToo.

The wimp freely admits to thinking like a young girl who can't figure out how to stand up to a domineering man over a romantic dinner for two.

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2018/04/reading-comey-interview-transcript-i.html

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

MM, thanks! Never knew.

I imagine you're too much of a lady to ever do something like that.

[Texas Liberty Gal]

I remember being so nervous when the Billy Bush tape was released and I'm feeling the same way now about this Stormy Daniels Michael Cohen court case. Dershowitz was not comforting this morning on F&F either which may be the cause of my nervousness.

[Jim Eagle]

Dave in MA,

Just watched the runners go by Wellesley:) Thinking of you and your commute. I recognized that route since I drove it a few times taking Frederick to camp. Half-way mark. Never knew that.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

fdcol63,

Also, according to ChiTown, a tool of ski-racers everywhere.

Again, I wouldn't know because I was only on skis once in my entire life.

[Bogus Patriots]

"What's this Private Pyle? A jelly doughnut? "

DIs used to be cruel to be kindly in training you to survive combat.

Now they're psychos who just want 'smoke their charges.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5620611/Archaeologists-uncover-silver-treasure-German-island.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline

More on Bluetooth's horde with a lot more pictures and a video.

[daddy]

This is the Video "Pressure Point," that all incoming AOCS Candidates had to watch before showing up at Pensacola.
I can't stand watching that Richard Gere Movie "Officer and Gentlemen" but I still get a kick out of the first few minutes of this video with a real Drill Instructor screaming at real poopies.

[JM Hanes]

Loved the clip, TM. I remember the first time I saw Mail Call, and thought, "Who is this guy?" He was great.

From the Fox article:

"Do you realize I have not done a movie in five to six years? Why? Because I was totally blackballed by the ... liberals in Hollywood," he alleged. "They can destroy you. They're hateful people [who] don't just not like you, they want to take away your livelihood ...

It's not just the Hollywood liberals, alas.

[Davod]

Texas Liberty Gal:

"I remember being so nervous when the Billy Bush tape was released..."

Who tapes a conversation in a changing room?

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

BASIC Training (Week 1) 1966 VS 1996 VS 2016

https://youtu.be/0SihQghhTg4

LOL

[Buckeye]

MM

I sent the article on Harald "Bluetooth" to Mrs. Buckeye. She is a descendant. Thanks for the post.

Lots of this kind of info gets "attached" to family trees on the genealogy sites. Obviously has to be taken with a huge grain of salt, but often helps make the history of the period more understandable.

[daddy]

fdcol63,

I'm scared to death to see what it'll look like in 2026:)

[JM Hanes]

Brought over from the end of previous thread

Tom Bowler:

Glad last night's late night post caught your eye this morning. The Libby trial set so many dangerous precedents that it's hard to remember them all! What's really disturbing is that the very same people, Mueller, Comey, et al actually managed to pull off the appointment of another Independent Counsel, to cast another cloud over another Republican president. It's like IC Redux, Now with New Improved Abuses.

I think the Agile m.o. (thanks also to Kevlar Kid for putting it on the table) seems to fit with what we're seeing -- or perhaps not seeing. All of a sudden, "out of the blue," the Saudis are taking a pro-active leading role in what are clearly well-coordinated operations -- except that it's not really out of the blue at all, is it? Nobody (the press, in particular) really knows how many irons this president has got in the fire, it's just becoming clearer all the time that there are a lot of them.

Miss Marple:

On a related note, I was struck by these two points in your Thomas Wictor thread:

(13) "Iraqi special forces may be dropped by air into Syria, Hisham al-Hashimi, a government adviser on ISIS, told Reuters."
(14) THAT is an admission that the Iraqis have been training in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi is rapidly returning to its role as a regional power.

Apparently, somebody finally figured out that Iraq could be a potentially game-changing strategic ally, something I've been shouting into the wind for more than a decade. I can only hope that its devolution into an Iranian satellite is truly being reversed.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

daddy, ain't that the truth!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Theissen is blaming Mattis about the small strike and now Laura Ingraham is going after Mattis.

I despise these people.

I had better get some work done.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

I like the moves that I have seen so far from Mohammad bin Salman. I know that as a younger person, he may see value in reforming and liberalising Saudi society, and he sees a need to counter Iran's influence.

Just one word of caution: he's STILL a Muslim, and STILL a Saudi.

