I challenge you all

[FedExRookie]

Despite my name I have been around a decent amount of time and have family and friends who are retired or will be close to retiring.

I've heard (old family friends and family), experienced (being raised in a FedEx Express family), and seen (current employee)

Correct me if I am wrong, but a majority of people on this board want the 'old' Fedex Express back. Where they cared about the employees and showed it through pay, health benefits, and all the other 'goodies' employees use to have. (Low healthcare cost, good 401K matching, competitive pay and raises, etc)

I think I differ from a lot of you that I as a person believe in capitalism, that with the recent loss of income for Express, that we as employees must be willing to accept that the corporation has to make cuts. I do think some of the cuts are outrageous, such as healthcare, they are using it to offset their losses rather than it being a benefit. (and if the rumors are true, bigger cuts in benefits are coming)


Many 'power users' such as Mr. FedEx (Not trying to call YOU out, but your name is the first to pop into my head) hold valid points although I do think he/she could articulate them in a better manner, one that would grab the attention of those who are on the fence.

With that said, I will be at FedEx no more than 1 more year, that's the plan, and I want to see some real action out of this forum. Your SM will hold a meeting about the new benefits, secretly record while you call him/her out on the BS new plan. That one is gutsy, as it is against company policy to record.

The more feasible one is to make copies of union cards and fliers and throw them into the employee parking lot overnight/morning. Fliers with information about the board, information on how much B/S the new health plan is, information about other ways Fed is giving us the finger.

I graduate with my Bachelors in Speech Language Pathology soon. FedEx was good to me through my long journey through school, 8 years to get this sucker. I started going for my bachelors but got lazy since I got comfortable with Express, I was very hesitant to follow through, but I started to see that Fred no longer plans on people making careers/living through Express. So I decided to knock some classes out slowly but surely.

 

[Route 66]

Correct me if I am wrong, but a majority of people on this board want the 'old' Fedex Express back. Where they cared about the employees and showed it through pay, health benefits, and all the other 'goodies' employees use to have.

okay I'm going to correct you right there.. the majority of the people on this board do not want the old FedEx Express back - we want Federal Express back. That was the company that treated us right.

 

[TUT]

"Correct me if I am wrong, but a majority of people on this board want the 'old' Fedex Express back."

To note I want the Old U.S.A. back, not one totally run by wall street. Fedex is a victim (perhaps they are happy to oblige as well) of a system where you seemingly have to go along now. I'm just here getting small package carrier information.

I do find it questionable that the latest quarterly report shows Express made and lost the same amount ZERO. They reported ZERO on the Expres bottom line, it's a DASH, not a number. I don't believe in long odds like that, that shows me they want to create their own public picture of Express and ZERO/Dash does that.

Total Employee Salaries and Beni's: (As reported publicly)
2009 13.8 billion
2010 14.0
2011 15.3
2012 16.1
2013 16.5
To me it looks as if this past year, your Fedex wages/beni's rose much less than the previous 2, so why the health care drama? This has been the best controlled year in several.

Notice this major change which totally will affect the bottom line:
Business Realignment Costs/Other
2010 18 million
2011 89
2012 134
2013 660
Whopping change!, that is 530 million more and right off the bottom line for the 4th qtr and year, that will skew #'s that don't tell you day to day success/loss. $533 million was due to a restructure cost that was put on your books in the 4th qtr. If that didn't happen, Fedex could have reported 836 million profit in the QTR and that would have been their greatest by far in the history of the company. Like by 250 million. As Upstate says this restructure is going to pay off handsomely, because if they were kept that was a 800 million dollar quarter. Now with them gone and nothing on the books, that would be 800 million plus their pay/beni savings on top of that since they are now departed.

Now from reading here, I doesn't look like management is telling their people, "Fedex is doing amazing (best quarter ever, take out the reorg) and future quarters should be phenomenal." It seems they are selling "woe is us". Takes a rocket surgeon I suspect.

Interesting.


​

 

[SmithBarney]

You want cut backs, well honestly how many millions of dollars do you need as a CIO, COO, VP or other.
I believe in capitalism as well, And I believe these company officers should be paid a fairly good chunk of change.
But when you are talking these numbers and wanting to "cut" back, I can give you two guesses who is gonna get
a BONUS next year that eclipses the average hourly yearly pay.

