mrballsonya
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Posts posted by mrballsonya
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As the common saying goes "Misery loves company", and in my case it's true. I'm glad to hear, that I'm not the only one that seems to be extremely dissatisfied with the current direction of our Country.
I can only hope that there are many others like us, and soon we will unite and empower each other. I know that I sound very idealistic, but man, am I pissed.
This Is Our Country!
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As silly as it might sound, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Words can incite millions.
The sword is absolute, but it does have its flaws, it's usually a temporary solution to an ongoing problem.
Force is not always the answer.
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Excellent post mbonya...kind of hard for the concerned citizenry to have a voice on the Hill. Unless you have extremely deep pockets. Both sides of the aisle have failed the very people they were elected to "represent". Our forefathers must be spinning in thier respective graves. I doubt this is what they had in mind. ....
Thanks, I felt very impassioned yesterday. I'm so tired of hearing bad news.
We have to start organizing all the people that have been disenfranchised by our current governmental system.
This is OUR Country not the Corporations.
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Who took our Country away from us?
Who, and or what entity is to blame? You can make arguments for many singular instances, such as.. 9/11, "the war on Terror", tax cuts in the midst of a war, unfair trade agreements, foreign currency manipulation, the Sub-prime lending collapse, high gas prices, or even faceless corporate greed..... these are but a few of the countless contributors to the current decline of our country.
So, to whom should we direct our angst?
I believe there is one common denominator in this contrived equation. To me, it seems that all of the aforementioned problems, could've been and should've been addressed and or solved by our elected officials. You remember, those men and women that the MAJORITY of us voted into office, the very same ones that should be looking out for our best interests. Unfortunately for me and you, as normal tax paying citizens (voters), Corporations hold a lot more clout in Washington than us.
We as a Nation, have allowed a governmental system that essentially casts a blind eye to legalized bribery (P.A.C. contributions). U.S. citizens just can't compete with rich corporations when it comes to political "Donations". We can't afford to send "lobbyists" with a satchel full of money every time a proposal comes up that might effect us. We must stand idly by, as every new senator or new house rep gets thrown into the same perverse, corrupt, flawed system. Decisions have been made, and will continue to be made in the best interest of corporations.....and not the American people. Until we as a people get really angry, this same system will perpetuate and essentially return to the basic Feudal system of the dark ages. Get out your history books. We as the majority(peasants, farmers, slaves) will serve the Lords(Governments, Corporations), who will serve the King (President).
As ironic as it might sound... your DEM or REP vote means nothing. Why is this? Because it doesn't matter who you send to Washington, DEM or REP, they eventually will become corrupted by the system. As soon as they hit the Beltway, they'll stop looking out for our best interests, and start looking out for theirs. I don't blame them, everyone knows that greed and power consumes. It's been this way since the dawn of time.
So who do I blame? I blame Us. Thats right. You, me and the rest of our 300,000,000 countrymen. We have became utterly complacent, we no longer organize and protest. We no longer get angry. We no longer question bad leadership. Essentially we've taken for granted all the rights that our forefathers fought for. We have become a Totalitarian, faux Democratic society. A society in which we're so busy working, that we don't seem to care whats going on.
Tell me, whats the use in voting, if the same person with a different face gets elected every time? We need Change. Drastic Change. Revolutionary change.
How many of you are happier now, than you were 10 years ago? How many of you believe that our Country is progressing and not regressing? How many of you feel that your children will have a better quality of life than you? If you answered yes to any of those questions, than you are by far the minority, and must be part of the ruling 5%.
The Ruling 5%, whats that? That's the portion of our society that has invented something, discovered something, exploited someone, or is the heir to someone that has done these previous deeds. As a capitalistic society, these behaviors have to be examined, admired, and propagated. We have to make sure that every working class grunt has this same motivation, no matter how false it may be. Otherwise this 19th century, Gold rush/lottery, Pipe dream mentality will be dissolved, and our whole capitalistic belief system and work ethic would be decimated. If peasants don't think that if they work hard, they'll get a better life, then they won't work hard and they won't think outside the box. This is the whole beauty of capitalism, and catholicism for that matter, any average sinner can achieve and succeed. This is the capitalistic, catholic way.
