HotShot

Thanks for those links Beth. The new VOC regulations have effected the KEC industry a little. ZEP sells the best stainless steel polish on the market and because of these new laws, they are not permitted to sell it in SoCal anymore. It's a real bummer. I'm not trying to push a ZEP product, but I'm just saying that other vendors are probably effected by this. So restaurant owners are going to have to accept the fact that their hood will not be as pretty as it was before after using a quality stainless steel polish after cleaning. Of course there are alternatives, but they are ALL inferior. I don't want to get into the whole liberal, tree hugging thing on this thread, but this is exactly what happens when the good people stay silent and don't stand up to morons. Sorry, don't mean to rant, but it just makes me mad that now we have to use an inferior product because of something soooooo stupid.

Scott, you'll have to excuse Trey for his uncompassionate views. It's not his fault...:lgbounces

Scott...I do see your point about poverty being a mindset, not a financial situation. I guess if I look at it that way, no, I don't understand poverty. But as far as financially poor I understand all too well. I was born and grew up in Wurtland, Kentucky. Yeah, we were rednecks, hillbillies and any other name you want to call us. My dad went from one crummy job to the next or most of the time juggled 2 or 3 jobs just to try and pay bills. I remember my mom crying on a car ride back to the house because we were turned down for food stamps and she didn't know how we were going to eat. She wasn't telling me about it, I just heard my dad trying to comfort her. It sucked and I'll never forget it. Finally my dad caught a break and made the most of it. My uncle who had just got out of the army got him on out here in California (Ft. Irwin) working on tanks. It sucks out here, just in case you haven't been here, but you do what you gotta do to take care of your family as long as it's moral and ethical was my dads attitude. And that's exactly what we did. I still remember all of my family telling my dad how stupid he was for leaving the family and security and the green and the etc of KY and all that we knew to go to a state where we knew no one and was going to fall into the ocean anyway. Well, my family was wrong, my dad was right. Now he's back in KY enjoying it because he had the balls to make something of himself and isn't exactly hurting for money anymore. He's not rich by any means, but he's no where near poor especially in his attitude. That's why it sickens me when the Jesse Jacksons of the world get up and tell these people that the "white man" is holding them down, or they really can't do anything without his help...BALOGNA...this is the land of opportunity, just gotta hold out for that opportunity and when you get it, take it and run like the wind.

Don...I meant the ones that proved themselves to be low-lifes. I'm not talking about the actual hard working people that just choose not to better themselves. I'm talking about the ones that go to another city and destroy that city. The ones that are so un-grateful that they wouldn't know courtesy if it slapped them in the face. Those are the people that I'm talking about.

yeah, I hear ya man. That sucks. I had a few of those nights this week. Give Bob at Pressure Tek a call and order a couple of them so something like that doesn't happen again.

Very good point Scott. When you depend on the gov't for ANYTHING, you are asking for trouble. Very good point though, I had never really thought about that. Walk, ride a bicycle...whatever. I guaran-freakin-Tee you that I wouldn't be standing on my porch demanding that the gov't get me outa there! Do you hear yourself? Provided for them? Get out of harms way, THEN ask for help. I bet they could have walked into just about any church and asked for help. (not 100K of them, but the ones that had the wisdom to walk away from the danger if there were no other way) More gov't dependency that they choose to receive and it ends up putting them in a bind. Why is that stupid? I'm not talking about an adequate savings fund to last for a year. But an emergency fund to take you out a couple weeks until you can get a job or at least a bus ticket or something to get you to a family member's house for some help. This is America, they make a choice to be in their situation. Or, they have made a choice to put them in their situation. Either way, IF they want out of the situation, then its up to them to get out of it. So what if it's hard? My goodness, crawling around in a greasey duct with pnuemonia, a sinus infection and 2 ear infections isn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but by cracky, I did it for 13 hours today. (well, some of that time was driving, but still) Now this point is HUGE. I don't know the economics of NOLA like you do Scott, so I'll take your word for it. It sounds like NOLA is vital to our economy, therefore, it should be protected/rebuilt whatever. This statement is very true. However, you would not see me or my family standing on a pile of rubble waving at helicopters asking for a ride. When I went to New York a few years ago everybody told me that I just HAD to ride the subway...just to say I did it. I have never been more disgusted in my entire life. Well, except for that one time when Hilary Clinton wore a skirt....thinking about that still gives me the willies. But anyway, my wife and I get on the subway...within the first 30 seconds of this wonderful trip a guy starts puking his guts out not 10 feet away. As lovely as that sounds, it gets better. We go to another car to try and outrun the stinch of vomit and lo and behold there is a guy sitting there treating his body like an amusement park ( to steal a quote from George's mom on Seinfeld). Nobody says anything or even pays the guy any attention. My point is why would anybody want to ride on something like that? You say it's only a couple dollars a day...well, then they should have a good savings account built up them right? :D You guys keep saying how wonderful the refugees from NOLA are...have you ever talked to people in neighboring states that welcomed these low-lifes? They have a MUCH different opinion. We have the same kind of refugee influx here in southern California, they come here waste everything in site, rob people, steal, crash into cars and leave because they don't have a drivers license, work for pennies on the dollar compared to the average American....they are called illegal aliens and they are from Mexico. I hate to say it, but at least I have a little bit of admiration for them because the gov't didn't help them get over here, they WALKED!!!

