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.
It's mainly been retired folk and Wine Moms in the community. We see kids who are rightfully afraid of their loved ones being disappeared by little Napoleons like Greg Bovino and we're there to give them a little peace of mind (and advance warning).
It's actually been a solid antidote to the urban atomization that can happen (see Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone"), and I'm hoping that the neighborly bonds being forged here can be used for something positive and proactive once we're finished defending our neighbors and neighborhoods from Stephen Miller's Gestapo.
On a side note, every time I see a Trump apologist claim that their opponents are engaging in insurrection, I have a hearty chuckle, so thanks for keeping my spirits bright this holiday season. :-)
I used to be a supporter of immigration enforcement. I am becoming a radical opponent of ICE as it is being run and organized. It is a very dangerous agency. Trump just formally ended what USCIS unofficially killed earlier in the year: the Green Card lottery is dead. DOJ has set goals for pursuing denaturalization cases against citizens who were previously here on legal visas. Being disappeared is not just a left wing fantasy trope anymore. They’re doing it.
Who is being disappeared? I believe you are falling for the never-ending left-wing Trump hating story feeds that are mostly lies. If there are omissions and false entries on naturalization applications, denaturalization is in order. Overstaying visas makes aliens deportable. Interfering with national policies makes aliens deportable. Committing crimes and drug use can make aliens deportable. Working without a permit makes aliens deportable.
Worse than what? I'm getting exactly what I voted for. If I do not get it next year, I will deal with it. Unless the saboteurs who are trying to destroy the success of the administration's policies (and therefore, the USA) succeed, we will do well as a nation.
Politically, economically, socially, militarily and other areas things are going to be worse in 2026, for the nation that is. Certainly for some of us individually things will be ok, but in a general sense, I don't see improvement in the cards.
I'm saying that as we get closer to the return of Jesus Christ, things will get much worse before they get better, in every area of national life. And none of us can change it. I would invite you to read 2 Timothy chapter 3 in the Bible.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Eli Wallach Was brilliant as Tuco
Small correction: Spaghetti Westerns were mostly shot in Spain.
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.
Are they recruiting parents or are they teaching lawlessness and insurrection at an early age?
It's mainly been retired folk and Wine Moms in the community. We see kids who are rightfully afraid of their loved ones being disappeared by little Napoleons like Greg Bovino and we're there to give them a little peace of mind (and advance warning).
It's actually been a solid antidote to the urban atomization that can happen (see Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone"), and I'm hoping that the neighborly bonds being forged here can be used for something positive and proactive once we're finished defending our neighbors and neighborhoods from Stephen Miller's Gestapo.
On a side note, every time I see a Trump apologist claim that their opponents are engaging in insurrection, I have a hearty chuckle, so thanks for keeping my spirits bright this holiday season. :-)
I used to be a supporter of immigration enforcement. I am becoming a radical opponent of ICE as it is being run and organized. It is a very dangerous agency. Trump just formally ended what USCIS unofficially killed earlier in the year: the Green Card lottery is dead. DOJ has set goals for pursuing denaturalization cases against citizens who were previously here on legal visas. Being disappeared is not just a left wing fantasy trope anymore. They’re doing it.
Who is being disappeared? I believe you are falling for the never-ending left-wing Trump hating story feeds that are mostly lies. If there are omissions and false entries on naturalization applications, denaturalization is in order. Overstaying visas makes aliens deportable. Interfering with national policies makes aliens deportable. Committing crimes and drug use can make aliens deportable. Working without a permit makes aliens deportable.
Chuckle away. Comfortably living with 600 homicides and 75,000 other violent crimes each year must be a Chicago thing.
Well, things might have been worse: A President Harris comes to mind.
Out of curiosity, how do you think a President Nikki Haley would be doing about now?
Nikki Haley would do well, but she would lack the will required for shutting down the border and mass deportations and getting trade concessions.
Sorry, Curtis, 2026 will only get worse. But I am happy that you and yours are doing well.
Worse than what? I'm getting exactly what I voted for. If I do not get it next year, I will deal with it. Unless the saboteurs who are trying to destroy the success of the administration's policies (and therefore, the USA) succeed, we will do well as a nation.
Politically, economically, socially, militarily and other areas things are going to be worse in 2026, for the nation that is. Certainly for some of us individually things will be ok, but in a general sense, I don't see improvement in the cards.
So you are saying that the haters will prevail over common sense.
I'm saying that as we get closer to the return of Jesus Christ, things will get much worse before they get better, in every area of national life. And none of us can change it. I would invite you to read 2 Timothy chapter 3 in the Bible.
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.
https://themilitarywallet.com/warrior-dividend/
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?
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
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?
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.
That's not how it works - it's only for housing.
So: sounds like fraud is happening.
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.