Our Country is severely broken, and desperately needs fixing. Our Country has way to many problems for one singular man or woman to solve. To think that a different President elect, will solve all our problems, is to be naive. All we can hope for, is an uprising and overthrow. I know this sounds extremely drastic, but in my mind it's the only way to take our country back from our Corporate controlled government.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
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Republicans win again!!!!!!!!!!! It will shock most here, but watch!!!!!!!
Pass that pipe you're smoking brother, I could use a little dose of healing.
There is absolutely no way a Republican will win the next election. Eight years of the George W. Bush administration, has almost guaranteed a victory for the Democrats. What exactly did the Moron say..... " fool me once...... er ...eh... you can't fool me again". The Majority of the American people won't be fooled again.
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$4 a gallon gas will happen, and the rich will get richer. Fairly soon after that, the huddled masses will get organized, and take our country back, Back from the iron grips of faceless corporations and crooked politicians. Why? Because the majority can only be oppressed for so long. History has proved this.
Don't worry... They can't constantly rape you. Eventually you'll deliver them that collective "shank" in the eye.
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Although I would love to receive this bonus I don't think any of us should get it. This includes salary and hourly. Once we make a profit as a company again I am all for sharing the wealth through the profit sharing program again. But to reward everyone for trying but in the end failing again doesn't seem right to me.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...1014/BUSINESS01
I agree 100%. I thought last years welfare checks were ridiculous, but to do it 2 years in a row is just insane. If we as a Company are not making any money, then why should anyone get a performance bonus? Performance bonuses should reward GOOD PERFORMANCE. Losing 10% market share in 7 years and not making any profit since 2004 don't indicate that we as a company have PERFORMED WELL.
This is obviously a thinly veiled bribe to the average UAW worker. A simple pittance to pacify the angst of the average grunt as the Board gives the top 200 officers unjustified bonuses.
Let us all celebrate, once we start making products that are irresistible to the average consumer.
When Ford becomes a contender again, let us all enjoy the spoils of victory. But for now, rewarding incompetence does nothing, other than to create a weak facade that we're better than we actually are. I think Mullaly has done a much better job than Jr. , but I don't agree with this portion of "Team Building".
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When was the last time you gat a 2.53 million yen bonus??? ($23,378.23 US or $23,395.81 Can) or even better yet 6 mon of pay as a bonus. THATS MY POINT
This is typical of the Japanese Nationalistic attitude. For as long as time, the Japanese have always been a proud, Nationalistic Country. This is the main reason why we had to use the A-Bomb on them, back in world war 2. Harry Truman had to make this unenviable decision based on intelligence that stated the Japs were "DUG IN". Tens of thousands of American lives would be lost in a traditional military assault. He and his advisor's were right, The Japanese are a very proud people that would fight to the death before surrendering. They've adopted this same mentality in regards to the auto industry. Unfortunately Ford and GM can't end the battle as easily as Harry Truman did.
To the Japanese, the average U.S. citizen is just a potential customer. As a potential customer, the Japanese know that we need to be coddled into a false sense of security and a false sense of value. They've done a great job on that front, the constant maladies and quality problems of the average 80's domestic vehicle have contributed greatly to the common misnomer that current Japanese Vehicles are far superior to the current domestics.
The Japanese have are backs against the wall, and can't wait to drop the financial A-Bomb on us.
We are consuming Japanese and Chinese products, Far quicker than they are consuming our products. So where does this leave us? As a nation we've become alarmingly subservient to the Middle East, China and Japan. What happens when you keep making financial promises that you can't keep (A.K.A. National Debt)? Apparently most sane people start devaluing your ability to pay back that debt (Lower Dollar). Our country is in rough shape, the Midwest is just the beginning.
When you no longer produce products, you become reliant on other Countries for said products. All of a sudden you become dependent upon someone else for your survival. So when other Countries decide to raise prices, increase their profits and also their standard of living, can you blame them? I don't. I just blame our inept leadership, whether it be Corporate or National.
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That's a little insulting, you should go back and read the thousands of posts I have written on this subject. And in many of the threads I was replying to you. So obviously I have been aware for some time. To include knowing about the new trade agreements that he intended on passing, but of coarse did not have a Link to a clip with him saying it openly, the 08 state of the uion address changed that!
I apologize for the pseudo insult, I really meant nothing by it. I'm sorry if I haven't read most of your thousands of posts since you started here, I was hearkening back to our early exchanges, back when you seemed to be very supportive of the Bush administration. Men change, opinions change, everyone changes, I'm sorry if I didn't catch your revelation long ago. I'm glad you've become such a dedicated supporter and poster on this site, and I'm glad that we finally agree that Bush doesn't have our best interests in mind.
