ChasingBlueSky

I'm not sure what my car is worth anymore - haven't checked in a while, but I know that a 2003 Dodge Neon doesn't have a great resale. I think since it is still in near perfect condition that it should be worth more than my rig. Since I am upside down on the payments, I owe more than my rig is worth for certain. I wish there was a way I could sell off my car and get a used car. I'm tired of making payments on it and having to carry full insurance coverage - the two of these things are keeping me out of the air! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Bernice said to tell you that it's HOT HOT HOT in Rantoul today, you should be there! Yup, we finally have typical August weather here now...of course August is just about over. Well, there is always next year. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Nice. What did it say? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

washingtonpost.com Do You Hear What I Hear? By Dana Milbank Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Page A15 The 2004 presidential campaign sometimes resembles the children's game of "telephone." Here are some quotations as they came out of Democratic nominee John F. Kerry's mouth -- and how President Bush and Vice President Cheney later recounted them. "Every performer tonight in their own way, either verbally or through their music, through their lyrics, have conveyed to you the heart and soul of our country." -- Kerry, July 8 "The other day, my opponent said he thought you could find the heart and soul of America in Hollywood." -- Bush, Aug. 18 "My goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship is to get our troops reduced in number and I believe if you do the statesmanship properly, I believe if you do the kind of alliance building that is available to us, that it's appropriate to have a goal of reducing the troops over that period of time [the first six months of a Kerry administration]. Obviously, we'd have to see how events unfold. . . . It is an appropriate goal to have and I'm going to try to achieve it." -- Kerry, Aug. 9 "I took exception when my opponent said if he's elected, we'll substantially reduce the troops in six months. He shouldn't have said that. See, it sends a mixed signal to the enemy for starters. So the enemy hangs around for six months and one day. . . . It says, maybe America isn't going to keep its word." -- Bush, Aug. 18 "I will fight this war on terror with the lessons I learned in war. I defended this country as a young man, and I will defend it as president of the United States. I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side and lives up to American values in history. I lay out a strategy to strengthen our military, to build and lead strong alliances and reform our intelligence system. I set out a path to win the peace in Iraq and to get the terrorists wherever they may be before they get us." -- Kerry, Aug. 5 "Senator Kerry has also said that if he were in charge he would fight a 'more sensitive' war on terror. America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive. . . . Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed." -- Cheney, Aug. 12 "Lee Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 9/11 commission, has said this administration is not moving with the urgency necessary to respond to our needs. I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists. We haven't done the work necessary to reach out to other countries. We haven't done the work necessary with the Muslim world. We haven't done the work necessary to protect our own ports, our chemical facilities, our nuclear facilities. There is a long, long list in the 9/11 recommendations that are undone." -- Kerry, Aug. 2 "My opponent says . . . that going to war with the terrorists is actually improving their recruiting efforts. I think the logic -- I know the logic is upside down. It shows a misunderstanding of the nature of these people. See, during the 1990s, these killers and terrorists were recruiting and training for war with us, long before we went to war with them. They don't need an excuse for their hatred. It's wrong to blame America for anger and the evil of these killers. We don't create terrorists by fighting back. You defeat the terrorists by fighting back." -- Bush, Aug. 18 "Yes, I would have voted for the authority [to use force in Iraq]. I believe it is the right authority for a president to have. But I would have used that authority, as I have said throughout this campaign, effectively. I would have done this very differently from the way President Bush has. My question to President Bush is: Why did he rush to war without a plan to win the peace? Why did he rush to war on faulty intelligence and not do the hard work necessary to give America the truth?" -- Kerry, Aug. 9 "He now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq. After months of questioning my motives, and even my credibility, the Massachusetts senator now agrees with me that even though we have not found the stockpiles of weapons we all believed were there, knowing everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power." -- Bush, Aug. 18 Now for an update on the White House's ongoing effort to kill the press corps. The White House travel office signed a contract last week with an airline called Primaris to fly the press corps to Bush events. The two-month-old company has only one airplane. True, media representatives gave their blessing to the deal. But that was before they learned that the company's president twice had his pilot's license revoked related to his flying of an "unairworthy" aircraft, that the chief executive flopped in his last attempt to start an airline and that the 15-year-old plane itself was damaged in a hailstorm a decade ago and spent most of the past two years mothballed in France. © 2004 The Washington Post Company _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Info on car safety off-limits to public U.S. rule keeps data secret at request of companies, lobbyists August 18, 2004 BY JEFFREY McCRACKEN FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER The federal agency that oversees auto safety has decided -- based largely on arguments from automakers and their Washington, D.C., lobbyists -- that reams of data relating to unsafe automobiles or defective parts will not be available to the public. Specifically, the government has banned the release of car and truck warranty-claims information, customer complaints and early-warning reports about defects from dealers, automakers and rental car companies, even if media outlets or other groups push for it under the Freedom of Information Act. The rule, finalized earlier this year, is a two-paragraph decision buried deep within the Federal Register, which runs hundreds of pages each day. Few outside the automakers, their lobbyists and some public-interest groups, are even aware of it. But awareness is growing. The decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was cited Saturday in a front-page New York Times story as an example of regulatory actions by the Bush administration to aid business or industry. One consumer-advocacy group has sued the federal government, arguing the information should be made public and calling the decision a "paternalistic ruling that basically argues consumers are stupid and would be easily misled." Automakers, such as General Motors Corp., and the federal government say the auto-safety data should not be made public for two main reasons -- the information would give competitors too much information and it would be of little use to consumers, who might be overwhelmed or confused by all of the data. "Our view is this data is very sensitive to us and shouldn't be in the public domain," said Chris Preuss, a GM spokesman based in Washington, D.C. "There's already a tremendous amount of data out there for consumers." Consumer-advocacy groups say the automaker arguments puzzle them. "Apparently, the automakers and the government have decided they don't want people to have accurate information because they might get misled, because they can't be trusted with this data," said Scott Nelson, a lawyer for the D.C.