Bambikiller240

Interesting and valid points. Excellent!

Steve: The musicians, and actors have just as much of a right to support their candidate as you and I. Their actions are just as acceptable as a Union, or a Newspaper, or the VFW supporting one candidate or the other. It is up to the individual citizens to absorb the information presented by all, and we then should either ignore them, or entertain their opinions / suggestions. When you start prohibiting people from publicly supporting a candidate, you are drifting away from the democracy our country is supposed to be. The teacher, (grade, middle, or high school) should be repremanded harshly in the instance that you cite. Peggy Noonan, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity et al are members of the media so it is not like the "media" as a whole (or hole) are "liberal". There are PLENTY of right-wing conservative media out there. Like the Sinclair TV Conglomerate who tried to force all their TV stations to air an Anti Kerry film just be fore the election. Please understand, I am no friend of the "media" at large, but I use all of them to try to keep myself informed, and then I make my own choices as to what I believe. I hope that you do the same.

Enrique: I was not being critical of Troy's business in this thread. I was correcting the statement that said : "i saw a set datsunrestore.com for 229.95 and that was a16 piece set has anyone used their stuff or know if its actual nissan stuff because all their other stuff is" .... I never said anything about him making a buck or not; but like all businessmen his choice to reproduce stuff is certainly not motivated solely by a desire to "support our hobby". Make no mstake (and again this is not a criticism) he's in it to make a buck also, and there is nothing wrong with that. Also, I never implied that Troy implies things are OEM when they are not. My statement was (in light of seerex's incorrect statement) simply that one cannot assume that everything is OEM. And, absolutely my statement applies to EVERY vendor out there. Troy has been pleasant when I've delt with him also, I never said, or implied he wasn't. I haven't found much wrong with the "new" items I have acquired from Troy either, the point of my post was that seerex's statement was incorrect, and that one should not assume the origin of items from Troy (who's business was mentioned) or anyone else. Many businesses will state flatly the origin of their parts. "Repro", "Aftermarket", "OEM" are often stated in the description. If it isn't, that is a red flag for me to ASK!

That's OK, at least everyone now knows that you have nothing to contribute, except to attempt to limit the rest of us from having a discussion. After all, you know what is best for us. :stupid:

He thinks 51% of the vote is a mandate too!

You don't need permisson, but it is narrow-minded people who will not allow a discussion (jumping into it 8 pages after it started) and act like a spoiled "I'm gonna tell the teacher" brat that wizz me off. If you seek to limit the partisipation of any of us, you are not needed or wanted in this discussion! We were doing just fine without you!

If those of us "partisipating" in the thread wanted him reported we would have done so. His choice of words negitively impacted his position in the eyes of many, but no one reported him. If you were really offended, couldn't you have just chosen to state your own position, or ignore the entire thread? The First Amendment DOES apply to him, it's not like he yelled FIRE in a crowded movie theatre. BTW, I don't agree with his chosen words, but they haven't injured me.

The vote given by the present system to those who didn't vote themselves is a blind vote. IMO not the brightest idea in the world. Of course I don't believe that everyone who did vote was informed. But, I am positive that almost everyone who didn't vote is un-informed (to a greater or lesser degree). If they were informed, they would realize and understand that by not voting they have given their power to influence the election to someone else. IMO not the brightest idea in the world. (it's worth saying twice)

But that's "Politics American Style". :stupid: I certainly agree with your idea. It's pathetic to see how few eligible voters actually do vote. The turn out this time 'round was better than most recent elections, but the numbers were still too low for my taste. However, then you run into the problem of more uninformed fools who don't know their butt from beans showing up to vote. I don't have an idea better than yours, though.

Many people complained about stuff like this being anywhere else. Where would you suggest it be? (Better here than in the Honor Roll thread where some tried to put it!) Link doesn't work for me, darn it.

Oh, man have you hit it on the head! ....and the South definitely does not have a lock on that "Good ol' Boy" mentality (if it ever did).

Come on, Steve. Kerry never said that. He did say he voted for the appropriations bill before he voted against it. It was a true statement, and he wasn't the only pne to do so. The votes were on the bill which had been altered inbetween the times the votes were taken. He admitted what he did (like there was any choice but to do so); but that behavior is far different from how Bush operates. Even when it is obvious that he has F'd up, he doesn't admit his mistakes. He justifies his action by saying that he knows he was right even though the facts say differently.

