HeloDude

Calling 911 because you're offended...have to love progressivism in this country. I would have arrested the caller for misuse of the emergency services, but it's Connecticut so I'm not surprised they didn't. https://www.theamericanmirror.com/offended-flea-market-shopper-calls-911-over-confederate-merchandise/

Greece is in financial trouble not because of post-large war (like the progressive article compares), but rather due to irresponsible social spending and poor internal monetary policies. Very little will change in Greece as their Sunday vote showed that they want the socialism that they can't afford. Right now giving them more money is throwing good money after bad. Either way, this hurts the Euro, which is a good thing.

Dude, your article emphasized all my points for me--that there is no actual investment going on with the money forcefully taken from you (treasury bonds grows government, not economic productivity). That it relies on force, more and more people paying into it, etc. So I'll see your 'fool.com' article and raise it with one from Forbes... https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardsalsman/2011/09/27/social-security-is-much-worse-than-a-ponzi-scheme/

Social Security in its current form is a Ponzi scheme--pure and simple. The money is collected by the government and borrowed against, thus the only way for your money to grow is for the government to collect more taxes and/or have a a continuous larger pool to collect SS payments from in prefer to pay off the previous payments.

A democracy, in its definition, is tyranny from the majority. It is a state of mob rules. It's why pure democracies should always be feared and will always fail. I can argue that all of these countries that you're referring to have become more of a democracy lately, not less of one...hence the problem.

I agree--Greece is fucked...but they did it to themselves, regardless of whether they have tax evaders or not, it's still their economic policy that did it. The good news is that if they get kicked off the Euro, the Drachma will be worth considerably less and the wife and I can take a trip to Greece on the relatively cheap. As for us, we're fucked, but our history/system will allow itself to survive a bit longer. As for how to fix it--in addition to reducing the spending, how about the federal government sells off some of that massive amount of land it owns in the mountain west and Alaska? A lot of people (referring to American citizens not the international investors) would love to own some of the land in either the BLM or National Forest. Some of that land can be developed for mining/natural resources, and some can be just owned because upper-middle class and rich people want to own some beautiful land without paying an arm and a leg for it (since right now the only land that is for sale is currently owned by someone else). The problem is that the progressives will never allow it as the environmentalists would consider it a tragedy...even to sell 10-20% of it, without touching the national parks. So the progressives would rather just take more of the wealth via taxes, which in turn reduces investment and thus reduces growth. To understand what made our economy massively grow in the late 1800's and the early and mid 1900's, you have to understand the history of what happened at that time...and given the nature of our changing American culture and its politics and the world economy, I don't see how that massive economic growth of the past can ever be seen again. And with our corrupt politicians getting to score their tax/spending bills on silly assumptions that will never happen, it's no suprise that it is not a question of if we're fucked, but when it will truly happen. Eventually one has to make a decision of when the best time to convert those 0 and 1's (that represent our wealth in banks/investments) to tangible assets such as property/land, machinery, precious metals (if you believe they'll still be worth something worth having in the future), supplies, etc. Right now Greeks are trying to salvage what they can from their bank accounts while they still can...theirs is a lesson to be learned out of all this...

I agree for the most part... But what do you think will happen in Greece? Will the Greeks reject the IMF proposals? Will they get kicked off the Euro? How will this affect the rest of the countries on the Euro as well as the U.S. Dollar, the Pound, etc?

Thread revival... Any of you guys paying attention to what's going on with regards to the latest in the fiscal fiasco in Greece? Thoughts on what will or should happen?

A few months ago my staff job O-6 told a few of us that since they haven't been specifically told that they can't use it to rack/stack people that he and others are still using it as one of their metrics.

^^This...

Though the guys 'also' wouldn't want to go in on a BX special watch, that's not their reason for not wanting a 'USAF watch'. I dont think you do, or perhaps it wasnt communicated well. See above. The guys don't want the watch because a lot of people aren't too happy or excited with the 'big blue' USAF (ie the bureaucracy) at the present time. Also, see below:

Possibly, though as I understand it, just like with the last RIF, it all comes down to your core AFSC, and there isn't one for school house IP's (unless it applies to FAIPs, but then again, that would be irrelevant for the O-5 board discussion).

Is an 11T a tanker pilot? Don't they also have the core AFSC of an 11M? Sorry to hear about the non continuation. Good luck in your retirement!

You get continued/not continued after you are passed over twice, ie 1ABZ (not 2ABZ)...so say this guy was prior-E with 3 years TAS, got commissioned, and was passed over twice for O-5, he would be roughly at the 18 year mark, putting him in sanctuary for the standard 20 year retirement. So unless he was only enlisted for 2 years or so, or he is within a couple months of the 18 year mark after being passed over twice, your post isn't making sense. Perhaps I misunderstood or am missing something in the regs?

