ArmyofOne

No problem at all, you are perfectly entitled to believe in and live your life according to the bible. My issue is the same as your issue, the bible should no more be legislated from than the Qur'an, the Torah, whatever... I think if evangelicals stopped trying to insert the bible in people's lives without their consent, people who don't believe would be a whole lot less combative against Christianity. Although, all throughout the history of Christianity Christians have been unable to avoid doing that...but thats a separate discussion. Of course they do, but I for one am tired of being looked down upon by older people like Lenore who feel that anybody from our generation who has strong beliefs is "brainwashed" or "a progressive" or whatever. People our age don't care if two men want to get married, by and large, and we don't care if women want to have abortions. We don't care about inserting religion into political discourse. What the old timers cry is that this is an "attack on the ideals of America". It most certainly is not. When America was founded, black people were property, there was no structured media or news, it took weeks to get messages anywhere, nobody could even fathom technology of stem cell research. Things change, times change. People change. The country needs to, and is GOING to change. We can't let people from the outgoing generations stifle this country's growth because they can't understand or make way for that change. Its never going to be 1955 again. People have s*x. They have it when they are 13, they get pregnant. Its everywhere. NOBODY waits until they are married anymore. Hell...a lot of people in younger generations don't care about being married at all. People get STDs, they die. Its cultural, its societal. You can't legislate those things. We can either pretend that the issue doesn't exist, like the evangelical right wants to, and preach abstinence and watch the problem spiral out of control. OR, we can put some of this technology to work we've invested so much in and make life safer and better for our citizenry. Why can't we do that? Oh yeah...the BIBLE! Millions of people die of heart disease and cancer in this country. Alzheimers runs rampent. I watched my father, a proud businessman spend his last month of life at 67 with a failing heart ranting and raving up and down the halls of a nursing home with dementia. There's something out there that could have potentially grown him a new heart, or respawned damaged brain tissue and prolonged his life or at least made the last year better...stem cell research. But no, we can't fund and explore that...why? Oh yeah...the BIBLE! So...you can see how I feel about the bible. Exactly the problem IMHO, and this is why they hate Obama so much. Young guy, funny name, black, can pick a rapper out of a lineup, has a slick education and plenty of money in his pocket. He must be a socialst right? Red, evil son of a !Removed! right? Change is scary, but get on board or we're going to run you over with the bus. Nor should it happen, nor do everyday Muslims want it to happen. The right wing uses "Sharia law" as a reason to persecute muslims and stop them from building mosques and places to worship. They chant "Its not just a religion, they have LAWS!". Thats just more ignorance spouting off, and more ignorants soaking it up to fuel their own hatred. EVERY religion has laws, every religion has tenants. It Judaism its called "Halakha" Just like Sharia law it has been used through history as legally enforceable law. Does anyone attack Jews and claim that we shouldn't allow any more synogogues to be built because they want to make it illegal to eat Shellfish? This is insanity. The only people guilty of trying to form US laws around the rules and laws of their own religion are Christians. I was mostly just yanking your chain about the bible thing. I want to make it clear I am not in any way mad at you for speaking your mind. I was using it (more or less) as an over-illustrated example. I believe the Bible has some "holes" but thats, as you said...another topic. As for the rest of it, once again, we find ourselves in agreement. :) I do think that the older generations have alot to offer, but I agree also that change is inevitable, and those who cant accept it will eventually get slapped in the face with it. Your analogy made me laugh. LOL.

HERE is a perfect example (Sorry Steve, to use you as one, you know I love ya...but... ). The above statement in bold ruffles my feathers, in fact it downright *BLEEP*es me off. I do not agree with it one bit. I find it cold, and flying in the face of alot of things that I believe in.... WHICH IS PRESCISELY WHY RELIGION NEEDS TO STAY OUT OF POLITICS!!!!! B) We are free to agree to disagree. I am not likely to change Steve's belief and he is not likely to change mine. Just like we are not likely to change your's. We all, as individuals form our own sense of right/wrong/religion, etc. As we do so, these views shape who we really are. Something so subjective as religion (that really, if we are honest, has no basis in fact), has NO business in politics...Period. (Thank you, Steve, for proving the point). This is getting really intense. While I do agree that it is not 1967 anymore, I do believe that Lenore's generation still has plenty to offer us in terms of life experience and guidance. Far be it for me to say, but in all reality, whose generation is it leading us in congress/the presidency? With the exception of Obama, most of the political leaders in this country are FROM Lenore's generation. So in all fairness, The country does belong to them...why? BECAUSE WE (My generation and yours, Steve ;) ) PUT THEM THERE. I said it before, and I will say it again.