Frederick W. Smith CEO- $13,680,968
Alan B. Graf Jr. -Executive Vice President and CFO $5,214,976
T. Michael Glenn -Executive Vice President, $4,986,372
Robert B. Carter - Chief Information Officer $4,896,157
David J. Bronczek President and Chief Executive Officer - FedEx Express $6,169,439

 

[SmithBarney]

Oh yeah forgot to add:

FedEx Sees 2014 Profit Gain Up to 13% Amid Cutting Costs - Bloomberg

UPDATE 3-FedEx posts higher-than expected profit, will cut more capacity | Reuters

And while ground is catching up, "The company's express unit, its biggest source of revenue..." suffered under performance
you know what under performance means right? it didn't do as well as they wanted(BUT we are still doing well)

 

[MrFedEx]

okay I'm going to correct you right there.. the majority of the people on this board do not want the old FedEx Express back - we want Federal Express back. That was the company that treated us right.

Correct. Federal Express and FedEx are like black and white. If you were never at the former, you have no valid point of comparison.

 

[MrFedEx]

You want cut backs, well honestly how many millions of dollars do you need as a CIO, COO, VP or other.
I believe in capitalism as well, And I believe these company officers should be paid a fairly good chunk of change.
But when you are talking these numbers and wanting to "cut" back, I can give you two guesses who is gonna get
a BONUS next year that eclipses the average hourly yearly pay.

Frederick W. Smith CEO- $13,680,968
Alan B. Graf Jr. -Executive Vice President and CFO $5,214,976
T. Michael Glenn -Executive Vice President, $4,986,372
Robert B. Carter - Chief Information Officer $4,896,157
David J. Bronczek President and Chief Executive Officer - FedEx Express $6,169,439

These figures do not reflect total compensation, which is significantly higher.

 

[FedExRookie]

Correct. Federal Express and FedEx are like black and white. If you were never at the former, you have no valid point of comparison.

You are honestly saying after the mid '90s the company went straight down the crap hole?


Fredly, I am aware that just because we didn't do as good as we wanted, doesn't mean we didn't do good overall. From a corporate standpoint, if you lose $100 million in revenue but you still made $400 million that fiscal year, you want to try and compensate for that $100 million. That is why I say I understand that they want to make cuts. The fact we are still profitable with good numbers, once you figure out their accounting tricks they use to try and persuade us during the 'state of the station meetings, is why I think its absurd that they are using our HEALTH to subsidize the loss.

I get it, they lost money, and now they want to make up for that lost revenue. I also believe they are taking the wrong steps to make up for that lost revenue.

I didn't click you links, I am to lazy ATM, but going by the hyerplink text is it referring to all the FedEx entities? A lot of the growth is Ground show more profitability and some of the other entities getting out of the red or getting closer to getting out.

 

[vantexan]

Despite my name I have been around a decent amount of time and have family and friends who are retired or will be close to retiring.

I've heard (old family friends and family), experienced (being raised in a FedEx Express family), and seen (current employee)

Correct me if I am wrong, but a majority of people on this board want the 'old' Fedex Express back. Where they cared about the employees and showed it through pay, health benefits, and all the other 'goodies' employees use to have. (Low healthcare cost, good 401K matching, competitive pay and raises, etc)

I think I differ from a lot of you that I as a person believe in capitalism, that with the recent loss of income for Express, that we as employees must be willing to accept that the corporation has to make cuts. I do think some of the cuts are outrageous, such as healthcare, they are using it to offset their losses rather than it being a benefit. (and if the rumors are true, bigger cuts in benefits are coming)


Many 'power users' such as Mr. FedEx (Not trying to call YOU out, but your name is the first to pop into my head) hold valid points although I do think he/she could articulate them in a better manner, one that would grab the attention of those who are on the fence.

With that said, I will be at FedEx no more than 1 more year, that's the plan, and I want to see some real action out of this forum. Your SM will hold a meeting about the new benefits, secretly record while you call him/her out on the BS new plan. That one is gutsy, as it is against company policy to record.

The more feasible one is to make copies of union cards and fliers and throw them into the employee parking lot overnight/morning. Fliers with information about the board, information on how much B/S the new health plan is, information about other ways Fed is giving us the finger.

I graduate with my Bachelors in Speech Language Pathology soon. FedEx was good to me through my long journey through school, 8 years to get this sucker. I started going for my bachelors but got lazy since I got comfortable with Express, I was very hesitant to follow through, but I started to see that Fred no longer plans on people making careers/living through Express. So I decided to knock some classes out slowly but surely.

