Etrain...been down that path with both my parents. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Just got a card from Dragonflytat...thanks Sherry.

Could not have come at a better time. School is out and so is my back. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately they are rich...well the head of the scam rings are. There are several excellent love scam sites out there to help you id scammers.

Scamming is organized crime on the internet. Got several e-mails from a lady over a few days. Knowing how to trace where an e-mail is coming from she had to be using a transporter....Western Kansas to Eastern Illinios...to Georgia.....to Colorado. All the while she was claiming to me in Kansas.

Old Russian saying, "Trust but verify". Follow that and you can avoid being scammed. Also be cautious about what you share.

Ain't that the truth. Most people do not realize the the Hopi and the Dine' are still enemies. And that the Hopi are insulted that their "Rez" is surrounded by the Dine' "Rez".

The Hopi are a perfect example of "White ignorance and Native American Culture." The Hopi use to let people take pictures during the Kachina Dances...now they do not. How come? Because people taking pictures started to disrupt the significance of the dance.

Sorry...a bit off topic.

Ah,...geez...thanks.

If you want to learn more about the Dine' (Navajo) Culture this is their website.

http://navajopeople.org/

The lack of awareness of Native American Cultures is staggering. Rather then taking the time to learn about a culture people often make unsubstantiated claims/remarks.

The Dine' (Navajo) do have some restrictions about where none tribal members may go on their lands. But so do a number of other Native American Tribes. Along with what may or may not be removed. Often these are a result of disrespectful behavior or a lack of awareness of Tribal Beliefs.

The tragedy is that with the internet it isn't that hard to read about the basics of Tribal Customs and Beliefs.

A loving gift made by a child should not be turned into a major issue. Honor the gift Shutterbug it was given in love and admiration.

Shutterbug,

Just sent you a e-mail about this and the Dine' (Navajo) culture.

Phoenix just announced another death tonight. Seems Arizona is second in the nation.

Freud would enjoy this thread....

Jung would be looking for a variety Archetypes....

Minglers are laughing....

Always enjoy a thread that focuses on musical appreciation.

Thank you...now if the school board would only realize that.

Anyone who buys that drivel...know of some ocean front property for sale in Arizona.

Think it helps if one doesn't look at every person you meet as being "the one". That puts a bunch of pressure on a first meet even before you know if there is any chemistry.

Yet also know the feeling of wondering if you will ever find anyone that is there is a mutual attraction with.

Kinds leads to a dilemma....be looking without looking like you are looking.

Poor grammar and spelling are indicators but not the only things. Asking questions is often a dead give away. If they can't talk intelligently about where they live...might not live there. If they very quickly want to IM on Yahoo is often another indicator. Or if they quickly want to know your e-mail is a good indicator.

Key is when after only one or two e-mails they know you are the one for them. Yeah right.

Growing up my brothers and I were always bring home stray animals. My dad wasn't always thrilled about it. Until one night he came home with a rain soaked kitten. After that he couldn't say anything.

Currently three out of the four animals I have were "semi strays". By that what is meant is that the people who had them had to give them up for a variety of reasons.

Unfortunately there have been times when I've turned down country roads right after some one had dumped some kittens or puppies. Always a very sad sight.

If he needs any help...willing to lend a glass.

Silcon Valley's response.....

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - President Barack Obama's plan to impose U.S. taxes on corporate America's overseas profits threatens to open a big crater in the financial statements of technology companies.

While additional taxes are rarely popular, Obama's decision to go after corporate earnings outside the United States is a particularly prickly subject for technology executives because the industry has been steadily boosting its overseas sales amid rising demand for its gadgetry and services.

If Obama's proposal becomes law, the hard-hit companies would include tech bellwethers like Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) (CSCO), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOG) Each of those companies realized a benefit of more than $1 billion from lower foreign tax rates in their most recent fiscal years - an advantage that could lost if Obama is able to change the rules.

"It would be like an earthquake for high tech," said Carl Guardino, chief executive of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an industry trade association. "On a Richter scale of 1 to 10, this would be a 12."

Collectively, HP, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and Google lowered their tax bills by a combined $7.4 billion in their last fiscal years by taking advantage of lower tax rates outside the United States, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Through the years, these five tax companies have avoided U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on a combined $72 billion in undistributed earnings from their foreign operations.

While Obama's proposal might not tax all the money U.S. companies keep overseas, it apparently would target a big chunk. Obama estimated his plan would raise a total of $210 billion, or an average of about $21 billion annually, over a 10-year period.

By reinvesting their earnings overseas, U.S. companies insulate themselves from much higher tax rates had the money been made in their home country.

Google, for instance, would have been hit with an effective tax rate of 45.2 percent instead of 27.8 percent last year if it hadn't been able to capitalize on lower rates overseas, according to the Mountain View-based company's annual report. Without the lower foreign rates, Google's 2008 tax bill would have been $1.02 billion higher. Google's income before taxes totaled $5.85 billion last year.

Obama has been strongly supported so far by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who campaigned for the president last year and has subsequently served as a technology adviser.

Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said Monday it was too early to evaluate how Obama's tax proposal might affect the Internet search leader's operations because the idea is likely to be revised as it wends its way through Congress.

HP reaped a $1.77 billion benefit in its fiscal 2008 from lower foreign tax rates while Cisco and Microsoft each saw benefits of more than $1.6 billion, according to the companies' annual reports. IBM's foreign tax advantage last year totaled about $1.3 billion.

The high-tech industry isn't the only beneficiary from the current tax rules. General Electric Co. (GE), for instance, lowered its effective tax rate by nearly 27 percent last year by keeping profits outside the United States. That saved the company more than $5 billion in potential U.S. taxes.

And offshore earnings enabled drug maker Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to lower its effective tax rate by 12.4 percentage points last year, saving about $2 billion.

Obama reasons that U.S. companies will create more jobs in the United States if there is less of an advantage to setting up operations overseas.

But Guardino disagrees, maintaining that high-tech firms and other U.S.companies are establishing more foreign offices to take advantage of their biggest growth opportunities. And as they bring in more revenue overseas, companies are also able to hire more workers in the United States as well as in other countries, Guardino said.

As it is, Google already generates more than half its revenue outside the United States and that percentage is expected to increase as more people around the world go online and gravitate to the company's services.

If they face higher taxes on their foreign earnings, high-tech companies will be at a competitive disadvantage that will discourage them from expanding their payrolls, Guardino said.

By coincidence, Guardino and about 50 Silicon Valley executives had already scheduled a trip to Washington this week. Guardino said the group plans to focus on meeting with lawmakers to explain why Obama's idea to tax overseas profits would do more harm than good.

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