Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Krug today:
...
But you know who doesn’t think there’s a lot of money to be made in Venezuela? Oil companies. They see a dilapidated infrastructure that would cost billions to repair. They don’t see a stable political environment above ground. And…
Ok, here is an interesting document that basically covers my scenario: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf
The relevant example:
"Let’s say you aren’t yet at full
retirement age at the beginning of the
year, but reach it in November 2026. You…
@Old_Joe
I believe that you can contact SS via your online Social security account, I assume that this is direct secure messaging. They will then have verification who they are communicating with, and all your relevant information.
Alternatively…
Whisky In the Jar. Love it.
..
I have this T-shirt. It gets many knowing glances.
https://www.tshirtpalace.com/products/dino-s-bar-grill-classic-rock-copy-t-shirt_dbg9988272-at?color=navy&size=L&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22599255962…
And the sooner that I file, the sooner my wife's benefit rises, due to spousal benefit. My spideysense says file ASAP.
M recollection is if you file to begin immediately, they set the actual benefit date to the month you receive your first check, …
The only reason I would delay SS is to keep income down while converting funds to a ROTH. This is a good point also.
No idea how this might figure into the any of this, but I will be getting about 1/2 a year's typical earnings in 2026, but contrib…
It is typically a few months from the time you apply for Social Security to the time SSA payments actually begin. You may be overthinking this for possibly 1-2 months earlier than your FRA. IMO, just aim for your FRA. People who want to take it earl…
Right, I should have said "reduce". Fixed. Thanks.
And wouldn't that statement still apply if I signed up right now? IOW, I would only be subject to the higher reduction threshold, as this is the year that I reach "full retirement age"?
Also, sa…
"If you will reach full retirement age in 2026, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is $65,160, we deduct $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above this limit."
If I am reading this correctly, They will only reduce…
Thanks. I am exercising true patience and not adding anything at the present. In fact, I may be a seller of 10-12% equities, if we have a big week/month. I am adhering to the adage "return of principal being more important that return on principal".…
I try to avoid the political wrangle. But I'm perplexed by the seizing of large super tankers loaded with oil as a way to fight drug use in the U.S. Notwithstanding "The Butterfly Effect" which teaches that everything is affected by everything else…
Let us not forget that they have taken steps to silence the Special Prosecutor over trump's felony investigation.
Their practice is not to deal with facts and evidence, but to hide them from the light of day.
His henchman are on record as trying…
We appear to have reached peak fascism. All dissent shall be punished.
Petty vindictiveness shall rule the day.
Time to start a gofundme for Kelly. Make it a payday!
Apparently, blindly following illegal orders is now the new military direction. …
"Trump has taken a hit on his domestic policy lately, as well.
After the Supreme Court on December 23, 2025, rejected the administration’s argument
that it had the power to deploy federalized National Guard troops in and around Chicago,
Trump announ…
"After World War II, the United States and its allies and partners put in place a rules-based international order
to prevent future world conflicts. Under that order, the members of the United Nations agreed
they would not threaten or attack another…
"That lack of preparation appears to be in keeping with the overall post-raid planning.
Trump told reporters today that administration officials were 'designating various people' to 'run' Venezuela,
'and we’re gonna let you know who those people are…
"At Strength in Numbers, G. Elliott Morris noted that military intervention in Venezuela
is even more unpopular with the American people 'than Trump’s tariffs and health care cuts.'
In September, only 16% of Americans wanted a 'U.S. invasion of Vene…
\"Morris notes that a December CBS poll showed that 75% of Americans, including 58% of Republicans,
correctly believed a president must get approval from Congress before taking military action
against Venezuela. The president did not get that approv…
MAGA tends to simple stories, being the divine undereducated and all that.
but they (and scotus) are unable to grok that grift underlies 99% of trump's actions. so here goes :
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/01/03/venezuela-maduro-trump-grift-oil-res…
Canada is the big loser. Their heavy oil will be displaced by cheap Venezuelan oil.
That presumes Donnie's plans ever come to fruition. It's interesting how quiet Chevron and the other US majors have been thus far...you'd think if they were 'give…
Canada is the big loser. Their heavy oil will be displaced by cheap Venezuelan oil.
That is an interesting point. Which could actually drive the price of gasoline in the Midwest up. Canadian oil is cheap there because it can be trucked directly in.…
So, they jingle the keys for their infantile followers, and direct their attention elsewhere. "Look, hey, it's Biden's fault".
The "buck" most certainly does not stop "here".
And in Miami, a Trump appointee has opened an investigation into what Trump loyalists deem a grand conspiracy conducted by the officials who led the Russia inquiry and the two criminal cases against Mr. Trump.
Ms. Bondi then installed a former personal lawyer to Mr. Trump who had no prosecutorial experience, Lindsey Halligan. Days later, she obtained grand jury indictments of both. A judge later dismissed the cases on the grounds that Ms. Halligan had bee…
In September, Mr. Trump pushed out the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia after the prosecutor decided there was no legitimate basis to indict James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney general.…
In his second term, after filling the upper ranks of the Justice Department with his former lawyers, Mr. Trump began carrying out that threat. In April, he signed executive orders requiring the department to scrutinize two people from his first admi…
In his first term, Mr. Trump repeatedly tried to do so, but his efforts were informal, sometimes furtive and, to his frustration, met with only limited success. But out of office, after he was twice indicted in federal court, Mr. Trump claimed that …
Fascism at work:
Mr. Trump has directly ordered the Justice Department to investigate and charge people he has singled out. Attorney General Pam Bondi has sought to comply, abandoning the post-Watergate norm that department officials should make pr…
@David_Snowball. Back in the sixties,at a small university in the Midwest, I was a participant in a noisy and disruptive action against the war. One of my professors from the department where I was a bit of a student leader, admonished me to chill.…
Good stuff folks.
@Anna It never struck me, but I see it.
@Mark How I Go Into the Woods is great.
@DavidMoran "Imago Dei who forgot his station" such a great line.
A much deeper (and darker) poem that I appreciate for it's optimism:
A Story That Could Be True
By William Stafford
If you were exchanged in the cradle and
your real mother died
without ever telling the story
then no one knows your name,
and somew…
@stayCalm - With all due respects, I don't think that Trump is ruling out the opposition leader because of gender. Apparently some members of the VZ military helped Trump. I think these people wouldn't help Trump with Maduro's ouster if they expec…
