BECOMING EXTINCT IN AMERICA

[Billy Wood]

BECOMING EXTINCT IN AMERICA

Got this in an email from another member, thought I would post it.


24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.

23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.

22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.

21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.

20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.

19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.

18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.

17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.

16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.

15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.

14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.

13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.

12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.

11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
Bowling Balls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.

10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.

9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?

8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.

7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.

5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.

4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.

3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.

2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.

1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are small Family Farms.

[Daisy]

Wow, that was interesting - some I had thought of and some I hadn't. It's kinda sad, but it's called progress............I suppose.

I wonder if people felt a sense of loss when horse and buggy travel became obsolete. And butter churns, homemade soap, fresh (really fresh) milk, party line phones and many other things that have pretty much disappeared from our lives. I'm sure y'all can think of others.

[Zoidberg]

I cheerfully say good riddance to half the things on this list; many of them are outmoded technologies that were newfangled at one point, and have just been replaced by something better.

And mumps and measles? Who would miss them?

[saw]

How about the American family becoming extinct. This in its self would explain Why the good old USA is coming unglued at the seams.

[Robert]

I would add that the Constitution of the United States is becoming extinct as well. Although it is happening one small step at a time. A slow errosion. Very sad as that is what this country as a whole is based on.

[Daisy]

I would add that the Constitution of the United States is becoming extinct as well.

I think there are enough true patriots in this country who will NOT let the Constitution become extinct. Obama and his band of thieves will not bring this country down without a fight. :no3:

[saw]

Lack of good old common horse sense is becoming extinct in America, ie Letterman poking fun at the little Palin girl.

What about our fearless leader, a half-breed, woods colt. Let's hear what Letterman says about that.

53% of the voters doing nothing but holding out there hand and asking when and where do I get my hand-out, another indication that common horse sense is becoming extinct.

Yep, Daisy I am getting pissy!!!!!

Good night John-Boy, good night Elizabeth !!

[Robert]

I think there are enough true patriots in this country who will NOT let the Constitution become extinct. Obama and his band of thieves will not bring this country down without a fight. :no3:

Daisy I hope you are right. I know that there are a lot of true patriots in this great country. But one thing that I have noticed is even the true patriots tend to let things slip by if done one short step at a time. A slow erosion seems to be the prefered method of those wanting to deny us our constitutional rights.

[saw]

Nexr verse of common horse sense, our fearless leader is going to jet across American (Air Force One) to be on the Jay Leno Show.

Wow, this makes me feel better about the problems here in the good old USA, how about you?

[Daisy]

Lack of good old common horse sense is becoming extinct in America

That's for sure, saw! It's called the dumbing down of America and I blame the media and the government, who have worked together to brainwash people. Look at all the stupid, so called "reality" shows that are so popular now - people actually get on those things and humiliate themselves and we call it entertainment! There's no reality in them - it's pathetic!! Even a lot of commercials on the cartoon channels are a form of brainwahing for our kids. 'Make your parents go green, stop global warming, save the rainforests and the endangered species - they're killing the planet!' - I was shocked the last time I watched some of that.

Look at all the government hand outs and freebies, telling people they don't have to be responsible for themselves anymore. The hurricane in New Orleans proved how irresponsible a lot of people are - they just sat there waiting for someone else to save their sorry selves! Where was their common sense and survival instinct???

Common sense isn't very common anymore, but it's not completey extinct. There are many who still have it - we just don't hear about them as much, thanks to our wonderful news media.

I really miss good ol' common sense.........:ohwell:

[jsatterfield]

I really miss good ol' common sense.........:ohwell

I don't really know who to blame it on, I always thought that common sence was something you were born with,either you had it or you don't.:shoot:

[saw]

Common sense: breeding is a part of it but the way you are raised is the big part. A Granpa that took you fishing, a Granma that let you help make home made cookies. A Mother that was there to patch you up while you are being taught common sense. (like gravity) . A Daddy that encouraged you to be on your own and was right there when you fell and helps you back up to try again. Teachers that would bust your butt when you got out of line.

