USER PROFILE: PETTYGIRL45 (LINDA)

Hey Guys! On June 25th I'll be chatting and playing poker at VLPClub.net in the Infield Parking Poker Tournament. The IP tourney starts at 9PM so be sure to register and download the software ahead of time to ensure you get a seat at the table. For more info visit VLP Club's parking space at: http://www.infieldparking.com/VLPClub

See you June 25th at the IP Tourney Table!

Hi, chica!

Hopefully you still come on IP every now and then. I hope you are doing well! Drop a note if you can.

Will you be heading to the races here in Texas in three weeks?

Take care!
Christine

Hey !!! How are you? I hope you have a great holiday too. I hope Santa brings you everything you sked for,LOL. Jeff and I will go in on the tickets with you, if the offer is still available. give me a call we can work out the details.

hope you had a good holiday. Ours was good. Sorry I haven't responded until now but we had no internet or cable since the friday after Thanksgiving. Just got it back today. Talk to you soon.

Sorry I have not posted lately,(new job)seems like all
I do anymore is work.I'll hopefully start having a little
time to post to my IP friends.TTYL,Tom

May God Bless every one of our Veterans.

and, God Bless America!



In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, the Allied powers a signed a cease-fire agreement (an armistice) with Germany at Rethondes, France on November 11, 1918, bringing World War I to a close. The "war to end all wars" was over.

November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. On Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in a parade through their home towns. Politicians and veteran officers gave speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for the peace they had won.

Armistice Day officially received its name in the United States in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later. Congress voted Armistice Day a federal holiday in 1938, 20 years after the war ended. But Americans realized that the previous war would not be the last one. World War II began the following year and nations great and small again participated in a bloody struggle. After the Second World War, Armistice Day continued to be observed on November 11.

In 1953, townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the federal holiday to Veterans Day. Beginning in 1954, the United States designated November 11 as Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November.

Americans still give thanks for peace on Veterans Day. There are ceremonies and speeches and at 11:00 in the morning, most Americans observe a moment of silence, remembering those who fought for peace.

After the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, the emphasis on holiday activities has shifted. There are fewer military parades and ceremonies. Veterans gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to place gifts and stand quiet vigil at the names of their friends and relatives who fell in the Vietnam War. Families who have lost sons and daughters in wars turn their thoughts more toward peace and the avoidance of future wars.

Veterans of military service have organized support groups such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. On Veterans Day and Memorial Day, these groups raise funds for their charitable activities by selling paper poppies made by disabled veterans. This bright red wildflower became a symbol of World War I after a bloody battle in a field of poppies called Flanders Field in Belgium.

ONMC is the official nascar members club started by Richard Petty. You get special access to the races, and other great deals for being a member. Yeah we have been to the bono's race shop. We saw on the TMS website that he is going to be there. I am waiting to see who else is going to be around that week to sign. Thank you very much again and we will see you there.

My mom just called me and told me the very good news. Thank You sooooooooooo much for the tickets for Saturday. That was very nice of you. Those were the only tickets we were lacking, we had truck and cup tickets, and right before my mom called tonight we were talking about going onto e-bay to see about getting saturday tickets. Jeff and I thank you very much. See you on Sunday.We have a garage tour on Sunday at noon, that will be fun. Are you members of ONMC? The garage tours are free for members. I think it is like $84 dollars a month per member if you aren't.

Friends; Hope you are enjoyin' a wonderful week. Enjoy your days, john.
P.S. took this at a car show this past wkend; hundreds of beautiful automobiles, old and new; bowties, fords, buicks, chargers, etc....NOT ONE totoya...
Please BUY AMERICAN...it matters.


Monday, October 22, 2007
Toyota vehicle sales fall behind GM
Christine Tierney
The Detroit News

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. slipped back into second place behind General Motors Corp. after reporting slightly lower sales for the July-September quarter than its U.S. rival.

Toyota sold 2.337 million vehicles in the quarter ended on Sept. 30, the second quarter of the Japanese fiscal year, a 4 percent increase over prior-year levels but a lower figure than GM's sales reported last week of 2.38 million.

For the first nine months of the year, Toyota's sales were up 7 percent over the year-earlier period to 7.05 million vehicles, said company spokesman Paul Nolasco. That was fractionally behind GM's year-to-date sales of 7.06 million vehicles, but most analysts expect Toyota to regain the lead in coming months.

"This slip behind is temporary," said George Magliano, a New York-based analyst with consulting firm Global Insight Inc. "They've basically moved past GM and by the end of the year, they'll put some distance between themselves and GM. That's our forecast," he said.

But Toyota's remarkable expansion has not come without a price. "Toyota has stubbed a few toes in the last couple of months," Magliano said. The automaker has been embroiled in a public relations dispute with environmentalists who accuse the Japanese automaker of hypocrisy because it is lobbying for a milder version among the U.S. mileage bills before Congress.

Toyota also has suffered a fresh dent in its once bullet-proof reputation for quality after sliding from first to third place in the latest vehicle ratings put out by the influential Consumer Reports magazine. Consumer Reports also withdrew its recommendations for three key Toyota models: the four-wheel-drive V-8 Toyota Tundra pickup, the all-wheel-drive version of the Lexus GS sedan, and the V-6 powered Toyota Camry.

Toyota's global quarterly figures include sales of its Daihatsu minicar and Hino truck divisions. The Japanese automaker did not issue a sales statement or offer a breakdown of its sales or any further comment.

GM said last week that its sales gains reflected growth in overseas markets, while its sales in the United States continued to decline. But GM's struggle in its home market has been partly offset by growth, particularly of its Chevrolet brand, in emerging markets.

GM's sales in the combined regions of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East increased by 22 percent in the third quarter. Its vehicle sales in the Asia Pacific region, including the fast-growing China market, were up 16 percent. Its sales rose 15 percent in Europe.