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He wants to send more jobs overseas, and expects us to support it! He even recognizes the job loss do to these policies and offers training and schooling. I ask you if he did not sell your job in the first place, would you have to go find one to replace it? Look at congress's facial expressions while he puts his foot in his mouth. Apparantly the congressman and senitors here from our E-Mails and know the position of the public, while Bush is oblivious to it while he lives in an alternate reality! The worst part is that when we was taking a beating over Iraq, I stood with him. I supported him all the way to 05' When he began attacking the middle class openly. First Passing CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement). by trying to freeze pension plans for every employer nationwide. Offering to privatize portions of Social security to bolster the dow and by proxy his own personal investments. Then by opening the southern border to Mexican trucks to run all 48 states. By refusing to secure our borders and allowing illegal aliens to work here and further reduce the jobs available to our citizens. And lastly by intending on completeing 3 more free trade ageements before the end of his term! This man is the fool, not us! I need to E-Mail TMZ to let them know that I would pay to see them sick their Paparazzi on him after he leaves office, I'd like to see him get the Brittaney Spears treatment!
WOW, I can't believe it took you that long to figure out that the Bush administration is not conducive to the average working middle class American. In a way... I feel sorry for you, but at the same time, I'm glad you've finally had your epiphany.
I'd like anyone to refute the fact, that the oil companies have never made more money, than under the Bush regime.... Exxon $120 billion profit over the last 3 years. Bush has been a proponent of Big business since day one. I guess the silver spoon moron, bought hook line and sinker into the trickle down economics philosophy. This is a great philosophy, as long as the wealth and subsequent job creation trickles down to U.S. citizens, unfortunately for the rust belt, the Corporations are no longer investing in the (HIGH LABOR COST U.S.), they are sending their money to other countries. This a complex economy we currently reside in, I don't pretend to understand all the facets, all I know is that the Rust belt is in a sustained DEPRESSION... DEF. (a long-term economic state characterized by unemployment and low prices and low levels of trade and investment), I don't know what else we can call it.
Bush has done nothing for the middle class, other than to tell us to go shopping after 9/11, and give all his rich buddies and corporate cronies huge tax cuts. Oh I forgot, I did get a $1200 tax cut a couple of years ago, but I've gave that all back to the BUSH LOVING oil companies 3 years ago, when gas went from $1.30 to $3.00 a gallon.
Bush is the WORST president we've ever had, and we've had some bad ones in the past.
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Welcome to the year 2008, ladies and gentleman. After seven years of leadership from our "Corporation loving" president, we all should feel "lucky" to still have a decent paying job. The global economy, in which we compete, against $2 an hour Chinese workers and $5 an hour Mexican workers, is not conducive to paying U.S. workers $30 an hour. This sucks, I know.... It's not 1950 anymore. The UAW did the best they possibly could given the current economic climate. The Union is only as powerful as its membership, and the membership is dwindling like ice in a fire. This is a hard reality for most of us, as the UAW has always stood up for the working middle class. As UAW membership dwindles, so does the middle class. Get ready to start using your foodstamps at Walmart
8 years of Bush, is going to be awfully hard to undo.
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My dad was one of the many IT's that took a buyout package, with 25 years of service, he really didn't want to "retire", but he felt he HAD to. To this day, he's still looking for another Job. It seems Job hunting has become a very tough road to travel, here in Michigan. He claims that there are plenty of good job opportunities, just not in Michigan. Not wanting to relocate, it appears he's headed for a very rocky semi retirement.
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I hate Minivans, but having 4 small kids, my wife supposedly can't live without one. I sure wish Ford still made one, I hate giving my money to Chrysler every two years (but at least the Caravan is made by my UAW or CAW counterparts). It really is ashame that I get the A-plan from Ford, yet I have to beg a Chrysler employee for a crappy friends and family #.
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Those cars, Fusion, Milan, Zephyr/MKZ or whatever the fuck they call it, being built down there (and Ford U.S./Canada employees buying them) is a slap at everyone here, especially the people from Wixom, or Atlanta, or any other plant that Ford closed, that could have built those cars.
