Pure Energy

Smokers hate to be told to stop smoking!!!! It triggers a panic sensor in the brain. I have been an X-smoker for almost a year and can't say enough that it is the best thing I've ever done!!!

People who smoke don't think that smoking will hurt "them". Otherwise they wouldn't smoke. Well, I got the scare of a lifetime when a CT scan showed a spot on my lung. I was 40 with a wife, 2 step kids and a 3yr old daughter!! Reality hit real fast!!!

So Rick.....Stop smoking!!!

Superbabi

See Rick, you just got to stop !!! Think of all the extra gas money you will have for the boat.

K-WELLS

smoking is for mental midgets-----it was cool when you were in ninth grade, any smoker over the ago of 25 just looks like white trash. I used to smoke 2 packs a day and quit 7 yrs ago. One of the best decisions I ever made.

CMC

When my son was born, the family would rag at my ex father in law about his smoking. The father in law would say say....
" If I thought smoking around the baby would hurt him......I would never do it".....

My ex father in law died of cancer last year !!!!!!!!!!!


But paying the governer does suck !!!

z.zuperboat

Ive been trying to get my wife to quit for 18 years. 2 kids later and her working in the ER .Hypnosis the patch,cold turkey pregnancy father with lung cancer.. No good!! Still smoking. I my self never cared forr it . It has to be very hard to quit.

FX10

It's easier said then done. Been on the patch for 3 days. After smoking 2 packs a day for like almost 30 years. It's time to quit. It aint easy though. Even with the patch I have to squeeze in a few. Hell, 10 opposed to 40 a day. Hopefully it will get easier. But I am tryin.

Pat McPherson

Good Luck Rick!
It is never too late to quite...
Don't smoke while on the patch bro; it's not good for your heart.

I have watched my mom and step dad struggle for years.
Mom still smokes a few per day even after having breast cancer and watching others get sick.
My step dad has stayed away for 10+ years now after being a 3 pack a day smoker. He is still suffering from the effects though. He recently has had 2 surgeries for cancel of the epiglottis. Watching him drop 40lbs because he can't swallow has not been pleasant.

Pure Energy

Great job Rich!!!! You also bring up a good point. Your trying to break a 30 yr addiction!!!! Don't expect miracles, and don't get down on yourself for falling off the wagon. Once you "see the light" and say "OK, no more smoking" then it is easier to battle. You need to keep a possitive outlook and stay focused.

Good luck, and don't give up......you're fighting for your life!!!

Pat McPherson

I got this today and it goes along with Rick's gripe...

Republican or Democrat, this should upset every American........... There is a lot of blame on both sides.
This email has three parts:
PART 1:
Remember the election in 2006?
Thought you might like to read the following
A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.
Since voting in a Democratically controlled Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
America voted for "change" in 2006, and we got it!
Remember, it's Congress that makes the law not the President. He has to work with what's handed him.
Quote of the Day: "My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." Barack Obama
PART 2:
Taxes. Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing. www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html
Taxes under Clinton 1999 Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 & nbsp; Married making 125K - tax $31,250
Both democrat candidates will return to the higher tax rates.
It is amazing how many people who fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people who fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what happened.
PART 3:
You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this
Boy am I confused. I have been hammered with propaganda that it's the "Iraq War" and the "War on Terror" that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I have included the URLs for verification of all the following facts:
1. $11 billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP.../01/ldt.0.html
5. $17 billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...01/ldt.01.html
6. $3 Million dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...01/ldt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP.../01/ldt.01.htm
8. $90 billion dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US . Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIP...12/ldt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://! tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period." Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.o...eportation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes is Committed By Illegal Immigrants In The United States" Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
The total cost is a whopping $338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!!
Are we voters that stupid?