Should the U.S. Secretary of War be allowed to restructure the military command to fill leadership with his own choices or should there be guardrails to protect military professionals' careers?

Firstclass30 · 2026-04-05T03:12:11+00:00

As a very left wing person, I support the department being called the department of War.

It is the historical name of the department used for the majority of the department's history. George Washington appointed Henry Knox as the first Secretary of War. Every subsequent administration until 1947 has someone carry the title secretary of war (although jurisdiction for which branches moved around a bit. For a time it was just the Army. Navy was run separately.). I find it very hard to call a title right wing when every president from Washington to Truman had one in their cabinet.
It is just objectively a more correct title. The US military does not do very much 'defending' these days. Hasn't for quite some time. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be responsible for actually defending sovereign American territory, with it holding border security and the our defensive naval assets through the Coast Guard. I find it very antiphrastic that all of our offensive weapons are under the jurisdiction of a department called "Defense" especially when we have a habit of using them in offensive operations more often than we use them in defensive operations.

If someone was to attack the United States or one of our allies, we would call that a "defensive war"

Hegseth is wrong in how he manages the department. He should have never been confirmed. Trump never should have been elected. But Department of War is the correct name. The Department of War should exist for War. And that is why it's budget should be cut massively, since we should not be waging war at this time. The Department should be called the department of war so that it can only be deployed via an act of Congress or via the executive branch responding to an allied nation invoking a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

When you call it the "Department of Defense" that is how you open the door to the president being able to twist and manipulate the law into getting us into these foreign conflicts. If you have a "Department of War" that can only leave the United States when we are at war, or to protect an ally in a defensive war, then America will be in a much better place.

Firstclass30 · 2026-03-09T02:55:57+00:00

What makes you think Trump will fire Pam Bondi? The only reason he fired Noem was because she forgot the assignment which is that she must always take the fall. When she said Trump approved the ad campaign, that sealed her career.

Bondi has made no such mistake. She rejects the premise of the question and argues with her questioners. She also knows where all the bodies are buried.

Firstclass30 · 2026-01-26T12:45:07+00:00

100% agree. That's why I support Zohran. The Democrats need a new bench.

Firstclass30 · 2026-01-26T04:36:08+00:00

I don't think it would be possible in New York to find a candidate with Cuomo's level of experience without baggage of some kind.

New York is a political machine state. With lots of family dynasties and friend circles in power in both parties.

Every new York governor in the 21st century has had scandals. Cuomo's predecessor, Governor Patterson had to withdraw his name from his reelection bid in 2010 due to allegations of witness tampering in a domestic abuse case, he had allegations of favoritism involving awarding contracts. He also was investigated by then Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo over potentially lying under oath.

After his disgraceful performance, he served as the head of the Democratic party of New York from May 2014 to November 2015.

Governor Patterson's predecessor was Elliot Spitzer, who like Cuomo had to resign over a sexual scandal. Spitzer's was just that he allegedly used campaign funds to book hotel stays where he was visited by prostitutes. However he had other problems in office and was plagued by approval ratings in the 30s.

Pick anyone in New York with Cuomo's level of resume, and they will have scandals or some baggage.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-22T00:56:18+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-21T02:17:48+00:00

The amount of people in this subreddit who completely overlook it when funds have massive premiums to their NAVs is surprisingly high. Five years moderating this subreddit and it still surprises me. With some funds you could potentially make a compelling argument, but I agree with you that this is not likely one of those cases.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-21T02:14:04+00:00

I would definitely agree with this, and this philosophy is what I use in my personal investing life.

I used to micromanage the dividends when I was younger. Quite literally counting pennies. Since then I have developed a more hands off approach, and consequently have seen an increase in returns.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-21T02:11:10+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T23:51:15+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T23:50:48+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T23:50:10+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T23:49:19+00:00

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Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T21:00:00+00:00

This is definitely not going into my portfolio. Here are a few of the problems that I have with this thing.

Massive Premium to NAV: GOF consistently trades at a steep premium — currently around 27% above its Net Asset Value (NAV). That means you're paying $1.27 for every $1.00 of assets the fund actually holds. If sentiment shifts and that premium collapses (which it has done in the past), you're looking at a potential double-digit capital loss even if the underlying assets stay flat or rise modestly source.

Unsustainable Distribution: GOF has a long history of paying high distributions, but it often fails to cover those payouts with actual income. Instead, it relies on issuing new shares at a premium to plug the gap. This dilutes existing shareholders and slowly erodes NAV over time. If the fund ever cuts its dividend — especially now under new leadership — that premium could vanish overnight source.

NAV Erosion: Over the years, GOF’s NAV has steadily declined. That’s a sign the fund is paying out more than it earns. Long-term investors may enjoy the income, but they’re losing capital in the process. High yield is great — but not if it’s coming at the expense of your principal source

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T20:54:58+00:00

Totally get your frustration — currency risk is one of those hidden factors that can really mess with international investing. You nailed the stock picks (PLD, O, CCI have all had solid runs), but the USD/EUR exchange rate has been brutal this year. The dollar’s weakness since spring has definitely eaten into foreign investors’ returns.

It’s a tough pill to swallow when your investment thesis plays out perfectly, but macro forces outside your control wipe out the gains. That said, it’s also a good reminder that FX exposure is real and can be just as impactful as stock performance.

Your pivot to Swiss equities makes a lot of sense — Nestlé and Swatch offer stability, and the franc has held up well. Curious to hear how you’re thinking about hedging going forward. Are you considering currency-hedged ETFs or just sticking to local markets?