:beerchug: I agree. Ford knew the writing was on the wall at some of the U.S. plants due to stale outdated products, yet they still decided to invest a Billion dollars, and give a hot new product to Mexico (Fusion). Ford management made these decisions knowing full well, that contractually they would still have to pay all the displaced US plant workers Full Pay, to produce nothing (G.E.N).
I realize that our Mexican counterparts make about a 1/5th of what we do, but I also believe it takes aprox. double the amount of Mexican workers to equal the productivity of an equivalent U.S. plant. So if we couple the productivity issue along with fact that Ford still has to pay all its displaced U.S. workers Full Pay, the decision to produce the Fusion in Mexico just seems totally moronic.
I'm glad for Fords sake that the Fusion Triplets have been such a success, but I will never consider buying one given the reasons above. I don't fault anyone for buying one though, after all.... every sale helps out Ford, and eventually I like to think that a healthier Ford might one day provide me with a job again.
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Was it a slow weekend in Motor City? The Detroit papers had nothing better to report than old news that has been tossed around like a salad for the past year or so.
Contract time boys and girls, same shit every time a contract year rolls around.
I was hired in May 1979 and I was told then that STAP would be closing within 5 years time.
Last time I drove by that plant it was still there and there was a lot of cars in the parking lot. I don't think it is a shopping mall now
The DRUM BEATERS will be all over that news report. Let them have their fun, and do not let it ruin your Christmas.
It's funny, I heard the same mantra about Wixom. "I've been here for X years.... and nothings happened".
A word of advice, start preparing. Don't get caught with your pants down. If it happens you'll be prepared, if it doesn't you'll be ahead.
It may not be true, but the underlying conditions support the statement. Get your finances in order, and start coming up with backup plans.
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Ford pulled out all the stops to build a quality vehicle in the Freestar. It is a good vehicle. :hysterical:
I hate to rub salt in the wounds of a fallen man, but the Freestar was an abortion. It was one of Fords biggest missteps of the last 10 years. It's a rare occasion when people laud the traits of a previous product (windstar), and PAN the traits of its successor(freestar). The Freestar/Monterey sucked, and the marketplace proved that.
Unfortunately the designers and engineers of the Freestar took the Mini-Van market for granted. They felt that due to past sales, they could obviously introduce an inferior product to the marketplace..... and it would still sell because it was a FORD. What a mistake! Ford gave up 200,000 vehicle sales a year, and almost shut down an assembly plant because the Freestar/Monterey SUCKED so bad.
It wasn't the hourly peoples fault, that the Ford Design and Engineering team had their head up their asses. It was inept leadership, and poor decision making in upper management that contributed to the demise of the Ford Mini-Van. The American consumers spoke with their pocket books and due to natural selection..... the inferior product (Freestar), was stricken from the marketplace. If it was great, it would've sold. But instead it sucked. And now the only option Americans have to buy an American Mini-van, is the Dodge Caravan/Chrysler T&C.
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Yeah, I do find myself less tolerant. The fact of the matter is, I no longer have the patience for stupid people. Speaking of stupid, if ignorance is bliss, then you must be one happy motherfucker.
Methos and Pump, as a supporter of many of your posts and as an observer and contributer to this thread.... I have to say, both of you are now just feeding the beast. Why even respond anymore? What are you gaining? Are you guys just bored? Is it just pride? Countless Facts and Figures are refuted with countless Facts and Figures. It really has become comical.
NAP has created a philosophical, nihilistic thread. A thread that only serves to empower himself and a few other minions. Let the aforementioned "tools", extol the virtues of this "great Iraq war" amongst themselves. Let them "Proclaim Victory" and discuss exactly what "mission accomplished" meant. It can be their penultimate "Sausage Fest".
Why interfere anymore? The Iraq war is great, I can't believe you guys don't understand this ...FACT.
There are times to fight, and there are times to be ambivalent, this is a classic case of wasted time and wasted effort. Nap obviously has more time on his hands than sense in his brain. This NAP FACT can never be substantiated.. because Nap will either call you an *expletive* or back up his intelligence with quoted propaganda. Nap cannot be defeated, you cannot win a battle with an idiot. You can physically beat him senseless, and the idiot will still think he won... because he didn't die. You can relay every fact in the world, but the idiot will still rely on his limited knowledge to refute you. In an Idiot's mind, they cannot be defeated. Nap and Bush were obviously separated at birth, as they both posses the same mentality. I beg of you, wave the white flag. Let the Idiots WIN.
