Free Republic

That. One of the best posts I’ve ever seen in any personal finance related thread in the twelve years I’ve been a FReeper. I would add to the “it’s how much you spend” part of the plan by saying “it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you keep.”

The plan you describe works nearly every time it’s tried.
____________________________________________________________
I agree...found the post very thoughtful/helpful in explaining retirement financials.

We’ve put aside retirement funds since I was in my early 20’s. Always 15-20%...between retirement and personal savings. I just always went on the assumption that SS would not be there when I retired and so I had to be able to have enough put aside. The DH always put aside around 10-15% of his earnings as well (between retirement and savings). He also has a defined retirement plan.

We’ve been fortunate that our kids and grandkids have been self reliant and have never needed a ‘hand’. And they’ve been building their own nest eggs since they all started working.

I think for us, it’s our German/Dutch heritage...frugal and thrifty. :) And self reliant when it comes to finances.

Is there really more than one kind of ass?

I feel sadness for the poor brother who shot his sister. He will likely be messed up his entire life.

I do feel for parents...but they showed a remarkable amount of careless disregard for safety.

John King....more than enough.

He is a dangerous narcissist who thinks the rules do no apply to him.

I totally agree w/ you. Sanford only seems to think about his needs. He wasn’t thinking about his constituients when he was off cheating on his wife. Certainly wasn’t thinking about his kids...

It seems he’s such a whackadoodle...he even asked his ex wife if she would run this campaign for him. Idiot.

I do not see this as his wife trying to get back at him...all this happened some months back and is only now being made public.

He’ll probably still win this election.

Wow...I thought it was great for the price. We really enjoyed ourselves. But I do prefer Hawaii.

Um, that argument doesn’t resonate much with me, considering I could easily done without both Bush and Obama having political careers.
_____________________________________________________________
Ditto that. And may I also add, could have done w/o Bill Clinton too.

Good heavens I can’t stand Chuck ‘let me stroke my stache’ Todd. Little weasel. Spouse likes to watch the local news at lunch at there was Chuck in all of his ‘glory’. Lost my lunch is what I did.

I think Todd looks like ‘that’ guy who everyone avoids at business functions because you just know he’s got garlic breath and wears too much freaking cologne. Blech.

I love the shoes...OMG...I love the shoes.

Lindsay...not so much. And even if this gets me booted off of FR...hell no to boots on the ground in Syria. Just no.

I would like to add my thanks for your response. It is nice to know that there are men who understand the difference between consesual sex and sex with an intoxicated or drugged female.

Might I add that the people who watched this, recorded this and did not help this woman will, IMO, be living in hell on earth until their dying days. Only a pyschopath would not realize the horrific event they witnassed. I am not “the” judge, but I believe HE will judge all of these dispicable people in the most harshest ways.

And if you are not a believer, I am guessing you may well at least believe in karma. And karma, SHE does bite back? Hard.

I think it is very hard to pick a pol to support unless you view like an ala carte menu. With Rand, it may be that he has a few ideas I support, but he may well come out with a bunch of ideas I cannot abide. For me, I then have to determine if the pol supports some issue that will I WILL not, CANNOT abide.

Right now, I am not convinced I would support Rand for any higher office. Luckily, there is lots of time before I need to throw my support to any ONE pol.

To me it makes no difference which president made the most recess appointments. The intent of the recess appointment was to fill a position vacated during that particular recess and the process of the recess appointment has gradually been abused.
____________________________________________________________
We are in agreement.

Presidents have been making recess appointments for a long time. Reagan and Bush, Clinton and Obama....all of them have made these sort of appointments. I think it’s a good thing if the SC takes a look at this issue.

Under the Constitution, the President and the Senate share the power to make appointments to the highest-level politically appointed positions in the federal government. The Constitution also empowers the President unilaterally to make a temporary appointment to such a position if it is vacant and the Senate is in recess. Such an appointment, termed a recess appointment, expires at the end of the following session of the Senate.

As of October 31, 2008, President Bush had made 171 recess appointments.President William J. Clinton, in comparison, made a total of 139 recess appointments during the course of his presidency. Of President Bush’s 171 recess appointments, 99 were to full-time positions, and the remaining 72 were to part-time positions. Thirty were made during recesses between Congresses or between sessions of
Congress (intersession recess appointments). The remaining 141 were made during recesses within sessions of Congress (intrasession recess appointments).

