You didn build that !

John,
I cant take credit for that bumper sticker. (altho I wish I could :) I just happened to post it first.

A lot of humor is at the expense of others... sometimes that hits a nerve. I think a lot of the posts in this marathon thread have been out of frustration... and maybe a bit of jealousy.

There area lot of things I get frustrated over ... I'm 59 and look at my retirement funds (actually lack thereof) and could cry... after all, I did everything "right". Started saving and investing early in life, only to see it mostly wiped out by circumstances I had nothing to do with.

Pam and I have worked our azz off to build a small business (which "O" reminded me "We didn't build that.. someone else did" .. funny, I go into work at 6:30 most mornings. I never see "someone else" there?).

We started our business in 1986 ... and had one 10 day vacation in the first 15 years. Then we were finally able to hire an employee. He was there almost 6 years. Pam and I were actually able to take a couple of weeks of vacations EACH year! WOW! this is great!!! THEN the economy hit the skids. (btw, I didn't do that..."Someone else did that:(

It's back to just her and I. No more "frivolous" vacations. Now we actually close the doors of the business when we want a few days off to do silly things, like go to Green Lake. Kind of hard to have any income when the doors are closed. Not sure we will ever see another "week" vacation...

My health insurance rates have almost doubled in the last few years (What is so "Affordable" in this act?) Just went to dentist- xrays, cleaning and 360 bucks lighter, I'm back on the street... btw, the doc says I need almost 800 bucks worth of work sometime in the near future.... don't wait up doc... My insurance doesn't cover this.

I am completely embarrassed with pretty much ALL of these so called "public servant" politicians and the way they act. They are soooooo far out of touch with what the average Joe is doing to survive. What a JOKE.



On a lighter note, there are a few positives...

I still think we live in the greatest nation on earth. (altho I am VERY concerned with the direction it is going... mainly for my grandkids)

I'm still am able to buy gas for my boat. (good teeth are over rated, right?)

We rarely "go out" to eat. (gotta buy gas for the boat, you know?!)
   but We still have food on the table.

I come home to a house that the majority of the worlds population would think a king lives in.

I am free to worship on Sunday mornings. (somehow, that's not as popular with the general masses as it used to be)


and finally, we can all express our sometimes silly thoughts and beliefs on public forums without being thrown in jail. (I hear rumours they are working on changing that?)

Anyway, I gotta get some shut eye... 5:30AM comes pretty quickly. ( maybe "someone else" will finally show up at work tomorrow morning?)

Cheers my friend.

Hi Dave,
First off let me thank you again for your generosity at the GL reunion. I enjoyed meeting you, your son, and the family pup, and it was a pleasure to get a ride in your boat.
I really don't know why you seem angry that I had an enjoyable vacation visiting our national parks on the way home from visiting my daughter. I feel for the people who have spent their savings on a dream vacation to one of our national parks only to find them shuttered.
May I remind you that I worked many years of 60, 80, and even 100 hour weeks before I retired so I could pay for my children's education and put some money into my IRA and savings, and I have actively invested that money to get a return that can support some of my activities. I shared some of my views on investing this thread. While many were criticizing the government for supporting alternative energy and investing in some of the technology companies involved I embraced the technology. It has proven to be a much better strategy than "drill baby drill".

I have trouble understanding how your money supports my vacation.
I made a few of my investment selections clear to all with these posts. This is how I pay for my retirement.

john b wrote: skicat2001 wrote: Obama's 90 billion dollars on green energy is one example. AND THEY ALL WENT BANKRUPT.    This is the kind of bankrupt everyone wants! The Department of Energy invested $465,000,000 in Tesla in October 2011. At that time it would have bought 18,637,274 shares, since stock was trading at $24.96 Today that stock is worth $689,579,138 Department of Energy profit of $224,579,138. Solar City, another company the Department of Energy invested in with a loan of $275,000,000, went public in December 2012 at $11.00 Two months later the stock closed at $15.63, up 42% in 60 days, I'll take that. Department of Energy profit = $115,000,000. There are others as well, but these are the only ones I have positions in. There is always a great deal of risk in small cap new technology, but the rewards can be great as well. Everyone picks a big loser sometimes, and you don't have to pick more winners than losers either, just have a big winner come along once in a while. The risk was especially high with some of these given the time frame the purchase was made, with an election just on the horizon.. As a wise man on this site once said, "Do what you always do, get what you always got". Few people were ever exceptionally successful relying on an old business model. You have to think of the next thing.

