Quote of the Day-----John Murtha (It's a doozy)

[philetus]

"Are you sure about the pension?"

No. My daughter sent it to me and I just took it for granted.


When are Members of Congress considered vested and eligible to receive a pension? And how much is that pension? Monticello, Arkansas - 9/28/00

Members who have participated in the congressional pension system are vested after 5 years of service. A full pension is available to Members 62 years of age with 5 years of service; 50 years or older with 20 years of service; or 25 years of service at any age. A reduced pension is available depending upon which of several different age/service options is chosen. If Members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.

How much they receive depends on a complicated formula based on when they joined Congress, how old they are at the time of retirement, how many years of service they had at the time of retirement (including previous military or other federal service), their salary, and which pension option they chose when they enrolled. In any case, a Member's pension amount may not exceed 80% of his/her salary upon retirement.

Since January 1, 1984, all Members of Congress also participate in the Social Security system and are required to pay Social Security taxes.

Members who were elected after 1984 are automatically part of the FERS, or Federal Employees' Retirement System. Members elected before 1984 were in the CSRS, or Civil Service Retirement System. In 1984, those Members in CSRS had to choose to remain with CSRS, or switch to FERS. The Members elected before 1984 could further choose between full CSRS benefits, plus Social Security or CSRS benefits offset by Social Security.

A further variant in the amount of retirement benefits received is whether or not Members under either system choose to participate in the voluntary Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) open to all federal employees. Members under CSRS may contribute up to 5% of their salary and FERS Members 10% of their salary into this tax-deferred retirement investment fund. The differential favoring FERS Members is because pension benefits paid out under the old CSRS system are higher than those paid out under the current FERS system.

Both CSRS and FERS have differing formulas combining age and service factors which further affect how much a specific Member's pension will pay out. Therefore, the only solid averages concerning benefit payments are those that come from the just over 400 retired Members now actually drawing pensions.

The average annuity for retired Members, as of 1998, was either $50,616 [for those that retired under CSRS] or $46,908 [for Members that retired under FERS]. However, these averages don't take into account any additional funds these Members may have also accrued through investments in the Thrift Savings Plan described above.

Congressional pensions are funded the same way as those of other federal employees: through a combination of general tax provisions and contributions from the participants. Members of Congress in the FERS plan must pay 1.3% of their salary to FERS and 6.2% in Social Security taxes.

For more detailed information concerning pension benefits and age and service formulas under both CSRS and FERS, I recommend you obtain a copy of "Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress", a report by Patrick Purcell of the Congressional Research Service. [CRS Report RL30631, July 31, 2000]. CRS reports are free, but can only be obtained by requesting them through the office of a Member of Congress.

[expatguy]

He should be tried, convicted and hanged. Plain and simple.

That Americans talk only and don't something about it is beyond disgusting -- it implicates everyone.

Every American citizen will have blood on their hands.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Hope to see you at the gathering of eagles March 17.

[wildcatf4f3]

How did it get to this point?

Marx and Gramsci

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

No, you are not alone.

We have gotten to where we are by the insidious creep of Marxism into our nation. It began with Stalinist plants into FDR's bureaus, many of whom went on to infect academe. 1960's radical liberalism helped to sweep an ideology that the nation willful "blacklisted" into the foreground and made it popular. Moral relativism and it's degenerate offspring Political Correctness neutered the sharp mind of America and made us impotent in seeing and speaking the truth: that there have been and still are totalitarian forces that loathe our way of life, covet our wealth, and despise our freedom and want to make us their slaves.

[OldPossum]

Maybe this is plain silly but would it be possible to get the names and addresses of the newspapers, radio and TV stations (if there are any) and other venues of communications in Murtha's congressional district, and have a committee of Freepers draw up a list of particulars so that we can let the citizens there (a majority of whom voted for this clown) know what American patriots think of what they have done to this country by sending him back to Congress?

[NRA2BFree]

Aw, you know me. Always going for the quick chuckle.
...How are YOU this evening?

Yes, and we all enjoy your sense of humor. Thank you for sharing it with us! :o)

I'm great, thanks! I was so sleepy I was about to fall asleep at the computer last night, so I went to bed right after I posted to you. LOL! I didn't read your post until this morning.

[Fiji Hill]

murtha is a latter-day Vito Marcantonio.

[Eagles Talon IV]

The Republicans who stayed home last election to "teach the Party a lesson" are every bit as responsible for this bullsh*t as are the Democrats.

[Eagles Talon IV]

I'm not really up on legislative procedures so perhaps one of you could give me a quick civics lesson.

Doesn't the House proposal to cut funding have to be squared with the Senates version, if there is one, and what if the Rep choose to filibuster? Will the Dims have the 60 votes necessary for cloture in order to force a vote?

Doesn't the President have veto authority over spending cuts as well as spending increases? If he vetoes the cuts how can the Dims manage 2/3 majority to over ride?

[Eagles Talon IV]

10-20 islamo fascist pigs, working together and using simple explosives can, by detonating these explosives in a widely diversified and coordinated geographical pattern, brings this nation to its knees and totally wreck our economy.

A school in Idaho, 2 shopping centers in NJ, the Lincoln or Holland tunnel in NYC, a Hospital here and a playground there, perhaps West Point and another high profile target or 2 and maybe 3-4 large food stores. If this is accomplished consumer spending except for absolute essentials collapses and the economy heads south immediately and indefinitely.

