ArmyofOne
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Posts posted by ArmyofOne
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Army of 1 Thanks josh for jumping in' date=' I very much enjoy your views. I too was young once and the politics of the day were very disturbing (Vietnam war). Heck I was spat on in Oakland California while being processed at the Army induction center...I had no choice, our govenment said you will register and get a physical...Those were very disturbing moments in my life, I was 18 and Strangers were calling me baby killer, etc...and I wasnt even in the Service...I am proud to have served (UNITED STATES NAVY) and I will look back and generally only remember the good times. That moment in Oakland was not what represented my life in those years...Beware Josh, you defend this nation, but your leaders can make decisions that are not good, or good. You (sorry to say) have no rights, because you are a service man...compared to the folks that didnt serve and have the freedom to spit on our flag, or not support your effort. I understand. My father was a 20 year veteran, and I am proud of you for carrying on the traditions that make our country great. Your view is important. May be different from mine, but very important, because at any moment you can be in harms way. Thank you so very much for your service, and again good luck. I will put you personally in my prayers until your safe return.
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Thank you for the kind words...but did you really give my "view's" any thought? I am not saying you have to change yours. After all, both you and I have fought for the freedom of citizens of this fine country to express these veiws. But Almost everything Steve (SW03ES) is saying is bang on. But just so you can see that I am, in fact, objective to both sides of the coin, allow me to (CONSTUCTIVELY) pick apart Steve's point of view, as well as yours...\/...
First of all I am NOT a "progressive"' date=' so stop calling me that.And I have no problem with Christians, I was raised Christian as were my parents and their parents. I personally am not religious, but I don't fault anyone for being religious as that is their choice. I believe in something higher, I think our consciousness passes over to something beyond when we die. I believe in living a good and moral life. What doesn't work for me is organized sit in a church every week religion. I agree with you, religion does a lot of good...but it doesn't do no harm either.
As you said, the issue is RADICAL Christianity just like the Muslims trying to build a Mosque in Mufreesboro, TN aren't the problem, its RADICAL muslims. In my opinion though, the modern day Republican party has been taken over by RADICAL evangelical Christians that seek to dictate to those who may not believe in their religion that they must live according to the tenants of their religion. They have made it their goal to dictate what women can do with their own bodies, what other religions can build in terms of places to worship, who can and cannot get married when the only argument for their position is some ficticious book that they take as the word of God. Thats great that its the word of their God, but it is not MY God. As you said, this country was built on the foundation of freedom of religion whether it was founded by Christians or not. It was founded by white people too, does that mean only they have rights? Founded by Men too, do only they have rights? The bible should not even come into question when it comes to legislation.[/quote']
TRUTH. Separation of Church and State is one of the basic's this country was founded upon. I, myself have a hard time understanding WHY it (religion) keeps coming up in politics. IT SHOULD BE LEFT TOTALLY OUT!!! Oh I believe in God, but the very thought that God even exists and that religion is part of our world should be completely discounted in politics. The people and the views ACCORDING TO HOW THEY AFFECT GOVERNMENT AND THE CONSTITUENCY should be all that matters in politics. Religion is the biggest crock of *BLEEP* in my opinion, it always screws everything up. One (person/party, whatever) cannot be considered completely objective to ANYTHING until religion is completely off the table.
Sadly, I dont think it ever will be.
A conservative is supposed to let people make their own choices right? So why is it wrong' date=' according to Republicans for the government to force people to buy healthcare, to make the wealthy pay slightly higher taxes, to regulate how business is conducted to protect the citizenry, but its not wrong for the government to bar women from having abortions, legislate abstinence education and disallow publicly available contraceptives, to keep !Removed! people from getting married, to disallow Muslims from building mosques and to force by law school children to recite a pledge of allegiance that references a God their family might not believe in?
Why? Because of the bible. Because the bible says its right. [u']Sorry...I don't give a !Removed! about the bible. I don't care if you do, but keep it out of my face.
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).
When the radical evangelicals are driven out of the Republican party' date=' I and those like me will be back. Until then we'll have to make due with what we've got on the other side.