Bush ranks fourth among modern presidents in granting such appointments, bypassing the Senate 165 times to get his nominees in place, according to the Senate historian’s office. Ronald Reagan holds the record with 243 appointments.

What is the difference between classic socialism and political socialism?
______________________________________________________________
I was probably not exact w/ my wording. But I do find, that there is a distinction between a ‘social’ society and ‘socialism’.

Under my wording, “classic socialism” would be the act of ‘living in a community: living or preferring to live as part of a community or colony rather than alone’. So under that definition, churches, schools, libraries, clubs....are a part of a social society. Getting together for the ‘common’ good. I don’t think of that as being a male or female ‘thing’. I do think, at least among the women I know, that they prefer to live in a community vs living alone.

“Political socialism” would be the economic system that seeks to manage the economy or part of the economy, through deliberate and collective social control. In my mind, socialism does not equate to communism. But through my inexact word use of calling something political socialism, I have equated socialism w/ communism.

To be clear, I am not advocating that the U.S. moves to a more European, socialistic economy.

Or we could toss the entire laughable discussion on this thread and just realize that we cannot deprive half the population of rights, whatever our perception of the cost.
______________________________________________________________
Yes. I was having a similar conversation w/ my spouse. It’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle, to use a cliche. Women do in fact have the right to vote in the United States. For which I am grateful.

It is up to women (and men) to make sure they are educated on the issues and that they do not squander their vote on superficial issues. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<But that is exactly what led to this discussion. What I may find superficial or unimportant....is what someone else finds very important.

Yes, freedom is only ensured through killing, it’s been that way throughout history. I don’t picking a fight with a vet is a good thing, and it’s counter productive.

As a retired soldier myself, I would have to say I hope your service record doesn’t include combat, that’s a sure way to wreck society too. Men and women are different, one is not better than the other, we’re just different, together we can make some dang good teams, but combat is one area where I will never want to see a woman of any kind.

____________________________________________________________
I wasn’t picking a fight with a vet. A poster implied that killing is the only way to insure freedom. You don’t have to be a vet to believe that...and you don’t have to believe that if you are a vet.

I am a vet and I don’t think killing is always the solution to keeping freedom. I also believe that we are sometimes obligated to put our lives on the line to protect freedom. To me there is a distinction between saying that killing/war is the only way vs saying I am willing to kill to preserve our freedom. I don’t personally think war should be the first resort a nation or a people take to preserve or gain freedom.

As for my service record, let me say that I don’t think the person who drops the bomb or shoots the bullet are the only service members who protect a nation. The thing about being in the service is that it’s about being part of a team. You give up your individuality in service because it’s NOT about ‘you’ it’s about us. All of us.

The enemy didn’t care about what my role was...they just saw a uniform. And if they could kill me...they wouldn’t give a fig for what my title was.

I will also add this...one does not have to be in combat to have killed in the line of duty.

You demonstrate my point with aplomb.

The word “histrionics” was coined for a reason.
____________________________________________________________
Oh my. If you think my sarcastic response was histrionics, you need to expand your horizons.

Or perhaps not. Given your delicate nature, you should probably stay cloistered in your all male society. Cause as we all know, men are so even tempered and have such a docile temper.

If only men ruled the world....what a marvelous place this would be. :)

I know. THAT’s what you were saying. So really, we agree. //sarc

The bigger question is, are women more susceptable to communism than men?
______________________________________________________________
Not sure about communism, but IMO, women probably are more tolerant of a socialistic society...in the classic meaning....not the political meaning.

I think that communism as a economic doctrine has proven to be a failure. And thank goodness for that!

from those forms of oppression that are characteristically female in nature.

______________________________________________________________

What forms of oppression are female in nature? Not sure if we agree or disagree...as I don’t know what you’re referring to.

Do you think men and women are the same?
_________________________________________________________
In what sense Charlie? //smile

There are many ways in which I believe men and women are different. But as a conservative woman, I do not believe that any one gender is better than another. I don’t blame men for he ill’s of society....I blame mankind....which in my mind encompasses both genders.

How much of Europe is speaking German right now?
____________________________________________________________

Again, so? And as a practical matter, a lot of people in Europe speak more than one language. Probably due to the fact that travel is easier now, they are closer together, etc.

But my question had to do w/ killing. Is killing the only method to keep freedom?