What you are failing to see is that it's not about recent losses in income. It's about a strategy to increase profits by building a Ground system up. This has been almost two decades in the making while they lead us to believe we'd receive good pensions and pay if we stuck with them. Only when they were comfortably close to their goal did their true colors came out, terminating our pension plan and slowing pay progression to a trickle. They believe they can have a solid workforce on less pay and minimal benefits. Anymore they seem to believe that giving us a job is good enough for us, and that we exist for their benefit to enrich them while we struggle. Their mentality is poisoned, and represents a cutthroat form of capitalism that will bring the whole system down if it becomes the norm. Do you really want a society that's built on survival-of-the-fittest?

 

[Cactus]

They believe they can have a solid workforce on less pay and minimal benefits. Anymore they seem to believe that giving us a job is good enough for us, and that we exist for their benefit to enrich them while we struggle.

And they are DEAD WRONG with this kind of thinking.

It will come back to bite them in the ass hopefully sooner than later.

Karma is a very fickle bitch Fred.

 

[MrFedEx]

And they are DEAD WRONG with this kind of thinking.

It will come back to bite them in the ass hopefully sooner than later.

Karma is a very fickle bitch Fred.

The OP needs to clarify his "challenge", which is all over the map. Fred and MT3 already have adjoining suites reserved in Hell, so there IS Karma.

 

[FedExRookie]

The OP needs to clarify his "challenge", which is all over the map. Fred and MT3 already have adjoining suites reserved in Hell, so there IS Karma.

My challenge was throw in the middle of that wall of text, my apologies.

1. Record the next meeting where they talk about the change of benefits, question and call out the BS they will be saying. This is dangerous as it is against company policy to record

2. Distribute fliers and union cards
Fliers can be about The lies they are feeding us, explain in numbers how they are lying. As someone said, some people don't see how they are losing if they haven't had a reduction in pay, they need to be shown how they are losing money.

 

[fedupped]

Pathological speech...?..so i guess your not leaving the company..

 

[Ricochet1a]

I think I differ from a lot of you that I as a person believe in capitalism, that with the recent loss of income for Express, that we as employees must be willing to accept that the corporation has to make cuts. I do think some of the cuts are outrageous, such as healthcare, they are using it to offset their losses rather than it being a benefit. (and if the rumors are true, bigger cuts in benefits are coming)

Well first off, there is no 'loss of income' for Express. Express hit a rough patch back in 2009-11 with a combination of the economy slowing down along with a surge in fuel prices. Express' fuel surcharge more than covered their price increases for that expense, and since 2011 FedEx has accelerated its restructuring of Express. In the accounting statements of FedEx (Express in particular), they've been showing little or no profitability - all of the reorganization has been 'expensed off' to reduce tax liability as much as possible. FedEx didn't want to show negative cash flow (can't get tax refunds on operating losses), but when a profit was indeed generated, Express has implemented restructuring expense to coincidentally offset those profits almost entirely. Put another way, the government of this country is subsidizing the restructure expense of FedEx. This is all perfectly legal, but it does show the intent of FedEx - do what is needed to create profitability within Express, when a profit is showing as a result, shift expenses of the restructuring to that period of time to mitigate tax liability. Express is getting ready to realize a HUGE jump in reported profitability (once all restructuring expense is incurred). This is one of the primary reasons for the latest surge in FedEx stock price - the anticipation of BIG profits coming once all the expenses are out of the way.

With that said, I will be at FedEx no more than 1 more year, that's the plan, and I want to see some real action out of this forum. Your SM will hold a meeting about the new benefits, secretly record while you call him/her out on the BS new plan. That one is gutsy, as it is against company policy to record.

Well, in all honesty you are a bit late to the game. I came here over 4 years ago thinking that maybe the Couriers would 'show some action'. Wasn't to be. This past February, I had my last hope that the Couriers would be aroused out of their stupor and do something. Wasn't to be. Even the posters here weren't going to do a damn thing - they were all waiting for someone else or some big union to step in and do all the hard work for them. Wasn't to be.

You have found out for yourself that Express is no longer the company you (or your family members) believed it was. You have made an exit plan, are working the plan and are looking to get out. That is ALL that is left for the current Express employees at this stage - make a plan to get out and execute the plan as soon as possible.

Recording one scripted meeting on the impending changes to employee health coverage won't do a damn thing to change anything.