Way to lighten up the mood in here! Oh too funny....So thats why all of this crap happened....Would you go over there and take care of it....? No...but I will. <_< I hope you arent insinuating that he wont, cause rest assured he has voiced his opinion to me many times that he wishes he could take my place while I go kick some Tali-!Removed!. I will throw this in for humor: Not because I think there is any merit to it, but because thats what politics (in my opinion) has become as of late...a big joke. The bottom line is, the mess we are cleaning up right now, all the spoiled food we are chewing is because of mistakes WE (as americans, not just the politicians) made over the last 2, or even 3 decades. I wonder how long one can live outside their means before their world comes crashing down? America has been doing this for YEARS. Maybe those mistakes were electing the wrong people? Maybe not. Maybe those mistakes were buying that starbucks when you should have put your $5 in the savings account, or put $100 more in your IRA that month. Or maybe even investing in gold instead of stocks? Gold is at 1600 dollars an ounce today. Thats nuts, I am thinking I might actually SELL what I have invested in it. (I use the term "you" to describe average joe, not anyone in particular.) But if I do sell it, what do I get? US Dollars? That could possibly be totally worthless in the next 2 years? Maybe...but I get to spend it now! Point is, the only people who can change the mess we are in, is US (Americans). We need to team up as a whole and take responsibility for our past mistakes, and our own future's, instead of blaming the person/people in the "driver's seat". I agree with both of you as well. I think the presidency since Carter has become more and more of a "look-at-me-I'm-President" thing than a "I-truly-believe-that-we-as-American's-can-make-a-difference" thing. The harsh reality is that any more, the executive and legislative branches are driven by money and (in my opinion) a good amount of corruption.

Oh my god NC, I would have been *BLEEP*ed. No way I would have left by way of anything other than the back of a squad car. A toyota dealer's service manager called my wife a !Removed! in front of me, I tackled him over the counter and laid has !Removed! out flat, I got a few throws in before some salespeople pulled me off of him. They called the cops, I was put in handcuffs, explained my situation to the officer, and the officer told the SM it would be in his best interest not to press charges. I proceeded to talk to the General of Fort Drum and got that toyota dealer blacklisted (soldiers no longer allowed to bring their business there). In a town of 40,000 people where all but 10,000 are soldiers, and the rest are somewhat poor, it only took 3 months for the dealership to fold. Have some respect you effin' douche. :chairshot:

Keep the 4runner, especially with a V8, you wont find anything in its class that does it better!

Well LOC, Its time for another go-round. This time, I cannot say where (other than to a major US Conflict), I cannot say when, all I can give you is a time period. Approximately 1 year, and I will be leaving sometime in the next 20 days. For some reason the Army is keeping this deployment very hush-hush. While I have some of the details, I cannot divulge them to anyone, not even my immediate family, under threat of Court-Martial proceedings and charges of Treason (for those who don't know, that charge carries with it the possibility of the death penalty). Reason for this is because it keeps your soldier's safe. So sometime in the next 20 days, you will see me simply disappear from the forums for what is hopefully a short time. Once I arrive and get settled in, I will be able to divulge (at the very least) a country/region I am located in, and an APO Mailing Address for those who want it. I hope you understand the vague nature of this post and can respect my lack of details. Once I "disappear", I will talk to y'all in a few weeks. . And FWIW, the secrecy surrounding this deployment, has me EXTREMELY worried about what I might be facing in the next year...My 2 other tours were nowhere near as shrouded in secrecy as this one.

other than the typical government motors they are pretty sound, expensive to fill and expensive when the do break though. My old boss had a fully loaded model he bought new when they redesigned them last time. Trans just went out at 32,000 miles. Warranty picked it up, but had they not, would have set him back about $3,400 P&L. All cars and brands have their problems though. My granddad has a 97 Suburban with 285k on it, and its essentially the same as a tahoe.