AFAIK, the Voltage Regulator switches based on voltage, not amps. I doubt it cares about the amperage much. (But I am no expert)

What are you talking about??

There is a way to fix it. we just missed a huge chance to fix it. nw we are stuck waiting for another 4 years (barring a plane crash, and a heart imploding) before another opportunity. I guess you guys don't like analogies, but here's mine. The good ship America is a sound vessel, but the rudder is broken and a mad man is in the Wheelhouse. I hope the rudder can be fixed and the captain replaced before the ship runs aground and is dashed to bit on the rocks. The reef grows ever closer. The Grand Lady deserves a better fate than that. Andrew: The pictures disturb me also, but millions of people sitting comfortably in their living rooms in the USA, Britain, AND EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD should think about those pictures and realize exactly what waging this war means to the people closest to it. Families of military, the general population that gets caught in the middle of firefights, etc. There are few winners. (Bechtel, Halliburton, etc)

,, 20 mil wouldn't even start to get her wet. see THIS SITE May I mark you down for the first contribution?

Hi Rick: You most certainly are far from being an uncultured Aussie, but I completely understand your curiousity about the Electoral process. There are many in the USA who don't understand it's workings, and in some cases they don't even know it exists. Rather than stumbling over my own words, I found the following information that should explain it better than I can. I hope it answers your question. Current Workings of the Electoral College The current workings of the Electoral College are the result of both design and experience. As it now operates: Each State is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives (which may change each decade according to the size of each State's population as determined in the Census). The political parties (or independent candidates) in each State submit to the State's chief election official a list of individuals pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the State's electoral vote. Usually, the major political parties select these individuals in their State party conventions while third parties and independent candidates merely designate theirs. Members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited from serving as an Elector in order to maintain the balance between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. After their caucuses and primaries, the major parties nominate their candidates for president and vice president in their national conventions - traditionally held in the summer preceding the election. (Third parties and independent candidates follow different procedures according to the individual State laws). The names of the duly nominated candidates are then officially submitted to each State's chief election official so that they might appear on the general election ballot. On the Tuesday following the first Monday of November in years divisible by four, the people in each State cast their ballots for the party slate of Electors representing their choice for president and vice president (although as a matter of practice, general election ballots normally say "Electors for" each set of candidates rather than list the individual Electors on each slate). Whichever party slate wins the most popular votes in the State becomes that State's Electors - so that, in effect, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a State wins all the Electors of that State. (The two exceptions to this are Maine and Nebraska where two Electors are chosen by a statewide popular vote and remainder by the popular vote within each Congressional district). On the Monday following the second Wednesday of December (as established in federal law) each State's Electors meet in their respective State capitals and cast their electoral votes - one for president and one for vice president. In order to prevent Electors from voting only for "favorite sons" of their home State, at least one of their votes must be for a person from outside their State (though this is seldom a problem since the parties have consistently nominated presidential and vice presidential candidate from different States). The electoral votes are then sealed and transmitted from each State to the President of the Senate who, on the following January 6, opens and reads them before both houses of the Congress. The candidate for president with the most electoral votes, provided that it is an absolute majority (one over half of the total), is declared president. Similarly, the vice presidential candidate with the absolute majority of electoral votes is declared vice president. In the event no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, the U.S. House of Representatives (as the chamber closest to the people) selects the president from among the top three contenders with each State casting only one vote and an absolute majority of the States being required to elect. Similarly, if no one obtains an absolute majority for vice president, then the U.S. Senate makes the selection from among the top two contenders for that office. At noon on January 20, the duly elected president and vice president are sworn into office. Occasionally questions arise about what would happen if the presidential or vice presidential candidate died at some point in this process. For answers to these, as well as to a number of other "what if" questions, readers are advised to consult a small volume entitle After the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President edited by Walter Berns and published in 1983 by the American Enterprise Institute. Similarly, further details on the history and current functioning of the Electoral College are available in the second edition of Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, a real goldmine of information, maps, and statistics. More Information can be found at the Jackson County Election Board

Sadly, by the time politicians are sujected to the vagaries of the Electoral college, they have all become well versed in all of the things you have mentioned. And even more sadly, most of the citizens who do vote (51%) don't understand the Electoral sytem, and as judged by recent examples, they haven't learned how to vote well either. In reality his name is George Walker Bush, though he's more commonly called "Dubya", which is how the "W" is pronounced with a Texas accent. It also just seems to fit the pronunciation challenged little worm.

