GarthP2000

Vegan, Altho, I didn't read every one of them, the accounts that I did read in ther links you provided were inconclusive at best as to showing that the cause of death was the Taser. Hell, even in a good many of those cases, the Taser as a contributing factor in those deaths was inconclusive.

First off, laws in and of themselves gaurantee nothing. Ie., anti-gun laws won't gaurantee that a criminal won't go out and get a gun anyway (insert pro-gun applause here). ... ... Just like anti-murder laws won't gaurantee that a criminal won't go out and murder anyway (insert cricket chirping silence here). (Frankly, the pro-gun lobby needs a better kind of argument than that in order to make their case, hmmmm?) Perhaps, maybe perhaps, what is needed is a stricter, and more uniform enforcement of the laws so that they do work. And even then, it is foolish (and rather dishonest, really) to suggest that in order to have a law, it must be *totally* effective so that it banishes that which it is against.

Ever have your mom use tobasco sauce instead?

Actually dude, you started THE thread, and here it is running longer than a Ford Taurus. :B)

We indeed do have the right to defend ourselves. That is why we do have the individual right to own and bear arms (ie., guns). I couple that with the right to require people to register (note that I did _not_ say license) their guns; for one thing to identify the owner in case the gun is used in a crime. There are other valid reasons as well for this. There are certain 2nd Amendment fanatics who think that even registering your guns amount to an 'infringement' of one's 2nd Amendment rights. It does not. It is no more an infringement of your individual right to own a gun than registering to vote is an infringement of that right to vote.

Ahhh, get another horse already.

Baldwin + Martindale = separated at birth

... then the Irish would be offended.

Legally speaking, if a child doesn't want to be with her father, can she be forced to visit with him anyway? It seems that Baldwin is having visitation issues (which he ought to be directing towards the mother, doncha think?), and he's taking his frustrations out on her. He has no call to do that, and especially no call to expect her to 'be on call' for him to answer his calls when _he_ wants to call. In any event, Baldwin is the self-centered and thoughtless pig here, and if I were the kid, I'd tell him to _make_ me 'honor' his visitation rights, and would then tell his sorry a** to get lost!

... sure beats driving all the way up to New York/New Jersey to get the one you referred to. :B)

Good one Dave.

ChasUFarley, I appreciate the advice too. Sorry I wasn't clear on that. In any event, I went ahead and got the 2001 Ford Taurus. I guess the engine design flaw in the Saturn SL2 kept it out of the running. Again, thanks to all for the information and advice. :)

... but what is the MPG on that lil' hog? :P

Abigail, Interesting. Then why do a lot of reviews/posts/the like (and I'm referring to folks who owned Saturns over the years, NOT the company or the car dealers) go on and on about Saturn's reliability? Particularly if this happens in 'a LOT of Saturns'? Just curious.

Coolness! Great ideas all around (great idea as to check for engine compression/water leakage, Ron :) Will do, with either car.) Dave, sorry, but the Subaru isn't on the 'Finalist' list, as for one thing, the dealer I'm checking out doesn't have Subarus. Also, a family member is springing for the car, and I promised them that this dealer (who's a good one from our dealings with him) is the one I'm going to. But I have a rather wide selection of cars to choose from. Keep 'em coming, if you have any more info about these models. I've been reading a lot about both of them on the Net, and overall they are very good cars all around.

MarkO's gonna love that last one.

Anybody have any experience with Saturns or Ford Tauruses tho? Any info in that area?

I'mn in the market for a used car, and the 2 top candidates I'm seriously considering are 1) a 1999 Saturn SL2 w/ 84,000+ miles, and 2) a 2001 Ford Taurus SES w/ 138,000 miles. (And both are from a reputable dealer that treated some of my family members well) I would like some opinions about either one/both of the cars from anyone here who has had experience with either those particular models/years, or those models in general, any year. Overall I've heard that they were 2 of the more high quality and reliable cars, but I'm still doing some information mining here. ... Good cars? Bad lemons? Any points in particular I should watch out for? I know, I know, no gaurantees, as each car is gonna be different. I'm just looking for ballpark expectations for the cars, or any major things I need to look out for. Anybody want to chime in? Advise me? ... Please? :)

Now THERE is THE American Dream, right there. It appeals to the beer-guzzling, 'don't wanna get off my arse', inner-spoiled-brat in all of us.

Now watch the length of this thread grow ..... exponentially. Thanks Smikeol!

That would require a different kind of 'tea'. ... The kind that's smoked. ;)

Wait till you start wearing sandals and Birkenstocks. ((ducking))

So *that* explains the lumps of coal us kids were threatened with come Christmas.

Unless that fish was swimming around in the sewage.

"Hey! Get me outta this Hazmat can!!"