Good stuff! Notice anything new about my sig? ;) No more civic... I know, I know, what was I thinking?

Blake!!! Why the trade? Was gas getting to you? I thought you were LS4Life! :chairshot: I am kidding man, good to see you are enjoying the new car! You outta school yet? Whatya doin these days?

^Fire up the charcoal side! ^mmmmm...Seasoned Beef. That big steak is a 22 oz Top Sirloin. Yum. ^Grill's Ready... ^Started the wife's first cause she likes hers well done. When I flipped hers the first time, mine went on. ^Size Comparo...this thing was HUGE. I dont have small hands. ^mmm...all that smokey goodness... ^Flippin' mine, required spatula AND tongs. Thought I burned it:eek2:...but it was just the fat that was scorched. ^And here she is prepared with some mushrooms and onions, sautee'd in A1 Steak Sauce. Enjoy! I know I did (a third of it anyway, Couldn't even eat the whole thing!):D.

Chrysler is SO desperate to climb out from under their previous "image" that they are seriously taking a hit on these new models, just to get them moving. The theory is, that once they are out there, and people figure out how much they like them, sale prices can gradually increase back up to profitable margins. A good marketing strategy for sure, especially if you are coming back from the dead with an awful reputation and want to change your image. Actually Steve, that's exactly what I would do if I wanted it for sure. These dealerships are just not like dealing with Lexus and Mercedes etc. I could never get a straight answer. If only these auto mfgrs would wake up and realize how many sales they lose in the parking lots and lobbies because they won't just be on the table. I frickin hate the "the price is as much as your willing to pay and as much as I can squeeze out of you" philosophy. All the artificial mark ups, and hidden dealer incentives and so on and so on, how can anyone buy a car, and not be suspicious of being screwed and carrying that feeling with them afterwards? Heck, that's what's probably spawned this whole car forum idea in the first place! So we can check with each other and console each others fears and frustrations! LOL!! I would, for sure :) Beats a Prius in everything but gas mileage :P The dealerships are coming along. I have found they are hit or miss. I have been to some that are AMAZING, and helpful. I have also been to a few that were more shady than a late 90's Hyundai dealer. If the deal is what you want and the car is what you want, I say do it. Thats what I did with my truck. Was it the smartest idea with fuel prices rising? Probably not. But, I NEED a truck. I use it. A car just wasnt cutting it anymore. If you NEED an SUV, or are at the point in your life where you can buy vehicles based off of what you WANT rather than what you need, and you WANT the SUV, the JGCLX is a great choice.

The ones I have been seeing are for 2wd models mostly. One guy did get a 4wd for 32 though, but the general trend I am seeing is price point between 31-33k. Jeep is trying to recover from Chrysler's old brand image. I am just saying, see what they will do for you. I would be willing to bet you get it.

Steve, Shoot for 7K below MSRP, thats what they have been going for according to members on JeepForumZ.com. For a Laredo X, 32k should be tops.

Just that they are expensive, thats all. LOL. I have been paying them entirely too much for too long. And Steve, while expensive, I am sure you make a SUBSTANTIAL amount more money than I do. LOL. Just sayin'. The fact that the service is expensive is not really what bothers me, so much as the fact that my wife put us in that situation while I was deployed and I thought we were stuck. "Crooks" is my way (in this case) of saying I was simply throwing money away. Verizon's fault? Somewhat, they could be cheaper. Mine (or rather my wife's)? Probably more so. What is the reason for a $350 or whatever dollar disconnect fee anyway? Mine says $375 per line, but maybe that changed? Idk. Really the biggest reason I wanted to go prepaid is because I like being able to just shut it off if I need to. Many times I have gone somewhere for training where we arent allowed to have phones for 1, 2 or even 3 months at a time. Not to mention deployments. While verizon allows you to suspend your line, they do not continue ticking time on your contract, and they also suspend your upgrade. So If i suspend my contract 8 months in, for 1 year, I added a year before I can upgrade to a new phone. Prepaid just works better for me I guess.