I don't fully trust any of them for various reasons, most especially because of taqiyya, kitman, and tawriya, et al.

He will still follow the Koranic mandate to spread jihad, at the expense of the West.

[Texas Liberty Gal]

David
Who tapes a conversation in a changing room? 😂

[Jim Eagle]

TLG,

A Bush. Any other question?

[Jim Eagle]

Looks like an American woman, Desiree Linden, could end up winning the marathon today. She is in the lead at 2:17 and about 15-20 sections in front.

Another MAGA event.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

fdcol63,

I think he is following the mandate, but using the "catch more flies with honey than vinegar" maxim.

Hey, I don't care if Muslims want to make their case. I just don't want it done with bombs and beheadings. Christianity can set an example of how to counter it with love.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

MM,

I agree. Just think we need to also beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[Sue]

I still remember my drill sergeant at 0600...oh wait, that was my mother.

[Captain Hate]

That Althouse link is very insightful, particularly since Ann often is dense about things so if she's reacting like that, the Reverend Queasy image rehab program is a resounding flop.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

james-comey-book-president-obama-and-loretta-lynch-jeopardized-the-hillary-clinton-email-investigation...

...that I had from the start determined the outcome of.

Pretty hard to jeopardize something that didn't exist.
The fact is Loretta Lynch was exactly right; as it was conducted by Comey et al, it was a "matter" and not an investigation.

[pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-16/more-absolutely-crazy-pension-news

The end draws near!

[Texas Liberty Gal]

Davod - dang autocorrect misspelled your name

[Davod]

Texas Liberty Gal. I am shocked, shocked that autocorrect has done it again.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://twitter.com/HNIJohnMiller/status/985887289791467520

This is a thread about what it's like to work in an Amazon warehouse, by a guy I follow on Twitter for his analysis on politics and the Mueller stuff. Recommended reading.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

AP Sports
‏Verified account @AP_Sports

BREAKING: Desiree Linden fights rain and wind to become first American woman to win #BostonMarathon since 1985.

The question posted on Twitter is whether she is an X/X woman or an X/Y who identifies as a woman.

[Extraneus]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/epa-broke-spending-law-on-private-phone-booth-for-pruitt-reports-2018-04-16

[Jane]

Amy's wife, Mary, the cardiologist is in the National Guard and has been at the marathon finish line since 1 AM. I know it's snowing in Sturbridge, hopefully rain in Boston.

What channel is it on JIB?

[Sue]

Can you compete in the Olympics transgendered? She competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

[Sue]

“I ran my best marathon before I transitioned in 3:08:55 … and I ran a 3:44:58 in my first marathon after my transition,” Gapin said. “That’s a 36-minute difference after just seven months on hormones.”

So there is a difference between male and female?

[JM Hanes]

Extraneus:

All things considered, can anyone really blame Pruitt for thinking he needed a special phone booth set-up to secure his communications with the Prez? I thought that the Democrats were spearheading the attacks on Pruitt, but, noooo:

GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy expanded a probe into Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s spending and ethics Friday, demanding interviews with five top aides.

I pretty much wrote Gowdy off after the Benghazi Investigation debacle, but this is political enemy action. I googled him, and here are the three "Top Story" headlines: "Gowdy sees no basis to fire Rosenstein over Mueller probe," "GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy Defends Michael Cohen Raid," and "Gowdy mocks Pruitt's travel spending: Maybe he should
fly like a 'monk' instead of first class."

What an asshole. It's hard to believe that this guy surfed in on the Tea Party wave, but then he's from South Carolina. I swan (another southernism for JimNorCal!) he's looking more like Lindsey Graham every day.

[Extraneus]

EPA’s Pruitt broke law with $43k phone booth for his office: Report

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt violated federal law by building a soundproof $43,000 phone booth in his office and not telling lawmakers about it, ABC News reported Monday citing a federal watchdog report.

According to the the federal Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, the EPA should have notified Congress for expenditures over $5,000, the Government Accountability Office said in a review of the issue.

Er, wouldn't the 2nd paragraph indicate that if any law was broken, it was the EPA and not necessarily Pruitt who did the breaking? Does the law say that the Secretary is personally responsible to provide the notification?

Another witch hunt, of course, but is there really a law that says cabinet agencies are required to notify Congress about expenditures over $5K? Considering the size of the federal budget, that's an awful lot of notifyin'.

