BDashe

my bad sir! read too quickly. The difference of opinion lies with who is to blame most. personally, I think it is pretty easy to see that those that default on the loans are to blame for defaulting on their loans... As for those who can never have enough- they just happen to make the news more than the majority of the ones that do their job. No one gets celebrated on national TV for doing their job, however the big boys that f*ck up are very easy targets, and since 99.9% of america is below them financially, they're easy to hate and start blaming everyone that high up... and making genius sarbanes-oxley overnight band aids that f*ck everyone up. which leads me to agree with: As the crys from the mob begin to be heard more loudly....."Off with their heads" exactly. "it isnt my fault! blame the rich guy for my short comings!" Then liberal america cries for redistribution of wealth and increased taxes and just like that, the american dream is erased for the perceived greater common good. what type of society does that sound like? So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Again, it comes with the turf. You pay the most for the best. I've said this on here before- do you pay brett favre, john elway, jerry rice $1 salary to be on your team? No, you pay the best price for the best candidate. There are plenty of CEOs out there, however, with $1 salaries and all stock options- the company does well, tehy do well. That is how most of them make their money anyway, so whats wrong with that? Everybody wins. when these companies fail and the big boys get like 5 or 10 mil, that is chump change to what they could have made had it done well. Look at any major company that was acquired by a private equity that was purchased on the upswing- they make HUNDREDS of millions on those transactions, but so do the stockholders. I guarantee any of those guys would trade in there severance for a shot making a company successful rather than making a 40 year career and ending in failure. They want that feather in their cap, and the money is just a nice door prize. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

How about the idiots that took out mortgages they knew they couldnt afford, and/or ran up so much debt they had to file? There is the greed. Wanting what you can't have and still going for it. It's all spelled out on paper when you sign. Just like losing weight, it is a simple formula- dont eat more than you burn off, don't spend more than you make. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Because of blood sucking lawyers that are the greedy ones. Ever hear of those lovely cases where a robber falls through a roof and lands on a knife and gets a pay day? Yeah, those kinds of lawyers on a much grander scale. When your salary and earnings are public knowledge, people want to get their hands on it. We've become a nation of instant gratification loving wh*res. The easiest way for some people to get money is to find a way to legally steal it from those that earned it. 'If I was religious I'd say let em all rot in hell.' see, now that is just jealousy... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I still maintain you are using an innaccurate definition of greed and you're using your own interpretation that is not commonly accepted- if ever- as a definition of greed. The word DOES have a negative connotation as does gluttony. Michael Phelps eats like 12-15,000 calories a day, would you consider him a glutton? Everyone needs to eat, if someone prefers to eat lobster and steak, but not skydive, go fishing, play with cars, are they gluttons? Greed and gluttony describe excessive abuse strictly for the sake of excess. I know a couple millionaires that created their own companies and sold em, all the while kept up a steady skydiving regimen, or sailing routine, even restoring cars. It is possible and common to have both the things you love and money without being greedy. The desire to be successful has nothing to do with being greedy. More often than not, the money comes with being a success, especially in the business world. Now if the driving factor for someone's succcess is strictly owning the most toys and having the most money, he/she could be considered greedy. If that person isn't harming anyone, who the f*ck cares anyway though? It's the outliers like a few of the enron guys that screw it up for the vast majority of executives and give capitalism, big business, and sr. execs a bad name. You'll be hard pressed to find CEOs that do it just for the money and make decisions based solely on their own personal gain by throwing people under the bus. CEO's generally have a winner's mentality, they want to be the best and provide the best, the money is just an added bonus... again, for the vast majority. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Mmmmm, I think you're bending the term 'greed' pretty far and taking it out of context to make your argument here. We can give our own interpretations to any word in the dictionary to make it prove our points. The general population feels greed falls along the following couple definitions i dug up: excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions. the self-serving desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. And for all the religious nuts out there, isn't it one of the 7 DEADLY sins? def of capitalism: an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth. 'It's what drives many people to go to school, get a good job and work hard.' THAT, my friend, sounds like capitalism at its finest. Not greed. And to me, a tall tree from a seed is a hell of a lot of growth- Google or walmart may be a great example there. So IMHO, you can have capitalism w/o greed. There will always be a few out there that ruin it by being greedy, it's a matter of opinion when an individual has crossed the line into greed and left capitalism on the side of the road a few miles back. It is entirely possible to become a billionaire very ethically and not be greedy... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I disagree emphatically to executive greed (except in cited examples), and agree to joe blow american greed. Let's run ourselves up to our ears in debt, default on loans on sh*t we can't afford, and then blame the rich guys for our failures. Isn't america great that we can do that? It's like the holocaust or rwandan genocide, just without that whole decimation thing... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

