OlDawg

Pretty sure Robert Guillaume (RIP) was totally miffed he was selected to voice Rafiki in Disney’s The Lion King. One of my personal favorite actors Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP) (The Green Mile, Armageddon, Sin City, etc.) probably vehemently fought against portraying Attar in the Planet of the Apes franchise. How dare they portray monkeys and gorillas! Don’t we think this kind of ‘racism seeking’ has gone on long enough? I can pretty well promise you if you’re looking for it, you’ll find it. I have no idea what happened with this episode. Honestly, I never even saw, or watched the video. That’s how much it impacted my day. I’m sure there will be something new 2 days from now. This story probably has about that length of legs. Then, it will be on to the next catastrophe. I didn’t vote for any of the last 4 (Trump 2x) POTUS. I didn’t vote for any of them for a reason. Frankly, they were all crappy in my mind. I try my darndest to just look at policy. I’ve gotten to the point where I put more emphasis on local elections. I at least feel like my vote counts.

I would say—on the scale of things—calling someone a traitor, or a Nazi is a little higher on the defamation scale. Of course, what would I know? I’m just a bitter, small town hick, clinging to my guns & religion, who has no feelings because I don’t have any gay friends. Is this racist? I like Bruno. Haven’t found a song of his I didn’t like. Does that mean I’m racist complicit?

Alex, I’ll take what one Party/POTUS called the other over the last 17 years for $500 please.

A lot more important things going on. But, let me see if I've got this straight... Since 2009, POTUS for America have been: An ape for 8 years A Russian plant for 4 years An autopen for 4 years A Nazi--former Russian plant--for a second go-round They were all liars except for--possibly--the autopen, and we're not sure about it because it's not talking. Does that about cover it?

[Hidden Content]

Question: If already receiving, how close was your monthly benefit compared to the estimate provided by SSA? (If you don’t mind me asking a general question. If you want to answer, you can PM. If not, I understand.)

I worry about those on SS already who aren’t that tech savvy or aware. If someone gets ahold of all their info, emails them something created with AI that looks very authentic because it has all their data correct, and knows things only they think they should know, it could be very bad. Heck. They got me even though I was always careful. Like this, someone else poached the goat. Beginning to wonder if this had any effect on Musk’s leaving when he did. He didn’t cut near as much as promised, and some of his people misused our data? Hmmm… I was for the cutting. But, this isn’t good.

They’re not Trump. They’re not Trump. They’re not Trump. They’re not Trump. Ad nauseum… Thought I’d save her the time. 😁

One can hope they tell the people as soon as possible where we can make decisions about what we want to do to protect ourselves. But, I just get this nasty feeling someone would prefer to save it for an ‘October Surprise.’

As bad as it sounds, my wife and I have discussed her situation, and are debating taking hers early. With her Parkinson’s Plus, she’s already on borrowed time. I was trying to wait until at least 65. 2 more years. Actually, 1 year & 11 months.

They got mine from DoD database. Another government foo foo. I don’t use a debit card other than as a Pulse card at my Credit Union’s machines when I need cash for gas. Too direct a link to your bank account for me—with no protections like a credit card. Even then, very rarely. I go in half the time. Also gives me a chance to visit.

I’m trying to hold off as long as possible. I have a Social Security account & set one up for my wife as well when they stopped mailing the yearly benefits papers. But honestly, I haven’t checked it in a very long time until today. I just know no one wants to have to deal with identity theft.

I guess the Epstein files are more important… Did anyone even read the article in the first post of this thread? It says the Administration admitted in January 2026 that THE ENTIRE SOCIAL SECURITY DATABASE was uploaded to an unsecured cloud storage, and the government has no clue exactly how to even find out if it’s been hacked, disseminated elsewhere, or how to get it back!!! Anyone who has ever been issued a SSN has personal data involved. Even mother’s maiden names, addresses, emails, bank routing numbers, phone numbers, DOB’s, town of birth, race, gender…EVERYTHING the government has collected about you from the IRS or anywhere else. The government has acknowledged the loss of the information. They’re just not sure if it’s been hacked yet, and they can’t seem to get it all back. This should scare everyone. But whatever. Back to Epstein. 🤷‍♂️

I guess I should add that I only use Apple Pay for incidentals now as well. Both of my Credit Unions, and the one bank recommend it for security since no one ever sees your card number. If they don’t take Apple Pay—which is rare nowadays—I use the virtual card Capital One lets you set up with their cashback card. Between that, setting the freeze, and checking my home title online through the county every 6 months, I feel better protected, and I’m not paying for a service like Lifelock or similar. Recently completed a TODD for our house while my wife is still considered ‘competent’. So, no one can do anything with the house title without us voiding it first anyway. I’d get an immediate notice from the county if someone tried. Identity theft was a booger.

Same. Except I use the Capital One (1.5% back) strictly for all regular recurring bills like utilities, insurance, prescriptions, etc. I use the one from the Credit Union for incidentals. I write one check a month still because I just can’t get myself to trust the City for the water bill, and they want direct bank access. Everything is paid off every month.