Who cares, they're $13, pop on a new one and keep going :) But to answer your question, try messing with the sucker tube, it may have a chunk of something in there...

I love your guys' setup in that 1 fiddy Beth...that's a really nice rig.

Nice....now if you could just find a Nissan emblem for it :lgsideway

Yet. The next generation of politics have to top the last and they have to give away more and more. That's my problem with starting it in the first place. It creates dependence. That's not a good thing.

I would think it would be more around 49% :D Just kidding my liberal friends out there.

Here is another one.

Wow, great post Bill. If I ever gave the impression that I didn't have a blast in NOLA, I gave the wrong impression. I made the comment several times to the greasers I hung out with that once you turn off of that God forbidden street, it's a pretty city. Most of my pics consist of daytime entertainment that was within walking distance of where we stayed. Places with a lot of history and one of the greasers was from there and told me a lot about it. It was really cool. Other than being sick (pneumonia, sinus infection and both ears infected come to find out when I got home) and the waltz down Bourbon street, I had a great time. Meeting all of the guys that could make it was the best part though, by far. Here is one of the pics I took. These are the kinds of pics that I took mostly.

Kev...you are one smart dude. That is a great question, it made me think .... a lot. I will answer it by quoting my favorite Vice President (Cheney) to date who is quoting the best President (Reagan) of my lifetime to date. "I think the gov't should work with us not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it." That is a great quote. I think that the gov't should be there when we need them for a hand up, but should reject ANY bill or legislation that fosters anything other than independence from it's citizens. I think things like schooling should be handled locally. That way if something is voted in and they're gonna be taking your money for something you don't like...move. I don't think the Fed gov't has any place in edjumication. Let me give an analogy (if you can call it that) about this healthcare business because this thread has got me thinking about it quite a bit. Let's just pretend (God help us) that Nobama gets elected and a universal healthcare plan is enacted. I think it's fair to assume that the gov't will have all kinds of stipulations to receiving this healthcare based on EVERY other program that they have. One of those stipulations could be obesity. Being fat makes people more susceptible to diabetes and other health related things like heart disease, etc. Therefore, the gov't has the RIGHT to intercede because you are costing the tax payers more money. Now, they can tell you what to eat, when to exercise, how to exercise, how much salt to have because too much salt can lead to hypertension. Would you support a government mandated exercise program? What about a diet program? If you think this is far fetched, just look at what they are doing in schools already. They have taken out "junk food", pizza's, burgers and fries, cokes etc. Forcing one person to bear the burden of health care costs for another is not only a moral question but a major threat to personal liberty!!! Think about it...that's all I'm asking.