I have built, grown and sold several small businesses in my short life. I am a very successful small businessperson. I don't have to talk to small businesspeople, I am one.
What, specifically have your small business owning friends said are specific Obama administration policies that have "tied their hands"? Because...I see no such impediments in my businesses...
Again, I am [b']NOT a progressive thinker. Sorry, but I don't lend any credence to anybody so openly affected by their own bigotry and prejudice. You can't take distrust of an entire race of people "out of context".
LMAO! I live in Washington my friend, and I can't remember the last time my commute was interrupted by a "militant rally". Its not 1967 anymore.
God is not a political figure. I respect you and your sacrifice and service to this country, but this is a new world...its a world belonging to my generation...not yours. Its time you let us chart our own course. You were asked to fight for this country, not God. If you chose to fight also for God, that was your choice. But God does not BELONG on those monuments. I don't really care whether he's there or not, and I have a sneaking suspicion if the radical Christian right would end the assault of Homosexuals, Muslims, and Women you'd find "progressives" wouldn't care so much about "God" being on a monument or a dollar bill. They bring that fight to you to hurt you, because you hurt them.
A quote as taken out of context as the one's you're lamenting that those that disagree with you use about Hermann Cain.
I don't see you as having one iota of an open mind. Sorry.
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.
Change??? What change? Its still the same ol' song and dance it has been for years! Except now' date=' for the first time in history, there is a Black man in charge. And he isn't even all the way Black!!!!
[/quote']I think we have more to fear from each other than we do Lenore's generation. Our generations (Steve, I am not sure if you and I belong to the same one but I will say...No...LOL), have some of the most outspoken forward thinkers (and some of the most selfish people) in the history of humanity. That's bound to spell disaster on some level.
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OK.... I'm in now too! Those damn Iranians are to blame! OK...I'm out...
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....?OK.... I'm in now too! Those damn Iranians are to blame! OK...I'm out...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!.
Actually.... beyond my attempts at humor...I'll chime in on this one...In my opinion, much of the pain, fear, and error we have all experienced over the past few years is due to the massive shift of wealth. All of this name calling and trying to put labels on policy matters, in my opinion, just clouds the vision and stalls the process of recovery down. I also think a lot of people, me included, get caught up in the moment of what's hot now. Today, it's the debt ceiling. Yesterday it was chasing away energy hunters in the Gulf of Mexico, before that it was death panels for grandma. I'll admit, at first I was not impressed with this whole healthcare business of Obama. And to be honest, I'm still not quite sure if I like his plan or not, basically because I don't understand it enough to make up my mind. The democrats have absolutley failed on all levels to explain this policy in "American" terms. DC Beltway talk is not "American". BUT, what this Conservative natured, suburbanite who the Tea Party would love to recruit, can say with absolute 110% truth and honesty is: If you are of the opinion that your healthcare coverage is your own business... Then I would invite you to drive down to your nearest children's hospital tonight and have a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. Don't keep your eyes on your feet. Don't make small talk about the weather. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit quietly and listen. Let yourself "feel" the room. I promise you, with 100% assurity, you will want healthcare coverage for everyone, even if it costs you more for your own coverage. You will want to make that sacrifice. Why? Because I, one of the only who still says Bush was one of our best, have been in that room. I was there 15 months ago for my son. I'll never forget those moments at 3am in the basement cafeteria of Children's Mercy Hospital in downtown Chicago having a cup of coffee to stay awake, listening to parents quietly wonder how they're going to pay for this. The looks on their faces told the story clearly - they were in the middle of their "worst case scenario", providing for their child at the cost of that's child's standard of living and risking their future of opportunity. Knowing that every minute they are there in that hospital, is a minute closer to losing everything they've acquired to provide for their child. I didn't feel lucky that I was able to provide my son the best of the best, for maybe $100 out of my pocket. I didn't feel proud that the choices I had made in my life leading up to that moment appeared to be the right choices. I felt guilty for it, and I literally wanted to vomit. I'm no "softy", and I firmly believe in the "thinning of the herd" process. You get what you put in. But, on that day, I knew I was wrong. And have felt that way ever