There are at least 3 sizes of T.O. bearing collars out there. Throw-Out bearing collar information can be found at THIS WEBSITE

But you do not break down the front door of a peaceful family who has been living in the USA for over 10 years, has never been in any kind of trouble, own their own peaceful and lawful business, and who came to this country as political refugees to get away from the repression that you describe. You don't lock them (adults and children} in a federal Detention center without access to legal representation, withhold food and medical atention from them and keep them there indefinately. You don't force an American Citizen (born and raised here, but with an Arabic name) to strip naked in an airport for no other reason than their name sounds Arabic. Both situations have happened more than once. You don't send undercover police into a peaceful demonstration and allow them to MACE the peaceful protesters in order to incite a riot. You don't allow the same undercover police to infiltrate a group organizing a peaceful demonstration and have those officers suggest setting up fake bombs to scare the public, or to suggest that the demonstrators gang-up and attack the uniformed police along the parade route. All of this (and more) has been done under the name of the Patriot Act. Did anyone come into North America and "free" us from our oppressor? What happened the last time we tried to export our way of governemnt to another country? I am not a fan of Saddam, but there are many people in Iraq who do not want the form of government that we have chosen for them. Are there any other democracies in the region? NO. Is this not a foreign concept to their culture? YES! Remember, these people are from a far different culture than ours, they have different beliefs than ours. We should look at it from their viewpoint. I must diagree. I think we are forcing it upon them. The leaders of the intrim government are dodging bullets because many of their own people do not want this process to continue. Yes, there are people from other countries fighting against us in Iraq. That should tell you something. Not only are we failing to acheive our goal in Iraq, we are making more enemies in other countries. The "plan" (if you can really call it a plan) is FAILING on many levels. Democracy works relatively well here (I'm relatively satisfied with it, but there sure as hell is room to improve!), but that is absolutely no guarantee that it will work or is appropriate in Iraq or anywhere else. And why should we care if there is democracy in Iraq? Our executive branch doesn't seem to care if there is a democracy in North Korea, China, Russia, or countless other countries around the world who oppress their citizens. Interesting how this one country was "chosen" to receive the gift. Perhaps people should ask the question, Why do these countries not agree with our stance? Are we right all the time? Are they wrong all the time? We are viewed in a different light by other countries than how we perceive ourselves. Not all of the countries who feel we are wrong in this situation were benfiting through the backdoor. Some were, to be sure, but not all. By far, not all. Take a look around the world. We are rapidly running out of friends. There is a reason. Nap time, G'night

If this war is not about religion, why have so many innocent people of Middle Eastern extraction been victimized by the "Patriot Act"? It seems that "someone" thinks it's about religion. Yes, the Middle East is capable of financing just about anything they wish to. They are also capable of governing themselves in what ever manner THEY choose. So why do we insist they live in a democracy, and try to stuff it down their throats? Much of what 280z says has been corroborated by people in the Pentagon, Intelligence Agencies, and the 911 Comission. He's not as misinformed as some people would like to think. If we are so right in the path that our leaders have chosen, why doen't the majority of the rest of the world agree with what we are doing? Are we right and they are all wrong? Talk about a narrow-minded approach to things. (I'm talking about our government here, not anyone in the discussion) No wonder we are called Arrogant Americans! Last but not least, in regard to mistakes made..........it all depends on IF they are really "mistakes" and not part of a hidden agenda to accomplish other things. Warnings were sounded about many of the "mistakes" by people in our own government, intelligence agencies, and military and yet the "mistakes" were implemented without regard to the warnings.

Marty: Here is their website. It's really just a contact page (they say new site is coming soon) but there is a 800 number you can call for information. http://www.stracing.com/

Whenever foolish statements are made I will continue to point them out. You are free to ignore them.

Love the avatar Michael! Bill, get real. The reason Bush got more votes than anyone in history is that the number of people of voting age, and excercising their franchise is growing. This happens every four years, and will continue to happen. It means nothing. I suspect that Kerry received more votes than any other losing candidate also.