The more feasible one is to make copies of union cards and fliers and throw them into the employee parking lot overnight/morning. Fliers with information about the board, information on how much B/S the new health plan is, information about other ways Fed is giving us the finger.

I thought that would work back in 2010 too.... You might as well toss some dog poop around your station - the reaction you'll get would be the same as distributing union rep cards at this stage. The Couriers are sheep - they aren't going to do anything to save themselves, that has been PROVEN at this stage. You've been on this forum long enough to see all the talk of action, then when someone comes out and suggests some real PRODUCTIVE action - everyone gets real scared and beats feet away. There are a few who have been willing to get out rep cards in their station - they are to be congratulated for their efforts. HOWEVER... in the face of the RLA, this is about as useful as pissing in the wind.

What is needed is NETWORK. Couriers willing to put in 5 or so hours a week of their own time (uncompensated by anyone), going out to neighboring stations, meeting fellow Couriers, finding like minded Couriers and establishing an informal network of amateur station organizers. Then these recruited amateur organizers would continue to build the chain, and get Couriers in stations that are near to them recruited and into the network. With a network of amateur organizers in 400 of the largest Express stations, there would be some hope of concerted, coordinated action to get union rep cards signed, turned in and convincing the IBT that the Couriers are REALLY interested in becoming union members and not viewing the IBT and what it represents as something resembling what is on the bottom of one's shoe after stepping in smelly dog poo.

The IBT isn't going to dump its assets down a hole trying to convince the Couriers of the IBT's 'good offices'. The Couriers are going to have to go to the effort to 'come to the IBT'. That isn't going to happen either - so each 'side' sits back and waits for the other to do something. Meanwhile, the deal that is being offered in Express keeps on getting worse and worse for its employees.

The posters here have made it ABUNDANTLY clear that they won't go to those efforts to get a union in Express. So it is checkmate - Fred S wins. Fred wouldn't have DREAMED of pulling this latest stunt if he had any reasonable fear whatsoever of the Couriers successfully organizing against him. The fear of the Couriers organizing that existed in Memphis from mid-2009 to late 2010 has completely disappeared. What you are seeing now is a DIRECT result of this.

The Couriers won't organize, Memphis cleaned house of salaried employees who didn't really want to be there under the 'new order', and lower level management was given a veiled ultimatum to either 'toe the line' in regards to the new order - or get out themselves. Everyone that is left in Express at this stage is either owned by Fred, or too damn afraid to do something about it.

I was very hesitant to follow through, but I started to see that Fred no longer plans on people making careers/living through Express. So I decided to knock some classes out slowly but surely.

I'm glad you realized that Express was and is no place to be. I too realized this starting after about 6 months with Express, and knew without a doubt within 18 months after working there.

However, at this stage, not many are left who are willing to fight to get back what was lost. The sheep aren't to be persuaded by their fellow coworkers that there is another option for them (they want an engraved invitation with gold inlays handed to them on a silver platter with fanfare, offers of legal protection and other incentives to even show interest in organizing). It is too late.

The Couriers KNEW back in 2009 once the pension was gone, that deal was only going to get worse thereafter. They buried their head using one excuse or another to absolve themselves from taking any action. Fast forward 4 years and now a few Couriers are realizing that, "Hey, maybe its time to do something before things get really bad".

I'll bite my lip at this point...

 

[Ricochet1a]

Pathological speech...?..so i guess your not leaving the company..

Speech pathology (speech therapy) is a field of medicine which works with people that have various issues with being able to communicate effectively with spoken language. This may be due to structural deformations (cleft pallet, etc.), neurological disorders, hearing damage (clear speech requires the ability to hear oneself speak and make corrections to one own 'sound'), or impairments due to brain damage (stroke victims for example).

As long as the patient has health insurance, it pays rather well for its practitioners.

 

[Cactus]

Best thing to do these days is find another job, retire or quit.

