Stepjam

Seth, I respect your opinions and give them their due because you are the primary owner and moderator of this site. Since you have revealed your political and social opinions in past threads, I won't debate philosophy with you here. What I will take exception to is any inference from ANYBODY that my concerns are based on ignorance. With that kind of attitude, can I expect to be called a racist because I voted for McCain? If you have the facts about Obama's intentions, by all means post them. I raised a question by starting this thread, and I am somewhat relieved that I'm not the only educated, informed, and involved citizen who is concerned. Don't imply that those of us who aren't Obamamites are ignorant, especially since a very well-reasoned argument can be made for the opposite disposition. AP article YouTube video of O-man's speech

Not you........ I was referring to others who trash those who voted for McCain. Sorry for the confusion.

Rome was divided. What had been the Western Empire fell shortly after the death of its last Emperor, the Visigoth Theodoric I, in 451 A.D, which heralded in the Dark Ages. The Eastern Empire, or more properly the Byzantine Empire collapsed in the 15th century, almost one thousand years later. By that time, anything that the two empires once had in common was nominal, at best. That said, why don't you tell us what exactly it is that America needs? Even better, what is it that P.E. Obama offers to fill those needs? I'm over forty and a Republican, so by your inference, I must be too stupid to figure it out myself.

Come on now....get real! Weren't we all 18-20 years old at one time? Didn't we have all the answers to every question, and know everything there was to know? I used to be that way, and I had a full head of hair back then, too. Then I turned thirty, went bald, and became a Republican. I've been like this for years, and I like it this way. I've decided to avoid the bad comb-over by shaving my head, and by supporting a candidate who agrees that the money I earn is, well.....my money. I guess that would make me a Skinhead up there in Ben & Jerry land. I wouldn't trash anyone for voting for the big O-Man, but it just shows a total lack of class when somebody attacks somebody else on an internet forum about their personal choice. Like hair, youth, and a bad President, naivete is only temporary. Thank God for that.

You got it backwards. The Riots would have occurred if he lost.

Amen, brother. It is done, and we have to make the best of it with what we have. We got the government we deserve, and only the coming years will tell if it was a just dessert. I don't hate the man, but I don't love him, either. I see that my previous topic about "Pray for our Country" was deleted. I hope that's not a harbinger of what we might see with talk-radio, etc. in the future under a new "Liberal" regime. Is anyone else troubled by the way that the media racially polarized this election? Chris Matthews was virtually trashing McCain on MSNBC last night as the numbers started rolling in. Biased blowhards like him seemed to dominate the election coverage. That trend is waht bothers me more than anything else.

I know I'm dating myself a bit, but if we can get Fox-5 (the old WNEW Metromedia 5) to resurrect "Creature Feature" at 8pm on Friday nights, TV will definitely take a giant cultural leap in the right direction. I've taken to buying old TV series on DVD, because TV basically sucks. I just bought a VHS knock-off on DVD of "Ghost Story", which ran for a couple of seasons starting in 1972. Each episode opened with an intro by Sebastian Cabot in much the same way as Rod Serling opened "Night Gallery" and "The Twilight Zone." These shows were great!

