Day: April 3, 2020

You Think You Are Retired?

Closing Thought–03Apr20

For all those recently retired folk from the military…..keep an eye on the news for you are only retired if the military says you are retired…..

Covid-19 may be the straw that broke the retired camel’s back……

What the Hell could the old professor be blabbing about, right?

Glad you asked……

The Pentagon will call back a number of retired and reserve troops to help fight the pandemic, after President Trump issued an executive order Friday night. He did not say if anyone would be returned to service who didn’t agree to it, the Washington Post reports. The order covers retirees, though, and Trump said some of them have “offered to support the nation in this extraordinary time of need.” Under the order, Defense Secretary Mark Esper is to return units and members of the National Guard and Reserves, as well as some Individual Ready Reserve members, to active duty, per the Military Times. “Decisions about which individuals may be activated are still being reviewed,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement issued after midnight.

No one said how many troops will be brought back, but an Army spokesman said roughly 15,000 veterans have shown interest. Recalls of Ready Reserve forces are rare, per Stars and Stripes. Trump’s order says returned troops could be kept on active duty for as long as 24 months. Those brought back would mostly fill headquarters jobs and medical roles, the Pentagon said. The Army had asked some veterans who were medical care providers last week if they were interested in returning to duty. “When the Nation called — you answered, and now, that call may come again,” Lt. Gen. Thomas C. Seamands wrote to them.

So if you are recently retired…..DO NOT get too comfortable in that retirement…..your recall may be in the mail….

On March 29, the Army’s Human Resources Command sent messages to nearly 10,000 soldiers in the IRR asking for volunteers to put the uniform back on, Lt. Col. Emanuel OrtizCruz, an Army spokesman, confirmed to Military.com. The messages went out to those who had served in military occupational specialties including family nurse practitioner; critical care nursing; emergency nursing; nurse anesthetists; generalist nurse; and respiratory specialist, he said.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/03/31/army-asks-10000-recently-separated-soldiers-come-back-virus-fight.html

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“lego ergo scribo”

Your Stim Check

This is info for those Social Security recipients like myself…..good news is that your check is in the mail (or will soon be)…..

One of the biggest challenges the Treasury Department has in getting Americans their checks from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package is tracking down people who don’t file tax returns. Now, at least one key group of nonfilers will see that process expedited. The official word, delivered from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement late Wednesday, per NBC News: “We want to ensure that our senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and low-income Americans receive economic impact payments quickly and without undue burden. Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return need to take no action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account.” Those who don’t have direct deposit info on file with the IRS will receive a paper check.

The move is a reversal of the original IRS wording, which noted seniors and those with low incomes would have to file a “simple” tax return to get the money. Americans can expect to receive an amount that starts out at $1,200 per individual and $500 per child; it starts phasing out for anyone who makes $75,000 or more per year and disappears altogether at $99,000 (double that for married couples), per recent tax returns. Meanwhile, NBC notes that people who owe back taxes or who have delinquent student loan payments won’t be penalized and will receive their stimulus payment in full. Who won’t be getting the funds, or at least not the full amount: anyone who owes child support. Mnuchin has said direct deposits will begin showing up on April 17, with paper checks sent in the mail to follow, per the Washington Post. CNN notes the payments won’t be taxed, according to the IRS.

Remember all those sanctimonious d/bags that hate those that look for free stuff from the government….how many do you think will send their free money back because they do not want “free stuff” from the government?

One more thing my wife took a picture of me while I wait for my check…..

Image

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“lego ergo scribo”

Conventions Update–2020

I recent wrote a post about the two political conventions and their chances of cancellation…..just to refresh your memory…….https://lobotero.com/2020/04/01/how-about-the-conventions/

Since I posted that there has been more information…..

First the Dems……

“There are no plans to cancel the convention and we are not considering a rules change at this time,” Xochitl Hinojosa, the DNC’s communications director, said Monday after news reports that the party is in the process of devising backup plans. “Contingency planning is a routine part of preparations for any convention.”

There are nearly four months until the convention, many Democrats note. But planned walk-throughs of the convention site in Milwaukee have been delayed, according to multiple Democratic sources, and many convention organizing staffers are working from home.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/23/dnc-insists-democratic-convention-on-144714

The RNC is also planning to go forward with their convention…..

President Donald Trump insisted Thursday there is “no way” he would cancel the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for August in Charlotte.

The president made that declaration to Fox TV host Sean Hannity. Trump’s comments came as the novel coronavirus continues its spread in the U.S. and around the world.

“We are definitely planning — it’s toward the end of August,” the president told Hannity. “Somebody was asking today, ‘Will you cancel your convention?’ I said no way I’m going to cancel the convention. We’re going to have the convention, it’s going to be incredible. . . I think we’re going to be in great shape.”

So much more…..
“We are fully committed to holding the Republican convention in Charlotte as planned and re-nominating President Trump. We have not had any substantive conversations about alternative scenarios,” said Richard Walters, the Republican National Committee chief of staff.
 
