natatomic

Cult leaders look and sound really good, too. I don't know what you mean by "has a much better standing amongst things," though. Still, the former is the position most Obama followers seem to have - that he just sounds so darn good - but it's very much like judging a book by it's cover. And in Obama's case, the cover is beautifully ornate - shiny, new, with all sorts of rainbows, pots of gold, and puppies bordering the edges. It LOOKS so impressive - but open it up and it's a single page. On the front it says "hope," and on the back it says "change," and that's as far as the book gets in having anything of substance. (I have "hope" too, you know. Most people in this country have "hope," regardless of political party. But bad guys (criminals, terrorists, etc.) have hope too - hope in fooling the good guys, cutting corners, killing their enemies, whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm not lumping Obama in with the bad guys, I'm just saying that when one uses such a vague and relative term like "hope," it REALLY helps to expand on it a bit.) Now, McCain's book isn't nearly as pretty, as I'm sure most people would agree upon. It's old, dusty, and worn, but at least when you open it up, there's more than a single page to read. A lot more, actually. You may not agree with what's written in it, but at least you have something from which to form a valid opinion. And aside from what the candidates merely appear to be, while I still don't agree with McCain on a good number of things, I agree with him FAR more than Obama. And in the end, it's the political positions that win me over. Not the appearance of the candidate or how warm and fuzzy the guy makes me feel. As for the negative ads, heaven forbid a precious candidate gets his/her itty bitty feelings hurt. And has anyone actually done their research on the things Obama claims? Go to factcheck.org (a site that analyzes ALL the candidates, not just dems or reps) and you'll see that Obama "lies" just as much as McCain. He's just another sleazy politician, not the blameless savior of the the free world. Okay, I really need to try to stay away from this thread. I hate talking politics - I can feel my blood pressure raise with every word I type.

^You took the words right out of my mouth. Because, man, I had NO idea that $7.08 an hour made me rich! ^^And before you let all the chaaaaaaange and ho-ooooooope and all the other feel good words hypnotize you, do make sure you find out how accurate your candidate's words really are. Not that McCain is exactly a saint either, I'm just saying don't be like all the other brainwashed Obama-ites and think that he's any different from all the other less than perfect (to put it nicely) politicians in Washington. He just has charisma and rhetoric to fool you into THINKING he's special. And with Obama having one of the most liberal voting records, he's not really the most "awesome candidate regardless of party" when he stands for so many things that I'm against. I have no problem voting for a democrat, but he is NOT the one I'd cross party lines for.

I'm not going to deny that the current administration (of which I'm not a huge fan) has made numerous mistakes. But honestly, which president hasn't? And don't forget about the role Congress plays - there are plenty of politicians on both sides of the political spectrum to blame. Also, "in six years?" Um...so? What's with all the need for instant gratification? Six years from now is better than never. Right? But the market almost certainly WILL take care of it. First of all, gas prices are still not as high as they were back in the 70s (taking inflation into consideration, of course), and yet we bounced back from that, did we not? Look at how low gas prices were about a decade ago - I think the national average was under $1. In fact, the oil crisis in the 70s actually forced American car makers to begin producing smaller, more efficient cars, which, last time I checked, IS A GOOD THING, and what is happening again now. There is always a silver lining. The thing is that the economy was booming not too long ago, and sure people are in a bit of a panic now that we're in (the world's wimpiest) recession, but it's nearly impossible for an economy to constantly improve year after year. It's a cycle - you're going to have some good times and some bad times. You can't survive with the mindset that the economy is 100% stable, 100% of the time. It's gonna fluctuate. And everyone has to deal with it.

^Ever hear of a little thing called Hurricane Katrina? Or maybe the dot-com bubble burst? Or maybe 9/11? There's A LOT more to high gas prices/poor economy than just who's sitting in the number one seat.

Thanks, Neil. Thanks. I'll never fly again. (Come on, now. You know how I am about jinxing things!) I thought about about traveling by car or train for the West Coast trip, but people kept laughing at me when I mentioned it to them! But YES, I'd definitely be up for it if I do the WC.

^I'm sure you're correct, but I was just pointing out that both candidates have the same position on the matter; so CTU Agent shouldn't praise Obama for it while ignoring McCain for the same thing.

According to wikipedia, BOTH Obama and McCain are for merit pay for teachers.

