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Your Estimate - How long will the US Gov. Shutdown Last ?

St. Phatty

Active member
30+ days so trump can impliment RIF and essentially lay off large amounts of unnecessary federal employees...

Do you think that is the Actual Agenda, the reason for what looks like madness ?


I guess that would be called, Method to the Madness ?

I think a RIF in many departments would benefit the USA general public. How about a 95% reduction at the DEA ? And maybe a 90% reduction at the ATF.
 

Badfishy1

Active member
Do you think that is the Actual Agenda, the reason for what looks like madness ?


I guess that would be called, Method to the Madness ?

I think a RIF in many departments would benefit the USA general public. How about a 95% reduction at the DEA ? And maybe a 90% reduction at the ATF.

Think EPA is also an alphabet agency he plans on trimming. I obviously can’t say what his endgame is. I think he intentionally put Chucky and Nancy in a lose/ lose situation. Either they fund the wall and they look spineless, or they hold out and the fat gets trimmed. He has protected a lot of the jobs like national park employees to keep parks open and such
 

White Beard

Active member
I think the agenda is to defund everything but military, police, and ‘justice’.

If you weren’t connected well enough, weren’t born well enough, weren’t able, or otherwise failed to prosper in an economy that has always preferred the wealthy over the rest, well. NO SOUP FOR YUO, no sidewalk space, nazzink. Find a rich guy to give you a spot in the barn and a share of the leftovers in return for doing whatever you’re told to do.

And thanks for playing....

Do you think that is the Actual Agenda, the reason for what looks like madness ?


I guess that would be called, Method to the Madness ?

I think a RIF in many departments would benefit the USA general public. How about a 95% reduction at the DEA ? And maybe a 90% reduction at the ATF.
 
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White Beard

Active member
While its shut down - you won't have to give them any money -
And by extension, they may not have to give anybody money, and I’m sure I’m not the only one here on Social Security. It remains to be seen whether payments go through. If they don’t, we’ll learn what 50,000,000 super-mad old people are like.
 

Badfishy1

Active member
And by extension, they may not have to give anybody money, and I’m sure I’m not the only one here on Social Security. It remains to be seen whether payments go through. If they don’t, we’ll learn what 50,000,000 super-mad old people are like.

Social Security is a slippery slope to be on. The current system is unsustainable. One of the biggest political financial disasters of all time. Unfortunately many past working generations were roped into a fraud and now it’s rob Peter to pay Paul knowing full well Peter is getting bent the fuck over with ZERO possibilities of ever being paid back. Going to have to overhaul the system as a whole. But Trump did make sure finances were set aside for food stamps (or whatever cute term is used today).
 

St. Phatty

Active member
Social Security is a slippery slope to be on. The current system is unsustainable. One of the biggest political financial disasters of all time. Unfortunately many past working generations were roped into a fraud and now it’s rob Peter to pay Paul knowing full well Peter is getting bent the fuck over with ZERO possibilities of ever being paid back. Going to have to overhaul the system as a whole. But Trump did make sure finances were set aside for food stamps (or whatever cute term is used today).

Agreed.

I like to let Karl Denninger rant about Social Security & Health Care for me.

I think he does a better job.

He has some good articles about the un-sustainability of Social Security.


Looks like Pelosi can play games with the State of the Union ?!

https://apnews.com/d90578a1687049e9a67db01582ce4278

"Pelosi left unclear what would happen if Trump insisted on coming despite the welcome mat being pulled away. It takes a joint resolution of the House and Congress to extend the official invitation and set the stage.

“We’ll have to have a security evaluation, but that would mean diverting resources,” she told reporters when asked how she would respond if Trump still intended to come. “I don’t know how that could happen.”

Pressure on Trump intensified on the 26th day of the shutdown, as lawmakers from both parties scrambled for solutions. At the White House, Trump met a bipartisan group of lawmakers, as well as a group of Republican senators, but progress appeared elusive.

