slngsht

what? no NASCAR drivers?

Martin, great way to put it. :thumbs: :flag:

:leaving:

:yesnod: :smash:

:rofl:

well, pulled the manifold off... no sign of anything bad. started leak down test on the heads... #6 is the culprit. I guess it's off with the heads. It's really tempting to take both heads off, rebuild, do cam, chain, etc... On the other hand, I can just throw the gasket on (assuming the head looks decent) and keep on trucking... things look pretty clean for a 200+K truck.

heh, glad we haven't had to deal with most of that here

Used our Honda minivan with it... not something I really wanted to do, but did it in a pinch. The minivan had plenty of power, but I'm sure the tranny was not made for that kind of duty (my seven is 1800 lbs, and my trailer is probably 1600 lbs - minivan tow capacity is 2000 lbs.). She did fine, but no point in pushing my luck.

Goes without saying :lol:

Since I sold my Buick, the vette had become my daily driver. With winter coming, I was looking for a beat up pickup or SUV for snow / salty road days, as well as occasional towing duty for the seven. In my price range, I narrowed it down to old (mid to late 90s) Silverade / Tahoe / Yukon, or old Tacoma / 4Runner. After a bunch of reading, I came to the conclusion that both have their faults (GM = some tranny failures, alternator, waterpump, leaky intake - Toyota = blown head gaskets, rust problems, under powered) and decided to stick with my trusty GMs. As luck would have it, my brother was thinking about dumping his '99 Yukon... It has an apparent blown head gasket, but is otherwise in very decent shape. The truck has 203,000 miles on it - almost all highway, as he used this to commute several times a week between VA Beach and Maryland. I'm getting her home tomorrow, and hope to take a crack at replacing the head gasket in the next couple of weeks, and getting her back on the road.

Don't EVEN get me started on the bailout :rofl:

Dave, believe me, the word "ignorant", did not EVEN REMOTELY enter my mind. I took the context as "federal taxes" because we were talking about national elections. I agree that even on the local level, tax issues are a touchy issue. My position on that is that government does not put as much effort in running more efficiently, as it does in trying to get more revenue. But at least with local government, I feel more empowered to do something - heck, even run for office. I favor LESS Federal government control, MORE local government control. Even if in the end, overall $$$ are the same. To give you an example of the efficiency problem, our local school district pays $1000 for each desktop computer! My jaw dropped when I heard that. Do you know how I know? because there weren't enough computers in the school, and the PTA raised 20K to buy 20 computers (had to be purchased through the county contract). Now, just picture this: How likely are you to buy a computer from a store at $1000, when you can go online and buy the SAME EXACT THING for $600? Would you not be pissed if someone in your family came happily home with a $1000 receipt for a $600 computer? That's how my local government operates... and they ALWAYS ask for more money. THAT gets under my skin. To that end, that was McCain's point about the way fed contracts are done. Spending less does not always equal getting less. I spent a few years working on federal contracts. The main reason I got out is that all the waste really pissed me off.

I know, I know No mods for next season... I will just finish up what I have and RUN RUN RUN

Welcome aboard Todd, another 7 in Maryland :thumbs:

Either that, or make everything consumption based, not income / asset based.

Mondo, I agree with your major points: 1- pay as you go - force balanced budget at both the federal and state levels 2- proper financing on the war

:thumbs: I've met alot of the posters, at least on the east coast, from both political sides, religious, or not. Believe me, it doesn't make me respect them any less. The fact that we can discuss this without degenerating into name calling, etc... is another testament to the quality of seven owners on the board :cheers:

Dave, As Jerry pointed out, almost all of those are local problems, and need to be funded and controlled locally. If people in Montana want, and are willing to pay extra wide roads, who am I to have a say in the issue? Where I live, our local county school budget is 2.1 Billion dollars... or over 15,000 per student. WELL above the national average, and almost all of it based on county taxes. People in our county choose to make it a priority, and out of the 26 schools in our county, 6 are ranked in the national top 100 list. On the other hand, our hospitals are horrible. I think Maryland leads the nation in longest wait times in the ER waiting room. Again, locals get to make a choice of priorities. The thing about taxes is that the more local it is, the more people will take ownership of the issue. If funding for everything can be realized by people in Washington, it becomes the free-for-all that we see... Grab as much as you can for the people who vote you in - if you don't, someone else will. It's human nature. The federal government has several basic functions, including defense and interstate commerce issues. I submit that the way to balancing the budget is reducing the role of the federal government, and the federal taxes to go with it. Let the states and local governments raise taxes as needed to govern themselves. When the ownership of your issues are a local level, your voice will be heard loud and clear by your government. So, the issue is not how much net taxes are paid... it's about accountability and ownership of the issues and challenges facing our country.

I don't know if what you say is true historically, maybe it is. Do the top 5% own a higher percentage of assets than they did in the 1800's, 1900's, etc? The point is that it doesn't matter. What matters is whether there is opportunity for someone who is not rich to work hard, be smart, and make it there. THAT's what's becoming more difficult, and taxing people who are making 250K, 200K, or 150K (keeps dropping) at a higher rate, does not help that situation... nor does the current state of healthcare, etc... All that aside, would anyone vote for a guy who said this, to defend the constitution? QUOTE: The the the victories and failures of the civil rights movement. And, it's litigation strategy in the court I think where succeeded was too. S formal rights. In. Previously, dispossessed people so that that I would now have the right to vote I would now be able to sit as lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I'd be Okay. But, the supreme court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth. And, certain more basic issues of political and and and economic justice in the society and, at the that extend as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren court. It wasn't that radical. It it didn't break free from the essential constraints were placed, by the founding fathers in the constitution at least the way it has been interpreted, and more important for visits in the same way that, generally the constitution is a charter of negative liberties, that is what the states can't do to you, says the federal government can't do to you but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf. I, for one, happen to like the constitution the way it is. If raising taxes actually reduced the deficit, that'd be great. Actually it doesn't - not while spending is out of control. Furthermore, taxes are supposed to be a way for the .gov to meet its expenditure needs, not social engineering. The above quote has some minor transcription flaws in it, because I ran it through a transcription engine. I'll be happy to post it up if you find it hard to believe a presidential candidate would actually say those words in that order. :nonod:

:lol: I... must... not... pile... on :leaving:

Did he best the Reynard, or did it not show?

Valid complaints are always welcome, and time allowing, I will do what I can to address them. Thanks, :cheers:

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