16 Comments
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Jay Berman's avatar

Eli Wallach Was brilliant as Tuco

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SGman's avatar

Small correction: Spaghetti Westerns were mostly shot in Spain.

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Chris J. Karr's avatar

Schools in Chicago are recruiting volunteers to help patrol and warn of ICE incursions as they close out the season with holiday plays and concerts for students and their families.

We just need our own Ennio Morricone score.

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Curtis Stinespring's avatar

Are they recruiting parents or are they teaching lawlessness and insurrection at an early age?

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Kern's avatar

Well, things might have been worse: A President Harris comes to mind.

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Chris J. Karr's avatar

Out of curiosity, how do you think a President Nikki Haley would be doing about now?

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Curtis Stinespring's avatar

Nikki Haley would do well, but she would lack the will required for shutting down the border and mass deportations and getting trade concessions.

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SGman's avatar

New info on the "warrior dividend": as there was no appropriation for it from Congress, the money is actually just being moved from the military's housing allowance fund.

I think this makes it a net negative for the troops because their housing allowance is tax exempt - and assumedly their pay/bonuses is not.

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SGman's avatar

I don't trust the admin's statements on it, nor should servicemembers. How is it not taxable? If it's income, it is taxable. What law is being used to both appropriate or otherwise re-use these funds, and how does it affect taxability?

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Cooter's avatar

Excludable income.

Apparently, it is a one-time *supplement* to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and per the IRS the BAH is excludable.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5654855-military-service-members-bonus/

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/4491_military_income.pdf

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SGman's avatar
11hEdited

If it's still just a housing allowance, then it ain't a dividend or bonus.

But then one assumes it has to be spent on housing for it to be kosher.

So is this just Trump BS?

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Cooter's avatar

I thought we were discussing taxability.

Call it whatever you want. It is a line item on the pay voucher and more money in the pay. If one is approved for off-post housing, then he/she draws a housing allowance. How that allowance is spent is up to the service member. They shop for a place to live. The Department of the Army, Navy, etc. does not monitor how the money is spent. If one can find a room, apartment, a bridge to sleep under, and the cost is less than the allowance, then the balance can be used for food, whiskey, massage parlors, whatever.

Back in the day, stationed at Ft Bragg, I moved from the officer's quarters to an apartment in Fayetteville. There were no reporting requirements for my housing allowance; it was just more dough.

If you think that is not "kosher" (or is "Trump BS") then write to your representatives in Congress.

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SGman's avatar
6hEdited

That's not how it works - it's only for housing.

So: sounds like fraud is happening.

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Curtis Stinespring's avatar

First-world problems. Why do we need iRobots? $12billion to USA farmers is far better than $50billion to USAID. How are you doing personally? I know David is suffering through a Community Coffee crisis. I am doing well because I adjust to change even though my income is relatively fixed at a level near the median household income and I have to plan for assisted care for my wife and myself in the near future.

I think things are going very well. I am getting what I voted for and am optimistic about 2026.

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