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Senators Clash Over Idea Of More Pentagon Cuts https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=147569495 "Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad, the committee chairman, said that given the country's fiscal crisis more savings must be found in the core defense budget, and that it would be impossible to address the nation's deficit without doing so."

What you "try to make a point to say" and how it comes across are two completely different things. Case in point, we know the real issue is with the deficit, but instead of addressing the point you throw it back on the GOp for wanting to reduce spending. Same old drum....same old sound... For the record, yes the republicans, driven by the Tea Party folks, did call for cuts to spending, but the Liberals scream cut defense, cut defense...when that won't fix the problem. We've said it before, you can cut the DoD budget to zero and we still go under...because of entitlements. We have a fundamental problem that these cuts won't solve...the top 1% n this country pay 36.7% of the total tax burden, the top 10% pay 70% of the tax burden and 50% of Americans don't pay taxes at all. As Matmacwc stated, the liberals continue to shout the Robin Hood mantra, popular to the masses, but it won't fix the problem. Once and for all address the entitlements so we can extract our butts from this mess.

Nsplayer, I think you are missing the bigger picture and the driving force behind these cuts becoming "headlines." As outlined above, quadrupling the rate for some groups is not a modest increase, it is gouging and not at all in line with the health care we were all promised...However, I get it, these are difficult times and things have to change and I am more than willing to pay my share, but what makes this absolutely maddening is the system is sticking it to military retirees but has done NOTHING about the entitlement programs that are the real problem. It is mind numbing to hear you continuously bang the liberal drum and defend cuts like this when you could be a little more down the middle and admit the real problem is not the DoD budget...how about a rant about entitlement programs and the discussion we really need to have ref Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

FIFY all.

Now that brings back memories...Arriving at Rainman's location, he gives me the run down..."Sleep there, shit there, piss there, watch the lights. If you can't sleep you can sit here and watch the rocket fights up in the hills". I still laugh about that shower, the roof was no shit blown off the building and the kitchen sink sprayers were hooked on the wall with a nail. The next morning we go for a drive and there is no shit a grenade laying in the middle of the runway as jets are taking off. No queep, just kill bad guys.

A-Freaking Men...and on several nights just before being called into that fray I distinctly remember silently praying to myself..."dear lord, please don't let me fuck up".

Not after last night...the Heat shut him down.

Amen

Amen brother...I would much rather see CSAF flying to Pedro base X every weekend with 69 cases of beer and chicken wings.

I could care less about the contract giving out an award to stroke their customer...making it front page news and a CSAF worthy item however does make it bitch-worthy.

You are correct, what I should have said is it is nonsensical to publicly celebrate an air to air squadron only when they have done nothing more than orbits for the past 9 years. The Eagle guys spend enough time slapping each others back (and butts at Kadena), so why divert attention from guys actually doing the mission. When the big furball happens over the straights I'll be sure to don my "Eagle Guys Rule T-shirt", until then not so much.

The tanker bros in OEF were down low, and I mean low...during OEF, at least on a few missions where they saved me. I don't think anyone doubts the tanker guys are making a huge contribution to the current fight. The bigger point is with the Air Force engaged in 21 years of non-stop combat ops you would think the squadron of the year would at least be part of the fight, no flying "exercises" and training rides.

There has to be some reward for flying endless orbits in the Bozosphere while the rest of us are down low doing actual fighting.

Not so fast... Justices Appear Open To Affirming Medal Law https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/us/stolen-valor-act-argued-before-supreme-court.html

WOW....just WOW! https://wtop.com/?nid=220&sid=2078706

Hey M2, ever made a rainbow with your AK?

Excellent post... Word of advice from an old guy...all you ACPers thing long and hard about what you do with that money and don't pass on a great opportunity to secure long-term wealth.

Unless you have a guy, call around. My investment dude is VERY aggressive and while it has paid off nicely in my portfolio, we don't always agree. Case in point, he is not a big real estate guy (makes sense, he wants my cash to work with), but I prefer to spread some of my risk around and I think there is value to actually owning something. If it were up to him I would have an interest only loan on all of my properties, make no principle payments and invest the extra money each month. When I was a Major I put all of my rental properties on 15 year mortgages and was able to build a lot of equity thus weathering the bubble that got a lot of people...I am WAY to the good on what I own, but as I get older I want less debt and more security. A few months ago I did a top to bottom review and thought about refinancing the rentals to take advantage of the lower rates, but having only six years until they are paid off made the math a toss up. Instead I was able to get a secured interest only loan (against my portfolio) at 2%, but I kept my monthly payment the same. Believe it or not my monthly house payment is only $78, but I still pay $1200, now the properties will be free and clear in three years. Rock-Bottomline, there are many strategies and talk to several money guys to find the one that is right for you.

I turned mine over when I was a Capt. Each situation is different but at that point I had two rental properties plus a primary residence...back then turbo tax did not like doing depreciation on multiple properties. I also had traditional and Roth IRAs for both my wife and I, as well as other investment accounts. The accountant found more than enough other savings to pay for the service...(my wife worked from home and we were able to deduct internet costs as well as a designated portion of the house she used as an office). Now that we have a child with a 529 and his own IRA, the accountant is a must.

Concur...we don't save enough as Americans...given the economic uncertainty of the future you would do yourself a huge favor and save a minimum of 10% of your income, realistically it should be more. The choice of which plan to use is a function of what you think your income will be at the point you begin to withdraw it. Realistically, most of the folks on this forum and in the military are younger so I think it best to maximize your Roth to build long-term tax-free wealth. However, you would be smart to suck it up and do both. One strategy I've heard is to put half of every military raise into savings/retirement...be it a yearly raise or a longevity raise, it can really add up and the best part is you never miss the income. I started with my first paycheck as a 2LT...$300.00 a month and upped it with each raise. I never missed it and still had plenty of money for beer and bourbon. I started with a traditional IRA and converted when the ROTH came a long...I paid a big tax bill to convert but to protect future gains is made a lot of sense. You will find you can quickly max the Roth so put the rest into TSP or a traditional IRA. You might not notice it at first, but it really adds up over time and the TSP has been like an extra bonus, I've easily saved $150K in the 10 years the program has been open for military.

https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/bulletins/11-u-4.pdf

Steve, you "crack" me up.

A 5-state ban for 'Piggyback Bandit' a 28-year-old man who ingratiates himself with high school sports teams, then hoists his 5-foot-8, 240-pound frame onto the backs of the student athletes. https://news.yahoo.com/5-state-ban-piggyback-bandit-084236687--spt.html

https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/dreamliner-jet-draws-boeing-logo-across-north-america-163127660.html