Well, if someone is going after you with the intent to hurt or kill you, it is reasonable to shoot back when the circumstances warrant it; it's called "self-defense."

And there ARE people who have had to make the choice to kill in defense of life and limb because failure to act would have meant certain death to the victim. In a violent situation like that, it's either you or the bad guy. It's a very hard choice that I personally hope you never have to face, but you never know; it can happen to anyone, so it most certainly can happen TO YOU.

Unfortunately, because there is a chance that it may happen and the VERY HIGH STAKES when it does (you're usually fighting for your LIFE and the lives of those whom you are responsible for), it is only prudent to be effectively and competently prepared. You will rarely, if ever, be conveniently informed ahead of time that you will be attacked by a thug.

As for a handgun being designed to kill, it is a weapon after all. But, it cannot achieve the function without a person committing to the decision in the first place. Ergo, PEOPLE kill.

What justifies lethal force or not are the circumstances, and that's what makes the difference between a compelled choice or an unnecessary one.

Fortunately, usually when you produce your weapon when a thug makes his intentions known to you, that by itself is enough to stop the attack; the thug usually doesn't want to be shot by his own victim. But, if the warning is unheeded, you'd better not have been making a bluff.

But, I will say this: if you do commit to the decision to carry, you ought to get training with one of the most important lessons to learn is knowing when NOT to shoot.

And if you ever had to take a life of a thug who meant to hurt or kill you, Your creator will most likely understand; you were fighting in defense of his most precious gift to you: your life.

I will not buy anything from GM (and Chrysler for that matter) so long as a significant percentage of the company is held by the United States Government and/or the UAW.

I will not help to fund socialism.

If I buy an American car or truck, it will be Ford.

That's not so sad if you consider an alternate motive.

What if the big three pissed their customers off?

"And for all you bashers of Mexican made cars/trucks , where is the tundra built??"

Tundras are built in San Antonio, Texas or in Princeton, Indiana.

AngleoD said: "Don't forget to mention the coverup by Toyota of the defective steering linkages in the Tacoma that led to many deaths and subsequent criminal prosecution in Japan of several Toyota executives."

And let's not forget Chrysler's gaffes in the same area with their LH platform vehicles ... except nobody at Chrysler got busted for that one.

I can relate to the problems with the VA to an extent.

I helped an elderly veteran with transportation to and assistance at the VA hospital that he had to go to a few times.

Two words describe how things are in a VA hospital: bureaucratic nightmare.

Also true.

The butter topping isn't real butter, but soy oil with artificial flavoring, such as diacetyl.

Then there is a "real butter" topping that is clarified butter, where water and milk solids are separated from the butter fat, leaving an orange glop that can be kept for longer periods and doesn't require refrigeration.

To me, real butter is fermented dairy cream, which is made from real milk; about the only thing that may be added to real butter is salt. Real butter is melted and poured over the popped kernels, complete with everything that's in the butter, including the milk. THAT is buttered popcorn.

Good point.

What if the study was supported by a special interest instead of being unbiased.

These days, you can't always count on an organization being non-profit to indicate honesty and to provide truthful facts.

What's the problem here, exactly?

I appreciate the non-profit giving us information we all need to know, but they are treating the issue as if the theaters are forcing us to buy their popcorn.

Okay, so if it's so terribly bad for me, I WON'T BUY THE FRIGGIN' POPCORN THE NEXT TIME I GO TO A MOVIE THEATER. Problem solved (at least for me).

However, this has been a non-issue for me. It's been almost a year since I last went to the movies. Most of what's showing are remakes and movies based on comic book properties; in short, nothing new, more interesting or different from what I can watch at home.

There are a few people who are excusing what the democrats and Obama are doing by stating that it was all Bush and the republicans fault.

So, basically, the democrats and Obama are given a free ride to do the same things, if not worse, than what Bush and the republicans did?

What in the world kind of logic is that?! I thought the democrats and Obama were in office to fix things, not do more of the same (raise taxes, infringe on the rights and freedoms of their constituents in power grabs, and so on).

As to where were those complaining about Obama when Bush was in office ... I would posit that many were waiting until November 2008 to vote new leadership to replace Bush and a few more republicans to increase the democratic majority because many thought that there could be no one who would be worse. Well, guess anything was possible, eh? The current leadership climate is showing to be much worse than Bush and the republicans as they are not only continuing many republican policies, such as the Patriot Act and the war on terror, but also expanding their power and agenda at the expense of their constituents.

Goes to show, republicans and democrats are different colors, but $H1T is still $H1T no matter what color it is.