I am impressed.
It's hard to believe something like this can exist here at Stromtrooper forum. Some points...

1.) The greywolf is NOT restrictive, he simply enforces (and rather immaculately), the forum rules.

2.) It is incomprehensible to me that anyone would report a post.
I've seen some scary stuff in the off-topic section at ADV that was eventually cleaned up by the sys-op, but I've always just assumed it was initiated by a vigilant administrator, NOT a report by a member.
NOTE: This place is too technically valuable to get booted off of.

3.) I would say most of us don't consider a heated discussion a bad thing. Usually members vent, recover, and move on.

Now back to the Twinkies.

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A "Commuter" not an AdvTourer.
Currently Commuting On: 06 Harley XL1200C, 06 DL1000, 07 GS500F, 2 mopeds, and a pair of sneakers.

My experience is that the more you make past basic needs the more opportunity there is to take advantages of ways to lower your taxable income. I do it such as I can and people I know who make more find other ways to do so. I don't have a great issue with it because thats how the game is set up at this time. In my opinion the game is definitely rigged towards the wealthy, no surprise since the wealthy wield influence over the rules,
I don't have a particular issue with changing the rules of the game either to level the playing field. If it exposed me to an additiional tax i'll take that chance.

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Joe S.
'12 Concours
'11 DL650
'10 Tiger1050
'01 HD FXD
'09 HD XR1200
'79 BMW R100

.
Erm, yes, Hunt1moore . . . thanks for that link [in your post #160] to charitable donations by national groupings.

It let a bit of the air out of my post #159 about the ungenerosity of Aussies.
And no doubt you are right about the average comparisons not being much different ~ but averages are not everything, and can conceal much.
Dig deeper and you will find that in absolute [hard dollar] terms, generosity is low. Which I could discuss in more detail here . . . if it weren't for this site's 5,000 word posting limit . . .

Basically I was agreeing with DirtDad that there ARE a lot of very generous Rich Americans. I am sure there are very many poorer citizens too who are generous . . . but of course it is the rich high-flyers who get noticed [and nothing much wrong with that, in itself].

As a long-time observer of social trends, I have the distinct impression [with which DirtDad will agree] that there is an outstanding level of [financial] generosity of spirit found among many [but still a minority] of Rich Americans ~ much more so than in the Rich of comparable nations.

Why is this so ?

Partly it is simple good nature ( "Aw, shucks . . ." ).

Partly it is from slightly less worthy motives ~ you know the sort of thing : the shonky semi-fake tax deductions arranged by clever accountants.

Or from the desire to "big-note" their own egos : again, you know the sort of thing ~ like the "Werner Q. Midnullarbor III Charity Foundation" /slash/ Opera House" . . .
* Please Note : that is not a jab at the "Bill and Melinda Foundation" ~ in the financial world, Bill is already a Big Note, and the Foundation funded by the Gateses (and now added to by Buffett) is very appropriately named IMO, and spends the money very intelligently. Highly praiseworthy.

Partly it is a matter of some social status rivalry among the rich ~ and IMO there is nothing very wrong in a rivalry that produces a virtue.
But it is a type of rivalry which is very much less apparent elsewhere in the world.
There are some very generous Rich Australians, but as a proportion of the rich, they are much smaller. (Yes, there are also some ultra-low-profile Charity Funds set up by individual wealthy Aussies . . . but not many AFAIK.)

** Traditionally, in the Highlands villages of New Guinea, a man's wealth was measured by the number of pigs he owned.
But his social status was more determined by his generosity ~ by the "parties" he threw, where those pigs were killed, cooked, and fed to neighbours.
Feasts not infrequently followed by cases of "Pig-Bel".
Pig-Bel ~ a nasty, often fatal, infection of the "belly" [gut intestines] from eating inadequately-cooked pig entrails.
[ Pig entrails? Could I be getting a little off-topic here? ]

I have heard of Tinkerbell
. . . but fortunately I have never heard of cases of "Twinkie-Bel".
.

Nothing wrong with following current tax law, most of us do. Even our most caring first family ever, last year, "gifted" 50 large to their daughters, to lower their income a bracket or two, and minimize their tax liability, even while on the campaign trail extolling us to vote for him, so he could raise taxes on those greedy rich guys.

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2007 DL1000 Black (crashed, totaled)
2008 DL650 (wife's sold)
DL650AL2 (Orange) it's Home.....
Exodus 20:17

Is this great or what?. It seems that the practical thinkers know what is really best for their state in the long run.
Michigan GOP Pushes Through Right-To-Work Bill, Amid Angry Protests - Careers Articles

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2012 DL1000 Adventure (Tinkerbell)
PC-V, Smart TRE, CR8EIX plugs, Madstad bracket, Madstad 22" shield, Fork brace, 43T rear, Airhawks, Chinese mirrors, mirror extenders, RDL.

He and legislative leaders denied opponents' contentions that the bills were designed to weaken unions by depriving them of funds needed to bargain effectively or were retaliation for the ballot initiative, which organized labor spearheaded. They said a "freedom to work" law would make unions more responsive to members' needs and give employees freedom to decide whether to accept union representation.

"This does not change collective bargaining and this is not anti-union," Bolger said. "It is pro-worker."
I agree!

Unfortunately, most of the protesters will be off work now for months on A&S (might be a good thing for the actual workers), holding the signs is probably the most physical labor they have seen in years...

Protesting against their own rights...WOW?!?!...Not surprised though!

The vending company that services our machines has found a "Twinkie" replacement already, they are called "Dreamies"...
I do not eat them, so I am not sure on comparison of taste myself, nor do I know who makes them, one fellow employee stated that they are good...
Funny thing though, very rarely were there "Twinkies" available in that machine before the shut down, now a replacement, what is that about I wonder?

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2012 DL650A
2010 Triumph Speed Triple 1050
2003 SV1000S (track only)

Yes, congratulations to Michigan. Never would have guessed it was possible. Good for them.

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2012 XT1200Z Blue, 2012 XT1200Z Black

I guess it's fitting to transplant this post here.
You're going to like it regardless of if you eat your Twinkies with your Left or Right hand.

Go ahead... Click the link.

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A "Commuter" not an AdvTourer.
Currently Commuting On: 06 Harley XL1200C, 06 DL1000, 07 GS500F, 2 mopeds, and a pair of sneakers.

Well they got you suckers again

We don't have a Union Problem
We don't have a Greedy Rich Problem
We don't have a TAX problem
We almost don't have a Government spending problem

We have a wealth problem, Since President Johnson's war on Prosperity the wealth creation began to wither. Until China came there was not many BETTER places to do business. So if we are not generating wealth equal to our consumption then you fate is sealed. It is just a matter of time.

It is hard for me to believe that the powers that be are not knowledgeable and complicit.

Politicians know they have 1 job, to be reelected.

They are NOT leaders, they are merely trend early adopters. Whatever stupidity the voters want they run to the front of the line and Yell Hell Yea.

That big abandon factory downtown is a good thing......

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2013 Northeast V-Strom Rally!

ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS

8/2/2013

Totally agree! Maybe there is hope for this state! I'm from TN and miss the mountains, but I have sure enjoyed living here in MI for the last seven years.