President Barack Obama won the two-party vote among female voters in the 2012 election by 12 points, 56% to 44%, over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, Romney won among men by an eight-point margin, 54% to 46%. That total 20-point gender gap is the largest Gallup has measured in a presidential election since it began compiling the vote by major subgroups in 1952.
______________________________________________________________
And? So everything that is wrong happened in the last year? The last 4 years? The last 30 years? Really? Oh, that’s right. Everything bad is due to women having an undue influence on the world stage.

On behalf of all women, okay, just me....please forgive me. I will stop voting and working to elect conservatives in my blue state. Yep, that’s me, sitting back meekly and darning my spouses socks.
//sarc

IMO, it’s the people who don’t pay attention to what is REALLY going on and who behave like freaking sheep following whatever is popular, that are to blame for societal breakdown.

And of course, both sexes are equally known for their reverence of a concept known as “fashion.”
______________________________________________________________
Your response is an indication of picking nits.

You really think that men, especially politicians don’t stick their finger in the wind to see which way the public sentiment is flowing? Of course they do...so do women. THAT was my point.

I was not saying women are better than men...I was saying that when it comes to leading, voting, decision making, no one sex is better than the other.

Yes. I am entitled to my opinion. I have killed to ensure I have that right.

Just as I have killed to ensure yours.
______________________________________________________________
And so what? First off do you think the only way to protect freedom is thru killing? Secondly, you know about my service record how?

They already got the 19th Amendment, and with it destroyed a nation.

What more do they want?
______________________________________________________________
Seriously? I find it quite sad that you feel the need to write such a statement. If you really feel that women have destroyed a nation, you must have a set of blinders on.

The destruction of ‘civilized’ society has most always, IMO, rested on the head of mankind.

Mankind being generic for people. People of both sexes can take the credit and the blame for what goes on in this country. IMO, it’s the people who don’t pay attention to what is REALLY going on and who behave like freaking sheep following whatever is popular, that are to blame for societal breakdown.

And no...I don’t believe it’s women’s fault alone. But you, of course, are entitled to your opinion.

You are right, Christie is just Willard with a Jersey accent. And I will NOT be pushed to support Christie for ANY political office.

Christie’s weight is not the reason I don’t like him.

Republican leaders are threatening to bring on an economic catastrophe unless Democrats make deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Deep cuts to SS and Medicare? Is that even true?
___________________________________________________________
Deep cuts to entitlement programs are being asked for. No one has the cajones to say which entitlements they want to cut. Neither the Republican elite nor the Dem’s are willing to name any specific cuts to entitlements they would agree to. Everyone is just nipping around the edges and not being serious about deficit reduction.

Annoying doesn’t begin to cover it.

Almost everyone agrees there is a problem...it’s math...it’s not tough. You spend $5 but only $4 comes in as revenue. There are diminishing returns to having too high of taxes (revenue). So duh, you need to spend less.

Markey, 66, has served in the House since 1976

And that is why they need to have term limits. Since 1976...really? :::sigh:::

Markey reminds me of our own WA flaming liberal...Jim (I record illegally) McDermitt....but even ol’ Jim hasn’t been in office as long as Markey.

They need to retire to spend more time w/ their families.

I don’t see Mrs Obama as being fat or ugly.** But that nail color...yikes...now THAT is ugly...IMO.

***Just because I don’t think she’s fat and ugly does not mean I agree w/ her politics.

cookin’ up fried mac and cheese balls
______________________________________________________
dang that sounds fabulous. I’m going to have to try to figure out how to make those. Maybe for a play off Sunday appetizer.

We have to make up excuses in my house to eat fried stuff. We think of fried as the exception...kinda like dessert.

I don’t care for the marshmallow and sweet potatoes either. Looking forward to some cream peas and potatoes though.
__________________________________________________________
Did we have the same mother? Gak...my mother made this atrocious sweet potato thing w/ marshmallows all melted on top. No one...no one but my mother ate that sweet goop. Dear mom also was the only one who ate the cranberry jelly that came out of a can. It was my job to cut it up. Which was like the most ridiculous part...as no one but her ate it.

Year later...and I mean years and years...I had fresh cranberries and fell in love. MMMM. Then a few years back someone introduced me to roasted sweet potatoes, coated w/ olive oil,kosher salt and a bit of cumin sprinkled on top. Love that too.

My Christmas ‘thing’ is a very fattening potato dish I make w/ gruyere cheese, heavy cream, onions, butter, garlic and thinly sliced potatoes. Oh my word...divine. And goes nicely with the prime rib the Mr prepares in the smoker. But...Christmas splurges, food, sweets and egg nog drinks, require me to spend a good deal of time on the treadmill. I am NOT going to go into January 5 lbs heavier.