agreed, but you're not the american i was speaking to. I am referring to the "i'm not gonna buy your sh*t out of spite, so f*ck my country" Granted we have every right to do that, which is the catch 22 of our beautiful system! I will defend to the death your right to disagree!

yeah, i was being a smart@$$. I'm young and single so I figured I'd get a car to match. i do get close to 30 MPGs on the freeway! and to 60 mph in under 4 seconds... vroom vroom. Buy american when we need it most, f*ck the government's decisions whether you guys agree or not, boycotting the manufacturers certainly does not help the stimulate the economy. There are threads on here with the same people b*tching about jobs going overseas... Think with your heads, big picture stuff you know. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

+1 a couple poor examples of executives ruin the rep of everyone; then the government passes a bunch of halfwit laws that hinder our system even more. Given all their worldly experience in business of course, being a professional politician means you automatically have the knowledge and experience of a Harvard MBA or equivalent. 'But i took a class on biz ethics in law school!' The media certainly doesn't help even the playing fields. Talk about a bunch of greedy ratings wh*res... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I'm very happy with my Z06. I will definitely want to buy another one in a couple years I liked my mustang quite a bit too... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Then abolish labor unions... 'It's not my job to do x, y, and z Mr. Manager, pay me more' vs. 'thanks for the job, benefits, and pay' So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

We should all be so fortunate to work our way to their positions of leadership to earn a few mil. Don't get me wrong there are some bad eggs, but good for the majority for making it to the top and earning the benefits that come with it! Don't forget, with golden parachutes comes a whole MESS of liability and other law suits that the press always conveniently neglect to mention, which can bankrupt the richest and throw em in jail to add insult to injury. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Anyone else find this comment oxymoronic and ignorant...? edit: woops, just saw the post date... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

we had one in a simulated natural biodome type thing for environmental science back in the day. we learned of the Betas' mud puddle preferred existence and named ours "Thug" cuz he was from the fish 'hood and would fight any homies that got near him. He lived for like 4 years, super long for those guys. R.I.P. Thug, you were a bad@ss. edit: he was all red like that too, good choice!

I had walking pneumonia twice in high school. knocked me out of school for almost 2 weeks both times, my lungs were shot for months, it sucks! Good luck man, it's no fun!!! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! All those ASC skyride f*ckers! Bill Maher Michael Moore That blonde right-wing b*tch edit: ann coulter- thanks hellfreak So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Ummm, lemme try and do this quick cuz i need to focus on work! I can't speak to the kid's website, maybe lance at a quick glance just saw the skydive nashville thing which would have been somewhat relevant if it was Jeff's site. From Lance's post it looks like he thought it was in fact Jeff's site? I dont know jeff or justin or if lance does, who is which and an adult or a kid so I can't really speak to the whole thing but i dont think lance meant to attack a kid. EDIT: even if he was, the website is innaccurate! From all these TN state laws that keep getting thrown out there i'm sure one of em applies to this site and IT MUST BE FIXED!!!!!!!! It is unjust and a poor business practice to advertise as such, especially utilizing children as an advertising vehicle! Taking advantage of their innocence like that to further your agenda, despicable! See how I flipped it? (please note the sarcasm...) the idiotic insults play to the idiotic nature of the core of this thread, so it entertains all of us. Everyone thinks there are all these conspiracies out there re: ASC, clarksville, etc. the truth is we just wanna jump and have fun, so if you guys act like morons, we'll play along too with our own twist. again, i was editing the content when you posted your reply so it was just bad timing, didn't intend to come off like a d-bag. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