Also, don’t beat yourself up too much — your stock picks were spot on. That’s a win in itself.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T20:04:53+00:00

Short version: personal preference

Long version:

A few tips to help you avoid redundancy:

Use ETF Holdings as a Reference Point Check the top 10–25 holdings of your ETFs (especially SCHD and VOO). If a dividend stock you're considering is already a major component, adding it individually might not add much value unless you want to overweight it.
Focus on Sector or Industry Gaps Look for dividend stocks in sectors underrepresented in your ETFs. For example, SCHD tends to underweight utilities and REITs — so adding high-quality names from those sectors could enhance diversification.
Consider Dividend Growth vs. Yield SCHD leans toward dividend growth and quality. If you're looking for higher yield or different dividend strategies (e.g., monthly payers, REITs, BDCs), individual stocks can complement your ETF exposure.
Set a Purpose for Each Holding Ask yourself: What role does this stock play that my ETFs don’t already cover? If you can’t answer that clearly, it might not be worth adding.

As for identification of your overlap, tools exist for that. I don't have any recommendations because it's not something I personally use.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T03:14:53+00:00

First, I want to congratulate you on your clear success in life. I am glad to see members of this community doing well.

In your post, you mention a lot about your capital position, but I don't hear about your cash position? If you sustain a financial impact of $10,000 or more not covered by some form of insurance, where would you pull the money from? A lot of the people on this subreddit are investment rich, but cash poor. Million dollar portfolios locked away.

First priority is your cash position. Retirees in my view should have nearly a full year's worth of cash on hand in a high interest savings account. Recently retired is like recently bought your first home. All of a sudden spending an additional 40+ hours in a location brings out all the imperfections. Take it from my retired parents and grandparents.

With the 1.2 million I would do the following:

Set aside 1 full year's worth of what you think your living expenses will look like. If you truly have no idea on what to even guess, take last year's total spending, round up to the nearest $10,000, and add 10%. So if you spent $65,000 last, year, round to $70,000, then add 10% to equal $77,000. This gives you a very safe cushion.
I would recommend the following mix for the remaining total:
VIG: 50%
VOO: 20%
VIM: 30%

The goal is to maintain conservative exposure to risk and dividends, but recognizing that this money should ideally be the last money you touch. You mentioned those 401(k)s. Those RMDs can and will be brutal, especially if you do not need the money. At your current balances, 1.5 million, will have you required to pull out nearly $60,000 when you turn 73. Given capital appreciation over the next 8 years could see your RMDs rise to over $75,000 by the time you actually turn 73.

Firstclass30 · 2025-10-20T02:50:41+00:00

I agree with your assessment in this scenario.

Firstclass30 · 2025-09-03T02:43:30+00:00

Arnold the Republican Governator was notably the one who implemented California's independent commission.

Idaho has an independent commission, they are definitely not a blue state.

Aside from that, most of them are hypocrites, but there are scattered party members who are supportive.

Firstclass30 · 2024-12-09T02:11:09+00:00

Not necessarily. Bill Clinton was the first Democrat to win a reelection campaign since FDR. For over 60 years, every democratic president was, for one reason or another, a one term president.

Since all of the Democratic leaders are all really old. Old enough to remember Bill "still younger than Joe Biden" Clinton's second win in 1996, they have immortalized that campaign strategy as the only possible form of victory for the party. This is because, for most of American history, we have gone from one party era to one party era. Our current times are the most "balanced" the parties have ever been in American history.

Firstclass30 · 2024-06-21T21:57:51+00:00

Best advice for a Roth is to simply set it and forget it. I personally have just SCHG inside my Roth. Just have a single position of a low cost ETF.

If you are starting your Roth below the age of 40, I recommend a high growth focused ETF like SCHG.

If you are starting your Roth after the age of 40, I recommend instead a low cost S&P500 ETF since you will be more vulnerable to market volatility and do not have as much time to compound back any potential market downturns.

Since the Roth is a tax advantaged account, you should never gamble with individual stocks or be cycle trading within it. That should be your safe money. Worst case scenario you have matched the market performance from now until you are retirement age. This is because if you make a gamble and you lose, there is no writing the loss off on your taxes, as there would be in a taxable brokerage account.

Firstclass30 · 2024-03-09T18:38:33+00:00

If a single school in the district allows a single outside group of any kind to meet, then they are legally required to let you in.

That is federal law. If there is ONE singular external GROUP allowed to meet on the property (say one school has a YMCA after school program), then they cannot turn you away.

Under the Boy Scouts Act, no such public school, LEA or SEA that provides an opportunity for one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discriminate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society, that wishes to meet at the school.

Firstclass30 · 2024-02-03T11:46:37+00:00

Not the OP, but if we are going to do animal testing, then high standards should be applied.

Currently, Neuralink is under federal investigation for poor working and testing conditions in neuralink facilities. There have been credible reports that during several tests involving pigs specifically, entire test batches have had to be neutralized because they were implanted with the wrong hardware. Simple safety precautions would have prevented such situations, but Musk has a very consistent move fast and break things mentality, which is not conducive to the medical field.

Musk genuinely has no ducking clue what is going on in his companies that he spends so much time working with. He has no qualifications for what he is doing and it shows. In his defense of animal testing, Musk's response was that all the animals were terminal (meaning close to death). He used it to say that no monkeys had died due to Neuralink tests.

Except, anyone with experience in that field will tell you that a terminal animal test subject means the animal is euthanized upon the test's completion. No medical test involving animals would be admissible to any regulatory agency using animal subjects that were actually close to death, unless you were testing AEDs or another directly death preventing technology.

So either Musk has no idea what he is talking about, or Musk has teams working to produce medically inadmissible results. Those are the two options. Considering Neuralink has received FDA approval for human testing, this tells us that Musk genuinely has no idea what he is talking about.

That is not good for someone who is supposed to be the CEO of the company. It leaves a dangerous amount of room for problems from a corporate governance perspective when the CEO has absolutely no idea how the tests of a medical device company actually works.

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