Make no mistake. The public railing from the left of our inability to win this war and their threats to de fund it are music to the ears of the savages who want us all dead. Murtha's words and those of the other treasonous cowards in our government are no different then hanging signs all over America that say, "We quit, come and take what you want, we won't fight you"

[A knight without armor]

Traitor. How can he show is face anywhere.

[Salvavida]

How did we arrive here?

Simple: We the people, told God that He holds no voice in our lives, so we do what we want (Judg 21:25). As a consequence, God doesn't fight for us anymore (Isaiah 1:14-15). The testimony of history tells us that the slide is initially gradual, almost imperceptible (ex: school prayer yanked..1962), until we arrive at the apex of the point of no return. I think it's a momentum = (mass X velocity) type thing. After that, it will be rapid and violent, all the way down. As much as I'd like to see a national repentance, I'm sorry to say my faith is weak that it will occur.

The "Good News" (Greek: "Gospel") surrounding all of this, is that God has an eternal plan (Jn 3:16), far bigger than the United States of America (Mt 28:19-20). We can either get with that plan and be on the winning team (Rev 21:7), or watch the national tailspin to its final conclusion (a la abortion, apathy, blasphemy, corruption, drug addiction, diseases, family disintegration, gangs, greed, immodesty, pornography, racism, relativism, slothfulness.....), and stay on the ultimate losing team (Rev 20:12-15).

He prefers that you be free (2 Pe 3:9, Jn 8:32, 8:36).

[Logical me]

John Murtha has two Purple Hearts. Incidentally, there's two former Viet Cong guerillas somewhere over in Vietnam that I'd like to slap.

Me too!!

[angcat]

PA is a disgrace. They also elected Casey, Carney and Rendell.

[Logical me]

Johnstown PA is very a very depressed area and the schools are horrible. The people there probably don't even know who he is, or can afford a newspaper. To get him out, someone would have to invest in the area, create jobs, educate the people.

Educate what???? They are just part of the 2/3 Americans that are brain dead.

[huldah1776]

Sheep. People have been called sheep before, but not brain-dead.

[Seadog Bytes]

Did you already see this...?   ...Maybe something to share with your 'right-minded' friends...

Thanks to Sandy for information on these two important Senate votes...

 

IT'S ELEVEN O'CLOCK!
...Do YOU know what YOUR Senators are doing...???

The  following senators voted  against  making English the official language of America :

                                       Akaka (D-HI)
                                       Bayh (D-IN)
                                       Biden (D-DE)
                                       Bingaman (D-NM)
                                       Boxer (D-CA)
                                       Cantwell (D-WA)
                                       Clinton (D-NY)
                                       Dayton (D-MN)
                                       Dodd (D-CT)
                                       Domenici (R-NM)
                                       Durbin (D-IL)
                                       Feingold (D-WI)
                                       Feinstein (D-CA)
                                       Harkin (D-IA)
                                       Inouye (D-HI)
                                       Jeffords (I-VT)
                                       Kennedy (D-MA)
                                       Kerry (D-MA)
                                       Kohl (D-WI)
                                       Lautenberg (D-NJ)
                                       Leahy (D-VT)
                                       Levin (D-MI)
                                       Lieberman (D-CT)
                                       Menendez (D-NJ)
                                       Mikulski (D-MD)
                                       Murray (D-WA)
                                       Obama (D-IL)
                                       Reed (D-RI)
                                       Reid (D-NV)
                                       Salazar (D-CO)
                                       Sarbanes (D-MD)
                                       Schumer (D-NY)
                                       Stabenow (D-MI)
                                       Wyden (D-OR)

Now,  the following are the senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits. They are grouped by home state.  If a  state is not listed, there was no voting representative.

Alaska  :                  Stevens (R)
Arizona  :                 McCain (R)
Arkansas  :              Lincoln (D)              Pryor (D)
California  :              Boxer (D)                Feinstein (D)
Colorado  :              Salazar (D)
Connecticut  :          Dodd  (D)                Lieberman (D)
Delaware  :               Biden (D)                Carper (D)
Florida  :                   Martinez (R)
Hawaii  :                   Akaka  (D)              Inouye (D)
Illinois  :                    Durbin  (D)              Obama (D)
Indiana  :                   Bayh  (D)                 Lugar (R)
Iowa  :                        Harkin (D)
Kansas  :                    Brownback (R)
Louisiana  :                Landrieu (D)
Maryland  :                Mikulski  (D)          Sarbanes  (D)
Massachusetts :        Kennedy (D)          Kerry (D)
Montana :                  Baucus (D)
Nebraska :                 Hagel (R)
Nevada :                    Reid (D)
New Jersey :             Lautenberg  (D)      Menendez (D)
New Mexico :             Bingaman (D)
New York :                 Clinton  (D)              Schumer  (D)
North Dakota :           Dorgan (D)
Ohio  :                         DeWine  (R)            Voinovich(R)
Oregon :                     Wyden (D)
Pennsylvania :           Specter (R)
Rhode Island :            Chafee (R)              Reed (D)
South Carolina :         Graham (R)
South Dakota  :         Johnson (D)
Vermont  :                 Jeffords (I)             Leahy (D)
Washington  :            Cantwell  (D)          Murray (D)
West Virginia:            Rockefeller (D), by Not Voting
Wisconsin  :               Feingold (D)          Kohl (D)

SEND THIS TO ALL YOU KNOW.  THE ENTIRE POPULATION  OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION, UNLESS THEY DON'T  MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO DIDN'T PAY IN A DIME.

 

[potlatch]

That blows your mind to read that!!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SB!