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(2 replies, posted in We're All Ears)

During a House Oversight Committee hearing, Greene, who makes $174,000 per year as a member of Congress, criticized members of the federal bureaucracy and said they do not have “real jobs.”

“You can protest all you want, but the American people disagree with you,” Greene said, addressing Democrats. “The bureaucracy is not a business. Those are not real jobs producing federal revenue. By the way, they’re consuming taxpayer dollars. Those jobs are paid for by the American tax people who work real jobs, earn real income, pay federal taxes, and then pay these federal employees. Federal employees do not deserve their jobs. Federal employees do not deserve their paychecks.”

She doesn't deserve a paycheck either, and neither do the rest of Congress. The federal budget year runs from 1 October to 30 September. When was the last time Congress had a budget ready by 30 September?

52

(17 replies, posted in We're All Ears)

All the Republicans seem afraid to get on Trump's wrong side. He's already threatened to run new Republics to take their seats in Congress. Too bad they don't have the backbone shown by Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger. Even if they lost their seats, they showed they had integrity and believed in the country.

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(17 replies, posted in We're All Ears)

Just saw this on CNN's website:

Comcast iis the subject of a FCC probe into the company's DEI initiatives. In an overnight rant Trump called the company "Concast" and its chairman Brian Roberts a "lowlife;" labeled MSNBC a "corrupt" and "illegal" arm of the Democratic Party; and said "they should be forced to pay vast sums of money for the damage they’ve done to our Country. Fake News is an UNPARDONABLE SIN!"

What Trump is doing isn't just an unpardonable sin as Felo47 belongs behind bars. Most of what comes out of his mouth is fake.

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(5 replies, posted in We're All Ears)

Have you heard of 50501? It's a grassroots movement, designed to get people out and peacefully demonstrate about what is happening in the U.S.

Here are their goals:

    Resignation of Donald Trump and Elon Musk
    Uphold the Constitution of the United States of America
    End executive overreach
    Snap presidential elections

It stands for fifty states, fifty demonstrations, one day. Their first push was on 5 February when upwards of 70 demonstrations were held around the U.S. Their second date was President's Day, which had a similar number of demonstrations, including three in South Carolina (Greenville, Colombia, and Myrtle Beach). Hopefully, their efforts will continue to grow.

The next demonstration date is March 4th, the opening date of the first Congress in 1789.   
https://www.fiftyfifty.one/

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(9 replies, posted in We're All Ears)

cookbooklady wrote:
B Douglas Slack wrote:

One would hope that a good, solid majority (better than 98%) of military members would refuse an illegal order to suppress any civilian disturbance simply at the order of one person (the President). The legislative branch must pass an approval vote to such use before I'd ever lift a finger.

Bill

I think this would be the case, too. The morals of the individual and not the whole and definitely not our government will be the only thing to save us.

Fully agree. There's only one place for Trump and his cronies--jail.

Great post, Dirk.  Cheers.

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(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

Hey, gang,
It's been a while since I was on here. I've bee actually working on editing for other for $$ and actually getting books published. However, I thought y'all might want to know (because I didn't) That Lawrence Burdick passed away in 2023 for a brain tumor.

Many thanks for letting us know.
Regards, Randall

Welcome back, Alan! Best regards to you and Di!

Randy & Sylvia

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(11 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks, Bill, Dirk, George, and MJ!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

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(11 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Happy New Year!

Hope 2025 is a healthy and prosperous year for all!

Just some info I received this week regarding two of my published novels.

Ultimate Escalation was selected as the bronze medalist in suspense-political for the 2024 Global Thrillers Awards.

Frozen Conquest was selected as the finalist (4th place) in action-adventure for the 2024 Global Thrillers Awards.

Frozen Conquest has moved from the slush pile to the long list for the 2024 Chanticleer International Books Awards (Global Thrillers). The short list should be revealed some time in late January.

Best regards to all, Randall

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(6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks, Bill & Dirk. Hope you had a great Christmas and 2025 starts out with success for you.

Regards, Randy

Fantastic, Dirk! I laughed throughout.:)

Happy holidays to all!

63

(20 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

jack the knife wrote:
Nathan B. Childs wrote:

Congratulations, Jack. How many published books does this make?

Thanks, Nathan! This will be my sixteenth, including three co-authored novels.

Way to go, Jack!  Hope you can do another 16!

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(20 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many congrats, Jack!

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(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks Dagny and Doug!

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(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

George FLC wrote:

No problem, Randall. If all you did was to lose Internet for a while, then you've done alright for yourselves. I hope your wife is enjoying the weather!

Keep on writing.

George FLC

We initially lost power for 55 hours and it took another 76 hours for the internet to come up. It only lasted for two days before going down again. No damage at our house but a couple of neighbors had close calls with trees falling and just missing their houses.  Things are totally back to normal with loads of trees down in the area and a bridge is out. Two road needed some work before they could be used again. Could have been worse.

Regards, Randall

67

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not being around. Our internet went down again on 4 October and is still down. I finally received a hotspot in the mail (none available at any local stores within 100 miles) and just got back up.  Will do my best to catch up with everyone.

Regards, Randall

68

(7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Marilyn Johnson wrote:

Yes, Randy, for some reason I had forgotten you were so close to me in the Greenville area. I'm glad you were not more affected than you were, though 55 hours without power and 76 without internet are bad enough. My daughter is in Anderson, SC, and still lacks power and internet. But we survived, and that's what counts. Happy to hear you are safe and accounted for!

The daughter of a good friend of mine is in Banner Elk, NC, and no one has heard from her since the storm. Banner Elk was hit hard, and all the roads are washed out, and the phones and internet are down. But after days of not hearing from her, the mother has contacted Samaritan's Purse, and they are trying to get to the daughter's location and should have news tonight. We are all holding our breath.

MJ

Hope power and internet are restored for your daughter soon.

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(7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

jack the knife wrote:
Marilyn Johnson wrote:
jack the knife wrote:

Thanks, Dags. Helene didn’t affect us, but the week before we got torrential rain from a tropical storm that wiped out many roads and bridges in my area. We thought we had it bad until Helene destroyed Asheville, in the western part of the state.

Happy to hear all is well with you, Jack. We're still digging out here in NE Georgia. We've got trees down everywhere, the roof is torn off our barn, a monster tree is blocking our driveway, and our pond is overflowing. A tornado tore the tops off a swath of huge oak trees in my back yard and toppled more than fifty of them. These trees are anywhere from fifty to over a hundred years old. My power was off for ten hours. My daughter lives only 15 miles from me, and her power is still off today, four days later, with no idea when it will come back on.

We have one grocery store in the small town where I live, and their computers are down, they have no incoming food because their home office is located in Asheville, NC, and their offices and trucks are underwater. So shelves in my town are empty, and this dock workers strike is not going to help us one bit.

Has anyone heard from Vern? He's in the western part of North Carolina where a huge amount of damage was done.

MJ

Glad to hear you're okay, Jack. We were without power for 55 hours and no internet for 76 hours. No damage to our house from Helene although it took me eight hours to clear up the debris, mainly small branches. Two of our neighbors lucked out when trees fell within a couple of feet of their houses. Other areas are still waiting for power. The destruction in NC is horrible!


So sorry to hear that, MJ. Mother Nature’s devastation, augmented by climate change. And we have another month - or more! - of potential severe storms. The threat is real, and all of us should have plans to escape if need be.

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(1 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks for sharing, Dirk!

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(2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Belated Happy Labor Day to George and Bill!

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(2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many congrats, Alza! Well done!

Randy

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(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks, MJ!!

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(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks, George and Dirk!

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(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Many thanks, Bill and Dagny!