Welcome to the Richardson High School Message Forum.
The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion.
Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument.
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July 4th was not a great day for my family ...... Kerville and most of all Camp Mystic were devastated by the enormous floods that wiped out most of the Camp ...... we were personal friends with the owners , Dick and Tweety Eastland , who by the way were both cheerleaders at the University of Texas while a lot of us were there .......... It was in Dicks family for 80 plus years and the camp would celebrate it's 100 year anniversary next year ...... Dick died saving the lives of 5 young campers and loved all his girl campers like they were his own ...... both of my girls went to that Camp from 8-14 years of their lives ...... and My wife was a counselor there ..... so we have great ties with Camp Mystic and appreciate all the prayers you can give them
My heart goes out to all the folks of the Hill Country and more and the severe flooding causing so much devastation and loss of life. I love the Kerrville area from years of going down to the Folk Festival. It's a sad sight to see all the videos of the area.
The idea of the GOP refuting the Democrats' usual lies seems pretty naive to me. Anyone who still believes the propaganda put out by the mainstream media, the education establishmant, Hollywood, the garbage posts on Tik Tok and Facebook and the rest, and the rest of the establishment is unreachable. Our competing boards show that the leftists believe that anyone who is not part of their cult is evil and acts only on malicious intent. (If you remember your Hagel -- that is a definition of an evil person,)
Since Trump took office, and this is before the effects of the recently passed "big, beautiful bill" take hold, the US work force has added 2+ million new jobs for American citizens and the employment of foreigners has dropped by 500K. Hurrah!
ALL Senate & House Democrats voted AGAINST the "big, beautiful bill" that was signed into law by Trump last Friday.
ALL 77 counties of Oklahoma voted for Trump in all the last 3 Presidential elections.
Has any one figured out what is going on with Pam Bondi and the FBI's top fellas', with their insistence that there is no Epstein list of clients/guys of bountiful prominence within western influential society, and that Epstein committed suicide?
The way this news story is unfolding at this time, does not make sense to me. Many others are apparently dissatisfied also, with the recent release of "the facts." To say that there IS NO LIST, and that Epstein hanged himself in his cell, after previously saying the opposite, just doesn't cut the mustard, in my opinion.
Is the truth SO STARTLINGLY AWFUL AND DAMNING that it can't be released for fear of detrimental reprisal, much like the actual facts and the whole story of the JFK assassination?
On another front, I'm glad to hear that John Brennan is possibly going to be investigated, along with James Comey. Brennan always seemed to be a shady character to me, when he and Obama were planning/scheming together. He also appeared to be holding back pertinent info when he came before the Congressional investigative committees, as the Congress members were trying to gather true facts as to what had transpired earlier. I always thought he was lying most of the time, as he testified with a smirking half-smile on his face.
I’m sure you remember your Boy Scout pledge not to kick a guy Democrat when he’s down.
So now, how about kicking someone of your own party faith?
Donald Trump, being the GOP’s reverently esteemed modern-day Moses, accompanied by his 12 cabinet-tribe leaders following as obedient children into the geopolitical and economic wilderness…is it now time we people start to murmur and grumble…with no sign of $trillions from tariff$ to take us into his promised land?
With weekly earthquakes under our feet creating cracks in the global monetary system, that threaten sovereign debt…is this the end of the world as we know it, or merely heralding a “stablecoin” new world disorder?
Now that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has passed Congress and is available for media scrutiny, let’s take a look under the hood, and see how we’ve likely been hoodwinked by House Leader Johnson and his gang of 51…and especially the GOP “election funding team” who now called in their chit for their $pecial-interest billionaire payback! Let’s examine how our vote for Trump has likely backfired.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA): Trump’s Populist Economic Reset
When Donald Trump returned to the White House, many expected fireworks. What they got instead was a seismic political spectacle: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). This sweeping legislation combined permanent tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks, infrastructure investments, and an aggressive reshoring campaign—all wrapped in Trump’s signature bravado.
Hailed as a win for the American worker and an "economic renaissance," OBBBA also exposed deep structural contradictions. Behind the tax perks and headline victories lie a storm of economic imbalances, political retribution, and looming technological disruption.
Political Wins
1. Fiscal Showmanship Trump celebrated the bill’s passage with a Mount Rushmore signing ceremony, positioning himself as the great economic liberator. GOP lawmakers fell in line, lured by promises of reshoring, defense spending, and tax relief.
2. The Resurrection of the 2017 Tax Cuts OBBBA made permanent the Trump-era individual and corporate tax cuts, with additional perks like expanded child tax credits and a revival of the SALT deduction cap lift—particularly popular in swing-state suburbs.
