D.Wiggs

What you have said here is much better than most, and frankly much better than I expected when I read the title of the thread. Like I said in the other thread, however, is that we are not looking for proof. We are looking for good reason. (e.g., no one can PROVE that gravity exists, we only have good reason for thinking it does) Good reason for thinking things is what gets us through our day. What we can INDUCE is that there is no good reason for thinking there is a God; however, as you stated, we cannot prove whether or not there is. Without becoming too long winded (Philosophy of Religion is my specialty) and explaining why there is no good reason etc., I will simply state that your premiss is pretty good, although flawed, but at least you claim to have a "good reason" for thinking there is a God, and for that, I give you credit!

Like I said, it's not to keep YOU safe. It's to keep others from paying YOUR bills. I am not saying I agree with the policy; it just is the policy.

Not to "rain on anyone's parade" but the aforementioned reasons for prior helmet and current seatbelt laws are inaccurate. The reason why we have (or had) the laws was/is money (and I do NOT mean the ticket money). If someone is severely injured in an automobile accident (i.e., a vegetable) and must live 20 or so years on ventilators, feeding tubes, etc., this costs the insurance company millions of dollars which it then charges to its other policy holders (i.e., the general public). If one insurance company charges higher rates thhen all others do as well because they know that the "minimum" rate has increased. Statistics show that by wearing your seatbelt you can greatly reduce the chance that a person will be severely injured on average and thus have mandated a law accordingly. The government does not give two shits about whether or not you hurt yourself (except in the case where religion has managed to convince government that suicide is not your right, but that's a whole other story); however, they care very much when you start costing everyone else money. With motorcycles, the helmet law has been repealed under the guise of it being a freedom of choice issue and the AMA etc. when all that really happened was that statistics have shown that a high enough percentage of people die in motorcycle crashes with or without helmets that the law is not necessary. As soon as enough people start living through motorcycle accidents yet are permanently hospitalized, the law will come right back. This is why every "parental law" as people like to claim is bullshit for there is no such thing. The only reason these laws exist is because people do not want to pay for others' mistakes.

Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: * Age: 27 Vehicle(s): * First name: * Posts: 2,421 Trader Rating: (0) Something very different than you!!! :asshole: I'm just kidding I do not discuss personal business on public forums. If we ever meet sometime I will gladly tell you about it. Good luck in everything you do!

I would be careful. Yes the new M3 will have a V8 but it will be larger and heavier and MUCH MORE electronic. The E46 is even too electronic for many enthusiasts; they prefer the E30 or E36 M3's. If the M3 is a bust (which it will be to many), you could end up having to pay a higher premium for the E46's. I think that the best time to buy will be right BEFORE the new E90's hit. That way, everyone will only have speculation on what the new M3 will be like and no one will be trying to get back into their E46's just yet.

I honestly have never owned a cheaper car to maintain. EVERYTHING is covered under warranty. I have spent more on my Hummer, Porsche, Ferrari each (and I didn't spend much on them) than my M5, 540, and M3 combined. Definitely go for it. JUST NO SMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will definitely keep that in mind because it's very likely I will need just that! And thank you for the compliments.

The E46 M3 is an AMAZING car. It is my fiancé's daily driver. It truly has been a great machine. I have modified it extensively and, like some said, it is more expensive than some domestics, the performance gained and the rewrads reaped are equally higher than the cheaper mods. I have done an Hamann coil-over suspension, front strut bar, short shift kit, aluminum racing pedals, shifter, and e-brake lever. 19" 3-piece PG3 wheels of 19x8.5 in front and 19x10 in the rear, and full cat-back exhaust. I never got around to the chip and air intake which would go from 365 HP I have now to 405hp. I have done a custom interior and sound system and both she and I love it. We kept the factory wheels for putting 18" Blizzak snow tires on and in the winter, there is no where it cannot go. I could not recommend any car more highly. Also, since the factory warranty is 4 years, it will run out in July of this year and then I will renew. I have paid 0$ for maintanence, except I think I paid for oil changes, I am not sure. But you get the idea. Here is one of many pics I have. EDIT: I forgot to mention that we ordered the car from BMW with the custom M5 color of "Lemans Blue" http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6967/m3forweb29mq.jpg