See...what happened was...*Grab a beer this could take a minute*... In May of 2010, shortly before I came home from Iraq the second time, my wife decided to go upgrade our phones to Motorola Droid's. She did not discuss it with me, she just did it, as a suprise for me, mostly. And a suprise it was. We did not know the bill was going to be $188 all of the time, we were told more like $150 (I think even that is too much), The plan was $119, the Data package was $30 per line, and then taxes/fees. In November (same month I bought my truck), The bill had been a solid $180-$190 every month since we had gotten the phones. I was *BLEEP*ed because we were throwing money away. Not because we could not afford it, but because I didnt want to afford it. I called and dropped my minute plan from 1400 to 700, because I was looking at the fact I was only using about 700 minutes a month. In December it went down $10 a month. WTF? Then in January, with the move it went up to $297. I went over the minutes. I dealt with it till April (after the move here and we got settled in), and we went to a Verizon Store where the guy did the swap thing I mentioned above. The bill was consistantly $130-$140 (my line was $90, then wife's was $10, and the 2 others were $10 each+taxes/fees). For 700 minutes, unlimited text/messaging, no data. Better, but still a little excessive. So when I got my deployment orders, I had a way out, and I took it. From May 2010 to April 2011, I gave Verizon about $1,980 to have 2 smartphones (more than that if you count the overages). End of this month sometime, I leave for afghanistan, and I can stop paying for my prepaid phone. That means instead of $80 a month for unlimited everything, my wife will pay her line, which will be $40. So in the next 11 months, I will pay Virgin Mobil $440. In that time, I will save $1,540.

NICE car smooth. And AWESOME deal too.

In 2007, I switched from T-mobile, to Verizon because I had no service in my home on the Army base at Fort Drum NY. But if I went outside, I had service. I had to FIGHT with Tmobile to cancel my service. They wanted to sell me another phone, one that worked off of WiFi (before smartphones were big). No. Just cancel my contract. Finally got ahold of a military lawyer in the JAG (Judge Advocate Group) office, and she got T-mobile to agree that because I had no service in my home, I was not liable for the $250 PER LINE disconnect fee. I Called Verizon, transferred my numbers over and was happy. I had service in my home (and in Verizon's defense, virtually everywhere). Fast forward to a year ago. Smart Phones are HUGE. My wife and I get Droid's...the originals. Yeah, you know the ones, plagued by crashes, freeze-ups and reboots galore. Oh sure, they work fine for about 2 months. Then they spend more time flying through the air as the result of a dropkick, than actually functioning properly...And the bill, OMG. It's killing me. Not financially, (we are fine) but figuratively... DAYUM I hate the idea of paying $59.99 per line for 2 lines ($120 a month) PLUS $29.99 PER LINE for a data package on each phone...when I dont need it. (Thats $188/month on average after taxes. I know a few people with cheaper car payments.) Sure, Facebook and LexusOwnersClub from my phone is nice, but I pay for internet at home and I really could live without it. After giving them ample opportunity to replace the phones (3x they replaced my wifes, and mine 4). So we go to the Verizon Kiosk in the mall. The guy says he knows a trick. He puts us in 2 non-smartphones (LG Cosmos Touch, not a bad phone for somewhat dinosaur 1X CDMA Tech), opens up 2 new lines. He then deactivates our droid's, and activates these new phones (which were free BTW, with the activation of 2 new lines)...you see where this is going. He puts the new phones on our old lines, takes the droids and sends them wherever he sends them, and all we pay is the $120 a month for the plan w/2 lines, and then the $10 per line for the additional 2 dormant lines...Seems like alot of trouble to save $40 a month right? Well, I am glad we did it, an unexpected bill came up...one from YEARS ago...my wife's "fault", if you will (not really any blame on this one, if you are sick/hurt with no insurance and you feel bad enough, the hospital is where you end up). It hit us hard enough that the $40 we were saving from not having a data package on a couple of smartphones was keeping enough gas in the truck for me to be able to drive to work/back every day for a couple months. A.K.A. The poorhouse. She tried to find a job with no luck, so we pressed on, payday to payday for a bit. Eventually building the savings account back up. Fast forward to today...I got my deployment orders. Dont you know first thing I did with them was go to Sears, got 2 Virgin Mobile 3g "smart"phones for $300, transferred my numbers AGAIN, and dodged about a gazillion dollars in disconnect fees? So long, Verizon. FWIW, the disconnect charges would have set me back $350 PER LINE x 4 lines. Thats...$1400 if I did my math right. So $1400 initial savings...minus the $400 it cost me for the phones (including 10.5% sales tax, and the one month of Unlimited calling/text/web/data/411 3G everything and best of all NO CONTRACT)... Comes out to a total savings of $1000. All because I chose to do the footwork. Most Cell Carriers dont want you to know you can do this if you are military. Instead, they offer to "Suspend" your account, picking it up where you left off when you come home from combat. Josh 2 : Icky Cellular carriers 0.