Bigmouth Nancy Pelosi and the other Libtards are blaming the Republicans for the financial mess. Ironic, since one of her colleagues, Sen. Barney Frank (D, MA)chairs the Senate Financial Services Committee. Starting in the 90's it was he who pushed for deregulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and pressured those institutions to loosen up their lending standards as recently as 2003. It all boils down to this: If you borrow money, make sure that you can pay it back. It’s just the right thing to do. And maybe some people need to live within their means. It was never a mystery to me at least how some of my new nearby neighbors, who certainly aren’t wealthy, managed to move into a brand-new 3,500 sq. ft McMansion, which seems to be the only damn things developers have been building over the last ten years. Buy now, pay later. Guess what, later has arrived, and the “For Sale” signs are going up. It began with mortgages that allowed no money down, no income verification, no principal payments (interest only) and ridiculous terms, like forty years. These mortgages were sold to lots of people who really should have known better. Millions of borrowers moved in to their new homes, facing a $2500 or $3000 monthly payment. Add a $400 car payment or two, and maybe another $400+ on credit cards, then add all of the other suburbia “must-haves.” Next, they have to heat that big house, and furnish it too. Then the boom goes bust. It always was unrealistic. Sorry if I sound cynical, but I’m pissed off because I, and my great-grandchildren, will have to pay for some schmuck’s financial incompetence. Our taxes are going to skyrocket and credit will get very tight, even for good credit risks. Both will happen, no matter who wins. Most of the debt-loaded nouveau-riche leased their Lexuses, Infinitis, Escalades, BMW’s, or whatever. A lot of car manufacturers have been pulling out of leasing cars in certain markets for a few years now, because the cost of “asset recovery,” also known as “repossession and resale,” is just too high. Some insurance companies won’t even underwrite a lease unless the lessee has golden credit. Personally, I think the Government bail out is a bad deal for everyone who pays taxes and makes and honest effort to do the right thing. Maybe some of the banks deserve to fail due to pure incompetence, and the execs who allowed it all to happen should be out on the balls of their asses. I don’t have any sympathy for people who bought homes that they really couldn’t afford either, nor do I buy the Democrats’ assertion that these poor people were “misled” by the banks and by Wall Street. It’s called ignorance, what these people should have done was take off the rose-colored glasses so that theyt could read and understand the terms of the loan offering, and understand what they were getting themselves into in the first place. Obama wants to bail these numbskulls out. After the 1987 crash and the S&L scandal, lots of us learned the hard way that American Big Business thinks in the very short term. It's all about making as much money as quickly as possible, getting out, and letting the next guy pay the consequences. They don't give a crap about you, and neither do the Democrats or the Republicans. Blaming Wall Street is a cop-out; at least the Republicans aren't jumping on the "blame Wall Street" bandwagon the the Democrats have pout together. This all would have hit the fan no matter who was minding the store, and if anyone wants to criticize Palin for taking a cheap shot at Obama, they should dial it back and listen to Obama's economy rhetoric on the Republicans. The war is certainly a factor in the economic mess, but the Dems need to take some medicine too. I’m not a Neo-Con or a Republican; I’m not a Democrat, either, although I will admit to being a few degrees to the right of center most of the time. After "putting my foot in my mouth" cutting and pasting something that I later found to be inaccurate, I took some of the acidic advice that I recieved from some fellow forum members, and checked on the veracity of this nine year old New York Times article below. It is verbatim, as published. If you've follwed my rant this far, you may as well read it: FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, 9/30/99 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...xprod=permalink Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending By STEVEN A. HOLMES Published: September 30, 1999 In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring. Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits. In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans. ''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.'' Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market. In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's. ''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.'' Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped. Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings. Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites. Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent. In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent. Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings. In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups. The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants.

It's not stupidity. It's politics, plain and simple.