By this logic, you are saying that only the extremists actually stand for something and that as you work towards the middle, the actual "substance" of a person's beliefs diminishes. I would claim that the opposite is true. The farther out to one extreme you go the more fallacious your beliefs become and "standing for a false set of beliefs" is not good for yourself or anyone else. However, if you take what you perceive to be the best from both sides ending up somewhere in the middle (i.e., a moderate position), you are much more likely to have a true set of beliefs which IS something that can help you and your country. Be careful with the "all or nothing" fallacy. Just because you are not at an extreme, does not make it the case that you have nothing.

The real problem is 99.99% of all Americans do NOT know how to drive; have no lane discipline; and are too busy doing either their makeup, making a phone call, looking for something in the car, or eating. It's a car! DRIVE IT! DO whatever else you need to do BEFORE OR AFTER!!! If Americans could drive like Germans we could have either 90mph speed limits or unlimited in some areas. I can tell you right now that in my Murciélago at 120 I am more alert and still able to make emergency manuevers and correct for other driver's mistakes due to sheer focus and ability (as well as the car's) than 99% of drivers at 75. It's insane the morons that they give licenses to!

No problem!

(1) Any subjective raiting such as "worst" is a matter of opinion, but so are most things we say about everything else. I am not saying he is the worst because of not getting OBL or anything like that. I believe that he is the worst because he is completely unqualified for the job. The President has basically two duties. 1, to be a figure head for our country (i.e., represent our "strength" and intelligence, and class to the rest of the world) and 2, to speak eloquently to the public and keep them informed of all goings-on with our country both at home and abroad. On both counts he fails miserably. He is a piss-poor speaker on his best day. He cannot think on his feet to save his life, and he exudes stupidity and a "shoot-from-the-hip" mentality that makes us look like "wild west" bafoons to the rest of the world. Believe me when I tell you, when you travel all over Europe, it is not a proud moment when you are recognized as an American, mainly because of "W". That's a separate issue though, the more important one is your second question. (2) The most obvious and easiest issue to elaborate on is religion. The Christian Right-Wing has so much power in this country, it's starting to become scary. The main problem is not that people believe "the Christian way", it's the reasoning or lack thereof that they go through to reach that state of "belief". People give the "faith" argument which is a bunch of crap. Without boring you or others (I have actually done many papers on the subject so I can be long-winded), it basically comes to this. One has no good reason for believing that God exists, not to mention it's logically impossible for the Christian God (as the Bible describes) to even exist. However, one has VERY good reason (i.e., tantamount to the same good reason for thinking that if you jump out of a plane, you will fall to the ground and not magically hover in place) for thinking God does not exist. yet in spite of all of this, people still follow "his word" with "blind faith" and make decisions upon it that affect all of us. Like I said, I could go on for hours and go through all of the arguments, from Aquinas' "5 Ways" up until the modern day Ontological Argument for the existence of God, but that is another story. Hope this helps. Basically my point is, people do not question what they are told and decide for themselves, for if they did, they would probably not have the beliefs that they do currently.

Thank you.

The problem with this country (more than any other non 3rd world country) is not just President Bush (although he is the worst President this country has ever had in its history, or at least in this country's DOCUMENTED history). The problem is that Bush all-to-well REPRESENTS this country and the people in it. Ignorance and intolerance has replaced intelligence and open-mindedness. Idiocy is running more rampant than the black plague and it's only getting worse. I could go on and on about specific issues and problems but the point is moot for it falls upon deaf ears. Theonly people willing to listen are those who don't need to be "converted". The rest just immediately get defensive rather than listen with an open mind because it threatens their bubble of conformity. It truly is sad.