Indeed...what did I say? 67? oh my. LOL.

lenore, it appears all you did was quote my pictures LOL

This same stuff was on the doors of my truck in the same place. Mine had paint underneath it. You should be able to take it to a body shop and have them re-wrap it with vinyl (thats all it is). Otherwise, look for a graphics shop, finish peeling it yourself. Take it to said graphics shop (specializing in vinyl graphics) and let them have a go at it.

#120 #121 ^1956 Ford F-100 pickup. #122 ^1971 Ford Maverick Grabber. This one is an original, numbers matching car with 323,000 miles driven. Amazing. #123 ^Nice custom work on a newer mustang. And possibly one of the most valuable cars there: #124 #125 ^I think the sign says it all. That car is worth a fortune. Well, you made it to the end of the pix…There was a lot more to Freedom Fest than just the car show, its basically a county fair right here on post. They have rides/games for the kids (and youthful adults ;) ), funnel cakes, cotton candy, elephant ears, small business kiosks, and pretty much everything one would expect from a fair. All in all we had fun, but the purpose of this thread was to document the car show. I hope you enjoyed the pix!

#110 #111 #112 ^2005 Ford GT, In need of some SERIOUS paint correction. Maybe I can help him with that. I handed him a business card. LOL. #113 (This guy got a card too) #114 #115 ^Ferrari 355 F1 GTS #116 ^Somethin’ special there. #117 ^1956 Studebaker. Don’t mind the Subaru. It’s a workhorse, not in play here. LOL. #118 ^1957 Chevy Bel-Aire 4-door sedan. #119 ^1929 Ford Model A Roadster.

Wow…are we there yet? LOL, almost… #100 ^1928 Chevy Truck #101 ^68 Mustang #102 Custom 06 Charger R/T #103 ^1971 Dodge Charger R/T. NICE. #105 ^Ford Model A Custom? #106 ^1965 Pony Car #107 #108 ^An EXTREMELY nice Custom Chevy Pickup. Owner only wanted $39,000. Will you take a check? #109 ^1971 Studebaker Avanti. I only got a pic of the rear cause I was heading for this:

#90 #91 ^’60 Impala. In 1959 they only did the design for one year that makes the 59’s EXTREMELY rare. I have only ever seen one 1959 Impala. #92 ^a beautiful Ford Falcon. This next one is probably the most special car at the show: #93 #94 #95 #96 #97 #98 #99 ^A 1919 Cadillac Limousine. Unrestored, all original/numbers matching, 54,000 miles. Who knows how much this car is worth. In pic # 94, I put a friend of mine in there for size comparison. This thing was HUGE. Even by today’s standards.

#80 #81 #82 #83 ^Original, Numbers Matching, Unrestored 1962 Plymouth Satellite. They just don’t make them like that anymore. #84 #85 #86 ^Not sure what this is supposed to be…but it WAS a Honda Accord at one point. #87 #88 ^C6 LS3 Corvette. Nice custom touches. Again, sorry for the red. #89 ^Another Ford F100. I love the F-series trucks.