Policy aside, how about some meat and potatoes on the candidates? In other words.....what are they, really? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH OR BELIEVE THE RHETORIC OF A VERY GIFTED SPEAKER? BE AN INTELLIGENT VOTER! Please, please read. Obama's 'Not Exactlys'! READ AND THEN FORWARD TO EVERY ONE ON YOUR MAILING LIST. IT WILL OPEN A LOT OF EYES. OR AT LEAST IT SHOULD. Obama's 'Not Exactlys': 1.) Selma Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google 'Obama Selma' for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.) 2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government. 3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had. 4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga's follower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that....and for more. Obama's cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get Sharia Muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians' homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth. 5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5 AM , according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man. 6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama. Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother's side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father's side. While Barack Hussein Obama's father was from Kenya , his father's family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama's father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father's birth certificate even states he's Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more....go to..... http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?...y6.2525_African 7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office. 4-3-08 Article 'Obama was 'quite religious in Islam's' http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId`559 8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book). February 28, 2008 . Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it'll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.' This is just one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says 'Obama's narrative is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.' 9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says you could speak the language. 10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn't even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons? 11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies. 12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine. 13.) An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist. 14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist. 15.) I Won't Run On A National Ticket In '08 - NOT EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first. 16.) Voting 'Present' is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES. 17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote. 18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you didn't write it, introduce it, change it, or create it. 21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days from start to finish. 22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came. 23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within. 24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books. 25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill. 26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part. 27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office. 28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them. 29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction off Israel . 30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the delegates decide. 31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time. 32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26, most of which you didn't write yourself. 33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you. 34.) I Don't Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it. 35.) I don't Have Lobbyists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting. 36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon. 37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren't in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time. 38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 who don't have to buy it. Subject: Bill Brown's Commentary on Obama ____________________________________________________________________ Commentary by Bill Brown The Obama Tidal Wave We are witnessing a political phenomenon with Barack Obama of rare magnitude. His speeches have inspired millions, and yet most of his followers have no idea what he stands for except platitudes of 'Change' or that he says he will be a 'Uniter'. The power of speech from a charismatic person truly can be a powerful thing. Certainly Billy Graham has charisma, and both his manner of speech, and particularly the content, changed millions. On the extreme other hand, the charisma of Adolph Hitler inspired millions and the results were catastrophic. Barack Obama certainly is no Hitler or a Billy Graham, but for many Americans out there feeling just like a surfer who might be ecstatic and euphoric while riding a tidal wave, the real story is what happens when it hits shore. Just Some of What Defines Barack Obama: - He voted against banning 'partial birth' abortion. - He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. - Supports affirmative action in Colleges and Government. - In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing. - Says he will deal with street level drug dealing as a minimum wage affair. - Has admitted marijuana and cocaine use in high school and in college. - His religious convictions are very murky. - He is willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. - Has said that one of his first goals after being elected would be to have a conference with all Muslim nations. - Opposed the Patriot Act. - First bill he signed that was passed was 'campaign finance reform'. - Voted No on prohibiting law suits against gun manufacturers. - Supports universal health-care. - Voted yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. - Supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. - Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants. - Voted yes on comprehensive immigration reform. - Voted yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. - Wants to make the minimum wage a 'living wage'. - Voted with Democratic Party 96 percent of 251 votes. - Is a big believer in the separation of church and state. - Opposed to any efforts to privatize Social Security and instead supports increasing the amount of tax paid. - He voted No on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax - He voted No on repealing the 'Death' Tax - He wants to raise the Capital Gains Tax. - Has repeatedly said the surge in Iraq has not succeeded. - He is ranked as the most liberal Senator in the Senate today, and that takes some doing. If your political choices are consistent with Barack Obama's, and you think that his positions will bring America together or make it a better place, then you will probably enjoy the ride and not forward this E-mail. If you are like most Americans, after examining what he stands for and are truly not in line with his record, it would be prudent to get off the wave, or better yet, never get on, before it comes on shore and undermines the very foundations of this great Country. We have limited time to save America or the Supreme Court as we know it. Inaction is action. If you agree this is important, pass it on. The mainstream media will not do it for you! Bill Brown

This is a pretty clever phishing scam. I got an email at my office that was smarter than the average phishing scam. It went like this: "Dear BBVA USA (SM) Customer: This is not a promotional e-mail. A review of your account has shown recent high-risk activity. Please contact our Customer Service Unit at 1-800-408-9561. We're available 24/7 to take your call. Please disregard this e-mail if you've already call us since the date this e-mail was sent. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Thank you BBVA USA Card Fraud Prevention Security Department." Now, the beauty of this is that it had an official looking logo for the bank. I don't have an account with this particular bank (it's a legitimate Mexican bank), but because many banks buy and sell each other's loans and mortgages, I stopped and read it. There is no web link provided, but the 1-800 number connects you to a roboteller, who advises you that there is an extraordinarily hig amount of fraud lately, then it asks for your sixteen digit credit card number. I hung up, realizing that once you punch that number in, it will almost certainly ask for you zip or your SSN#, then your sunk. These bastards are getting better all the time, so be careful!

I would be interested in viewing the available properties, but the link that you provided doesn't seem to work. Also, do you accept checks........? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

What you're talking about is Socialism, plain and simple. I believe in a Government of the people for the people and by the people. Somebody elected Bush, and Clinton, and Reagan, and Carter........and it was not Big Business. Would you agree that Hollywood, and the vapid morons who represent it, can be considered as Big Business? Millions of Americans hang on every utterance from seasoned political pundits like Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, and (gasp) Britney Spears. Need I say more? They are collectively Big Business, and they know a shitload less about real issues than the CEO's at most Fortune 500 companies. That's just a fact, and it's pretty frigging sad. We might not like greedy or seemingly incompetent buggers like Dennis Koslowski or Bob Lutz, but it's people like them, and Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, who are the innovators and investors who make our economy move, because they make a PROFIT. People like Obaba will just send good money after bad. Just as an afterthought, most Americans earn our livings and take care of our families from the salaries and benefits that Big Business provides to us. Those of us in Civil Service also indirectly draw a living from the taxes that Big Business pays. Most of us also pay taxes from those salaries that would go to pay the bill for "The Entitled And Underpriveleged" under an all-inclusive Socialist regime. Who is going to pay those taxes in a Welfare State, or when our cities revert to clusters of impoverished housing projects? Would anyone disagree with the notion that investment from Big Business in those impovershed areas might do a lot more good than opening another Welfare office? Of course, we would have to have a Big Business friendly Government for that to happen. What kind of "change" is Obama talking about? I don't see a need for any of MY lifetstyle to change, so leave me an mine the hell alone. Does he mean take away from the "haves" to give to the "have-nots?" I give plenty already, voluntarily and through my 35%+ in taxes, thank you very much.