-based consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen. "They are arguing this information is too confusing for the public, but at the same time they argue this information is so valuable their competitors could ferret out detailed data from it." Consumer advocates criticize one automaker argument in particular: that rivals should have to make their own mistakes -- build a flawed product or use a defective part -- and not have the advantage of learning from the mistakes or financial losses of another that has already learned the lesson. NHTSA, which oversees auto safety and made the decision, notes the data had never been public before. It further argues that what really matters is the traffic-safety agency is now getting the information and can move more quickly to correct safety defects. Keeping the information private, says NHTSA, is part of the trade-off of getting good, honest data from automakers. "We as monitors of vehicle safety have better access to early-warning data now than we ever had," said Rae Tyson, NHTSA's chief spokesman. "You need to keep that in perspective." The data began streaming into NHTSA late last year as part of the TREAD Act, a law passed in 2000 in response to rollovers of Ford Explorers equipped with certain Firestone tires. The law requires quarterly reports from automakers, tiremakers and suppliers on warranty claims, customer complaints, injuries, fatalities and other auto-safety information. Consumer advocates argue the TREAD Act was not just designed to get more data to NHTSA but to get more data to the public so they can make sure NHTSA is doing its job of aggressively policing automakers. "With the NHTSA ruling to keep this data secret, now the watchdogs can't watch NHTSA to make sure they are doing what Congress demands they do," said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety, a public-interest group. NHTSA's decision to keep confidential information regarding warranty claims, consumer complaints to automakers and defect reports was made in early April. Like many obscure federal regulations or rules, it was published in the dense Federal Register but hardly noticed and received scant media attention. Such administrative rulings aren't laws and therefore are not subject to congressional hearings. They often fly under the radar screen, even when their impact is potentially widespread. Public Citizen has sued the Department of Transportation to make the auto-safety data public and argues NHTSA's decision is an example of a discreet regulatory decision made by the Bush administration to quietly aid business or industry. Health rules, workplace-safety standards and environmental regulations have also been modified to help businesses, these consumer groups said. "Secrecy is rampant in this administration. It's shocking to me that information that should be out there for consumers should be kept secret from them," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. NHTSA, while acknowledging that certain auto-safety information won't be made public, insists consumers are nonetheless getting more data than ever. Consumers can, for example, find out information about vehicular deaths, auto-related property damage or vehicle recalls in foreign countries, none of which was available before. For years now, information about recalls and NHTSA investigations has also been public. "There is more than ever out there for consumers, as much as anyone could want," said NHTSA's Tyson. "If we let all of the information be made public, it would have a chilling effect on the data we get. If, for example, warranty data got out, manufacturers might quit offering warranties or quit handling problems via warranty." Jeremy Anwyl, president of the auto-research Web site Edmunds.com, said he thought the data would be of great interest to consumers, especially if it was cleaned up and explained clearly. "There is great interest, tons of interest, in safety, reliability data, by consumers. It's in their top five things they want to know when they shop for a vehicle. I think it's a knee-jerk reaction by the automakers to restrict this data," he said. But the automaker argument that companies should learn from their own mistakes is what troubles citizen-advocacy groups in particular. In a longer summary of NHTSA's decision, which lays out the arguments by GM and a leading auto-trade association, the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, automakers in essence say it would be unfair if other automakers were able to learn from the mistakes of their competitors. "It's a shocking argument by the automakers," said Claybrook. "They want their rivals to keep making defective products because of competitive reasons." Eron Shosteck, spokesman for the Auto Alliance, would emphasize only that automakers and suppliers "simply want to protect proprietary information from their rivals." _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I like that car! I was going to get one and have the license plate say "ITSUGLY" Now the Aero - what an ugly car! I hated the Chyrsler 300C until I drove it. Wow, nice car despite the tank look. Reminds me of something out of Dick Tracy comics. Same thing for the Prius. I'm glad car companies are pushing the limits and having non-classical looks come out. I would imagine after so many years they have exhausted much of the traditional styling. Look at what a redisgn did for all of the Toyota line! Did you know that Scion is made by Toyota? I guess they felt they were no longer attracting the younger crowd with the Celica and similar cars - thus the marketing campaign for Scion (and say goodbye to the Toyota cars that will compete with those). _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I have the majority of it on my Tivo _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Be careful with dismissing anyone you say doesn't have an "open mind." It becomes very easy to marginalize more and more people when they won't agree with you, leading to more and more view points ignored by you, the one professing an open mind. It's very similar to the "you're free to say anything you want, as long as you agree with me" trap. Just because someone doesn't agree with me doesn't mean I label them as close minded. Please do not make that assumption. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