And here is my follow up to that post.

[QUOTE=john b] I had to revisit this post. As I said back in January I invested in those terrible companies that all went broke under O'bama. This post in January is more true today than ever.
How are these companies of the future doing now? Just check if you haven't been following the business news. Too bad we didn't support Solyndra a bit longer. They went out of business and now we are forced to buy our solar panels from China for the booming solar business.
O'bama, a visionary. How's your oil stock doin on that "drill baby drill" platform?

john b wrote: [QUOTE=skicat2001] Obama's 90 billion dollars on green energy is one example. AND THEY ALL WENT BANKRUPT.

This is the kind of bankrupt everyone wants!

The Department of Energy invested $465,000,000 in Tesla in October 2011. At that time it would have bought 18,637,274 shares, since stock was trading at $24.96

ncdoubleup wrote: This is one that someone sent us the other day.

Be careful, you have fallen for our secret plan to eliminate you all!

This is one that someone sent us the other day.

To quote R.E.M. "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." One has to question why the government is providing and taxing for non-essential services in the first place?

John, What were you doing with the lumber in the back of your truck?


Making a tower for the Mustang?

I have to admit, the guy does have an ability to inspire people !

definitely worth the risk

It wasn't really a robbery, just social justice without the middleman.

AFL-CIO demands ObamaCare fix

"But unions were able to coalesce around one resolution that took aim at the ACA’s impact on multi-employer health plans, undermining the 40-hour work week and its series of taxes and fees that will hit collectively-bargained coverage particularly hard."

“You allow an ACA bill to go through like this, I guarantee you by your next convention four years from now, you won’t meet a quarter of this room. We won’t be here,” Nigro said.


Even the biggest supporters of Obama care are realizing they cant afford to "keep their healthplan" like Obama promised. Those lucky enough to not get cut back to 29 hours a week are going to end up in the exchanges. By the way, the fix is tax payer subsides to keep their cadillac health care like the government workers are promised. The more we exempt and subsidize, The higher the costs of Obamacare will go for everyone else.

December 20, 2007:

    Q. In what circumstances, if any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? (Specifically, what about the strategic bombing of suspected nuclear sites — a situation that does not involve stopping an IMMINENT threat?)

    OBAMA: The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

    As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent.



Senator Joe Biden in 2007: I Will Move To Impeach If President Bush Bombs Iran Without Congressional Approval

Biden spoke in front of a crowd of approximately 100 at a candidate forum held Thursday at Seacoast Media Group. The forum focused on the Iraq war and foreign policy. When an audience member expressed fear of a war with Iran, Biden said he does not typically engage in threats, but had no qualms about issuing a direct warning to the Oval Office.

    "The president has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran, and if he does, as Foreign Relations Committee chairman, I will move to impeach," said Biden, whose words were followed by a raucous applause from the local audience.


Oh what a difference a few years and a little more power makes. I don't think either of them has a clue what they said in the past because it was all the politics of the moment and not coming from any type of a moral compass.

peter1234 wrote: what rodeo clown hasnt worn a reagan , bush or bush   or clinton mask?

yeahhhhhh, I wonder why none of those made national news?

What's different this time?   Guess king O' doesn't like being jabbed at?

OverMyHead wrote: Don't you know it is wrong to do things at the expense of others........

hmmmmm, must have missed that memo...

obama rodeo clown

should this have been a big deal? Why did it even make the national news? I just heard the guy lost his job? ..Really?



.

MSNBC and CNN are all over it Dave. I can already hear the lies coming from Chris Mathews and Al Sharpton.