since. I don't care who can fix this problem, just fix it! And for those of you (and me) who don't understand enough about this policy to comment with written fact - then don't. We need to ask "how", not ask "why". I've seen the "why". And you can too, in the most cutting and grabbing way possible. All it costs is $1 for a cup of coffee and 30 minutes of your time..If the banks had not been bailed out, we would've had a HUGE GLOBAL Depression. History clearly shows that much of the Great Depression was caused by the failure of government to act. But, back then, we were a "country". Now, we're a "participant" thanks to technology, and fancy investment derivatives that tie your local credit union around the corner to a bank in Sydney. That being said though - much of this current recession today is caused by government's unwillingness to "get out of the way" of prosperity. This, I agree with completely, and I am ready for the "controlled" reduction of government influence in our daily lives. What was seen as a white knight, has become a hostage taker of the private sector. The FED and the FDIC did exactly as they were meant to do back in 2008 (which the FDIC was born from the Great Depression to prevent another one). But, with opportunity comes consequence. 2008 economic meltdown provided opportunity for those who believe in government control to act. Consequence = Barney Frank. TARP was a consequence to the vast majority of the banks in this country. Many banks will testify to the history books that they didn't want TARP money, but were forced to take it, and didn't touch it. Now, TARP was brought on by Bush, and in theory, it worked. But, TARP continued under Obama, after those who actually needed the money had received it. Obama's team went into those boardrooms and said "you need it too." They said "no, we didnt act foolishly in our investments, we're fine." They said "not when we get done with our review of your books." They will also testify to the history books that they tried and tried and tried to give it back to get the government influence out of their board rooms. Many still are waiting to send the money back, to this day.Again, right now, here and today, I can't help but hear Reagan's famous one-liner: Government is not the solution to your problems. Government is the problem.Look, we're entering into yet another election season. Their is blood in the water (moreso in my opinion now than in 2008), and emotions are going to run very high for the next 15 months. Obama is about to be called every name in the book. Not that he's a bad president, but because he is president. In terms of the media coverage of Obama - it isn't going to matter one bit what they say (or don't say) about Obama this time. He could've eaten little kittens on a playground of kids 3 years ago and the media would have loved him for it. Newsflash folks: The media is "for sale". News is "business". But this time, Obama can't hide from the FACT that we're even worse off today than we were when he was elected. We're not out of Iraq. We're not out of Afghanastan. Infact, we're more of a "war" country today than we were in 2008 with Lybia now in the mix. Gitmo is still open for business, gas is even MORE expensive, the world stage is turning on us again, and banks can't push credit out the door with confidence because they still have no idea what the "new normal" rulebook looks like from Congress. ALL of this plays down to the bottom line of what makes this country tick.....consumer confidence. It isn't there, and now after 3 years and $5T of additional debt, Obama gets on TV and says "it's time for us to eat our peas." HEY....BUDDY...We've been eating them for your entire Presidency...where have you been?Many of us who voted for Obama, were actually not voting for Palin. McCain blew it when that pitpull with lipstick spoke her first words. He did for me, that's for sure! I voted for Obama, because I didn't want Palin anywhere near DC. I don't think Obama has allowed his ego to realize this...yet.. But it's coming..
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".
There's not a lot I can add to that, I agree 100% with all of it. Thats the kind of thoughtful dialog Americans deserve...not stupid chain letters and name calling.My fear is that all of this is going to cause the American people to make the wrong choice for President.I'm not saying the right choice is Obama, but the right choice for sure is not Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, this yahoo who used to own a Pizza chain and hates Muslims or anybody who doesn't believe in evolution and thinks the world is 2000 years old.We need a SERIOUS President. I don't see anybody on the other side who's any better than Obama, and they come with the additional baggage of being potentially controlled by Christian extremists. I used to like Mitt Romney before he lost his spine.
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.
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Had the nerve to say I owed him my name and contact info. When we pulled around to the front of the showroom, with his manager standing there watching, I gave him the one-finger sign of approval...if you catch my drift.
Insult ms all you want, I rarely respond. Insult my wife, and you'll get a direct response, I promise you that!