You may find some if you open your mind. Of course I don't see that happening. Ouch. Ok, reply again so you can have the last word. There are plenty of people I know with open minds that I spar with over issues, and I meet a few more every month. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Go figure, you had something else to say. Yes, I enjoy having my views questioned and challenged by someone that has an open mind. I'll save my breath for those people. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Come on John, you know transubstantiation can't happen without wheat!!! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Pretty funny. You blast bad public schools, then when someone posts they went to a great school you make fun of that as well. I'm sure if my teachers point of view agreed with yours you would have used it as a point to stand on. Pretty comical, this forum is fun! No wonder people post in here. I'm probably a bit more studied than you know, but I do not feel the need to prove this to you. Unlike others I keep myself well read and informed for my own good, not to argue gratuitously in a public forum, or fight to have the last word. Thats what the speech team was for in High School - it was fun back then. Growing up on the south side, blue collar world of Chicago I couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone in the area that wasn't in the military at one time. I've heard countless stories on how it ruined most peoples lives. I continue to see it on a weekly basis at my job where former military people are coming to me complaining about never getting the education promised to them by the recruiter and how they have been screwed out of the post-enlistment benefits. I would say I average at least 5 a week. My views on war, military, politics, will never match up with yours. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Way to dodge the question! My school DID say that Oswald was the lone gunman. The evidence does not seem that way anymore, and the last texbook I saw said there *might* have been a second gunman. Mine didn't say anything about a possible second gunman. Imagine what FACTS we will have in 30 more years? Sometimes the REAL information does not come out till many years later. Well, I don't necessarily hold McGraw Hill books as a credible source of information, but if you want to thats fine. My instructor did let us know the controversy behind the assassination and how some facts were coming out, etc. Thats the great thing about having good teachers that have a passion for their field. Yes, it is amazing how the real truth about things come out over time. Still, I don't see how this has anything to do with Kerry, Nagasaki or what color the sky is. Anyone that has spent more than 10 minutes in this forum knows that you will, for the most part, defend all actions of the US Military. You may have good intentions and you may actually believe what you are saying, but you are just like all the other military puppets out there that refuse to question or doubt the chain of command. I have seen this from within my own family and watched it change them. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