I think I understand your point...particularly regarding Chris Wallace. I do not find Chris Wallace particularly appealing.

I was probably too quick to make assumptions about what you were saying...and reacted too much on the ‘life goes on’ part when referring to the events in Newtown. All life is precious and I accept that you feel that too.

Hope you have a blessed Christmas.

Wow. Your post about life goes on is very hard hearted...IMO.

Life will not go on for the 27 people killed.

Life will not go on as usual for the parents, spouses, family and friends of the 27 people who were murdered.

Life will not go on as usual for Newtown residents.

In the rush to do something...life will probably change for schools all over the United States....just like life changed for all of us after 9-11. Most likely the ‘something’ will be some knee jerk BS that doesn’t make anyone safer. And out here in blue WA state...whatever the ‘something’ is...I guarantee, it will be ineffective in improving safety in our schools.

Yes, people are murdered everyday...children included...and we don’t read about it or see it plastered on our tvs. The fact that the press doesn’t make a big deal about the violence that occurs everyday...does not, in my mind, alter my perceptions of the importance of life.

I hope that I don’t become so jaded w/ religious or political leaders that I get to the point of saying “life goes on” when referring to the brutal murder of anyone.

The GOP lost when they failed to win the Presidency and Senate last month.

This is the crux of the problem...they thought they would win the White House back in 2011 when the Republican leadership :::sigh:::: made the stupid sequester deal in the first place. And these same R idiots are the jokers who pushed Romney out there as our choice.

Standing firm is fine...but then the sequester goes into effect...including increased taxes on everyone and very ugly cuts to defense.

Is Ann a tall woman? Cause, lordy...she has very large hands. And holy smokes...give her a cheeseburger, w/ fries... she is a bag of bones.

Oh...and I’m not overly fond of her opinions. But I’ve always thought she was just out for attention and money.

This is just so freaking sad. Bush? Clinton? There are more than 350 MILLION folks in the US. Let’s assume that only 10% are eligible (yes, low amount)...but that still means 35 million people are eligible to become US President. Are we really down to just two freaking families...Bush and Clinton?

Gak! I thought the last 4 years were trying my last nerve. I do not want Jeb to be my choice.

We don’t have Clinton era tax rates.

We do have Medicare part D (unfunded).

We do have a war still going on (unfunded).

We do have Obama Care. (funded by taxes on us-—sigh).

We have to have major slashing to get to the Clinton era spending %. Which to me...is just the start. Spending needs to go down even farther.

And why may I ask is Congress in session so few days in 2013? Do they plan on doing everything the first week of Jan then just rest on their laurels? If so, why don’t they just get paid by the day? Why the hey do they get generous health care and pensions for working so few days. What a load.

Let’s get going.

How come McLame and Graham are back running the show again??? That poor, miserable Republican Party!
____________________________________________________________

I realize this is a rhetorical question...but really, why the heck is McCain on all the dang time? Why is the guy who lost to Obama in 2008 the voice of the R party? Not that I want Willard to be the voice. But why in the heck doesn’t someone w/ some actual ‘heft’ step up and be a leader?

Gad...it’s going to be a very long 4 more years.

I find him repulsive. He makes my skin crawl.
_____________________________________________________________

ITA. I’ve always thought Matt was kind of icky....in a sleazeball sort of way. Never understood his so called attraction.

That said...I have not watched the Today show since 9/11/01. Being on the west coast...after that fateful day, I only watch ‘live’ news in the morning. Not some old entertainment news program.

I travel a lot and there are so many places I go where I bring my own food because I will NOT eat at any of the establishments. Be they restaurants or grocery store food service.

A friend and I exchange notes on places we will eat at and it usually starts with...well, I didn’t get sick there. Doesn’t matter if it’s a high end place or a ‘dive’.

And I agree...you can usually tell about sanitation by taking a trip to the bathroom. If it’s not clean...I’ll just have a drink and then go w/o any food.

Re Trump...he’s a loud mouth jerk...but I’m not going to blame him for the restaurant in Vegas. It’s not like Trump is a chef. He just licenses his name.

Guy is not gay. But he is a first class jerk. This I know from first hand experience (so to speak). <<<the jerk part

His NY restaurant probably relied more on Guy’s name vs really good food as a business model. Either the food will need to get better or it will go buh bye.

