Nick

E36.

I should add that while I am no pro photographer by any means, I am not unfamiliar with a camera. If my camera didn't have auto-shoot options it wouldn't phase me one bit. The point and shoot camera I have now never leaves manual mode (this model, a canon, luckily has a good amount of manual options...hell, I even have it "hacked" with CHDK). I like technicalities, and I like having fine-tuned controls.

I don't think I'll be investing much in lenses, really. I like photography, but it isn't a major hobby of mine, and it isn't something I'd like to turn into a major hobby either after seeing friends who are into it spend thousands of dollars for lenses and equipment. I was looking at the D90, then I saw they came out with the D7000 which seems like a nice improvement without being too much more expensive. But if I am spending that money then I am venturing into 7D territory, no? I just want a good performing dslr that will last me a while...I like features, and I like having capabilities that I will probably never actually use to their fullest extent. It may not get used often, but I want to know that when I do want or need to take pictures I have something decent to pull out. I'll try to find a camera shop around here. I'll also ak my friends, one who is diehard canon, the other, diehard nikon.

I need a new camera, too. Especially because I am heading to Italy next year, and there is no way I am taking my crappy point 'n shoot...in fact, I'll need a new one of those, as well. That looks like a nice camera. I'm undecided if I am going with Nikon or Canon.

Hahaha...shared on facebook.

You need to read and understand the definition of "xenophobia." Not liking anyone else from another country is xenophobic. Not liking illegal aliens has nothing to do with xenophobia as it has nothing to do with hating immigration and foreginers, but rather, hating illegal immigration. You are compulsively (or possibly pathologically) ignoring the key difference between LEGAL and ILLEGAL, once again.

Hah...quite hypocritical of you considering you seem to neglect addressing any retort I have sent your way with a reasonable argument other than your own irrational justifications for how you believe things should be...also ironic that you are saying that to a comment I made in response to one of your comments which explicitly stated nothing about what we should do with the millions of illegal aliens. Have you heard of a childish argument that holds no water? "He did it and got away with it, so why can't I?" There isn't a single person on the freeways in California who drives 65. If I get a ticket for going 75 I suppose I can just argue with the cop and tell him "but everyone else was doing it!" That will change the cop's mind, right? Besides...it's just a silly law...what's even the point of enforcing it? People illegally download media all the time. You mean to tell me if I download a Metallica album and get caught that I will have to go to court and possibly face jail time for it? But everyone else is doing it! Nope, legal immigrants contribute and seek jobs at the same level as all the other natural born citizens because of the major fact that they are, again, LEGAL immigrants. Illegal aliens do in fact take advantage of the taxpayers, the "system", and the inadequate enforcement of our laws. And you're right. Market forces do take care of it. When companies want to hire cheap labor who are they going to look for? The cheapest labor the can find, that's who. Prevent employers from employing illegals, and once again the "magical invisible hand of economics" would do its work, and all those positions would be filled with legal citizens. Prospective illegal aliens would have no incentive to illegally emigrate to America because they would not be able to obtain work without being a legal citizen. Funny you should say that. I do know a laid off IT guy. He is one of my best friends. I managed to hook him up with a small part time support gig, but other than that and a couple other side jobs, do you know what he does for work? He helps with stocking as well as loss prevention (essentially a door greeter) at a Best Buy. He does what he can to get by until he can find something better. He was willing to work ANYWHERE when he got laid off. I got laid off from a decent job working in pharmaceuticals a few years ago. You know where I worked next? At Orchard Supply Hardware in the pick-up department loading concrete for 5 months until I nailed a position at my current place of work. What is your point, exactly?