You learned how to fix things with a little bailing wire. By the time your were ten years old you were driving a tractor and a truck and you had been driving a car for a couple of years.

By the time you were eight years old you could fix a flat tire, milk a cow, or kill a chicken and dress it.

You could entertain youself for hours on end without a single toy , tv, or computor.

If you were a girl you could fix a complete meal from scratch by the time you were twelve years old. If you were a boy you could overhaul a four cylinder engine. .

You had chores to do before you went to school and chores to do when you came home from school. Nobody ever said that they were bored.

There is still a lot more to having common sense but my common sense tells me it is time to stop pontificating.

Just one more thing, by the time I was twelve years old I could run along the side of a cotton tail and feel it to see if was fat enoungh to eat.

[Swadlo]

Don't forget all the gullible people who took the bait, hook, line and sinker.

Swadlo

[saw]

I was just kidding about feeling the cotton tail to see if it was fat, we just ate it anyway.

My brother's dog could catch them and then we ate them.:naughty:

[Daisy]

I was just kidding about feeling the cotton tail to see if it was fat, we just ate it anyway.

Thanks for 'fessing up to that, saw.........;)

Another thing becoming extinct is politeness - you know, manners. I'm always amazed at a store when I'm looking at something on a shelf and someone walks in front of me without saying, 'excuse me'. Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly ornery, I'll say 'excuse you', loud enough for them to hear. They look at me like I'M the rude one..............go figure. :pinch:

[1rs]

Politeness is becoming very rare. People are looking out for themselves and don't seem to have been taught politeness.

[Robert]

Responsibility should definately be on the endangered species list. People don't even take responsibility for their children. They expect the television to rais them. And they deffiantely aren't taking responsibility for thier actions.

[Zoidberg]

I'm surprised how many people look longingly toward the past with rose-colored glasses. The world has changed, but many of the things people think are new developments have always been around.

Politeness? I'd say it's little changed. If you lived in a small town of 100 people and that town is now 10,000, then it would definitely seem different. But if that town still has 100 people it's highly likely to have stayed the same. Rudeness has been around since time immemorial.

50 years ago was not like Leave It To Beaver, even though we have little evidence to the contrary. There were plenty of rude people around back then.

Shirking responsibility likewise dates back to the first court proceeding where a criminal pled not guilty, or the first politician breaking a campaign promise. Remember homes for unwed mothers?

Kids being useless today? Times have changed. I bet you find a kid when your computer doesn't work to help you. The auto was the future 50 years ago, but now it's a basic commodity that older generations are comfortable with.

Nobody ever said that they were bored.
Of course they did. That's like saying kids never got detention in school, or never did mischief in public.

Life is better today. Why does it make people feel better to complain about the glass being half empty?

[Daisy]

There have always been rude and irresponsible people, but not to the extent we see them today. Just as there have always been and will always be those who must disagree with everyone around them.

A lot of the problem with rudeness and irresponsibility and lack of common sense can be attributed to upbringing, as saw mentioned. With both parents working and no one at home to supervise the kids, good parenting isn't very common anymore, either. People don't realize that teaching your children right from wrong is a full time commitment and the most important job you'll ever have.

[Daisy]

Nobody ever said that they were bored.

That's true, I was never bored and didn't let my kids get away with saying they were bored, either. If one says they are bored, it's no one's fault but their own, because there is ALWAYS something to do. You just have to look for it and make up something if you can't find it.

That, too, goes back to parenting - teach children to be innovative and not to whine about something that is in their power to change. Teaching kids properly takes a LOT of extra time and a lot of people don't think it's worthwhile nowdays. I saw this a lot when I worked in the school system and wondered why in the world some of those people even had kids. :ohwell:

[jsatterfield]

Well I guess you can say that life is better today than it was 30 40 years ago if you like living in fear, by that I mean, Not being able to live your house without locking it down with dead bolts and burglar alarms, not being able to set in your house with the door’s open at night because of home invasion’s.
Your children not being able to play safely out side by them self because some pervert that should be in jail or dead is walking the streets because of some liberal as* hole thinks they can be rehabilitated.
Having to lock your car doors and have your windows up while driving down a street because some gang banger wants your car.
When punishing you kids when they did wrong, was the norm and you didn’t have to worry about your kids or the school turning you into some Liberal social services department and going to jail, when kids music were actually stories about life and not about sex and drugs and killing people.
Yes technology is great but give me the safety and moral values of the 50 and 60’s any day. I will keep my Guns my Money and my Values and you can keep your Change. :shoot:

[Daisy]

50 years ago was not like Leave It To Beaver, even though we have little evidence to the contrary.

