mav

Well, I don't think you can go wrong with that price. Congrats. As a side observation, what kind of watch are you wearing in the pic? The band looks identical to an Omega Seamaster.

The results from the straw poll are in. Bachmann: 4,823 Paul: 4,671 Pawlenty: 2,293 Santorum: 1,657 Cain: 1,456 Perry: 718 (didn't announce until later) Romney: 567 (didn't compete in the straw poll) Gingrich: 385 Huntsman: 69 McCotter: 35 I was pleased that Paul did well. I was hoping he would win it.

I always heard Parkway Village and Frayser were nice areas to live. Seriously, I think Memphis is just like any other big city. There are very nice areas, and then there are areas to stay away. Chattanooga is pretty much the same way, although it might not be as bad since it is quite a bit smaller. Congrats on your new job. Best of luck to you.

It is what I do for a living.

Yes, you are correct. An acid + base = salt + water. In this case the potassium hydroxide (KOH) from the leaking alkaline battery will react with the aectic acid (vinegar) to give you potassium acetate, which is very water soluble. Potassium hydroxide is also very water soluble as well, so it can be washed off as well. The reaction won't really be all that exothermic since it will be very dilute. As far as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) not reacting with the potassium hydroxide, that is not really correct. One mole of bicarbonate can react with one mole of a metal alkoxide (KOH). NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate) + NaOH (sodium hydroxide) -> Na2CO3 (sodium carbonate, soda ash) + H2O Sodium bicarbonate will also work neutralizing an acid. Regardless, acetic acid will work better.

I figured Perry would have been too religious for some of you guys.

I don't think vinegar should be a problem with the metal. It is fairly dilute. It will also react with the alkalinity from the batteries before it starts attacking the metal. However, I don't know if I would soak it for lengthy time periods.

Great story. With all the chaos going on in the world, stories like this provide a beacon of hope that all is not lost.

The importance on religion really doesn't surprise me. Social conservatives still have very strong voice in the GOP. However, I don't think the religion issue will be as big, although still important, this next election as in previous elections. I often talk to some of my friends and acquaintances who are very socially conservative that you if don't get the fiscal issues solved then your social issues really aren't gonna mean that much. Ron Paul is still my guy too Lester.

Did anyone watch the debate this evening? I have heard several things that I did not like, and a few things I did. Although I wouldn't vote for Newt, I did think he did well. I enjoyed how Gingrich was attacking the media, and I thought it was funny when Paul started schooling Santorum. Any comments on what you heard this evening?

It is amazing how fast this stuff spreads.

He could always have scared them with a pair of hedge clippers instead of a gun. Who knows what the truth is in situations like these? I wasn't there, so therefore, I will withhold any judgement.

Here his an alternate link. It seems there is trouble with the first. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8WcztRs2-k

The following clip is of Al Sharpton commenting on last night's recall vote in Wisconsin. Breitbart.tv » Greatest Al Sharpton Clip, Ever. You gotta love it.

I don't know the context behind this pic, but it doesn't seem like he ever knows what to do. At least he didn't bow.

He is lucky to be alive. It is a good thing nobody else was hurt.

There is absolutely no way I could be a stockbroker. All of the hysteria and stress would drive me nuts. Down 6, up 4, down 4, sheesh, it is crazy. When I checked the market on Yahoo, all I could do is shake my head and smile even though I am taking a beating.

Well, this is a gun forum, so I would expect the percentage of people who participate or even look at the political section to be fairly low. Correlating a 10% participation rate in the political sections of this forum with the general voting public seems to be a stretch. I have seen some of Stossel's man on the street segments, and yes, they are appalling. However, not everyone of those jerks is going to vote. I would be willing to bet that most of those people wouldn't dare go vote on election day because it would interfere with their daily plans. I don't see how the SC declaring Obamacare unconstitutional is going to make a big swing for the democrats. The last poll I had seen showed that majority of the American public does not want Obamacare. We have 26 states challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, and 12 proposing interstate compacts as an alternative to Obamacare. It is those same clueless voters who elect those state legislators, governors, and attorney generals. As evidenced by my posts in other threads, my faith in the American public isn't rock solid, and you may indeed be proven correct. However, I will be damned if I will sit back and say that the destruction of this country is inevitable and deride others that may have a little hope, foolish or not, that all is not lost. There was a huge victory last November, which a lot of people said couldn't or wouldn't happen. How many people said you would never be able to remove collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin? It happened. From yours and other's point of of view this is merely prolonging the inevitable. Well... That may be true, but I am just 36, and I am not ready to give up just yet.