And you don't post in chronological order either! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Did your great school teach you that Oswald was the lone gunman? The black helicopters posted outside my school at all times prevented that topic from being discussed. And what in the hell does that have to do with the price of bread? Focus and make you point because you are all over the map. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Are they using Nagasaki in ads????? Maybe I should watch tv! I'm curious as to how they're doing that! And, they even teach middle schoolers that dropping the second bomb was a mistake. Even our public school systems know better! They taught us the same thing in my College Prep High School that was ranked in the tops as far as academics (they spent money on academics instead of a football team) in the country. Guess they were wrong as well. I had three PhD's teaching me in my junior year - one in history, the same history class that said it wasn't a wise move. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I'm sure you could fill that bag with just people from this site! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

No Jan, I thought you could get involved because of how much you have been involved in documenting this. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

You should TM your logo....if Cary didn't stop using it then, the FTC would shut him down, or at least the sites that use your logo. Here is the deal - people have been bitching about this guy and what he does since I have been in the sport. Maybe its time that we find who has the best case against him, and anyone that is losing money against him throw in some cash to help pay for the lawsuit. Otherwise he is making cash on a daily basis from these sites, and from what I hear, its a good amount of coin. Jan, care to help with that? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

i would call you..."Woman with a lot fo hot sex" Woo hoo! And...I like to share! yes you did.....you shared with me....and while kris, casie, dave, bo and many others were around.....freak It got a little sloppy towards the end, but Val kept sharing with eveyrone till she didn't have anymore to go around _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

If you have to ask about the 360s - then maybe hold off for a while...they are not needed and you could land a lot more conservative until you really know what you are doing. However, no one here can tell you what to do since you are the only one that gets to make that choice sitting under your canopy. You are a great woman and I would hate to hear that something happened to you There is no reason to rush into any area of this sport - if you stay healthy you can be around long enough to enjoy all aspects....and be both safe and good at what you do. Tim - I have to disagree - you never get used to the deaths, you just find a different way to deal with it. But each one hurts just as much as the first one....I've found the pain never lessens. What Bill, Bonnie, Tim and everyone else has said is all right on....and this is why we all try in our own ways to help make people safer. Look at the fatality database and you will see there is no real pattern to when the deaths happen. You will have long dry spells and then weekends like this, and then you will have weeks that get even worse (ie plane crash). You are at a stage that all of us go through, and it won't be the last time either. The idea of quitting the sport and wondering why we do this after someone close to us dies is something most jumpers I know have experienced. I'm sure you heard of the "3 year rule" that most jumpers will leave the sport within three years - the major reasons they quit are death, money, politics or they just burn out. I've come close to quitting a few times, and even took some extra time away from the DZ one year just to reset and to see if I wanted to go back. I have a couple friends that left the sport after we lost our friends, and some of them won't even talk to us anymore - they broke off the friendships because they couldn't handle going thru that pain again. I miss their friendship, but they had to do what was right for them. How do you deal with it? I have no real idea, just take things day by day. One thing that helped me - think about this - If you went in, would you want to be the reason someone quit the sport, or would you want someone to learn from your mistake and continue on with their passion? The best way to honor the dead is by learning from their mistakes. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Have you tried talking to a lawyer about this? Also - if he as a biz manager purchased the pictures - then he should be able to produce a credit card receipt or some proof of purchase. Also he should name the company as well so you can get money for the infrigment on your rights. Or maybe its time to make a trip to Atlanta and talk to him in person. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

HA! I used to work with Cindy when I was in talk radio! I will have to give her a call and tease her on that one. She isn't clueless, to be honest....or she wasn't when I worked with her. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Zeros across the board. Worked all weekend. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I walked in the door today and two coworkers met me at my desk and said "Did you hear about that girl in Afica whose parachute didn't open and she lived because she hit powerlines?! It was all over CNN so it had to be true!" No joke, just happened about 30 minutes ago. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....