You're full of it. It was in response to your comment which directly addressed immigration...You know, that thing when a person moves from one country to another? Except that they are illegal for a particular reason. They bypassed the LEGAL immigration process! What is so hard to understand? How is this at all difficult to comprehend? That is why we have immigration control. There are not enough jobs for every working American citizen. The absolute only reason illegals can get jobs is because companies can get away with compensating them on a far lesser scale, and even then, the barriers to entry for any true citizen to obtain a job that an illegal alien works is far too significant with how entrenched the illegal populous has become in certain job sectors. I find it absolutely insane that you believe the simple solution is to literally open up our borders. You believe that by allowing immigrants to just walk right in they will be greeted with a job. Have you seen the unemployment figures recently? How truly jaded are you? Oh, and maybe you'd like to explain why one would "pay low prices for berries". Guess what American citizens (both legal immigrants and native-born...you always seemingly overlook the glaring difference between LEGAL and ILLEGAL) like to do? They like TO WORK! Guess what happens when unemployment rises? THEY CAN'T WORK! I'm sure many would love to work again, despite the type of work, but a huge amount of jobs are being worked by illegal aliens; illegal aliens who are hired based on the fact that companies can get away with compensating them far less than an American citizen. You mean to tell me there is a large market for cheap labor? WHO KNEW?!

I really liked your little story. Uh...pardon my French, but...no $h!? That's a completely asinine comment which means absolutely nothing in regards what you are trying to argue. (Also, I love how everything that doesn't support your agenda is considered xenophobic.) The country (at that time a much younger and far less populated country) was going through an influx of immigration. Significant growth could easily be supported. This country was founded on immigration, but a constant stream cannot be sustained...not unless there are just as many people leaving as there are coming. We can't even provide enough opportunities to our current population. Another massive influx of immigrants would turn America into a 3rd world country, but it sounds like that is what you want.

Excuse me? No way in hell a rational person would choose to sneak through the desert? Uh, last time I checked, we are flooded with millions of illegal aliens in just California alone, and hundreds of thousands make the trek every year, many of which get through. This is exactly right. I don't blame the illegal aliens at all (on a side note, I am so tired of the PC bull$h!. They are illegal aliens. Criminals. Enough with this sugarcoated "undocumented immigrant" crap). The ones at blame are the businesses because they are the ones who enable these illegals to continue pouring into this country. Put a stop to hiring of illegals by doing thorough background checks and guess what? You have successfully eliminated much of the illegal immigration problem! If illegals can't get jobs, then they won't come here looking for work. How is what he said at all backwards? Where did he say anything about banning companies from filling positions? How about filling positions with the many unemployed legal citizens? How is it good to give jobs away to illegals? You are literally outsourcing your work to another country on your home turf. It is absurd. It even says in that article that these people are obtaining jobs by acquiring false identification. That identification could merely be fake, or it could be yours. Do they pay some taxes? Yes, there is a portion that may pay some taxes, but don't be so naive to think that the same could be said for the majority. Now, take away the illegals and put true citizens in their place. Now you have citizens who didn't obtain the job through false identification, who will be held to the fullest extent of government compensation and taxation standards, and who you know won't simply wire the money back across the border.

Because they know by simply bypassing the tough, lengthy immigration process they can skip across the border in a fraction of the time and cost, take full advantage of our system, and not be held accountable. I don't blame them one bit. I'd probably do the same thing in their shoes. There is no accountability, and that is the problem.

I definitely agree that the process takes quite a bit more time than it should. No question about it. I used to go to an Egyptian hair stylist for a long time and I remember she would talk about how her family was going through the immigration process. I remember it taking at least a decade, if not more, and the process could be quite grueling at times. I was very happy for her when they finally arrived. I think more resources should be delegated to increasing the efficiency of the immigration process, including staffing and procedures. That being said, unfortunately what we have right now is what we get until the people (i.e. the legal American citizens) truly yell out for immigration reform. Whatever inefficiencies the current process may have is no excuse to circumvent the system and undermine the rule of law. The AZ policy, whether it is liked or not, may be the straw that finally breaks the current immigration policy's back. It may just push the envelope enough to warrant some significant consideration for change.