[Buckeye]

That Althouse link is very insightful, particularly since Ann often is dense about things so if she's reacting like that, the Reverend Queasy image rehab program is a resounding flop.

Jury is still out CH.

Gotta wait until they interview pajama boy and see how he "feels" about it:)

[Captain Hate]

I don't know what it is about South Carolina politics but Tim Scott seems to be following the right to left trajectory of Goober and Treytor.. Maybe Nikki Haley escaped in time...

[Man Tran]

My Scandahuvian forebears never claimed lineage from Bluetooth, but did claim lineage from ‘Rolf the Ganger’ (Rolf the walker, because he was so big he straddled the little Norsk ponies with his feet touching the ground). It wasn’t until we started watching the Vikings (should be Viking, plural), that I found out he was also called Rollo and that there are statues of him all over Yurope. In the TV show he is the one that set up shop in Normandy and was the gg+grandad of Willy the Bastard. Prolly every kid heard a version of that in the old country.

[Tom Bowler]

JMH,

What's really disturbing is that the very same people, Mueller, Comey, et al actually managed to pull off the appointment of another Independent Counsel, to cast another cloud over another Republican president. It's like IC Redux, Now with New Improved Abuses.

Isn't it ever. At the time I considered the Plame affair an attack on the Republican White House by the CIA, and maybe it started out that way. Maybe it was originally intended to be politically damaging PR against the Bush administration and nothing more. (As if that's not enough.) With the benefit of hindsight, the Libby trial appears to have been a deep state dry run. A formula for attack against future hostile Republican presidencies.

MM,

Josh Caplan
‏ @joshdcaplan
21m21 minutes ago

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Rod Rosenstein is possibly under investigation for supervising Uranium-One deal

https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/985895396584108032

Video clip at link.

Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | April 16, 2018 at 11:04 AM

Here's where I go back to wondering whether Rosenstein and Mueller are wearing black hats or white hats. If they're wearing white hats it would only be under duress. Could someone have conveyed the message to each, in the words of Sundance, "Here's how screwed you are."

And then this:

https://jonathanturley.org/2018/04/16/after-the-inspector-general-report-questions-grow-over-the-lack-of-a-criminal-referral-for-mccabe/

Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | April 16, 2018 at 08:00 AM

The article you linked reinforces Scott Adams's theory of Trump as the master persuader. A couple of weeks ago we all wondered if McCabe was going to be allowed to retire with full benefits, as if nothing ever happened. Another Lois Lerner. Trump, dragging it all out for maximum dramatic effect waited until two days before McCabe's retirement date before having him fired.

Now Turley asks if McCabe will escape the justice that would be visited on the rest of us if we had lied under oath the way he did. I'm betting Trump is going to drag that one out and milk it for all the suspense it's worth before an indictment comes down. And he's going to keep doing that, setting up the next target, building suspense, then pulling the trigger at the last minute -- right up until election day.

By the time November rolls around the country will be screaming for justice, and on election day Democrats will lose bigly. Yugely.

I think that's one of the strategies.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Hey, Ana Navarro is getting second thoughts about Comey, too!

Ana Navarro
‏Verified account @ananavarro
3h3 hours ago

Maybe it's just me...the more I hear from @comey, the more conflicted I feel. I want to believe him that this is all about loyalty to country and inviolable respect for the truth. But damn, the guy has a big ego, is selectively inconsistent. I find him obnoxiously self-righteous.
============

H/T to ChiTown Lurker, who thinks the HMS Comey is starting to list.

[Texas Liberty Gal]

Just went to tweet Gowdy and saw he was on The View last week too.

[rich]

SC still has that "yellow dog democrat" syndrome at the state level.

Ex-

your clips of the interview ... Comey was speaking gibberish ... good grief.

and for no reason whatsoever ... had an insight yesterday about something that had been buggin' me about the '08 campaign and all the trips Obama made to colleges and universities (Ohio State specifically) ... alumni associations they had to have been critically important to his data strategy. anyway.

[cathyf]

This from JudicialWatch quoted on the previous thread:

And, once again, the IG report shows the FBI has been covering up Andrew McCabe text messages. The messages should have been turned over in Judicial Watch FOIA litigation but we haven’t received one McCabe text message. The FBI corruption and cover-up didn’t end, unfortunately, with James Comey’s well deserved firing.

