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If I'm going to a national park, it's to get away from society and connect with nature. I'm not going to a national park to read about slavery or climate change. I've gotten plenty of that elsewhere. Less rent-a-cops is fine by me, too.

If they were bulldozing parks and putting in parking lots, I'd have a problem. Removing man made displays and people/"staff" is in line with how I'd prefer it. I'm not a huge fan of putting up new exhibits, but that's the world we live in, and if they are more "positive" I guess I'd prefer that when I'm trying to take a breather from the dark $#/7 of the modern world.

Are the changes to the parks damaging to the parks or to some overpaid "curator's" bank account?

I get the gut reaction response to reading something is "damaging to our National Parks." I'm just not really seeing the actual damage in the OP.

Last night was better. Tied at two apiece. We decided to play harder. Better player mix, better defense, fewer turnovers. We had our heads together in the game. Our D needs to limit shots more. We still have a long walk to achieve an improbable series win. Last night the second half was fun to watch.
Do not weaken.

Another problem is the "surprise" budget issue that wasn't planned for. Illness, sure. House repairs, those not covered by insurance, like roof, furnace, major car repairs, larger ticket fixes. We tried to drop some major money on our home before we both retired. Doing that will help the withdrawal number. We have pensions, and other sources we are building slowly. Point of this post is to encourage anticipating a variety of unexpected costs that will demand attention. Most of my friends have stated they want to have one to two million available. I wish everybody luck! We intend to keep investing as long as we can. Comfortable, but not massively flush by any means.

So much of this question depends upon needs, wants, and abilities.

I am seventy-eight. Even typing that is unreal to me.

However, I see what life looks like for those my age.

My sister is kind of a typical example. She is four years older than me. She had a long career at Cleveland Clinic. First as a nurse then as a lawyer. She worked hard, saved and planned.

She had a hip replacement at seventy-five. Complications required a second surgery. She became limited and had to use a cane.

Plenty of money to do as she wished.

Because of her physical condition she lost all interest in travel. Her financial planner suggested "you need to spend some money."

She has all she "needs." She has "all she wants." She stays home and lives her life. Doing what she can and wants to do.

That is very typical. I know many of my old friends in a similar boat.

Your health dictates so much.

I have worked at health. It matters but then again it may not.

Something can come along at any time and bite your ass.

Then it becomes "what can I do and what do I want to do?"

I think Schwartz was overrated, but Rutenberg is an unknown. I like the "scheme," which we're supposedly keeping, but the in game adjustments and moment to moment play calling left me wanting better from Schwartz, and I don't think Rutenberg has had to do that yet. So, we'll see.

Word censoring is on point here at Dawgtalkers.

Solid points, both. $6 million of his 2026 salary is guaranteed; 2025 was fully guaranteed.... and there is a LOT of Dead Cap pushed into Void Years from 2028 thru 2031. He will still represent $11.7million in Dead Cap in 2027, so he may spend the entire remainder of his contract on PUP.

Arcadia mayor to plead guilty to promoting Chinese propaganda, DOJ announces

ARCADIA, Calif. (KABC) -- Arcadia mayor Eileen [censored] has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of acting as an illegal foreign agent, promoting Chinese propaganda, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday.

City officials say [censored] turned in her resignation at Arcadia City Hall early Monday morning.

Investigators say [censored], 58, was working with her then-fiancé to run a website for Chinese Americans that was spreading propaganda from the Chinese government, or the People's Republic of China (PRC). They say that instead of acting in the interest of the people who elected her, [censored] acted in the interest of the PRC.

[censored] agreed to a plea deal last month, but it was just unsealed on Monday.

It's possible [censored] could serve up to ten years behind bars for acting as an illegal foreign agent. She made her first court appearance on Monday and is expected to formally plead guilty in the coming weeks.
"Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. "This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions."

According to federal investigators, the mayor was posting PRC-approved news content on a site called "U.S. News Center."

The documents unsealed on Monday say [censored], "Received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website, and sometimes sought approval from PRC government officials to circulate other pro-PRC content."

Prosecutors write that, "Each time defendant posted to her website at the PRC Official's Direction, defendant was located inside the United States. Defendant never disclosed on the website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of members of the PRC government."

"The website that we're talking about looked like a standard news website that got a lot of traffic in the community," said Assistant United States Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen. "If you signed on, it looked kind of like the CNN website does, with lots of different, just regular news updates. Peppered in with the regular news were these items of propaganda."

[censored] was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.

"Arcadia has a large Chinese-American community, and so it's concerning when someone is in that position of power who has previously, at the very least, acted on behalf of China," Elbogen said.

According to the city of Arcadia, [censored] resigned from the city council, vacating her position as mayor, on Monday. At next week's meeting, the Arcadia City Council will select a mayor and mayor pro tem from among the remaining councilmembers.

"One part that we want to note is that the conduct she is being charged for is activity that occurred before she was sworn into her office," said Justine Bruno with the city of Arcadia. "This is a rupture in public trust, I'm sure, for some, as it relates to the conduct of a former public official."

