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The Iran regime cheering for the DNC puts it in the open. I'll have to keep F.L.U. in mind, LOL. Enjoy the Mini!
Besides the benefit of like-minded brothers who want comradely, people they could trust implicitly, most especially in bad times, Masonry was, and is, a rock solid standard by which men lived up to.
Today it functions much like a networking system.
"Masonry makes good men better"
Before the days of life & health insurance, pensions and such, if the man of the house passed away way too soon, the widow and orphans often suffered greatly.
In a tradition that stills live today, widows and orphans are taken care of like the members of family that they are.
As in all of life in this world, there will always be deceitful, greedy, unbrotherly and downright nasty people within the Brotherhood. Ask me how I know.
An issue has sullied the image of Freemasonry over the centuries is the very real existence of the Illuminate founded in Bavaria, 1776 by Adam Weishaupt and more than a few Masonic Brethren.
This was, by all honest examination, one of the first real attempt at establishing a one world government/new world order control.
Once it's true nature and purpose started becoming clear, the Bavarian government outlawed it, followed by most of the western nations.
In a little known fact, the Grand Master of Freemasonry in the newly formed united states, George Washington, quite the Fraternity in protest, never to return.
The Illuminate did not go away. It went underground.
When JFK spoke of his abhorrence of "Secret Societies" he was not talking about your local Masonic lodge doing Red Cross Blood blood drives and Saturday breakfasts, he was referring to such groups as Scull and Bones, Club of Rome, CFR, Trilateral Commission, the City of London, and yes, the present incarnation of the Illuminate (or what ever they refer to themselves today)
There is true evil that is ever-present in our world today. Forces that work tirelessly to destroy the American Middle Class, Christianity, our national Sovereignty and enslave us both physically and financially through inflation, debt and endless wars.
Not just here in America, but the world over.
These same forces lie, officiate, indoctrinate, and propagandize the masses through false narratives of racial, social and economic division.
Your fellow man (and women) has much more in common with you than the main stream media, hollywierd, tv, liberal academics, or our so-called "leaders" in Washington.
Take a deep breath. Trust your gut.
If it doesn't sound right, it most likely isn't.
As Mark Twain said: "Don't trust anything you read, and only half of what you see"
My brother in law was a member and he thought I was too. I am not but never said, one way or the other. He was an alcoholic and has since, passed.
Constitution and everything this Republic stands for.
The DSA, as a prime example.
Masons were mistics and superstitious but were on to something that maybe no longer exists.
Putting all the info in front of me and I could definitely say the it was a smart move if only to piss them off and make them doubt themselves.
Don't know about your area but we now have "Flock" cams with lic plate readers all over the place. Want to keep this area secret.
Towns are revenue hungry due to the state taking most of our town taxes.
Seems Wrong . . .
Invasion of privacy,
unjustified search
assumption of guilt
Guilty until proven innocent....
There's nothing ambiguous about this issue.
How'd your Mini fare against the C8 Corvette?
Corvettes are supercars: large, bulky purpose built race cars that require a closed track to truly explore it's limits.
Mini Coppers (especially the early models) are are affordable pocket rockets. Toss-able little cars that are just a hoot to push hard.
I owned a 2004 Copper S (all the options).
This was the car with the Supercharger.
Only available for '04 & '05
Fitted with 40 series Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, this handled like a go cart that would do 142.mph. 75 mph on a 25 mph off-ramp without drama (except for the poor passengers)
The later models got bloated, heavy and cramped inside. The turbo model drove nothing like the Supercharger.
Almost bought a new one after 15 years, but one test drive and the wife and I were totally put-off.
It's floor pan is a BMW X1.
We bought the X1 instead because of it's interior was more suited to how the car actually drove: confident, but sedated. Comfortable without the pretense of performance. Hint: very little.
Don't get me wrong, it can get out of it's own way. 230 hp and a top speed of 132mph it is not slug.
Unlike the early Coopers, it doesn't beg you to run it through the gears and trash it hard.
I'm sure the admission cost for autocrossing has gone up a lot today plus I'm not sure I could afford the tires for my C8
I often comply. LMAO
I forget the acronym, but it disables the dynamic stability control.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).?
Ahh. let me think: I believe it was the traction control button.
I kept the stability control on, I could not see any advantage to disabling it.
I wasn't aware ABS could be disabled, again, not that I ever would.
PS, that's 145 out of a possible 160 by the way. Car is not built for racing, even with the front drive, the corners can get scary. Both of us Need work to do that for a living.
In other words, I don't think much of things oogah boogah.
This coming from someone steeped into the occult when I was much younger and way before I ever heard of Ayn Rand.
Now I do what The Bible says to do about things occult. Stay the hell away from it.
This from an ex-Catholic nondenominational Protestant who save for funerals hasn't set foot in a church for at least a decade.
I'm hardly perfect but I do pray a lot. Anyone don't like that? See if I care.
Hey, see if I care if you don't like this personal theory. Exiled Cain went to that "Land Of Nod" place an took a Neanderthal for a wife.