Still, I'd rather the VP be the less experienced of the two on the ticket. Better the VP to learn about being President as VP than learning to be President asPresident. And before anyone makes any smart remarks, I realize that none of them have experience being President; I'm simply talking about government experience overall. You know, knowing what it's like to have that much responsibility.

^^I don't think the dose was that high, so that could explain it. But anyway, I don't have to worry about it for awhile, so I'll just cross that bridge when I get there.

I tried Xanax last time I flew, and it definitely DID NOT WORK. And it was only an hour and a half flight! I think you underestimate my world-class ability to freak the heck out. No, I definitely need something to knock me on my @ss.

YES. I have a crippling phobia of flying. But I had SO much fun on the B/RF Trip - and I've always wanted to go to Sweden - that I decided to look into some classes/shock therapy/hypnosis/really heavy medication to help me get over that. Plus, I've already talked to Robbie (All Clear), and if we both go to Scandinavia, we'll fly out of the same airport, and he's agreed to hold the brown paper bag to my face and remind me to breathe, and I've agreed to let him take pictures of my panic for his trip report. Win win. I remember you saying "I'm a southern girl" you have no idea how exotic that sounded to an Aussie lad. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh, southerners are toothless hicks in America. Stereotypically, of course. But thank you. At least I'm exotic in some parts of the world.

^ Aww, thanks! Well, I used to be a clarinet performance major at Indiana University, so I'm quite music geeky. Let's see - music geeks, movie geeks, coaster geeks, and School of Artsy Fartsy geeks. Those are a lot of geeky titles to be split among so few separate people. Wow, we'd practically be a Star Trek convention unto our selves. I like it. What part of NC are you in? I don't have any plans right now to go to Scarowinds, mainly because I'm saving my money for Scandi '09 and every penny counts. Plus, Carowinds is still a 3 hour drive from me, and gas ain't cheep. But by the time October rolls around, the TPR trips will probably be announced, and I'll have a better idea of where I stand financially. If I can swing it, I'd love to join you guys. We'll talk when the time gets closer. PM me any time! I think I'm starting to sway this thread down the dreaded path of Off Topic Lane.

^Well. Aren't you all lucky. What about me, all alone and, um, lonely in North Carolina? Who do I have to hang out with?! I don't even have your mom around anymore!!!

^^Looks like people wanna nearly marry coasterfreak101, then.

^That was the only stand-up. Praise God and baby Jesus. Ahh, yes, I see it came out the year before I was born (please feel free to feel exceptionally old now). Not existing yet is a good excuse for not knowing the movie, right?

Great. Lovely picture of me. Stunning even. I hate you Hanno.

^I don't even know what that is, so...coincidence, it seems.

As one of only 4 or 5 girls on TPR, natatomic is wanted for not putting out nearly enough, as should be her female duty. She is also wanted for questioning regarding rumors of being a Republican. It all makes sense, now, doesn't it?

^^What I want to know is what kind of freak creature has only 3 toes/claws on one foot and SIX on the other?

I'm ashamed to admit that that CRACKED. ME. UP. Man, my refined sense of humor took a very uncivilized turn on this trip. Shoot, there isn't enough water in the world...

^Maybe you rode the SLC and/or Time Warp right before the Togo, so 1) your brain wasn't working properly what with all the rattling around it just endured and 2) falling down a cliff side and smashing your head into boulders all the way down would seem smooth after those two coasters, so of course the you didn't think the Togo was rough! Really though, I think the amount of headbanging you get on certain coasters is greatly dependent on how tall you are. My temples line up perfectly with the sides of the OTSRs on Togos, so when my head hits, it hits in the most painful place possible. Plus, my head was slammed back into the top edge of the seat (the part that the head rest - which my head hardly even touched - juts out of) hard enough for me to see stars. If I were just an inch taller, maybe I wouldn't be so hard on those poor, misunderstood Togos.

His response to the news that Orlando was getting N. America's first Great Wheel:

Awww, well, I'd like to be an alternate victim, in case someone drops out

DUDE. You should totally start a new thread for every theme park in existence, asking the same question.

^It's think it's only held in the afternoons/evenings, which can still be cold, but I remember last year it was in the upper 70s, and I was sweating like a man most of the night. Of course, it was in the 40s the year previous. Maybe if it's warm again this year, they'll keep it open; they just don't want to make any promises on their site since they can't predict the weather this far in advance.