Last time I checked, much like many other nations, there is a legal way of entering into the country. They didn't enter into the country legally. That means they entered into the country illegally. It seems pretty clear to me. Their legal admission isn't blocked. They want to be here legally? Great! Ship them back and let them go through the process that every other legal immigrant has to go through. Let's put it this way...say I want to go see a movie, but I don't want to wait in line and buy a ticket, so instead I go in through the back door and sneak into a theater. If I get caught why should I get thrown out? There is no reason it shouldn't have been free to begin with! Who are you referring to as an anti-immigration zealot? I'd be willing to bet pretty much everyone is for immigration...LEGAL immigration. Are you seriously comparing immigration policies from over 100 years ago to those today? You need to brush up on your history over the years if you can't plainly see why regulation and deliberate numerical restrictions are indeed necessary. Hell, you don't even need a history book to figure that out. The current system makes no sense because it forces people to risk their lives if they choose to come here illegally? Where is the logic in that? They don't have to risk their lives to come here if they go through the legal immigration process. Many have participated in the process and many are now legal citizens who did not risk their lives. I work with a Persian, a Filipino, two Chinese, and a French Canadian. All of them are highly successful individuals who came to America in their lifetime by going through the legal immigration process; not illegally hopping the border. Believe it or not, there are many legal citizens in this country who want to work (you'd think the unemployment rate would do a good enough job of explaining that one). And before you say these people do jobs that citizens don't want to do, that is not only ignorant, but completely and utterly false. But no, let's not support the American citizens, let's support the "poor Mexicans who risked their lives to come here and just want to work" (and send their money back across the border, and leech off our welfare systems, and not make any attempt to assimilate). How is it not obvious that these people, for the most part do not give a rats ass about becoming legal citizens? Why should they when they can so easily take such great advantage of our current system?

Same. Voting absentee is great.

I never said anything about not speaking the truth, nor did I claim it to be a disservice to post such a piece for the info it contains. In fact, I acknowledged that the piece is truthful. I just do not feel it is an appropriate headlining article for the front page of a GM website. It is SEMA season, and GM has on display quite a few awesome vehicles. Why aren't those proudly being displayed on the front page? I thought this was the kind of stuff we were trying to get away from. It seems I see more comments on articles pertaining to other makes (especially when it comes to something of Asian origin) than I do on articles about GM. Hell, GM even had a recall recently and I watched that article fade into the background with only one actual reply and around 100 views. But please, continue on with the discussion about the article. This was probably something I should have PM'd Olds on anyway, and I hate to sidetrack the intent of this thread. I'd be happy to discuss my point of view further through PM.

Fair enough. Don't get me wrong, I definitely share a similar point of view about the topic, and I completely respect your opinion. I just wanted to mention how I feel about the way in which it is presented. I appreciate the response.

Honestly, this is not what I expected to see when logging in this afternoon. While I note the effort you put into it, I don't feel this makes for a good representation of the site as a whole. Despite the truths this article contains, it comes off as nothing more than a smear which, in my opinion, doesn't garner any respect, and if anything, detracts from it. Do I think it shouldn't have been written? Not at all. I feel there should be a place for all editorials. On the other hand, I do believe that place should most definitely not be the homepage. Maybe there is a fine line between an analysis and an attack, but this particular article I just can't support while it is being advertised as the main feature on the homepage of this site. I can understand and accept this on one of the many automotive news blogs. Articles like this are great for attracting the lowest common denominator and generating many hits, but is this how we want our site to be represented? Just my Now, considering this site is supposed to house "Gm's Biggest Fans and Toughest Critics" it most definitely would not be out of place to see an article like this written for GM (or even perhaps multiple automakers). Something along the lines of "The Past Decade of GM Recalls and What They Mean to You".

So glad to see someone included my original choice, the Reventon. That's definitely the winner for me.

I don't think they make them for my car. In fact, I have never really been able to find wipers for my car. I haven't ever replaced my wipers. Amazingly they still function...kind of.

Sir Richard Branson Larry Ellison Warren Buffet Sam Walton

Bah...there's one I'd really love to use of the Lambo Reventon, but I came across this one and for whatever reason I feel obligated to use it...not the scariest, but this car sure is sinister.

That's exactly what I am seeing. It is no wonder they are avoiding the profile shots. Just take a look at the current Sebring and you are surely not too far off.

Saw this guy again today...

If it was closer I would buy it.

Haha...one of my coworkers (older, of course) likes to use the arrow buttons on the scroll bar to scroll up and down a page/list, and they will do it one line/click at a time.