I will concede you are probably right. However, is there anything wrong with trying to make a difference? While my cynicism increases on a daily basis, I don't think I would ever allow myself to get to the point of becoming a total cynic. Call it naivety or what you will, but I think it would be too depressing. Even though I may be distorting reality, I don't ever want to get to the point of saying, "F*** it, I'm screwed no matter what." I will hold out what little faith I have left until the next election.

I don't disagree with either of you guys on certain aspects. The Ryan Plan wouldn't have done much, but as I stated earlier, Ryan was the only one at the time out there offering something as an alternative. The Cut, Cap, and Balance debt ceiling bill that was passed in the House was better, but it still would not have solved the problem. The Penny Plan would not solve the problem either. Where is everybody else's proposal? It doesn't exist. While I am by no means a republican party apologist, they seem to be the only ones that will even have a discussion on the matter. In regards to those who are reading and/or listening to the political pundits and so-called economic experts not having a good grasp on the severity of the situation, I couldn't disagree more. I believe more and more people realize that we are in deep s**t, fiscally speaking. This is evidenced by the reaction of the tea party and others to the p.o.s. debt ceiling bill the republican leadership pushed through the congress. The only people who liked it were he political class, everyone else was livid. They knew that the bill would do nothing to fix the problem except to exacerbate the problem. Heck, even Sean Hannity, who I think is a republican talking points guy, was ticked-off about the bill. Further evidence can be shown from the strength of the tea party; it is not waning as some thought it would. I think the mindset of a lot of the american public is moving in the right direction. The problem we have now is how do we go about fixing this problem without wrecking the country in the process. Assuming His Exalted Majesty doesn't get reelected next year, we will see if a majority of the american people are serious enough to take the necessary steps required to get our fiscal house in order.

I mentioned the Ryan Plan was very far from perfect. The only reason I mentioned it was to make the following point. At the time, the Ryan proposal was the only thing out there, and while it wouldn't do very much in terms of helping our financial picture, it was at least suggested as something better than what we currently had, which was doing nothing. While the plan did not greatly affect entitlements, what did we hear about it? We heard nothing but the same scare tactics that have been used for decades. They (the government) are going to take away your social security and medicare. In regards to not being able to grow our way out of this problem, I agree. However, I do believe that economic growth, tax reductions, tax increases, decreasing spending, and entitlement restructuring among many other things can bring us out of the pit of dispair without doing a slash and burn 45% overall reduction. If the later was tried, we would have absolute pandemonium. We would end up destroying the country instead of saving it. One might have thought I made a typo when I mentioned tax deductions and tax increases in the same sentence. I did not. What I mean is that I agree with some that suggest we will have to have increased revenues. However, the increased revenues should not come from the wealth creators nor the rest of the people who are already pulling the cart. We have to institute a system in which everyone is treated equally, whether it is through a flat tax or fair tax. The 50% who freeload by not contributing any federal income taxes have got to be dealt with. Everyone needs to have some skin in the game if this problem is going to be solved. I could go into a lot more specifics as to what needs to be done, but right now I don't have the time. I am using up my lunch hour in this post. Just to reiterate, I believe the problem can be solved without crippling the country. However, time is of the essence. The longer we wait the more likely, as you mentioned, that we will end up with a Greece (or worse) type scenario. Even though everything looks so bleak right now, I am going to try my best to hold on to what little hope I have left that we will get some decent representatives (state and federal) that will recognize the true gravity of the situation we are facing, and will have the courage to make the necessary changes that will be needed to push us in the right direction.

This is the transcript of the audio.

It looks like the Shearton Read House.

I ran across this transcript the other day of Al Gore speaking at an Aspen convention, and now the audio has been posted. I thought his meltdown was funny because I absolutely loathe Al Gore. Warning! This is not work-friendly. There is some bad language in this excerpt. Al Gore calls B.S. on climate change naysayers ... by RealAspen on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free Poor Al Gore. He had an election stolen from him and now his whole climate change mantra is unraveling. Don't you just feel sorry for the guy?

Sorry to hear about that. That really sucks.