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:
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Thanks fellas, appreciate the input! We won't be replacing the 4runner any time soon. our first experience yesterday with the prospect of buying any car in general, turned us off completely with the process, especially given the nightmare I went through last year to replace my GS with my VW. Life's just too short to put up with this crap.
Going to do the service on the car, and buy either a rack via the hitch, or a roof rack, for some additional packing space of kid gear for our drives to NC.
I just don't think I've got it in me to deal with this right now, without ending up with a new car, and a court date for assault charges. Really really really really hate these car salesman here in ChiTcago.
Keep the 4runner, especially with a V8, you wont find anything in its class that does it better!
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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.
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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.
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Haha, I am and will always be a huge fan of the LS. Why did I trade? Nope gas wasn't getting to me; I traded in when gas was $2/gallon. A number of reasons- after 7 years of ES/LS I was ready for a change, I wanted something with more head and legroom, better seats, something just more modern in general, iPod integration, useable cup holders, better fuel economy, lower maintenance costs, better headlights, the hatch functionality is nice, etc. The biggest reason was I was just ready for a change. Also, my LS needed a few repairs and maintenance items, and I just didn't want to sink any more money in to it (timing belt was coming up, it needed a windshield, shocks, etc.) at the service department, and I didn't want to work on it myself. The other car I considered was a Sonata Limited which was extremely nice, but it just didn't excite me -- probably because I already had a nice 4 door and that's what the Sonata is too. Then, I drove the Prius, and when I left the dealer, I couldn't stop talking about it -- it definitely has the X factor that I was looking for. After the first drive, I thought it over for several weeks and test drove it again 3 or 4 more times before buying.
Yep, I've been done with school for almost two years. I work in operations management for a liquid storage terminal company that's right outside New Orleans. It's a great job.
Good stuff! Notice anything new about my sig? ;) No more civic...
I know, I know, what was I thinking?
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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?
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^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.
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WELL...apparently its been a long time since I bought an American car.
The guy I was dealing with *BLEEP*ed me off, so I started looking around at other dealer's inventories and the prices I was getting were all not as good as this guy's price. I got some $37ks...some $36ks, etc.
Then, I get a response from a guy tonight...$32,200. I'll follow up with him tomorrow to be sure its legit, but it looks pretty legit.
So Josh, I stand corrected!
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.
Hahahaha! Maybe so!
I've gotten a bunch of internet quotes from different dealers, seems I can match the original deal of just under $34k all over town. I responded to the guy who was at $32k but haven't heard back yet...thats definitely an outlier so I'm skeptical...
Unfortunately the first guy is the only guy that has exactly what I want. He really *BLEEP*ed me off though, kept trying to get me into the dealer instead of answering my simple questions, which as a salesman I understand, finally I just said "Look, this is how I buy cars. Before I set foot in the dealership I'm going to have the price figured out, the financing figured out, the trade figured out, and I'm just going to walk in and sign the paperwork. I'm not going to go and sit at the dealership for 5 hours while all these numbers and options are thrown around and choose one without analyzing it first to decide which way I want to go. If that doesn't work for you, it'll work for somebody." I haven't heard back from him.
I'm tempted to go get this thing this weekend and drive it to the beach ;)
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.
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I don't know that I buy that Josh...for a 4x4 or a 4x2? $32k would be over $3,000 under invoice, which just doesn't make any sense, they'd be loosing money on the vehicle.
Bear in mind too this is a Laredo X with $1,200 worth of options on top of the X package, the sunroof id $800 and the nav is $400.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Wow josh, why so many lines...We have two phones and pay $76 per month with no data plan....That includes 250 text messages per phone. (verizon)...OH and 700 minutes with free to fellow verizon and weekends and nights etc... but glad everything worked out for you. We both use LG phones with the real keyboards....
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.
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NICE car smooth. And AWESOME deal too.
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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.
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Sorry, meant to say that the split window was on the 63 corvette fastback....Then they came out with a single curved glass....
Indeed...what did I say? 67? oh my. LOL.
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lenore, it appears all you did was quote my pictures LOL
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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.
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#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!
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#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.
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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:
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#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.
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#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.
). 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....
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.
So Snopes Covers For Obama
in The Club Lounge
Posted