Toyota first overtook GM, the longtime global leader for more than 70 years, in the first quarter of 2007. But its second-quarter sales were slightly lower than GM's, and it remained No. 1 for the first semester by a slender margin of only 39,000 vehicles.

definitely looking forward to '08 ; but still feel juniors got a shot to win at a few tracks this year. enjoy your raceday. john.

sendin' huggs; hope your wekend rocks. john.

If you think it really don't matter what kind of car you drive, or it don't matter that totogas have bullied their way into NASCAR; please consider this.



The ultra-nationalist Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shocked decent human beings by denying that hundreds of thousands of women were forced into sexual slavery in conquered countries by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1937 and 1945. Despite an apology to the so-called "comfort women" by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993, testimony from the female victims and the Japanese soldiers who raped them, and support from historians who claim that as many as 200,000 captive women were forced into Japanese Army brothels in conquered countries, this prime minister has chosen to degrade himself and Japan in the eyes of civilised people by promoting a blatant lie that causes even more anguish to the female victims of Japanese brutality. Reported Tokyo, 1 March 2007. Predictably, the willingness of this neanderthal Japanese prime minister to sanitise Imperial Japan's hideous war crimes has encouraged other Japanese politicians to deny the Nanjing Massacre (Rape of Nanking) in 1937. Reported in "The Australian" 2 March 2007. See quote attributed to Eiichiro Washio above.

Rehabilitating Japanese war criminals

"Why should it matter any more?"
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's response to criticism of his paying homage to Japan's worst war criminals at the infamous Yasukuni Shinto Shrine in Tokyo (1996).

"Why do we have to select among the dead."
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's response to criticism of his paying homage to Japan's worst war criminals at the infamous Yasukuni Shinto Shrine in Tokyo (2001).

Reviving the ideology of Japanese militarism

"Japan is a divine nation centered on the emperor." Yoshiro Mori, Prime Minister of Japan (2000).

And the final word

"I do not think things are going well in terms of Japan accepting responsibility for the past." Professor Saburo Ienaga, distinguished Japanese historian (1998

I believe that a resurgence of extreme nationalism in Japan since the early 1990s should be ringing alarm bells and require Japan's neighbours to take very seriously the continuing denial of Japan's war guilt and the appalling atrocities committed by the Japanese military between 1937 and 1945.

God Bless You, and God Bless America; I pray you have a wonderful weekend... and Junior kicks Arse ............... happy days, john p.s. Buy American, It matters!

Toyota May Face Backlash From Congress

By KEN THOMAS The Associated Press

Toyota's choice of Mississippi for a new plant should give it more clout on Capitol Hill. With Michigan-based automakers facing hardships, a few more members of Congress on its side helps as Toyota takes on some lawmakers who openly question whether what's good for Toyota and other Japanese automakers is good for America.

"They're manipulating the yen and it creates big differences in what they can sell their automobiles for," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich..*., *.*.*. *presents thousands of Detroit-based auto workers. "Most of their vehicles are still coming from Japan."

Stabenow and other lawmakers representing manufacturing states complain that the Japanese government has kept the yen artificially low, allowing their auto producers to undercut competitors and reap huge profits in the United States. They note that 46 percent of Toyota's U.S. sales in 2006 came from vehicles imported from Japan, even as the company highlights its American work force and assembly plants in advertising.

Happy Wednesday! Hope you have a great race weekend.

General Motors spent $5.2 billion on health care for their workers and retirees in 2004. The 2005 figure will be higher. The figure for Toyota, for instance, is certainly less since they didn’t build their first American factory until 1987. The Georgetown, KY factory, which assembles the Toyota Camry, was built with Japanese steel by a Japanese steel company. Toyota was given 1,500 acres of free land. To attract this Japanese company to America, we even established a "special trade zone" so they could import parts duty-free from Japan. Financing was handled by Mitsui Bank of Japan. Total federal, state and local tax incentives (read giveaways) reached $100 million - courtesy of your tax dollars and mine.

These are some of the hidden costs few think about when selecting their next car. Before the first Toyota in American was ever assembled, the American steel industry, parts industry and finance industry took it on the chin. American tax obligations were also raised to boot. Today’s Camry has a 55% domestic parts content, which is down from 75% just a few years earlier. American alternatives like the Chevy Impala has a 98% domestic parts content and the aging Ford Taurus, which used to be the number one selling car in America before the Camry took the top spot, has a 95% domestic parts content.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how you slice it. General Motors pays more taxes, employs more workers, has more domestic plants, supports more families, retirees and their dependents, and has a higher overall domestic parts content than the foreign competition - hands down. American quality is on the rise. Efficiency has increased. GM kept America rolling by donating millions of dollars in cash and vehicles in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Where was the foreign competition in America’s time of need? They were busy reaping in record profits and sending them home to reward foreign owners at the expense of an American company that built the foundation of prosperity that America as a whole enjoys.

Profits are the lifeblood of any successful company or economy. General Motors makes only a few hundred dollars of profit per vehicle compared to over a thousand dollars for their foreign rivals because GM supports such a wide and diverse number of Americans. They’ve shown their loyalty to America by extending 0% financing for several years, and through their history they’ve done more good for America than any foreign car company ever dreamed of doing. It’s time for America to show their loyalty to an American company whose own increased prosperity will result in greater American prosperity as well.

So if you want General Motors to get more aggressive and on the offensive in terms of marketing, bolder car designs, etc., stop spewing your venom at them, which makes them constantly play defense instead. It’s unfair, unwarranted, and unproductive. GM wants to keep America rolling - as we all should - so let’s let it and make it happen.

Dega, Dega, Dega ... I'm Dega bound! Have a great weekend!!