While his own advisers said the shutdown was proving a greater drag on the economy than expected, Trump showed no signs of backing off a fight that he views as vital for his core supporters.

On Wednesday, Trump signed legislation into law affirming that the roughly 800,000 federal workers who have been going without pay will ultimately be compensated for their lost wages. That was the practice in the past.

As he weighs a response to Pelosi, Trump could not go forward with a State of the Union address in Congress without her blessing. Donald Ritchie, former historian of the Senate, said that anytime a president comes to speak, it must be at the request of Congress. Trump could opt to deliver a speech somewhere else, like the Oval Office, but it would not have the same ritualistic heft."
 

White Beard

Active member
“What if I told you...” that all that crap about what’s wrong with Social Security is a deliberate lie, intended to increase public distrust in government? Just like the lie that we can give trillions to our already-well-compensated ruling class and then demand the rest of the nation tighten belts to pay for it?
 

Badfishy1

Active member
“What if I told you...” that all that crap about what’s wrong with Social Security is a deliberate lie, intended to increase public distrust in government? Just like the lie that we can give trillions to our already-well-compensated ruling class and then demand the rest of the nation tighten belts to pay for it?

If you could provide concrete numbers I would give them a gander. Would you say you put in the same amount of money per month then as you draw now? Truly curious, not talking shit
 

Badfishy1

Active member
Agreed.

I like to let Karl Denninger rant about Social Security & Health Care for me.

I think he does a better job.

He has some good articles about the un-sustainability of Social Security.


Looks like Pelosi can play games with the State of the Union ?!

https://apnews.com/d90578a1687049e9a67db01582ce4278

"Pelosi left unclear what would happen if Trump insisted on coming despite the welcome mat being pulled away. It takes a joint resolution of the House and Congress to extend the official invitation and set the stage.

“We’ll have to have a security evaluation, but that would mean diverting resources,” she told reporters when asked how she would respond if Trump still intended to come. “I don’t know how that could happen.”

Pressure on Trump intensified on the 26th day of the shutdown, as lawmakers from both parties scrambled for solutions. At the White House, Trump met a bipartisan group of lawmakers, as well as a group of Republican senators, but progress appeared elusive.

While his own advisers said the shutdown was proving a greater drag on the economy than expected, Trump showed no signs of backing off a fight that he views as vital for his core supporters.

On Wednesday, Trump signed legislation into law affirming that the roughly 800,000 federal workers who have been going without pay will ultimately be compensated for their lost wages. That was the practice in the past.

As he weighs a response to Pelosi, Trump could not go forward with a State of the Union address in Congress without her blessing. Donald Ritchie, former historian of the Senate, said that anytime a president comes to speak, it must be at the request of Congress. Trump could opt to deliver a speech somewhere else, like the Oval Office, but it would not have the same ritualistic heft."

Interesting article. Not really sure in the grand scheme of things ‘ritualistic heft’ matters. Meh maybe he should just give it in the Oval Office.... once again saving money on SS detail doesn’t exactly sound like a BAD thing
 

St. Phatty

Active member
Interesting article. Not really sure in the grand scheme of things ‘ritualistic heft’ matters. Meh maybe he should just give it in the Oval Office.... once again saving money on SS detail doesn’t exactly sound like a BAD thing

I think Trump's base would have no problem with him doing the SOTU from the Oval Office.

It would re-affirm his "Maverick" identity.

The problem isn't the SOTU location. Heck let him rent a football stadium.


Together Trump, Pelosi, & whoever else are trying to prolong the shutdown for political reasons = Thelma & Louise, driving the country off a Cliff.

But Thelma & Louise were prettier ... and it was just a movie.


I think the desire for a wall is valid. I would make it one side of an aqueduct and make the $5 Billion part of a larger national aqueduct system for dealing with floods & droughts.

If only Trump & Pelosi could suffer directly from the ramifications of their game of chicken. Place a cattle-prod into their privates and give them a 1000+ Volts when someone gets hurt because of their delay.

