Russell Cissell

When someone can borrow money to buy equities, how can it possibly not falsely value the market? The big issue is less about regulation than it is oversight.

545 PEOPLE Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does. One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes . Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it 's because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in , it's because they want them in . If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way . There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess! --taken from unknown source

Rick If the product is 30% solvent it would not be VOC compliant for the NE Corridor. If I'm not mistaken compliance requires a total VOC of less than 2 LB per gallon. Am I missing something?

Ok, I have heard about enough out of you palm tree huggin, sun lovin', gator chasers! Some of us have to live up north and take care of the rest of the country. We can't just all be a bunch of Sun King's in paradise. Not yet anyway! I used to live on Matalache Island when I went to school in FL. I remember calling home one Christmas while walking around in my yard shirtless and laughing at my father who was "deicing" his driveway for a party. Why did I ever come back? They should really have a strong four letter word for winter.

Ryan Wood-Tux is a good product, but it is very high in resin solids making it a little more difficult to apply. If you are shopping for "ease of use", I would recommend looking at Woodrich Brand Timber Oil. Wood Deck Cleaning & Sealing Products - ideal for wood siding and log homes

Dwell time is the key to tough strip jobs. Be patient, let it sit there as long as you can stand and keep misting it with water to keep the chemical wet and active. Brown Sugar and Western Cedar both look good on most types of PT lumber. Our Warm Honey Gold color tends to look sort of orange. WHG is batter for darker woods.

Honestly it wasn't so much a free sample as a "reward" or my way of showing how impressed I was with Rick's web site. The information he makes available combined with the quality design is just the sort of thing that enhances the professional image if the entire wood restoration industry. Keep up the great work Rick!

Rick What a great use for a free sample! That couldn't have turned out better for anyone. Pictures look good too. It is pretty much a straight paraffinic. We use 10% alkyd just to body it up a little and help keep the transoxide pigments in suspension. We really load our finishes with pigment so if we didn't increase the viscosity a bit you would have an awful lot of settling.

I respectfully disagree. I believe that all wood should be protected as soon as possible. If for no other reason, it helps to keep environmental contaminants from invading the wood. I have never heard one sound argument for letting the wood "weather naturally". To me that concept has always been more of an excuse than a solution regardless of the type of wood in question. When it comes to the discerning customer who pays top dollar for an exotic hardwood such as Ipe, letting it "weather" is not a viable option. Think about the furniture in your home. Do you think those who build the furniture let it sit outside for a year before finishing it? How about a brand new cedar home or log cabin? Is it also best to let them weather for a year before offering the wood some protection? What about the wood handles on your outdoor grill? Do they come to you finished, or as raw wood that you are supposed to let "weather" before you finish them? If your argument is that Ipe is a hardwood so it is an exception, I would have you look at the wood details on any yacht. These are most often Teak, Ipe or another hardwood species. How many 6 month old yachts do you see cruising around with gray, silver or black wood trim? With proper surface preparation, the right finish selection and application methods all wood, hard or soft can be successfully protected immediately after installation. Waiting for the wood to come around to your way of doing things is about like sitting in a race car and waiting for the finish line to come to you. It's just not a winning strategy for anyone.

Stephen I would not recommend using EFC-38 in the presence of chlorine or bleach.

Pete Feel free to give me a call at 636-288-8512. Something isn't right from looking at those pictures. For whatever reason the finish didn't take right. Under normal circumstances, it should not look nearly that worn after only a couple months. I'm sure that we can come up with a solution for your customer.

Rick Up until May of this year it was the same. As ESI is no longer the manufacturer of Step 1 & step 2 it would not be a good idea to assume that in the future.