3. Growth in the Short Term Pro-business sentiment surged, and Wall Street rewarded the administration with record highs. According to the CBO, GDP could see a temporary 0.3–0.5 percentage point boost by 2026.
Political Losses & Long-Term Risks
1. Deficit Time Bomb GAO and CBO projections show that OBBBA will increase the federal deficit by $2.8 to $3.4 trillion over the next decade. Trump’s response? “We’ll grow our way out.”
2. Institutional Breakdown The administration's disregard for congressional appropriations—particularly freezing funding for EV infrastructure—sparked legal backlash and GAO violation reports.
3. Ideological Disarray Traditional fiscal conservatives have started questioning the sustainability of Trumpism. Internal GOP fractures have emerged, as populist promises clash with financial realism.
Economic Shake-Up: Who Gains, Who Bleeds
Winners:
Defense contractors
Fossil fuel firms
Billionaires
Megacorporations
Losers:
Clean energy companies
Students and educators
Nonprofits and NGOs
Rural hospitals and Medicaid-dependent regions
Mixed Outcomes:
Small businesses gain in tax write-offs but suffer from healthcare uncertainty.
Suburban homeowners benefit from SALT relief but face higher inflation risk.
Tax & Incentives: Demographics at a Glance
Demographic
Wins
Losses
Pros
Cons
Students
Standard deduction slightly increased; gig income tax relief
Pell Grant indexing frozen; student loan forgiveness gutted
Loss of veteran hiring credits; donor base weakened
Right-leaning groups protected
Progressive orgs hit hardest
Corporates
21% rate locked; R&D boost
Offshore profit tax modestly returns
Long-term planning ease
ESG efforts defunded
Billionaires
Estate tax eased; capital gains indexed
Heightened political heat
Wealth preserved intergenerationally
More public scrutiny
Partisan & Bipartisan Business Interests
Alignment
Business Interests
Examples
GOP-Aligned
Oil, Defense, Finance
Major lobbying wins via deregulation and tax breaks
Bipartisan Beneficiaries
Homeowners, SMBs
SALT, child tax credits, pass-through relief
Bipartisan Tensions
Health care, clean energy
Cuts to Medicaid, removal of ESG/green credits
A Dystopian Outlook: Likely Cracks in the Beautiful Façade
Trump’s nostalgic over-commitment to a manufacturing resurgence may backfire spectacularly. Billions poured into reshoring plants are unlikely to generate jobs; automation and AI are capturing most of the gains. Instead of Rust Belt revitalization, we get gleaming, workerless factories and a disillusioned workforce.
Meanwhile, the rise of hyperscale data centers and AI compute hubs threatens the national energy grid. OBBBA’s energy incentives are hastening a crisis: surging industrial demand is overwhelming aging grids. Electricity prices spike. Rural America, once promised prosperity, experiences rolling blackouts while tech giants enjoy subsidized juice.
Trump’s "drill, baby, drill" expansion also turned strategic LNG exports into a commodity flood. Oversupply slashed prices, weakened U.S. leverage, and pushed Europe toward alternative suppliers. Meanwhile, Canada’s pivot away from U.S. markets, exporting steel and oil elsewhere to dodge tariffs, undercuts Trump's protectionist gambit.
What began as a populist economic revival may end as a cautionary tale of overreach, isolation, and underestimating the speed of global change.
Just heard about the sad news of Boon Richards's passing away. He was one of the few people you'll ever meet that you can't think of one negative thing you EVER observed about or from him. A real mensche!! There's no doubt in my mind that he's in TOTAL bliss currently. Amen.
Biden's White House doctor, Kevin O'Connor, appeared before Congress today and took the 5th amendment often in his non-testimony about Biden's obvious senility.
And the FNC guest speaker said that O'Connor also was involved in receiving money from the RICO Biden Family Crime Syndicate that was selling out our country (aka bribery and treason, impeachable offenses) to our foreign enemies in their documented influence-peddling crimes.
I was just listening to Megyn Kelly on YouTube question the 'taking of the Fifth,' delivered by the peculiar, height-challenged doctor, and then she questioned the inexplicable reason for the guy's weird haircut, as well as the thought processes of the barber who enabled the haircut's creation. She has been delivering really funny discussions lately, with her dry humor and whimzical comments, giving us highlighted tidbits of the current happenings out there in our eclectic society, which kinda' resembles Heinz 57 casseroles, consisting of whatever leftovers are in the fridge on any given weekday!
Yes, that Dr. O'Connor is odd-looking and he must be noticeably shorter than I am too!!! Hey, not everybody (few actually) looks as good as Brad Pitt, looney George Clooney, Tyrone Power, or Glenn Corbett.