Either way...Guy is still going to be a rich jerk. He’ll be just fine.

Sorry...but I think McCain is being a jackass. If he wanted to know more about what went on...why didn’t McCain attend the briefing re: Bengahzi yesterday? And then when McCain is asked about missing the intel briefing...McCain went into grumpy old man mode.

Hey....we deserve to know what happened. We deserve to know the truth and we deserve to have competent politicians who spend some time doing their real jobs vs yakking on tv. The time to step up and get out the facts is now. What McCain is doing is bs. IMO.

But then, I’ve always thought McCain was an idiot. I voted for him...hated it...but voted for him. At this point, I think he should retire into the AZ sunset.

Schultz is actually on at 8 pm eastern. Tweedle Dumb is on at 7 pm and it’s a repeat. I can see them moving in Ezra for one of Tweedle’s shows.

Ezra is the so called wonk. :::yawn::::

You are assuming that the affair was real, and not a ruse.

You are also assuming that his wife was not complicit in the situation.

I suspect he did have an affair. But that is not a common reason for quitting.
______________________________________________________________

Yes I assume the affair was real. If the wife was complicit (which I don’t think)...I’m sure she did not want it to become public knowledge and humiliate her and her children.

Hey...if you’re going to cheat on your spouse...get a divorce. That part is black and white to me. If he had just got a divorce and wanted to play the field....he would still be the head of CIA and have a bright future. But no, he threw his good name away for a bit of secret side action. Blooming stupid. Arrogant. Stupid.

The affair is not the news...IMO. What’s news is that the head of CIA put himself in the position to be blackmailed. So yes, he did the honorable thing by quitting. But he needs to continue to do the right thing and get his backside to Congress and answer questions put before him. IMO he’s lost any right to having a shred of privacy on this matter. Country first soldier.

You ingrateful sot you.
_____________________________________________________________
I’m not the ungrateful snot. The citizens of Alaska that want to become an independent nation are the ungrateful folks.

There probably isn’t a state in the union that doesn’t have more federal land than they would like to see. Land that someone would like to use and or exploit for profit. Pffft.

re oil: Alaska doesn’t ‘own’ the oil. A big oil company owns the oil.

Did they pee in your fruit loops?
_______________________________________________

Even worse...they peed in my coffee. Can’t have that.

The distinction is one of motives and to whom the information is directed.

Broadly, a whistle blower reports apparent or suspected wrong doing in an approved manner to an agency of government, usually for disinterested reasons, while a leaker provides information to the news media or someone else unapproved for the information in order to gain an advantage or promote a cause of one sort or another.
______________________________________________________________

Thank you for your reasoned response. What you say makes sense. Guess I’m just too quick to draw conclusions about leakers/whistle blowers. But going to the right person w/ information makes sense. I’m not sure in this case why Cantor needed to know about an affair...but then I’m not sure we know everything there is to know about this incident...yet.

Alaska can go ahead and leave. They already rec more in Federal funds than they return. The Federal Gov should sell off the federal lands to the highest bidder and let the Alaskans fend for themselves. Buh, bye.

Sorry...I know too many in Alaska to have any pity for their so called plite. Fooey. Just go.

Cantor knew of the allegation from a whistle blower
____________________________________________________________

Not really directed at Rockingham...just using your post to ask a question.

Why is the person called a whistle blower and not an FBI leaker? IIRC....the ‘wb’ was also an FBI employee. Why isn’t that person slapped down for leaking?

IMO...a whistle blower is someone who testifies about their ‘own’ company...not about someone in another business. It’s not just semantics to me. I don’t like all this leaking from any one. It seems very politically motivated...

But then, I’m a suspicious sort.

If his wife has any pride at all she’ll clean his clock and then move along with her life, solo. He doesn’t deserve another chance.
______________________________________________________________

ITA. This guy doesn’t deserve a second chance...cause I gotta feeling, this was not the first/only misstep the General has made.

Re: trip in front of Congressional hearings, what does his personal life have to do with appearing before Congress? Can’t think of any legitimate reason he should not be able to get his backside into these hearings. We deserve to know what went wrong.

Wait staff is usually underpaid and overworked. IMO.

I don’t consider a tip an entitlement...but earned pay. If I get poor service, they’ve earned less of a tip. If I get good service, they’ve earned a larger tip.

If the food is bad...I do not blame the server. BUT how they handle my commenting on bad food...also will be reflected on the salary they’ve earned from me.