America.....Views from the Road.

Billsworld

Thats only allowed in Hyannis and select spots on the Vineyard. Rubber side up

stevebaby

A libertarian king?

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I'm Rooting for Cadel!
Drink!Feck!Arrse!Girls!
Post altering bastard

nns1400

Clearly, what America needs is an Empress...

C'est moi...

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If the shoe fits, buy it.

Billsworld

The castle might look a bit shabby

stevebaby

Give me an "H"...give me an "i"...

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I'm Rooting for Cadel!
Drink!Feck!Arrse!Girls!
Post altering bastard

wolfix

I'm home after the last 3 weeks of about 15000 miles across the states. Three days ago I was in LA, then beer tasting at FatTyre in Fort Collins and now home after a straight 1000 mile run.

Tonight....a few beers.

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"I rule my world with a cellphone."

nns1400

So now we know the true reason for this truck driving thing...hitting all the microbreweries in the country whilst getting paid for it...

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If the shoe fits, buy it.

wolfix

Yeah....... they don't have to be micro.....macro will also do fine.

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"I rule my world with a cellphone."

Bro Deal

You know in Phoenix there were more than 350 kidnappings last year. Not Mexico City, where you need bodyguards, but freakin' Phoenix. And that number is just the ones that are known to police. A decade ago there were no kidnappings. Mexican gangs kidnap people who are involved in illegal activities and demand ransom. It's beginning to spill over to legitimate hispanic businessmen, and it will eventually involve anyone who has the means to pay.

Washington won't be satisfied until the U.S. is a third world shithole. But, hey, if Wallmart's executives and board of directors, are happy then it must be good for America. God forbid that McDonalds might have to hire U.S. citizens and the price of a Big Mac goes up.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Crankyfeet

The stupidest thing they did was all get together and protest waving Mexican flags. That's going to win you sympathy in the US...

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Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

wolfix

Two more days of doing nothing at home, then 10 more weeks of hitting the roads.

This job has changed me, and maybe not for the better. But I have at least identified the changes in me. I have always had a intolence of stupidity in humans, but I never allowed it to show. I do not have the time nor patience anymore for stupid people. I am not talking of the uneducated individual who cannot help it because of lack of oppurtunities in life due to many circumstances. But I see it on a regular basis in situations from people that know better.
One thing that has hit home to me is this......... We are taught that stereotypes are not true............ I disagree. Maybe not on a individual basis, but as a whole, they generally are. I realize that when meeting a individual it is wrong to stereotype him, but generally when dealing with a group, it is a much faster way to get something done. And stereotypes are usually accurate when approching a group.
Which leads me to this........... I believe political correctness is hurting this country. People are being scammed in this country in their effort to be politically correct. One major area I am familiar with is the food industry. I can say this with some accurracy...... Your local health food store is ripping you off. I don't think the owners of the small stores are doing it on purpose, but they are selling many goods that are not what they are said to be. Unless the food goods are local grown, they may not be what they say they are.
I don't care what the store tells you about the growing policies, the freshness, the lack of chemicals....... They are just passing on info they want to believe themselves that they are told by the growers.

Coffeeeeeeeee beans....... I know this......If you truly want fresh beans , buy from a large mega store. I have seen tons of beans sit on the docks that will not hit your local beanery way past the time they should have. I don't know if freshness is important in coffee beans, but if it is, I doubt if your local coffee shop has beans that are real fresh. So....... Think about it when you are paying $4.00 for a cup that costs about $.25 at the most.

If you are really a person that cares for the human working conditions in this country, buy your veggies, fruit and meat from a local grower. I realize this is not always possible, but most smaller health food stores do have local suppliers. The scamming companies are usually the ones that have the shiny brochure talking about how they are so politically correct in everything they do.
The food industry in this country is one step away from human slavery. And it's happening in your neighborhood. The state I am most familiar with is that allows this form of human slavery is Colorado. While the people in Boulder are running around talking of world wide working conditions that are wrong, right in their backyard is a third world nation quietly producing food for the masses. When you think of the great riding conditions in Fort Collins and Boulder, remember just a few miles east of you people from third world nations are working in bad conditions producing food that wants to make you puke. Not a few indidividuals, but thousands. Most people living there have no idea what a shithole that part of Colorado is. But then it is easier to sit around the coffee shops on Saturday to discuss the bad conditions in other places.
I will not eat chicken again unless I personally knew the bird.