didn't read your whole post yet- but i was editing the content when you replied, didn't mean to make it look all sketchy So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I think i have my modern pop culture off, i believe i meant Kyle's mom not eric cartman's, my bad... hopefully my point was still valid :-) I'm here for the masses my friend, and by masses I mean me and my friends ha ha ha! As i have hinted and commented in this thread and others- I'm here (on this planet) to have a good time, if someone wants to ruin my fun I will f*ck them up laughing all the way. Something like a twisted/perverted version of 'jingle bells...' edit: as for my buddies and their comments, they say it for our entertainment, it's all tongue in cheek. I can see the sarcasm dripping from "cat aids" from the other side of my office, if you (the general you, not you directly) can't appreciate it and laugh at the elementary nature of their "insults," then I don't wanna be your friend. BUT, if you ever met these guys in a social setting I'm sure it would make it all 100X easier to aprpeciate. Chuck and company are the first to laugh at themselves; if people don't recognize that or have the ability to laugh at themselves, it's still funny to all of us. That works for me cuz it follows my agenda (stated above) to a tee.

Jesus dude, you're like Eric Cartman's mom- just gotta rain on everyone's parade. Is "Blame Canada" your life theme song with ASC in place of Canada? You remind me of this guy i had to deal with that was mad his air conditioner didn't work well enough in his room at my hotel. In the discussion of how to rectify his situation, he worked himself up so much he was 'going to single handedly bring down Hilton Hotels Corporation.' Right... Puffed up chests are just filled with hot air, scars prove those who can truly walk tall. I don't even smoke, but you're in serious need of a J player. I assure you- there are much better and more intelligent ways to spend your time and energy if you are, as you appear to be, on a mission for the good of all mankind. I've got a laundry list I could give you that I've experienced firsthand in just 25 years. Get off your soapbox of righteousness, relax, and let skydivers skydive for fuck's sake! In the meantime, I'm content to point and laugh... and skydive. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I like that line. Can I use that sometime (with permission, and even full credit for it if you like, of course) - or is it otherwise copywrited or trademarked somehow? That is one real helluva slap-down one-liner there, for sure! I do not have permission to release the usage of that line. It is not my own, though I wish it was. The phrase was actually uttered by one of our hardcore female accomplices, though I believe Chuck has trademarked it. Maybe I've said too much already... Just one of the many magical moments/statements that is guaranteed to occur when hangin with the ASCers. Chuck- can a hater use the new slogan to "Skydive: The Octagon?" So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

oink oink oink Stop teasing... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Agreed, we're arguing religion here. You guys have a warped sense of reality that causes bumper stickers and the hell they represent to be the demise of the skydiving universe. Look, I'm not an idiot, I know skyride has and/or had some practices that walked the business ethics tight rope but I'll bet for every person that was upset about having to drive an extra couple hours to a DZ, there were 1000 behind em with smiles so big from their first jump they could eat their own faces. And guess what? There really is a DZ near nashville now! Weird! Us "lackeys" know how everything really operates (along with several thousand happy tandem students) cuz we've been around the evil ASC darkside a few years. You make it very easy to laugh at your outrageous and overzealous responses to some inconsequential sh*t. We throw out a few jabs like "cat aids" for fun to try to lighten the f*ckin mood because there are so many tight @$$es in here you people must be sh*tting diamonds. Even while debating, skydiving can still be fun! That said, tap out or pass out f*ckers! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Well, fortunately we're all acting like civilized adults and not whining. I, for one, am proud to be a part of this refined and sophisticated thread. Did I just break a TN law by lying? Federal even? Is sarcasm illegal as well? How about lacking a sense of humor? Please, enlighten us! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983