That's true, the good ol' days were a lot harder than the present. Life really is easier now and it's a great time to be alive, but I feel like people have become more lazy, rude and irresponsible, in part, because they have it so easy.

I think they just take it all for granted - like it will always be this easy and no one has to really work for it. That's a dangerous way to think, in my opinion.

Okay, so I'm rambling on and will now stop..........:o

[Daisy]

Yes technology is great but give me the safety and moral values of the 50 and 60’s any day.


THAT'S IT, jsatterfield!! That's what I was trying to get too in my ramblings......while technology has taken a turn for the better, morality has taken a turn for the worse. Sometimes it takes me a very long time to realize my own point....:pinch:......you got there with way fewer words than I did. :D

[jsatterfield]

Thank you Daisy, if I had my choice of bring up my kids in today’s world or the 50's and 60's or even the early part of the 70's, I would do it in a heartbeat. I have stayed home with my kids most all their lives growing up my oldest was born in 1988, and youngest in 1992, the oldest was not much trouble, But the youngest one some of the music and the things that other parents let their kids do just blows’ me away, it makes my job of trying to be a reasonably good parent twice as hard.
The youngest has a hard time understanding why I don’t let her run wild like her friends do, or why I don’t let her get her tongue pierced, or a nose rings or any of the other stupid stuff that her friends do. This week she has learned what it’s like to do without a car, a cell phone and over 5000 text messages a month, a computer with 24hr Internet access, and cable TV in her room.
Man the first 3 days were Hell, I don’t know who it was harder on me or her, but she is coming around nicely, and even talks to us now. If this country don’t get back to where at least one parent can stay home and teach kids personnel reasonability, manners, and morale’s this country is doomed. Ok now what Liberal cry baby is going to turn me into social services for being cruel to my daughter?

[Zoidberg]

Well I guess you can say that life is better today than it was 30 40 years ago if you like living in fear, by that I mean, Not being able to live your house without locking it down with dead bolts and burglar alarms, not being able to set in your house with the door’s open at night because of home invasion’s.

If you looked at the crime rate in the 1950's and 1960's, and you looked at the crime rate today (and by look I mean consult statistics, not media headlines or your gut), you'd realize that they are almost identical (80's and 90's, well, those were higher). So what's changed?

People, including much of this board, have bought into the fear.

I don't live in fear of these things. I also don't have near as much of that cuban-missile-crisis fear either.

Remember that crazy couple down the street in the 60's who wouldn't let their kids outside to play, or who were scared to leave their house? Just because today you're the parent and the majority of parents are like you, doesn't mean you're any less crazy.

To the fearmongers out there, I say, the world didn't change, you did.

[jsatterfield]

Zoiedberg, do you have any more room it that bubble you live in for a family of 4,Or at least share some of whatever it is your smoking please. For someone that don’t believe that it’s anymore dangerous to live in this world of today, then it was back in the 50’s and 60’s must not get out of the house much or don’t live on the same planet as I do. I am curious on how many other people see this the same way as you do though. Hell maybe it’s just me and I watch to much news, or read to many forums. Or maybe I open my eyes a little wider then you do. :smk1:

[Daisy]

People, including much of this board, have bought into the fear.

I have no clue what you're talking about. If you mean people are aware of the dangers around them, that's a totally different thing than having 'bought into the fear'. I don't even know what "fear" you think we've bought into.

Uh, I'd like to see your stats comparing crime rates of the different years. Got any??