Actually, that is exactly what it is talking about. Go read it for yourself. Paul is telling the people of Thessalonica how to act and to act as they (Paul and the other apostles with him) did. He brags (sorta) in verse 8 saying that they worked night and day so nobody had to take care of them. Go read it. But I'll move on anyway. This could turn into a very long post so I'll try to control myself :) Here's my take as short as I can make it. Somebody working at a fast food joint more than likely should be somebody young and fairly healthy. Some kind of catastrophic plan would be all they need. They are very affordable. I know, I HAD ONE. I didn't run to the doctor every time I coughed, or if I did, I paid the $50 or whatever for the doctor visit. Now if something bad happened and I had to go in the hospital for weeks or something, then that was covered 100% after my deductible. I was making $8/hour working at a hotel at the time and I made it a priority to afford it. I got married, had 2 kids so things change. I now have insurance that is $470/month. I have a deductible of $5K/ year. I saved up $5K and I keep that in an account that draws interest and it's there in case of an emergency and I need it for the deductible. I also use it for payment if we have to go to the doctor. The insurance covers 80/20 up until that $5K, then it's 100% them. I don't make a lot of money (for California) with a wife and 2 kids but I make it a priority to make sure they are covered. For $470/month, I could have a really nice boat, another work truck or two or even a small vacation cabin up where I like to hunt. But guess what, I DON'T, because I have my priorities right. I don't depend on somebody else to take care of me because of my lack of planning. Life insurance is another topic I love to talk about, but I'll save that for another time.

We start with electing Nobama... He will fix everything. Where is the puke smiley?

You better Carlos, or I'll be offended. Bring your dirtbike if you do ;)

nah, I don't really like snorkeling...if something squishy touched my feet, I'd freak out.

Bush, I mean he snorkeled down there and blew them up. It doesn't matter who built them :lgbonk:

Nalgas....can't argue with anything you wrote man. I agree. Thad... We should have just asked you a long time ago in this thread :D

Well, my personal opinion is this. Tree hugging liberals will not let the forest service burn all the underbrush periodically because they are afraid it will harm the spotted whatever. Then, crooked firemen go out right before Christmas, set fires in spots that are prime and get lots of overtime to pay for Christmas. Firemen are the perfect fire starters and my little theory has been proven before. Mel, I think that we all have a personal responsibility for ourselves and our families. When disasters happen, I think the gov't should do everything possible to help people in need. What happened in N.O. was horrible and tragic and I'm not trying in anyway to downplay it. However, I think if people don't have the foreknowledge to plan ahead for something and prepare then it's their own fault. If you live in Earthquake country like myself and don't have water, canned food, generator, etc to be prepared for a tragedy until help can arrive then I would have to say that you are an idiot. If people were prepared for things, the gov't wouldn't be relied upon so much and things would run smoother in my opinion. To answer your question though....yes, I do think the govt should help when disaster strikes. Of course they should. But I don't think that is what Chris was getting at with his original question.

I agree whole heartily. We should have never went to Kosovo, Kenya, Bosnia, Haiti, and we should have NEVER let 18 of our soldiers die in Mogadishu!!! I still get pissed off when I watch Blackhawk Down. We need to save our military actions for times like when we get attacked and go find the sorry bass turds where they hang out and kill them. I agree with you Nalgas, good point.

Speaking of good people in that city... I have a picture (I'm not going to post it) of 2 well respected guys getting begged by a pregnant lady with a little baby beside her to ....eh hemmn...do some work for them for money. The guys, like I said, are upstanding guys and turned it down. Oh, did I mention that she had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth?

Mel... that is a bad analogy because I would say no I can go play golf somewhere else, but I get your point. I lived in an area that seems to have a raging fire every couple years and nearly burns the entire place to the ground. Do you remember all the fires in Southern California on the news? That's where I lived. Key word here is lived. I got tired of wondering if the fire was finally going to get us this year and picked up my family and moved 60 miles away where the only thing that can burn here is tumbleweeds. Bout the only thing I have to worry about now as far as natural disasters go is earthquakes. Don't think I can move far enough away from them or I would.

Kevin.... we live in the most compassionate country on the planet. We already have Medicare, Medicade, etc...I'm all for taking care of people that need a hand up. I have absolutely no problem with that. Universal health care for everybody is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Making somebody else pay for the healthcare of someone that can/should take care of themselves is where I draw the line. Bible says clearly 2 Thes 3:10 ".....if any would not work, neither should he eat" An able bodied person has the responsiblity to take care of him/herself. If any are not abled, then WE SHOULD take care of them. It's our moral obligation. I'm not talking about people that NEED help. I'm talking about universal healthcare. Big difference.