And how about this verse, which I was reminded of by the death of Boon Richards:
But as it has been written: "What no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and has not entered into heart of man, what God has prepared for those loving Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (Berean Literal Bible)
This past week I have received several of the same scam calls. They want to confirm I have been a car accident in the last 2 years and I have not received a payment check. Today I asked "what law firm are you with" then" CLICK" and they were gone. I have not been in a car accident. Don't fall for this scam and give any info.
Added. If I get another call I think I will lead him down a hole giving false info. If I can set up a meet I will call the police and see if they want to meet with the scammer.
Today Bill O'Reilly reported on the ONLY 3 things he and his staff could discover that Joe Biden did for this country that were positive, and these were over his ENTIRE 4-year term:
1) with the overspending of the trillions of taxpayer dollars, Joe did get money invested in 400+ projects to modernize airport terminals
2) created an annual max of $2000 a year for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D
3) started the process for on-line passport renewal
I just bought a new car for the first time since 1993 - likely my last car ever. I've been getting repeated FINAL NOTICES from somebody who wants me to send him my VIN and other info so that I can insure that my warranty will continue. I showed it to the dealer and the guy said that my car info is public info and this scammer was just trying to hook me for some ripoff.
Also until recently I was getting a lot of emails in my spam folder thanking me for the 400 dollars or whatever I had spent on a recent purchase (which I did not do). Don't know why those scam emails have now diminished greatly in number.
I got a Subaru Forester Premium, rated the most reliable of any auto model currently. I had an Isuzu Trooper for 15 years but I finally sold it in 2003 because it had a manual transmission. I LOVE this new car though with all its modern features I haven't had before. But the Isuzu was the most reliable car I've ever had - it had 115K miles with absolutely no major problems whatsoever.
My brother has never owned an American-made car plus he's never bought a used car. This is my 6th new one and I also owned 4 used ones although my 2 spouses were the primary drivers for 4 of those 10 cars. Six of my 7 American cars were not good with a lot of problems. The best American car I've had was my 1994 Lincoln Town Car - what a SMOOTH ride. But it finally gave out the last couple of years with transmission problems. It was my parents' last car and I owned it for 24 years and 9 months - by the time I called junkcarmafia.com to come pick it up in April, I had owned it (since July 2000) for 1/3 of my ENTIRE life!!!
By the way, my brother not long ago bought a new Lexus for 120K or whatever that sport car cost.........he and I have always been SO different is SO many ways..........
I stopped buying new cars bakc in the 80''s. Started buying lease returns with 30-40K miles. The las 3 cars have been Chrysler Town & Country minivans. The first 2 had over 220kmiles when I sold them with no major problems. My current one is a 2014 and has 225K and the only major problem is I had to rebuild the transmission at 215K. I got all at 50% or less off sticker and drove them 30-35K per year for work. My wife has a 2009 Buick Lacerne with 220K with no major problems. It was a Enterprise lease with 80k when wy wife got it. She drives 10-15k per year.
With modern machining the power trains last a lot longer.
Jim. We bought a 2024 Subaru Premium Outback in April 2024. 31,000 + 2000 taxes.
I question the engineering of the auto cutoff feature. I looked up to see if I could have it disabled, but it voids the warranty. That drives me nuts. Just so they can say they get a mile or two more a gallon. It puts a strain on the battery and the starter...So, they fixed that by putting in a super-starter and a more powerful battery, which just means a starter will cost 2500 in five or six years and the battery replacement will probably be 400-500.
They tried to up grade me on windshield coverage and I should have taken it. I hate to see what that hi tech windshield replacement will be. Guessing 1000 or so. An I have 1000 deductible here in H town.
And, the electric eyesight feature has to be re alligned at the dealership with them taking it out on a test drive after they have laser adjisted on their machine. A driver drives it and a passenger tech sits in the passenger seat with a laptop while their adjusting it to get it re alligned... That process takes 800 or so if you need it. Re Calibrate is the term.
The eyesight feature for adaptive cruise control can get out of order with fog, bad weather, dirty lights...and the eyesight feature can get mis alligned (it did it to me) just for having a large crowd in the car...
Plus, the driver assist pulls a bit every 6-8 seconds even if you in the exact center of the lane. It's how the technology makes sure it is alligned with whatever lane signal there is. I don't know if I'll get used to it.
Other than that, I love the vehicle. It only gets 22-24 in city and 27-28 on highway...but that's not too bad. My Camry get 29-35.
I am going to get an old car next time...I'll keep this 35,800 miles...or just under 3 years so I can sell it or trade it at a good rate.
I set up Sirius and the Star download technology.
I love Canadian talk radio. And of course, the Grateful Dead channel...I should have upgraded the sound system...
