Trump 'Deal'

 What President Donald Trump has laid out....if you work for the federal gov't....you can get a buy-out....worth seven months’ salary....if you opt-out to leave the job by Feb. 6. 

So you have a week a week....more or less...to take the deal.

If you remain past 6 Feb, and get terminated.....your deal will be a lot less than seven months of salary.

I would imagine at least 100k folks are sitting at the table and talking to their spouse about the deal.

If you were on a GS salary of $110k a year? You were making $9100 a month (before taxes/social security).  Trump's deal would get you $64k roughly.  

A plan?  Well....you are probably existing in a job-situation  that begs  questions. If you were around 62....you'd take the cash...retire early and sell the Maryland/Virginia house....escaping off to Tennessee or Iowa.

If  you were age 55?  This would scare the crap out of you....you need five to seven more years to reach a safe point.

If you were in your 30s? Absolute fear.

My humble guess? I'll suggest that 10,000 take the deal....with another 30,000 waking up in June....grasping their job is gone and they can't get a 7-month  deal. 

The Reverse On Kicked-Out Military Folks?

 President Trump issued an E/O....which basically says....if you were kicked out of the military (2022/2023) because you refused the Covid vax....you will be offered a chance to re-enter, and paid all lost wages.

I sat and contemplated the wage stuff.  For an E-6 (figure 12 to 16 years in)....with housing figured....three years minimum to be paid....so in the $120k-plus paid out. 

A smart guy will take the re-enter deal....put the $120k into a IRA/stock, and work three to six additional years...then retire (collecting his pension).

How many folks?  Well...for active duty folks....up around 8k to 9k.

Some bad blood lingering?  If you were one of these folks and come across the commander who pushed you out....it's not going to be a friendly matter. 

The smart guy here?  If you were approaching age forty....ready to clear out and retire with 22 years of service by 2030....that $120k invested wisely....by age fifty....could put you into a terrific early retirement position.  

Four Observations

 1.  If you are a California resident....owning property, and paying taxes yearly....you kinda figure that the money will go your safety and security (the fire department and police).  So when the money ends up in homeless 'free-money-pits' or going toward migration programs....you lose trust.

2.  Various social media sources in Washington report that psychologists are being invited in to explain how to handle Trump-stress....within political figure groups. I would imagine therapy and shots of whiskey are being offered.

3.  Senate seats flipping to Republican in 2026?  Georgia, Michigan.  Republican  Senators likely forced out by primary action....Cornyn of Texas, Graham of SC, Tillis of NC, and McConnell of KY.

4.  There's some statistical data showing car accidents rate increases....if you have sleep apnea.

Reading Level Story

 I read a piece today....saying from across America...that 54-percent of Americans read at the sixth-grade level OR BELOW.

I paused over this.  

Lets be honest....if you lined up 100 kids who graduated high school in the last year.....probably half of them are in the 6th-grade level.  

This making them risky at grasping instructions?  Well....yeah.

Easily BSing them, giving them fake stories?  Well...yeah.

One of My Military Stories

 It was a ironclad rule of the  Air Force....you show up for a military-contracted passenger flight....you had to be in dress-uniform (Army, Air Force, Navy)....it didn't matter. 

I showed up in St Louis, for one of these passenger flights....early 1990s.  Military folks doing tickets/boarding.

Air Force couple shows up in uniform, and gets their boarding pass....boards....then goes to the plane toilet.....changing out of the uniform in jogging pants/t-shirts.

Around a dozen passengers (mostly junior officers) go berserk....'you-can't-do-that'.

The couple refuse to comply (they were both E-6's from what I could figure).

Contracted stewardesses refuse to get into this....telling the whiners to shut up.

Within a year....the regulation had changed so on these military-contracted flights....you could wearing civilian clothing.

21 Podcast Folks I Will Occasionally Listen To

 1.  Joe Rogan. Out of every ten  he does (at least in 2024)....I probably caught around six of them.

2. Ian Carroll. The king of conspiracy chatter. He researches these, and lays out the pieces.

3.'I Allegedly' (Dan).  Find it off YouTube.   If you have interest in business/commerce or financial news....he does a 15-minute piece each day.  Blunt talk....often critical. 

4.  Robert Sepehr. Find it via YouTube.  PhD-level thinker. He does one 'talk' about every two weeks....diving deep a topic.

5. Valuetainment, off Youtube.  30 minute piece at  least twice a week. Lean right. Commerce and analysis chatter. 

6. Danny Jones, off YouTube.  Half of what he doe....you can disregard in 10 minutes.  But he brings on guests and  about half  of these interviews are  really far out on science/history.....worth an hour of your time.

7.  Sabbatical, off  YouTube.  This guy travels constantly, to historical locations (even dangerous places)....giving you a 5-star history lesson.  

8.  Joe Blogs, off YouTube. Business and commerce analysis....lot of Russian finance views. Ton of graphs/charts.  Might be the 5-star master economist.

9. Paul in the Philippines, off YouTube.  Retired guy living in the Philippines. Interesting interviews with mostly guys who left the US, and living their life-dream there. 

10. Metal Leo, off YouTube.  Does video-walking tours of SF.  Highly critical of SF decay.

11.  Lex Fridman, off YouTube.  Half of his talks are science-related. High IQ  analysis.  

12.  Chris Williamson, off YouTube. Does 5 interviews a week....I'd say 3 of them are usually worth  listening.   I'd call him Joe-Rogan-lite.

13.  Uneducated Economist, off  YouTube.  Self-taught economist....working out of a lumber yard.  Takes complicated topics finance/economics...makes it simple.

14.  News For Reasonable People. Off YouTube. Real estate guy.....covers news affecting public.  Blunt criticism.

15. Ric Bender. Off YouTube.  Daily economy news.  Simple format....easy to follow.

16. Triggernometry. Off YouTube.  2 Brit comedians who actually do serious interviews. 

17.  Whats Going On With Shipping. Off YouTube.  Literally...ONLY stuff about ships/freight.  If you see some stuff about a freighter lost....tune over to this to find the whole story. 

18.  Dr Todd Grande.  Off YouTube.  Weird, weird, weird.  He examines the mental side of crazy nutcases.  

19.  1420.  Off YouTube.  Russian guy who does interviews of Russians on the street.  You might be surprised  how Russians relate things.

20.  Liz Wheeler.  Off YouTube.  Daily news analysis. Interesting pieces.

21.  Katie Hopkins.  Off YouTube.   Brit comedian.  

Political Chatter

 1.  At this point (spring of 2024)....CNN, CBS, and MSNBC look to be in serious shape.  A help in the summer build-up for mid-term elections?  Zero.

2.  President Trump has put tremendous pressure on California to build a voter-ID-requirement....if they want federal help to rebuild LA.  They need cash-flow by mid-summer, and this requirement....if accomplished.....would likely wipe out more than 100,000 fake voters.

3.  What does Florida's Governor de Santis do after November 2026's election?  Just betting....he's brought to DC to be the unelected House Speaker for a year.  (It is legal for the Speaker to be a non-member).

4. I will predict at least 20 Democratic-held House Seats and 5 Senate seats....go  to the Republicans. 

5.  Prediction: Greenland does not become a US state/territory...but they vote for independence and sign a major treaty with the US.

6. My prediction: the US quietly removes most  US troops from Europe by the end of 2026.  EUCOM headquarters is the only element left.

7.  I would put $100 up on a bet: Hunter Biden gets brought up on fresh new money-laundering charges.