Free Republic

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) -- Like many commuters, Ron Marino is incredulous about revelations that nearly every employee who asked for disability benefits after retiring from the nation's largest commuter railroad was granted them. But Marino isn't the only one who is venting these days about the Long Island Rail Road. Four separate investigations are under way after it was reported last month that more than 90 percent of Long Island Rail Road employees were granted disability payments by an obscure federal board, allowing them to collect huge payments every year. The New York Post has dubbed this the ''Gravy Train...

Some military retirees are hopping mad at the Bush Administration. Hard to believe for a President with high approval ratings for his military actions, but true.Their beef? The Administration supports the policy that now deducts a retiree's disability benefits from his retirement pay (don't call it a "pension," or you'll hear from the veterans.) Many combat vets think the deduction policy is unfair and penalizes them. They maintain that they've earned their retirement pay, and the disability benefits should have nothing to do with that. E-mails are flying among former service members and are being forwarded to Congress, which already...