 

[MrFedEx]

Well first off, there is no 'loss of income' for Express. Express hit a rough patch back in 2009-11 with a combination of the economy slowing down along with a surge in fuel prices. Express' fuel surcharge more than covered their price increases for that expense, and since 2011 FedEx has accelerated its restructuring of Express. In the accounting statements of FedEx (Express in particular), they've been showing little or no profitability - all of the reorganization has been 'expensed off' to reduce tax liability as much as possible. FedEx didn't want to show negative cash flow (can't get tax refunds on operating losses), but when a profit was indeed generated, Express has implemented restructuring expense to coincidentally offset those profits almost entirely. Put another way, the government of this country is subsidizing the restructure expense of FedEx. This is all perfectly legal, but it does show the intent of FedEx - do what is needed to create profitability within Express, when a profit is showing as a result, shift expenses of the restructuring to that period of time to mitigate tax liability. Express is getting ready to realize a HUGE jump in reported profitability (once all restructuring expense is incurred). This is one of the primary reasons for the latest surge in FedEx stock price - the anticipation of BIG profits coming once all the expenses are out of the way.



Well, in all honesty you are a bit late to the game. I came here over 4 years ago thinking that maybe the Couriers would 'show some action'. Wasn't to be. This past February, I had my last hope that the Couriers would be aroused out of their stupor and do something. Wasn't to be. Even the posters here weren't going to do a damn thing - they were all waiting for someone else or some big union to step in and do all the hard work for them. Wasn't to be.

You have found out for yourself that Express is no longer the company you (or your family members) believed it was. You have made an exit plan, are working the plan and are looking to get out. That is ALL that is left for the current Express employees at this stage - make a plan to get out and execute the plan as soon as possible.

Recording one scripted meeting on the impending changes to employee health coverage won't do a damn thing to change anything.



I thought that would work back in 2010 too.... You might as well toss some dog poop around your station - the reaction you'll get would be the same as distributing union rep cards at this stage. The Couriers are sheep - they aren't going to do anything to save themselves, that has been PROVEN at this stage. You've been on this forum long enough to see all the talk of action, then when someone comes out and suggests some real PRODUCTIVE action - everyone gets real scared and beats feet away. There are a few who have been willing to get out rep cards in their station - they are to be congratulated for their efforts. HOWEVER... in the face of the RLA, this is about as useful as pissing in the wind.

What is needed is NETWORK. Couriers willing to put in 5 or so hours a week of their own time (uncompensated by anyone), going out to neighboring stations, meeting fellow Couriers, finding like minded Couriers and establishing an informal network of amateur station organizers. Then these recruited amateur organizers would continue to build the chain, and get Couriers in stations that are near to them recruited and into the network. With a network of amateur organizers in 400 of the largest Express stations, there would be some hope of concerted, coordinated action to get union rep cards signed, turned in and convincing the IBT that the Couriers are REALLY interested in becoming union members and not viewing the IBT and what it represents as something resembling what is on the bottom of one's shoe after stepping in smelly dog poo.

The IBT isn't going to dump its assets down a hole trying to convince the Couriers of the IBT's 'good offices'. The Couriers are going to have to go to the effort to 'come to the IBT'. That isn't going to happen either - so each 'side' sits back and waits for the other to do something. Meanwhile, the deal that is being offered in Express keeps on getting worse and worse for its employees.

The posters here have made it ABUNDANTLY clear that they won't go to those efforts to get a union in Express. So it is checkmate - Fred S wins. Fred wouldn't have DREAMED of pulling this latest stunt if he had any reasonable fear whatsoever of the Couriers successfully organizing against him. The fear of the Couriers organizing that existed in Memphis from mid-2009 to late 2010 has completely disappeared. What you are seeing now is a DIRECT result of this.

The Couriers won't organize, Memphis cleaned house of salaried employees who didn't really want to be there under the 'new order', and lower level management was given a veiled ultimatum to either 'toe the line' in regards to the new order - or get out themselves. Everyone that is left in Express at this stage is either owned by Fred, or too damn afraid to do something about it.



I'm glad you realized that Express was and is no place to be. I too realized this starting after about 6 months with Express, and knew without a doubt within 18 months after working there.

However, at this stage, not many are left who are willing to fight to get back what was lost. The sheep aren't to be persuaded by their fellow coworkers that there is another option for them (they want an engraved invitation with gold inlays handed to them on a silver platter with fanfare, offers of legal protection and other incentives to even show interest in organizing). It is too late.

The Couriers KNEW back in 2009 once the pension was gone, that deal was only going to get worse thereafter. They buried their head using one excuse or another to absolve themselves from taking any action. Fast forward 4 years and now a few Couriers are realizing that, "Hey, maybe its time to do something before things get really bad".

I'll bite my lip at this point...