For Major (with high promotion rates), the PRF accounting date isn't 'as important' (why I focused on O-5 board). As a Major, if you're not in the top 25% then you weren't a school select in your O-4 board (and these days getting picked up for IDE without being a select is very difficult) means that there's not always much of a difference necessarily between a guy in the top 1/3 or a guy in the middle, and that can mean the difference in getting a DP/strong push or not. Most likely the guy signing your PRF, and more importantly the O-5's and O-6's in your chain, are most likely to push harder for a person they know and have seen work hard for the last 2-3 years vs a guy who just PCS'd a few months before they rack and stack the guys meeting their IPZ board. As for AFPC screwing people over on PCS'ing people right before their PRF accounting date, my personal experience (and anecdotal evidence from my buds) is that they try and not do this, especially when you or your CC reminds them of the fact and that delaying the PCS for a few months could mean the difference in your career. YMMV, but if you don't understand the process and aren't at least trying to fight for yourself then you only have yourself to blame for not taking ownership of the process as best you could. Now for those who don't want to make/don't care about making O-5 then sure, do what you want. Unfortunately, these days some really good people are being shown the door early for not getting promoted, which totally sucks, but is the reality. So why not at least try and help yourself as much as you can by just speaking up? Just my $.02

Concur. The last 3-4 years it has always been the first couple of weeks in October. So for you non-top 25% Captains/Majors out there who want a decent shot at making O-5, become familiar with what the PRF accounting date is and work with your leadership (and AFPC) to plan accordingly. PCS'ing to your new job less than a few months before the IPZ PRF accounting date is (in most cases) not recommended...so try not to get lost (and screwed) in the shuffle.

Were you IPZ? If so, damn, that sucks. Any negative indicators (if you don't mind sharing)--failed PT test in the past, LOR, etc? Quick math shows me that 58% of those IPZ got DP's...without doing the math for the previous years, I wonder how this compares to the recent past?

Eventually it will be coming to an Air Force near you!

Won't happen...not anytime soon at least, if even in our lifetime. Besides, even if they can call a convention (2/3 of States), they'll never be able to get 3/4 of the States to ratify anything that takes more power from the progressives/elites in DC and give back more power to the individual States. Off the top of my head, here are the 11 States that will never do so for the reasons the listed above: CA, OR, WA, MD, NY, RI, VT, CT, MA, NJ, and HI...with IL, DE, MN, MI, NM easily being able to fill that 12th spot. Basically look at Obamacare...that should tell you all you need to know. Sorry, for the thread derailment, but this is foundational: The States will continue to lose more control of their Guard units.

They did it to themselves. They ratified the 16th and 17th Amendments which ceded even more power to federal government (16th) and less power to the State Legislatures (17th). And with the power of judicial review, 5 people wearing black robes basically have all the power in the country.

Nearly everything has been heading this way. The progressives and the elites love centralized power as it gives them more power and more control. The States began ceding this power many years ago and (usually) it just continues to get worse and worse, so why would the Guard be any different? If you're going to cut the AD but continue to have the same obligations, of course the Reserve and Guard are going to be affected. The Republic has been deteriorating for quite some time...

I hear what you're saying...but 'better' is pretty lame when you have the GOP running that state year after year and also pledging to be pro-2nd Admenent. The Dems in more left wing States have done a better job enacting stricter gun-control laws compared to how successful the GOP has been in Texas in enacting pro-2A laws. As for the 'civil lawsuits', great, more time wasting time in the courts with useless lawsuits. All they would have had to do is make it a crime for LE to stop people for OC if that is their only reason. Sorry man, but months and months of work on this bill and this is they come up...If I were the Gov I would veto the bill and make the legislators get it right. Yet another reason why I refuse to retire in Texas.

This is a horrible bill...all that work to pass crap legislation. https://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/05/29/its-official-texas-legislature-passes-open-carry/ So you need a license to execercise your Rights and since they removed the part of the bill specifically stating that police wouldn't be able to stop you just because you're open carrying, police officers (like the ones in Austin) will be able to stop people and harass them 'just because' you have a firearm. If court rulings already prevent this then the legislators should have just left this in a bill. What this means is you're going to have LE stopping people and asking to see their CHL's since one is require to open carry. This crappy leglislation is one of the many reasons I keep telling people that Texas isn't as 'gun friendly' as people think. What a waste.

Not everyone wants to live on the coast...