I'm hopelessly behind so youse guys might have discussed this last night, but I'm wondering about an alternate explanation than an FBI coverup. FOIA has to have exceptions that allow the government to not turn over stuff that's evidence in a still-active criminal investigation, right? And, according to the IG report, it's Justice Department policy to not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation (well, except for the obvious circumstances like it's already public, or they're asking for public help, or the false presumption of a lack of an investigation is causing some serious problem.)

So, anyway, is it possible that the reason that the DoJ is stonewalling JW on the McCabe texts that they are evidence in a criminal investigation of McCabe and others? That would be delightful!

[Old Lurker]

TLG "Just went to tweet Gowdy and saw he was on The View last week too."

As a new host?

[Threadkiller]

As a new host?

As a new MaxiPad.

[henry]

is it possible that the reason that the DoJ is stonewalling JW on the McCabe texts that they are evidence in a criminal investigation of McCabe and others?

Sure, it is possible. It is also possible they usual bureaucratic suspects are slow walking every FOIA request to stall out the clock. This would be a continuation of normal government. Can't run a sprint if nobody checks out any tasks. (The sprint approach seems more likely to me than a grand 4D plan, more flexibility if you hit a snag. Doesn't guarantee a happy ending).

[Threadkiller]

I'll put my cards on the table: I don’t hate James Comey the way the rest of the world — right and left — appears to. I thought he came across in George Snuffleupagus’s* interview as reasonable, self-reflective, and honest.

http://patterico.com/2018/04/16/lanny-daviss-bogus-attack-on-james-comey/

[JimNorCal]

pagar's 12:06 is worth a careful read.
"Put more simply, politicians and public sector unions changed the rules to enrich themselves, and got away with it for a whole generation."

[Threadkiller]

They are down to 3D chess theory now, henry.

[cathyf]

Well, stonewalling an FOIA because of an active investigation wouldn't be 4D chess move, it would be a pretty common thing in a Federal Bureau of Investigation that was doing its job in a reasonably competent manner. Or, put another way, if they WERE white hats, how would it look different? I don't think that this particular thing could look different...

[Old Lurker]

Tom Bowler "I'm betting Trump is going to drag that one out and milk it for all the suspense it's worth before an indictment comes down. And he's going to keep doing that, setting up the next target, building suspense, then pulling the trigger at the last minute -- right up until election day.

By the time November rolls around the country will be screaming for justice, and on election day Democrats will lose bigly. Yugely."

Perhaps that is the plan.

Back end loading all the Equal Justice stuff, though, makes it an all or nothing outcome, seems to me. Screw it up and Trump is screwed himself.

As Pelosi said last week, we have 28 Tuesdays until the election. I'd start tomorrow and announce a new indictment every Tuesday right up to the vote. I'd make sure some Congress Critters and staffers are included.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

" ... I googled him, and here are the three "Top Story" headlines: ..."

JMH, I share your frustration on Gowdy's unfilled promise.

However, please keep in mind the Leftist bias of Google's algorithms.

I'm sure Google prioritizes anything that hurts specific ... especially popular and effective ... Republicans.

Positive things, for us, either get buried on Page 20 on search results or File 13'd.

[henry]

OL, remember to indict the big targets before the early voting window opens. That knocks 4 Tuesdays off your counter.

[Captain Hate]

cathyf, Sessions has announced a number of OIG investigations that the MFM is choosing not to publicize. There are at least 20 of them open now with at least one of which has empaneled a grand jury. Sessions is very tight lipped about active investigations. Also it's fairly evident that the OIG has been feeding data to Nunes's committee which is all damaging to the donks because Schiff hasn't leaked anything

[Extraneus]

I hope Sessions and Huber aren't timing indictments for political impact. Justice should be swift and fair.

I doubt that Mueller will be guided by such principles, btw.

[narciso]

Ay dios mio, because omg doesn't quite cover it, you see why he Carl jhonsoned that very experienced prosecutor.

[Old Lurker]

JNC "Put more simply, politicians and public sector unions changed the rules to enrich themselves, and got away with it for a whole generation."

That would cover Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama.

Grew the debt from $4T to $21T at the same time.

Good job, Uniparty.

[Captain Hate]

Patterico must be trolling his few remaining acolytes. Even that oaf can't be that clueless.

[Old Lurker]

Ext "Justice should be swift and fair."

Seen any sign of either, Ext?

Me neither.

[Buckeye]

rich

The libtard stench rising from Ahia State is enough to make you puke.