Yep, it's pretty much "game, set, match" to Mr. Smith at this point. I advocate WAD and general disruption just to eff with them, and not in the hope of any real movement by couriers. I see the same thing as you do. A bunch of mindless sheep who are beaten and shorn of their wool regularly, and THEN they come back and ask for MORE. Unbelievable. I have also tried, and then I get a bunch of conflicted "vantexans" who have Stockholm Syndrome and have fallen in love with their oppressors.

 

[vantexan]

Yep, it's pretty much "game, set, match" to Mr. Smith at this point. I advocate WAD and general disruption just to eff with them, and not in the hope of any real movement by couriers. I see the same thing as you do. A bunch of mindless sheep who are beaten and shorn of their wool regularly, and THEN they come back and ask for MORE. Unbelievable. I have also tried, and then I get a bunch of conflicted "vantexans" who have Stockholm Syndrome and have fallen in love with their oppressors.

Not true at all and you know it. Lashing out at everyone who disagrees with you on some things is no way to go through life. You had anger issues long before I got here and will long after I'm gone. Me too, but I'm determined to do something about it. Fighting a lost cause won't make my life one iota better. And having researched third world countries for many years I can say without hesitation that while FedEx management may be a bunch of lying, greedy bastards they hardly qualify as "oppressors". Oppression is men breaking into your home late at night to drag you away because you openly railed against their system. Oppression is not being able to find a job that will support your family and there's no social safety net to keep you afloat. Oppression is troops in the streets beating you and opening fire on you. Oppression ISN'T not being able to buy an expensive car or take a Caribbean cruise. They screwed us for sure. They aren't killing us however. I don't admire anything about how they've gone about their business and I'd be tempted to throw a punch at some of them. But ultimately they've made me not give a damn anymore and I just want to move on. And since you have stuck around for many years looks like you've done your share of taking more too.

 

[MrFedEx]

Not true at all and you know it. Lashing out at everyone who disagrees with you on some things is no way to go through life. You had anger issues long before I got here and will long after I'm gone. Me too, but I'm determined to do something about it. Fighting a lost cause won't make my life one iota better. And having researched third world countries for many years I can say without hesitation that while FedEx management may be a bunch of lying, greedy bastards they hardly qualify as "oppressors". Oppression is men breaking into your home late at night to drag you away because you openly railed against their system. Oppression is not being able to find a job that will support your family and there's no social safety net to keep you afloat. Oppression is troops in the streets beating you and opening fire on you. Oppression ISN'T not being able to buy an expensive car or take a Caribbean cruise. They screwed us for sure. They aren't killing us however. I don't admire anything about how they've gone about their business and I'd be tempted to throw a punch at some of them. But ultimately they've made me not give a damn anymore and I just want to move on. And since you have stuck around for many years looks like you've done your share of taking more too.

OK, if you say so. Oppression is personified in Fred S, and "conflicted" is personified in your various reactions to being oppressed. Me, I'm an angry bastard about it, and I wouldn't put Smith out if he was on fire and I had to use a rake. At least I'm clear on where I'm at with FedEx, and I'll be retiring here in the USA, because I worked my ass off to always have a second income.

 

[overflowed]

Not true at all and you know it. Lashing out at everyone who disagrees with you on some things is no way to go through life. You had anger issues long before I got here and will long after I'm gone. Me too, but I'm determined to do something about it. Fighting a lost cause won't make my life one iota better. And having researched third world countries for many years I can say without hesitation that while FedEx management may be a bunch of lying, greedy bastards they hardly qualify as "oppressors". Oppression is men breaking into your home late at night to drag you away because you openly railed against their system. Oppression is not being able to find a job that will support your family and there's no social safety net to keep you afloat. Oppression is troops in the streets beating you and opening fire on you. Oppression ISN'T not being able to buy an expensive car or take a Caribbean cruise. They screwed us for sure. They aren't killing us however. I don't admire anything about how they've gone about their business and I'd be tempted to throw a punch at some of them. But ultimately they've made me not give a damn anymore and I just want to move on. And since you have stuck around for many years looks like you've done your share of taking more too.

Van, go wherever you're going and be at peace. I can't stand for what you believe in. However, we still live in America for the time being. I for one don't agree with your views, but you have been where we've all been at and will think of you a brother for as long as I'm alive. Even if you're in some South American country of whatever. I'd rather go to the shooting range with you in your retirement in the US of A. But, the cards aren't there in this day and age. I think this is a sad thing. Be easy Vantexan my brother.