Such is why scientists now say it is found that we all have a smidgeon of Neanderthal DNA.
Neanderthals evolved. What is the rest of us didn't. Well, at least that works for me the dino.
See my response to mccannon.
Back in 2004 and '05, the "S" model was only available with a 6-speed stick. The top two gears were overdrive!
The first three years '02 to 05', the base model offered an automatic. A CVT, a pitiful dog of a thing. The stick was a respectable 5-speed, with 5th gear being overdrive.
I find the car difficult to drive at city speeds.
Here's somethin funny, we have a little Maltese we named Mini and today a couple that bought one of our pups some years ago brought him back home to say goodby to me, they are moving to Vegas; his name is Cooper, he's Mini's brother
They also wanted to see my new Mini Cooper and hadn't thought of the connection between it and the dogs . . . .
I think my next car will be electric anyway. My son has a Tesla Model 3, and that thing will smoke any of my cars, but my Lotus 7 would probably take it on the track with enough curves. The self driving is amazing. Elon has this done way better than the others. No comparison
The only reason my Ranger is automatic is because with DeWALT, I was always on the highway in traffic.
But in completing my reaction, I'll never be an electric guy, quick? yea, but no fun.
Electric make financial sense for us. Our power is cheap for the area, and the rate is much lower anytime but 4pm-8pm, when it is 5x. If we just charge outside this, we drive for ridiculously low cost, and I never drive more than 150 miles.
It drives quiet (until you step on it) and comfortable, quests are quite impressed with it. Everybody loves the double sun roof, the 4 bucket seats and the Stereo (Harman Kardon)
In fact, it was the only stock radio I never ripped out to satisfy my insatiable appetite for good tunes.
In the1970's we headed over to Service Merchandise and bought a Pioneer Super Tuner and pair of Cerwin Vaga 6X9's. We got out dad's Saw-Z-All if the hole wasn't big enough. :-)
HK made some highly under-rated home stereo equipment back in the day.
As a vintage hifi repair guy, I can tell you they are the bargain of the used hifi market right now.
Especially their "Twin Power" units.
I love my Tundra pickup (1794 model), but the JBL stereo they put in it is right-right horrible.
My go-to amp these days is JL Audio, Your speaker choice is clearly a matter of what your ears say is right balanced by what you wallet can swing. Lately I've been using Infinity, but they are not the Infinity's of the 1980's (no EMIT drivers), these days they are an economic compromise.
1) 15 watts/chan is a pitiful amount of drive power.
2) The CAN bus runs through it, making replacement a non-trivial event.
3) The speakers are the cheapest paper cones they could source.
4) The speakers are two ohms. Most replacements are four ohms, if you try a four ohm replacement, the amp won't turn on at all.
Two solutions: The cheap one is reasonably DYI.
Infinity/JBL (same amp, sold under two names) makes a 8 channel in/ six channel out DSP amp (~60 watts/per). It plugs into the stock amp high level outputs using adaptor harness sold through Crutchfield. run him about $600. And you can use four ohm speakers should he go that far. The stock speakers aren't horrible if driven hard enough.
The other is a complete tear-out of all the factory components including the CAN bus interface module.(RockFord Fosgate).
Again, JL Audio is the amp of choice here. Five channels totaling 1K watt output does the trick nicely. My ears are partial to Infinity. Their component speakers are quite nice for the money. I spent about $3K in parts and close to a week removing the old and installing the new. Front door panels need to be modified. Lots of adaptor harnesses need be used if you don't want to cut off the factory plugs.
The dash wiring is more than a little convoluted. It requires some understanding if you want to retain the dash speakers (recommended)
If he doesn't have advanced tech skills, he'll be looking at an installation cost that will rival the parts cost.
I was getting estimates in the $5-6K range.
Given I have the skills, I gathered my parts and waited for a good stretch of whether (since moving to my comfy, but tiny cottage, I no longer have a nice dry barn to work in)
While it only used a steel basket, It has a composite 6" cone and decent magnet size.
Everything else is paper and screams: cheapo.
Also, whatever aftermarket solution there us out there, that silly center speaker on the dash will get nulled out.
Never understood why they put it in there.
Kinda defeats the whole "stereo" thing.
Phone/navigation sound comes through the left/right dash speakers.
I double checked and they are not hooked up to the radio.
I once thought that an attenuated center speaker might add something positive to the overall system but it would have to be very efficient and able to take high volumes without distorting. (the idea would be to produce all the frequencies at low volumes.
Never got to play with that idea . . .
I built my systems at Designer Audio LTD in the 80s to let you hear all the music at low wattage outputs, (easy listening volumes) and stay equally clear at high volumes.
But sounds like you have a GREAT system!!
I bought one for my 66 Mustang GT Fastback but never got to hear it due to having to sell it because DeWALT powertools laid us all off because of the Housing crash.
PS posting the sunday editions right now . . .
I knew a number of Masons, in spite of my Catholic upbringing. I definitely do not see these folks as the Illuminati, but I do see that hidden from the world at large organization as real and dangerous.