So these pigs will pray for the virus to subside they can get their candidate out there and some free press that does not involve the pandemic…..they could possibly be giving this virus another petrie dish, an new incubator, …..sad that politicians still have not grasp the severity of this disease and its consequences.
 
These “people” are acting irresponsible and should be replaced as soon as possible…..politics should never replace rational thought and the good of the people.
 
Dems have decided to change their date……
Joe Biden is getting his wish. Democrats on Thursday postponed this summer’s presidential convention by a month, reports Politico and the New York Times. Instead of taking place in July, the party’s four-day event is now scheduled to start August 17 in Milwaukee. The Republican convention is scheduled to start a week later in Charlotte, North Carolina. The challenging party typically holds its convention about a month before the party in power, notes the Hill, but the coronavirus pandemic has made that impossible. At New York magazine, Ed Kilgore notes that buzz is growing that the Democratic convention will “go virtual.” That option is seen as less likely for the Republican gathering, at least for now.
Anything for the dog and pony show……a waste of time and resources.
 
I Read, I Write, You Know
 
“lego ergo scribo”

Are You “Never Trump”?

This is another of those slogans and insults that I find offensive and totally pathetic.  It is nothing more than mental midgets insulting because they are not sharp enough to argue the point.

I have been told that I am a “Never Trump” person and to that I just tell them to visit IST and see what I have written about the president.

For those lazy people and you know who you are I will summarize for your merger mind…..I have been criticizing the president on many issues…immigration, environment, governing style, taxes but I have also come down on his side on several other issues like ending our endless wars…..Trump has made an effort but he needs to go much further but for the most part his foreign policy needs some work and some people that will care for the country and not worry about massaging the genitals of the man.

So to call me a “Never Trump” person is just flat out wrong……I prefer to label myself as “America First” person….everything a president does should be to move this country forward not to the lap of luxury…..

I am not alone there are many GOPers that have left the GOP behind because of the twisting of the conservative faith into a pretzel that benefits NO one but the man at the top (The Man In The High Castle)…..

The phrase “Never Trump” doesn’t do justice to Republicans, or former Republicans, or any non-Democrat who speaks out against the lies, immorality, and nefarious activities of Trump’s Republican Party. It’s an intellectually lazy label born of the clickbait media culture. I guess that’s the reason why the Trump cult loves it, and maybe partially why journalists use it.

But you ask, why is it intellectually lazy?

Because every time Trump, or his sycophants use the term Never Trump, they imply that those Republicans who oppose Trump are corrupt and those who are apolitical are part of some sort of conspiracy. And the truth is, there’s nothing of the sort. David Frum and George Will and Rick Wilson all come to their antipathy toward Trump for different reasons, none of which was for self-gain. The unifying thread is that these people and others, believe that Trump represents such a danger to the Republic that it is important to sublimate their careers, their policy preferences, their tribal identities, in an effort to oppose him.

It’s Not “Never Trump.” It’s “Country First.”

I would never vote for Trump I have better things in mind for my country than what Trump offers.

Plus his reaction and response to the Covid-19 pandemic is just another reason I could not vote for Trump….even though he is trying to buy votes with the peon stim plan…..

WAIT!  I guess I am a “Never Trumper”……who knew?

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Venezuela–WTF?

This post is the 15,000th post I have put on IST! (Damn my fingers are tired…LOL)

Covid-19 is screaming around the globe and the preparations and responses have been pathetic at best…..and yet with all that to deal with Donald the Orange has decided to flex his muscle against Venezuela…..first just a couple of days ago The Trump team put a bounty on the leader of Venezuela…..https://lobotero.com/2020/03/30/venezuela-the-bounty/

We have a naval operation is being carried off along the waters off the coast of Venezuela……

President Trump announced Wednesday that Navy ships are being moved toward Venezuela as his administration beefs up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean following a US drug indictment against Nicolás Maduro, the AP reports. The president’s announcement was a break from the daily White House press briefing to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, which has left much of the country in lock-down and which the government warns could cause 100,000 to 240,000 deaths. “The Venezuelan people continue to suffer tremendously due to Maduro and his criminal control over the country, and drug traffickers are seizing on this lawlessness,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said after the president’s announcement.

The mission involves sending additional Navy warships, surveillance aircraft, and special forces teams to nearly double the US counter-narcotics capacity in the Western Hemisphere, with forces operating both in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Esper said the mission would be supported by 22 partner nations. The enhanced mission has been months in the making but has taken on greater urgency following last week’s indictment of Maduro, Venezuela’s embattled socialist leader, and members of his inner circle and military. They are accused of leading a narcoterrorist conspiracy responsible for smuggling up to 250 metric tons of cocaine a year into the US, about half of it by sea.
Really?
 
Sorry but I think that a concentration on handling the virus is far more important than a desire for regime change.
 
I Read, I Write, You Know
 
“lego ergo scribo”