Time to go drink some more beer before I get too liberal.

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"I rule my world with a cellphone."

Bro Deal

I'm laughing my ass off about this. I used to be a far right wing libertarian (small L) and gradually changed.

I know you were not too keen about national healthcare. I just pulled this off of americablog. It's about an american who needed a chest X-Ray in France. It says a lot about how farked up the U.S.'s system is.

I've had this killer flu for three and a half weeks now, and it's still lingering as a persistent cough, so I figured I'd go see the doctor in Chris' building. She said, yep, you've got the flu that everyone else has, and you might have a chest infection. Her prescription? Get an X-Ray. Ugh. An X-Ray. Does my insurance cover it? If so, how much? So, I paid the whopping 22 Euro (33 bucks) bill to the doctor, in cash (she paid me my change out of her purse), and called Blue Cross to see if they cover me while I'm abroad. After a good 20 minute phone call, I found out that if my French X-Ray center isn't "in network" then I have to pay a $300 deductible and 70% of the cost. At this point, I figured I'd better find out how much this X-Ray is going to cost, since for $300, I'd rather just have the doc dope me up on antibiotics and screw the X-Ray. The doc warned me that X-Rays are much more expensive than doctor visits. So I just called the X-Ray people and asked how much a chest X-Ray costs. Are you ready? 45 Euros. That's 67 bucks or so (and it would be only 45 bucks if the exchange rate weren't so out of whack). I just looked online and found that chest X-Rays go for around 200 dollars in the states. Amazing. So I'm going to suck it up and pay my 67 dollars for the X-Ray out of my own pocket. Tell me again how European "socialized medicine" is so bad?

Okay, just got back from the doctor (the x-ray was fine). I scheduled my appointment a few hours in advance, it was for 3:30pm (or 15h30 as they say here), and they took me at 3:33pm. I was out of there in 15 minutes, and that included seeing a doctor afterwards to explain what the x-ray said (and I then promptly left my x-ray in the check out line at the grocery - someone's in for a surprise with their creme brule!) Bottom line: Still not seeing what's so bad with the health care system over here.

We miss you in the pro racing forum...

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

wolfix

I'm totally confused on how to handle th national health care system.....In this country, everyone should be covered. That goes without thinking too much. But my fear is having government touch anything.I have no confidence in government. I see it as inefficient and incapable of doing things correctly. I also fear the burden that health care would put on beginning businesses. And we need the beginning businesses to create jobs to employ us. Health care would impose many burdens on small business, and that gives corporations more strenghth. And too much corporate power is not good capitolism.

It's a issue without any answers for me.Before we head off into a national system, maybe we need to look as to why the system is so expensive. My thoughts say litigation lawyers chasing deep pockets.

I had the flu also. I actually bruised a rib from coughing so hard. 3-4 weeks of hell. I still have a small cough. But I was stuck driving, which was difficult at times.
Gotta go drink more beer.

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"I rule my world with a cellphone."

Crankyfeet

This whole healthcare debate was hashed out last year in that "Armstrong for President" thread, so I don't want to rehash the whole debate, but the big problem with the American system IMHO is that both the insurance companies and the providers have a vested interest in inflating healthcare costs. This practice of insurance companies only giving a percentage of the claim back to the provider should stop. If there is an absolute maximum for a particular service, let that be stated, but most providers are overcharging based on only getting, for instance, 50% back from the insurance company. This means that if someone wants to pay cash for the same service, they have to pay the "inflated" figure that not even the insurance companies pay. Which gives people more incentive to be covered, hence the insurance companies win. And the provider's win. And those people insured on corporate plans win. But those who aren't covered lose big time. It's a weakness of the system, coupled together with the fact that once you are insured for health, there is every encouragement then to get the "X-rays" that are nearly free on insurance, but that you wouldn't probably bother with if you were not insured.

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Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."