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Look asswhipe...they can call it whatever the fk they want! They are not getting paid out of GEN and working in the plant!WOW!!! Somehow you're all knowing. What a powerful trait to posses, I'm jealous.
I have to ask though, How do you do it? How can you possibly know what everyone, everywhere is doing? Do you have security cameras and microphones placed in every conceivable location? If so, how did you set up such an elaborate surveillance network? Where did you get the funding for your "Big Brother" network? How do you find the time to monitor and review all the recorded material from you're clandestine network? Of course, all of the aforementioned questions are assuming you're a mortal man and not some type of GOD. If you are a GOD, by all means disregard all the questions and please, please, don't reign lightning bolts down upon my house for questioning your omnipotence.
Fortunately for me, I tend to believe that a GOD would know the correct spelling of the popular slang term asswipe.
Well... since seemingly I don't have to worry about any freakish lightning strike repercussions, I guess I can call you out for the fraud you are. Since you're not a God, you must be the most egotistic, portentous person to ever post here on BON. Make sure you give yourself a pat on the back, after all you deserve it. Not many people can lay claim to the fact of being the BEST at something.
All hail CAPTAIN723, The biggest Know-It-All on the Blue Oval Network.
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THEIR Skilled Trades. The Trades are a "people" not a place.
Regardless...... This Blows.
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Forcing young children to believe in any religion is child abuse, and should be a crime. That is why we have so many adults walking around with eyes unfocused like mental cases. Because they are religious fanatics, we do not recommend treatment. Do not expose children to this horse shit. Let them learn about it on their own when they are old enough to think for themselves.
Truer words, haven't been spoken.
Religion is a great divider, and should be dealt with very carefully. -
WHAT!!! Japanese vehicles are subject to recalls too? That's very hard to believe. Everyone knows that Japanese vehicles run for 2,000,000 miles without any maintenance.
BUY AMERICAN. We make better cars, and hopefully the American public will start to realize that soon. If they wait too long, the only choice they'll have... will be Japanese, Korean, or Chinese.
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Is this a joke?
Am I getting this right? The Norfed people thought that as long as they had silver to back up the coins, they could integrate their coin into the U.S. Currency system? That is totally ridiculous. I see no problem in minting "commemorative" non negotiable, Ron Paul dollars.... but to think they could be integrated into the U.S. currency system is just utter lunacy.
As much as I hate the fact that the U.S. dollar is so weak and the reasons why its become so weak, I just can't justify every tom, dick and Harry coming up with their own currency and expecting to integrate into our system.
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Bill OReilly - Principle vs Money?[/url]
That's Funny, I wasn't aware of all the controversy between O'reilly and Cuban. It's all about Money baby.....just ask one of our Illustrious elected officials.
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With todays technology if the only news you get your info from is via US news suppliers whether left or right then you are stupid.
Well said!
Why Are Auto Manufacturers Building E85 Engines
in Ford Powertrain Tech
Posted · Edited by mrballsonya
As others have already stated, making ethanol from corn is a terribly inefficient process. I've read several articles that claim that the actual cost of corn based Ethanol per gallon, just barely meets, but usually exceeds the current price of gasoline. From what I've read, most articles estimate the cost of corn ethanol anywhere from $3.00+ A Gallon (based just on Ethanol futures, transportation, extraction, and government subsidies) all the way up to $5.00+ A Gallon (when you factor in the increase of food prices because of the diversion of corn to ethanol production, and also the reduced energy produced when burning ethanol versus gasoline).
Here is an interesting editorial that explains the costs a little better than I have.
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/c.../2007/0202.html
Despite all my aforementioned hesitations about corn Ethanol as a fuel. I still like the basic idea of reducing OPEC's stranglehold over our Country. If there is any positive to corn based Ethanol, then this is it. If the American people are going to getting screwed by someone, I guess I'd rather it be by American Farmers, rather than foreign Sheiks.
With all this being said, there is a promising new technology for Ethanol extraction. According to a company called Coskata, they've come up with a process that can take any carbon based garbage and extract ethanol from it. It seems very far fetched, but by 2010 they do have plans to build an 100 million gallon a year pilot plant. Coskata claims that their process could yield ethanol, for the fantastic price of $1.00 a gallon.
Links...
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/re...ch/4248759.html
http://www.coskata.com/