When a family loses loved ones in a 2019 fire because of a lack of Federal firefighters, let Trump & Pelosi be on the receiving end of that family's grief.

American leaders are WAAAY too insulated from the effects of their actions.
 

Badfishy1

Active member
I think Trump's base would have no problem with him doing the SOTU from the Oval Office.

It would re-affirm his "Maverick" identity.

The problem isn't the SOTU location. Heck let him rent a football stadium.


Together Trump, Pelosi, & whoever else are trying to prolong the shutdown for political reasons = Thelma & Louise, driving the country off a Cliff.

But Thelma & Louise were prettier ... and it was just a movie.


I think the desire for a wall is valid. I would make it one side of an aqueduct and make the $5 Billion part of a larger national aqueduct system for dealing with floods & droughts.

If only Trump & Pelosi could suffer directly from the ramifications of their game of chicken. Place a cattle-prod into their privates and give them a 1000+ Volts when someone gets hurt because of their delay.

When a family loses loved ones in a 2019 fire because of a lack of Federal firefighters, let Trump & Pelosi be on the receiving end of that family's grief.

American leaders are WAAAY too insulated from the effects of their actions.

True. These kunts NEVER feel the ramifications of their high stakes chicken
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Is this what you might call 'A Mexican Stand-Off?'.....lol



* A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. As a result, all participants need to maintain the strategic tension, which remains unresolved until some outside event makes it possible to resolve it.

The term Mexican standoff was originally used in the context of using firearms and today still commonly implies a situation in which the parties face some form of threat from the other parties. The Mexican standoff is a recurring trope in cinema, in which several armed characters hold each other at gunpoint.
 

Stoner4Life

Medicinal Advocate
ICMag Donor
Veteran


I'm all in with Feb. 23rd @ 5:22pm as lynch mobs are pounding on the White House doors calling for the head of the boy king, he owns this bitch lock stock n' barrel.......

by then trump is gonna wish he had a 30 barrier wall around the friggin' WH ;)
 

Gry

Well-known member


I'm all in with Feb. 23rd @ 5:22pm as lynch mobs are pounding on the White House doors calling for the head of the boy king, he owns this bitch lock stock n' barrel.......

by then trump is gonna wish he had a 30 barrier wall around the friggin' WH ;)
How many would remember a previous such
experience in the Nixon Administration.
Out of a sense of fear, the White House
was surrounded by buses.
 

St. Phatty

Active member
WOW !!

A good article that explained the Effect the Fed. Shutdown has on the Wildfire folks -

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/w...wn-taking-toll-wildfire-preparations-60436683

"Just two months after a wildfire wiped out Paradise, California, officials are gearing up for this year's fire season and fear the government shutdown could make it even more difficult than one of the worst in history.

The winter months are critical for wildfire managers who use the break from the flames to prepare for the next onslaught, but much of that effort has ground to a halt on U.S. land because employees are furloughed. Firefighting training courses are being canceled from Tennessee to Oregon, piles of dead trees are untended in federal forests and controlled burns to thin dry vegetation aren't getting done.

Although the furloughs only affect federal employees, the collaborative nature of wildland firefighting means the pain of the four-week-long shutdown is having a ripple effect — from firefighters on the ground to federal contractors and top managers who control the firefighting strategy.


State and local crews who need training classes, for example, are scrambling without federal instructors. Conservation groups that work with the U.S. Forest Service to plan wildfire-prevention projects on federal lands are treading water. Annual retreats where local, state and federal firefighting agencies strategize are being called off.

The fire season starts as early as March in the southeastern United States, and by April, fires pop up in the Southwest. Last year's most devastating fire leveled the Northern California town of Paradise just before Thanksgiving, leaving just a few months to prepare between seasons.

