Should Ahmadinejad be worried about the possibility of U.N. sanctions against him? Probably not. History shows that U.N. sanctions and wrist slapping don't mean much without a clear plan to uphold these sanctions.

Well, classic Murphy's Law:

I paid off my '02 Bonneville in August and, last Monday, the engine locks up - it's a goner. Now, isn't that par for the course?

Oh scale,
Why do you lie?
I know you can't really
Count that high.

Your math is lacking,
Your face beveled,
Your dial needs tracking,

Your post was extremely informative. In college I minored in history and art history and though my concentration was in ancient civilizations (I can hold my own in a discussion about Summerian seals, Babylon, Rome, etc.) I do remember studying the Depression - cause and effect. Though I am not as knowledgeable as you appear to be on this topic, some of that 'learnin' must have stuck in my subconscience. Like you, I have had a sinking feeling in my stomach. It's like that moment on a roller coaster when you've just topped the highest hill and you take in a deep breath and pray.

I really did laugh out loud at your quote. I loved it! Here's a few more you might like:

"The secret to life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made." - Groucho Marx

'69 was the year I was born. It was the year my teenage parents graduated highschool, had me, dad went off to war, and came home to work 2 - 3 jobs to support his family. Yeah, I guess I had some pretty good teachers. I just learned at an early age that surviving is hard but the rewards are great. My mom once rolled all the change she'd been saving for something special for herself but bought my prom dress instead.

Mr. Hobbs, I like the commentary that you contribute to this site. Many of you seem to be much more knowledgeable than I. Not that I don't have may own opinions and convictions, but often I feel that I don't always have the stuff of substance to back up my opinions.

I feel for your friend w/ the interest hike in credit cards. Most of my card accounts, I've had for years and had always stayed on top of them paying @ the very least the minumum and paying them on time. I had a hysterectomy a year ago followed by three more minor surgeries and am currently recovering from hernia surgery. After being out of work w/ the hyst. I got a month behind and BAM - 33% interest. Now I'm just treading water trying to stay afloat. I don't mean to poor mouth (I hate that), I'm just saying that I do understand the plight of those who try hard, spin their wheels, and still find themselves in the quick sand.

What line of work are you in? Anything involving a cube sounds torturous.

Wish we had more cart paths in Fayetteville. Not that I have a golf cart, but if we had the paths I'd get a cart.

I love sunsets too. My mother should have named me dusk (Dawn is my middle name and '69 the year I was born). Dawn is the promise of a new day and dusk is a time for reflection.

I have an idea for a new reality show. Maybe the Home and Garden channel will pick it up - it's called Flip this Economy.

Usually my boss, who lives not too far from me, will follow me home. He even waits until I'm inside my home to pull off. Maybe we should just carpool - he's really a great person but I shudder at the thought of carpooling with my boss. LOL. I guess, as a woman who was victimized 20 years ago (by 3 white guys - crime comes in all colors), I have spent most of my adult life being cautious, ie: always keeping a full tank of gas, never leaving a beverage unattended, never parking next to a van in a parking lot, etc. For now, I concede that I could put my 'top-up' philosophy aside until the shortage has passed and I believe it will be resolved soon.

I agree, part of the hysteria has been created and is almost as stupid as running out to buy bread when some snow falls from the sky.

There is certaintly plenty of blame to go around regarding our current financial crisis. This blame can be passed out like ice cream cones to all members of our government (maybe one of those new Ben & Jerry flavors). Main street shares in this responsibility as well. Too many have overextended themselves with loans that common sense would have suggested they couldn't afford.

Hey sniffles. I'm not white - I'm beige.

I'm glad to be hearing some common sense on this site. Did I hear correctly today that Obama wants 20% of the "bailout" package to go to ACORN? Sounds to me like more of the same...irresponsible lending practices.

What the f*#k!! Has your left wing lunacy abased you to the point of school yard antics - you have to resort to calling Gov.

Tibet - you have a very valid point about who our economic leaches are. Everything you say about the ILLEGAL Mexican population is correct.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO ASK THEMSELVES ONE QUESTION - WHO OWNS MOST OF THE GAS STATIONS THESE DAYS? MIDDLE EASTERN IMMIGRANTS.

I would like to thank you all for your interest in our new lunch menu. This menu is two days old now and seems to be a big hit with our patrons.

I am glad to hear that you have dined with us and sorry to hear that both experiences were unsatisfactory. I admit that at times the atmosphere has been chaotic. As I stated in a previous blog, we simply weren't prepared for the volume that we've been dealing with - most new businesses have to gradually build up a customer base and therefore have time to work out problems. We simply have not had that time yet - we've only been open 5 weeks so we are still in our infancy. Considering this volume, there have been a few times that we have run out of potatoes and other menu items later in the evening. I happen to know that this is a problem that even Longbranch has had before. My hope is that you will try us again and not hold the first month of our opening against us.

You are correct. Longbranch has been around for a long time and until two years ago offered a very limited one page laminated menu. The Longbranch menu that now exists was created by Tim McGinnis (manager/operator of Latitude 33) and his very dear friend Jackie.

As assistant manager of Latitude 33, I'd like to thank everyone for your input on our new establishment - positive and negative. We need your comments in order to make the appropriate changes. Anyone who has ever taken a risk to try something new and difficult understands that we may need a little time to work out the kinks but I promise we will. Any criticism is taken as constructive and given consideration.