Surprising choice, to say the least. But to look at it objectively, Obama has eight years of experience as an Illinois STATE senator, representing the POOREST section of Chicago. He really has accomplished nothing for his constituency, although that is probably (according to the Obama strategists) the fault of George W. Bush and his gang of robber barons and other old white men. Obama has two years as a United States Senator, elected on the strength of the ethnic vote. He has no administrative experience at all, and his voting record is predictable, when he was actually present to vote (his Congressional attendance was abysmal). Palin served as a Mayor for four years, and a governor for two. Both of these are executive level positions rather than legislative ones. In my opinion, she is more qualified for the Presidency than the junior Senator from Illinois is. I don't see any other choice. McCain/Palin in '08!

Sad. Possibly a hidden congenital defect, possibly premature CVD. I guess the autopsy will tell. I think we're seeing the tip of the iceberg with kids getting CVD at an early age, due to the crap that they eat and lack of activity that so many have. While this may not be the case with this tragedy, early onset of CVD and type-2 diabetes in kids is pandemic in this country. I was at Great Escape up at Lake George last week, and I just couldn't believe how many morbidly obese CHILDREN were walking around, shoving cotton candy and all kinds of just into their mouths. Slim kids were a definite minority.

Cheap looking? I can't understand that statement. It's an elegant looking rig. Best of luck to BMFD with it!

Sorry to hear about the IAFF's bad decision. I'm sure my Union (IBEW) will follow suit, as will most others. As for those who still believe that Dems are good for labor, and Republicans favor corporations, remember that Bill Clinton is a Democrat. He is a close personal friend of Don Tyson, the chicken magnate. Tyson Corporation is one of the largest employers of non-Union, minimum wage workers in its home state: Arkansas. As governor, Clinton kept Arkansas a "right to work" state, which simply means you can have the job without joining the union. Talk about anti labor! And as President, didn't Bill Clinton support NAFTA? You would really have to see some of those maquilladores down there that sprang up as a result of NAFTA to believe some of the deprivations that American corporations are still capable of. "Zenith loves me, this I know.....they sent my job to Mexico! Bottom line? They are ALL full of s*** where politics are concerned. You just have to search your heart. BTW, I'm a long time registered Republican but I voted for Bill Clinton twice and Al Gore once. I don't necessarily toe the party line.

I have an older 20GB iPod that I got for Christmas four years ago from my wife. I left it in the box for three years, fearing the same frustration I had with everyone else's mp3 players that had to be reset almost constantly by "Dad"....me. Last year, I finally took out my iPod and started playing with it. I had a major revelation. The iPod is incredibly simple and reliable. It's installed in my car, a 2007 Impala LTZ. After briefly using the factory accesory jack, I replaced my factory stereo (Delco) with an aftermarket JVC head unit and new Polk speakers with an 8" powered subwoofer in the trunk. The JVC interface module allows me to control the iPod through the head unit, so I can safely tuck the iPod away out of sight. I love the damn thing so much, I didn't even bother hooking up the FM antenna to my new stereo. Who needs it when you have almost 3,000 songs that you actually WANT to listen to, commercial-free, right at your fingertips? Besides, most radio "personalities" are jerk-offs, so I have no need to hear anything they have to say, either. I used to have XM too, and I just let that lapse. I bought my wife and kids Creative Zen mp3 players a couple of years ago, it was supposedly one of the better ones out there. They were all POS, and made it to the trash. We all have iPods now, and everyone is rockin' on!

What a shame. I always loved that old row of buildings down there, and thought it was a sin the Peekskill didn't try to do something with them before they crumbled.

It's been a while, but isn't that the current location of the Heritage Pub? Ahh....little Ireland!

Beautiful rigs, best of luck to YFD, and thanks for posting those great shots!

Straight white vinegar works great for removing mineral spots from glass, I'm sure it would would also work well on chrome or polished stainless steel. I wouldn't use it on polished aluminum though, the acid will probably etch it.

You pray for him, I'll pray for Mary Jo Kopechne.

I have to admit that you've got a point. If my memory serves me, seat belt use in NY became mandatory on 01/01/86.

I don't know.....increase the fine to $500 and do a blitz. I think the results would be immediate, if not permanent.