"I think a lot of people don't understand that while there's not fire going on out there right now, there's a lot of really critical work going on for the fire season — and that's not getting done," said Michael DeGrosky, chief of the Fire Protection Bureau for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

It's especially important with climate change making wildfire seasons longer, deadlier and more destructive.

DeGrosky was supposed to be teaching a course this week for firefighters who want to qualify for the command staff of a fire management team. But the class was canceled without instructors from federal agencies.

Similar classes were called off in Oregon and Tennessee, and others face the same fate as the shutdown drags on. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats are at odds over funding for a border wall.

A dozen senators from Oregon, California, New Mexico, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, West Virginia and Michigan sent a letter this week to Trump warning that the shutdown would put lives at risk this coming fire season. Classes necessary for fire incident managers, smokejumpers and hotshot crews are in jeopardy in the near future, the senators said.

Smokejumpers parachute into remote forests to battle blazes not inaccessible by firefighters on the ground and hotshot crews are small groups of elite firefighters trained to battle the most ferocious flames.

The winter is also when seasonal firefighters apply for jobs, get the required drug tests and move to where they will train and work. In many cases, there's no one to answer the phone or process the applications, and some potential recruits may decide to work elsewhere to avoid the hassle.

"Even if the shutdown ends and we start hiring people, we will have missed the cream of the crop," DeGrosky said.

The U.S. Forest Service said in an email that the agency was committed to hiring for temporary and permanent firefighting positions and would continue critical training "to the extent feasible."

The first session of an apprenticeship program for wildland firefighters went ahead this week, Forest Service spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said.

"The agency is assessing and prioritizing the activities we are able to maintain while in shutdown status. We are unable to speculate on specific impacts while the government shutdown is ongoing and ever-changing," O'Connor said in a statement.

Conservationists and fire managers say there are other concerns.

Clearing and thinning projects and planned burns on federal land that could lessen fire danger by weeding out flammable debris also are largely on hold in California, Oregon and elsewhere. Private contractors say they have received letters telling them to stop the work.

There's already a backlog of such projects in federal forests in Oregon and Northern California, said Michael Wheelock, president of Grayback, a private contractor in Grants Pass, Oregon.

Intentional fires can only be set in a narrow winter window before temperatures and humidity falls — and that is rapidly closing, Wheelock said.

"Every week that goes by, it's going to start increasing the impact," he said."

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

For me, the funnest times to do controlled burns is in pouring rain, when snow is on the ground, etc. Because there's no concern about fire safety.

Of course the fed. contractors have a different goal/purpose than "fun".


If this was a movie, it would start with opening scenes from Napa-Sonoma 2017, Redding 2018, and Paradise 2018.

Then some close-ups of CO2 meters. Maybe some interviews with Cannabis growers talking about how CO2 increases plant growth.

Right now we're 1/4 way through the movie.
 

Cannavore

Well-known member
Veteran
“What if I told you...” that all that crap about what’s wrong with Social Security is a deliberate lie, intended to increase public distrust in government? Just like the lie that we can give trillions to our already-well-compensated ruling class and then demand the rest of the nation tighten belts to pay for it?

this is 100% correct. decades of fascist rhetoric against the government has convinced people the government is the enemy lol.
same thing happened with the post office. republicans defund it and then point their fingers and go look at how ineffecient muh govt is. its a classic tactic. education is no different. unions, ect. they sabotage shit and seek privatization as the answer.



also, remove the cap on taxable income for social security and all "problems" the program has goes away.

why should someone making $115k a year be taxed into social security at a 100% rate while someone whos making $2.5m a year is taxed only on their first $115k of their income for social security.

same goes for income tax brackets. why is the top rate left open ended? why are the capital gains rates lower than the income rates? why should someone who is making $600k a year have the same income tax rate as someone making $10m a year?

the entire system is rigged for the rich
 

Cannavore

Well-known member
Veteran
fuck this shutdown though. it's messing with the flow of mail over here or something. i have two packages that i've been waiting for all week to show up and they still haven't come.
 
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