City officials say they are confident there was no vulnerability for the city of Arcadia and its residents to the Chinese government.

"The conduct of an individual councilmember -- they don't have authority to act on their own. So, every decision that they make is as a body, so based off of the authorities and powers that they have, we are not concerned about any impact to city operations," Bruno said.

Meanwhile, a councilmember said she previously tried to flag [censored]'s actions.

"I cannot say that the outcome was entirely surprising," said Councilwoman Sharon Kwan, who says she tried, in chaotic city council meetings, to raise suspicions of [censored]'s actions, but faced resistance.

"It's just very important to protect democracy here, and just to ensure that there's no foreign influence," Kwan said.

Earlier this year, [censored]'s former fiancé and campaign manager was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Yaoning "Mike" Sun pleaded guilty to one count of acting as a foreign agent to a foreign government.

According to the DOJ, [censored] and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on their website.

In one example outlined in the unsealed documents, a PRC official sent [censored] pre-written news articles, which were then posted on her own website. She reportedly responded to the PRC official on WeChat with a link to the article on her website.

In another example, [censored] is accused of making edits to an article, sending the PRC official a link to the article reflecting the requested change, then sending the official a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times. In response, the official messaged, "Great!," and [censored] reportedly replied, "Thank you leader."

"By her own admission, Eileen [censored] secretly served the interests of the Chinese government," said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. "Let this serve as a clear warning: individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice. Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI's mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people."

The unsealing of [censored]'s plea deal comes as President Donald Trump prepares to head to Beijing for high-stakes talks with President Xi on Wednesday.

"I think there is no coincidence to the timing of that," said former prosecutor Lou Shapiro. "I think he's trying to use this as an opportunity to show them that, 'We are onto you,' And that, 'You may think you're getting something over on us, but we're not going to let that happen. People will be held accountable.'"
https://abc7.com/post/arcadia-mayor-eileen-[censored]-plead-guilty-federal-charge-acting-foreign-agent-china-promoting-propaganda-doj-says/19082898/

500k would absolutely do it for me. I actually am 55, and if I got that I would immediately retire with only the smallest bit of hesitation (because the salary still coming in on top of having just paid everything off wouldn't hurt).
I could pay off the house and everything else, then I just need to pay for incidentals, property tax, etc... all well within what my social security, 401k, and the return on what's left of the $500k would provide.

I'm holding my breath on him. NOT sold on him yet.


https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/coaches-roster/mike-rutenberg

Good luck In Cali Dave

I'm living proof.

Lots of good points

I saw something the other day that suggests you should have 25 times your typical annual spending

So if you Spend $80k/year
To retire comfortably in the same lifestyle you would need to have saved $2 million

If you spend $120k/year
To retire comfortably in the same lifestyle you would need to have saved $3 million

I guess the problem with any of these numbers or calculations is the great variable
How long will you live?
No one knows the date of their death
Much easier to figure out if you knew exactly how long you did or didn't have to live

Oh, memories........

I can agree. We are finding out how much is enough, on papaer at best. We have had medical bills and also real life repairs. Been close a few times. Er are comfortably living now. Both are retired, and one RMD so far, soon to be two. We are trying to save some every pay, live simpler, and I have been building fixed income and grow some passive cash. With stupid war, inflation, rates, some taxes, etc. we are putting more money and effort into preserving capital and building emergency cushions. Having some success. Fingers crossed. Good luck to all.

This season should be at least interesting to watch.

The great rookie class from 2025 will be starting their second year which usually brings a bump in production.

The free agents and draft of this season should bring improvement.

The woolly mammoth in the room is of course the quarterback. Whoever that may be.

Shedeur now beginning his second year with seven games under his belt should improve.

Last year made it difficult to actually judge him because of what was around him. Not much in the way of talent at receiver, OL and the running game because Judkins was injured.

DW actually playing well is hard for me to imagine honestly. For DW to resurrect a career after what he has been through is highly unlikely.

Sheduer is a "still don't know."

I like what has been done in free agency and the draft but until we have a man we can trust at quarterback.

Everything goes on to the wait and see burner.

I guess how much is enough ends being however much you have.

Yeah BADdog, we need to hit on about 4 draft picks to make the needle move from last year. Hit on the right ones and this could turn into a special year. That defense from a year ago was elite with Schwartz. Now the hope is it was 80% the players 20% scheme/coach. If the pendulum swings the other direction, we could be picking in the top 5 again. I hope Rutenberg is the real deal and he can at least mimic the schemes from last year.

Then, with the addition of EMW, IF he can improve the defensive backfield, we will be in business and the turn around will truly be about how the offense improved this off season.

I heard really good things about our safety pick Emmanuel McNeil-Warren including steel of the draft. That wont hurt !

His reputation is that he is all in. A fiery type guy with lots of energy.

Schwartz is not easy to follow because of his vast experience and leadership qualities.

The defense is experienced. We have a strong core of guys.

I am starting to feel football urges again mostly because we have so many fresh faces.