Jr. has learned to keep his head down and his politics private.

I have two close friends who are recently retired professors, both are conservatives. Mighty glad to get the hell out.

[Extraneus]

Seen any sign of either, Ext?

Nope.

[Old Lurker]

Forget they also grew Fed spending from $1T to $4.5T over the generation of those four.

Heckuvajob, boys.

[henry]

As i write a check to the Feds for taxes...

CNBC @CNBC
9s

Paul Ryan could get a pension of $84,930 a year — here's how that compares to most Americans

[Buckeye]

I'd make sure some lots of Congress Critters and staffers are included.

FIFY OL

[Extraneus]

CNN Publishes Piece Saying that Robert De Niro ‘Terrifies Trump’

Why in the world would Trump be afraid of a cranky old actor, roughly the same age as the president, whose chief weapon seems to be mixing profanity in with Trump’s name in front of a camera to make national headlines? Given the slew of Hollywood elite who have threatened to kill, bomb, or otherwise assassinate the president, one would think De Niro would be at the bottom of the list.

Obeidallah reasoned that since Trump hasn’t criticized or called De Niro out on Twitter, the actor’s threats to “punch him in the face,” as well as his insults calling Trump a “racist,” “a fucking fool,” and a “jerk-off in chief,” must really cause President Trump some “trepidation.”

[cathyf]

"Put more simply, politicians and public sector unions changed the rules to enrich themselves, and got away with it for a whole generation."

And this is part of the problem. The article, and then the comments, immediately launch into an orgy of bashing public sector employees as lazy, incompetent, greedy, etc. Which is of course a key piece of the politician/union success. The natural best interests of all sides is that public employees and taxpayers are natural allies against the politicians and public sector unions allied against them. The bashing is fun, but it helps the politicians/unions divide and conquer and bankrupt us all.

What is in BOTH the taxpayers' and employees' interest is that any and all forms of public employee compensation deferred into the future need to be outlawed. Every penny of retirement savings that an employee earns needs to be placed in an account, in the employee's name and ownership, and it needs to be in the same year (or within the first few months of the next year) that the employee earns it.

With public employee defined-benefit plans, it means: 1) that politicians can get the political benefits of spending in the future that they don't have to find funding for now; 2) that governments don't have to face the full market discipline that if they don't pay market compensation they won't be able to get and keep good employees; 3) that in order for employees to get all of the pay that they have earned they need to hire thugs (union bosses) to squeeze the politicians to get their money; 4) that both sorts of thugs -- politician and union -- are funded by taking a slice of the money that the taxpayers pay the employees.

If you want to solve the problems, stop playing into the thugs' hands by immediately attacking the people who have common interest with you.

[Extraneus]

Stormy Daniels Strips to 'Make America Horny Again,' Right Across From Mar-a-Lago

[Ralph L]

Some people forget Trump had to get May and Micron to go along.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

"Make America Horny Again".

I wasn't aware that it ever stopped being so.

[Texas Liberty Gal]

Trump wins again!!

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/how-paul-ryan-lost-the-gop-to-donald-trump

[Extraneus]

James Comey: I’ve Struggled with My Ego My Whole Life

[Old Lurker]

Cathy, your premise is flawed right here: "The natural best interests of all sides is that public employees and taxpayers are natural allies against the politicians and public sector unions allied against them."

When in written history have employees of the King ever been allied with taxpayers?

Now it used to be that on the one hand government employees were also taxpayers and thus might have confused alligiences, but in an skewed world where 20% of all taxpayers (which slice includes very few government employees) pay more than 80% of the total costs, one is hard pressed to not see the world as Taxpayers on one side, and Government Workers, their Unions and Politicians on the other side.

[henry]

one is hard pressed to not see the world as Taxpayers on one side, and Government Workers, their Unions and Politicians, and the Free Shit Army on the other side.

fify

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

OL ... what about the 47% who don't pay ANY Federal taxes?

God ... I get so sick of hearing Lefties claim they pay state and local taxes. So frigging what? So do I ... ON TOP OF the federal taxes!

[James D.]

Paul Ryan could get a pension of $84,930 a year — here's how that compares to most Americans

That's about $84,000 more than he deserves, and to say that I bitterly resent the fact that my tax dollars will contribute towards it would be to massively understate my feelings on the subject.

That said, $84,930 is a lot lower than I would have guessed it would be.