Interesting story lines.

Trump Says Iran Ceasefire ‘On Life Support’ After Bragging He Has ‘The Best Plan Ever’

President Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire with Iran is not in a great place at the moment because he believes Iran’s proposals to end the war have been “unacceptable.”

“It’s unbelievably weak,” Trump said of the ceasefire. “It’s on life support.”

"Life support is not a good thing," he continued. "I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.’”

Speaking before reporters and allies gathered in the Oval Office moments earlier, he boasted about his "plan" to end the war.

“You know, a lot of people said, ‘Well, does he have a plan?' Yeah, of course I do have a plan. I have the best plan ever," Trump said. “I have a plan. It’s a very simple plan.”

Trump then laid out his plan, which is no plan at all: “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/late...3Q&brid=YWdncwGqwKmG8cReBnbkchAEu24r

Trump Rejects New Iran Peace Offer as ‘Totally Unacceptable’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump and Iran rejected each other’s latest peace proposals to end the 10-week conflict as the two sides struggle to maintain a fragile ceasefire.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives,’” Trump said in a social media post. “I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”

Iran offered to transfer some of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country, but rejected the idea of dismantling its nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier. Iran disputed the report, according to the country’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.

It was unclear whether the exchange of proposals would offer a path to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Under its latest proposal, Iran would dilute some of its highly enriched uranium and have the rest sent to a third country, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the response, but it also called for guarantees the transferred uranium would be returned if talks fail and ruled out dismantling its facilities.

Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim said the WSJ’s reporting on proposals for handling nuclear material was “not true.” The statement emphasized Iran’s desire for an immediate end to the war, the release of its frozen assets, a lifting of US sanctions on oil sales, an end to the US blockade of the Gulf of Oman, and ultimately Iranian management of the strait. State-run IRIB News added that Tehran rejected Trump’s plan as tantamount to surrender and insisted the US must also pay war damages.

Trump had proposed that Iran permit passage through the Strait of Hormuz and Washington end its blockade on Iranian ports in the next month, with nuclear talks to follow.

Oil rose with the dollar after Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal. Brent was up about 3.5% to above $104 a barrel, recovering some of last week’s losses. US equity-index futures edged lower as the standoff weighed on risk sentiment.

Iran has been “playing games” with the US and other countries, Trump said in a social media post earlier Sunday. “They will be laughing no longer!”

Trump and his advisers have repeatedly suggested the war is over, even while threatening to escalate attacks if Tehran does not agree to a peace deal. Trump is scheduled to travel to China this week despite the ongoing conflict.

The president has said repeatedly that Iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and claimed as recently as last week that the country had already agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions.

The president did not say in his social media post what the consequences, if any, of his dissatisfaction with Iran’s response would be. In recent weeks, Trump has appeared eager to draw a line under the conflict as he faces rising political pressure to bring down gasoline prices across the US ahead of the November midterm elections, when his fellow Republicans hope to hold on to control of Congress.

The conflict has killed thousands of people across the Middle East and upended oil and gas markets, with soaring fuel prices piling pressure on governments and consumers worldwide.

Here’s more related to the war:

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, warned it would take several months for the market to return to normal even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened immediately.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes that he would like to end US financial support for Israel’s military over the next decade. The US currently provides Israel with $3.8 billion a year in military assistance under a 10-year agreement originally negotiated by the Obama administration that lasts through 2028.

Despite the ceasefire in place since April 8, a drone strike briefly set a cargo vessel ablaze off Qatar in the Persian Gulf, marking the latest shipping attack in the region. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait both said they had intercepted hostile drones.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trum...r-as-totally-unacceptable-013346837.html

I'm with you Bone. I don't know enough about Rutenberg. He is a wild unknown. He must have come recommended, then hit it in the interview. He was only interviewed by us and the Titans.

I haven't heard enough about the Vets and how they feel about changing coaches after a top 5 finish in the league. I'm glad they have kept it to themselves, hopefully that means they are going to give Rutenberg a chance.

I am super curious about where we go from here?

Monken made a comment early on that was "kind of don't fix what works."

As Camp unfolds we will learn more.

Carson was a big piece and he is now entering his second season. I expect even more.

E-man is already getting attention. He is going to get attention because big guys like him stand out.

I am looking forward to the season because there are many new parts.

Monken will be different than KS. Because of all the new pieces both players and coaches. I think Monken will want to establish his first string early on.

The offense will be completely different. The OL will need lots of work to get ready. Calling coverages learning how each guy fits. The OL is a unit and needs coordination. Monken wants to know who the QB is because he needs to be ready and there is a lot to learn.

Listening to Monken his pet peeve is sloppy football. It points a finger at the coaching staff for not getting the team ready.

IMO first string offensive guys are going to play more in Camp. Vets like Myles will be given some slack.

But Monken wants to win badly and he is going to play the guys who perform the best.

Yes, about two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical debt. You work your azz off your whole life, then get seriously ill and POOF! it's all gone.