Yeah, I'm completely confused as to what you're trying to say. :confused:

[Zoidberg]

Here's a nice simple statistic. According to wikipedia, Roswell has 847 violent crimes per 100,000 per year, of which 682 are aggravated assaults and 13 are murders, and 5485 property crimes per 100,000 per year, of which 1428 are burglaries.

Many of the victims of these crimes engage in high-risk behavior (using drugs, making acquaintances of drug users, etc.), meaning that they will often be the repeat victims of these crimes (well, except murder), making the rest of us even safer than these statistics show. But let's assume that it's just a random lottery who gets victimized (and that none of these reports are false).

If this is the case, then in a given year, you have a:

0.68% chance of getting assaulted
0.01% chance of getting murdered
1.43% chance of getting burglarized

These numbers are really not so bad, are they?

Here's an interesting thought. You get your sense of discomfort from the media, hence you trust the media. The media finances politicians' election campaigns. You distrust the politicians.

FBI Uniform Crime Reports for Homicide Rate (national):

1960 5.1 per 100,000
1967 6.2 per 100,000
1969 7.3 per 100,000
2007 5.9 per 100,000

And specifically for NM:

1960 7.4 per 100,000
2007 8.2 per 100,000

The aggravated assault numbers have gone up significantly (though they are far lower than their peak around 1992) but this is due in part to underreporting of domestic violence during the 50's and 60's.

[Daisy]

Thanks for your stats - they did reflect a higher crime rate in 2007 both nation-wide and in NM. According to saw's statistics, here in Roswell, murder and rape are down for this year, but it's early yet. Here are the others for 2009. And it's only March. It's no secret that the crime rate in Roswell has gone up significantly.....

Robbery up by 80%.
Assault up by 67%.
Crimes against household members up 31%.
Burglary up 24%


You get your sense of discomfort from the media, hence you trust the media.

I don't have any sense of discomfort and I certainly don't trust the media.

Until we start seriously punishing criminals for their trespasses against society, crime will be one of those things that never become extinct. :no:

[mfish]

Zoidberg, there's a huge difference in the demographics of the general population today than there was 40 or 50+ years ago. For one thing, there weren't nearly as many people around. And, the people that were alive, lived a much more agrarian lifestyle - farms, ranches, small towns. There were a small handful of cities that boasted populations over 1,000,000 people.

Squeezing all the folks together in little boxes in the cities has brought on a lot of the "changes" people notice - especially if negativity is involved. I maintain that folks who live in smaller communities are "generally" nicer, more courteous, and polite than the ones who live in metro areas.

Stats being what they are - just put it into perspective: Fewer people crammed into tight spaces made the "crime" seem less prevalent.

[Daisy]

For one thing, there weren't nearly as many people around.

mfish,you always look at things from a perspective I don't even think about, so I always enjoy your input. Of course you will have more crime when you have more people......and big cities have more crime because of their bigger population. I knew that...........really I did. :smk3:

[saw]

Zoidberg: The stats that your quoting are from the CY 2007 which you state the murder rate is 13 per 100K in Roswell and then you go on to state the murder rate for the nation 5.9 per 100K and then NM at 8.2 per 100K.

The murder rate in Roswell is twice that of the nation. That concerns me.

This is a quote from a letter to the editor (RDR-Dec. 08)) "The most recent crime data published by the FBI in September (crime rates for CY2007) (U.S. Cities with a population between 44,000 and 48,000) indicates that Roswell ranked number five for violent crimes, number seven for property crimes, and place third in a three way tie for homicides."

This may be only one or two percent of the population but if you fall into that one or two percent you do not feel comfortable. I was one of the one or two percent in 2008 to the tune of about $1,000.00.

At one time most of the crime in Roswell was created in the Southeast section of town and now it has spread across the entire city. (read the RDR police blotter).

I did not grow up in Roswell so I don't know first hand how it was in the 50's and 60's. I do know that during the 40's we did not even have a key for our front door. I never had anything stole in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's. I moved to Roswell in 1991 and have had more than $3000.00 worth of property stolen during that period and most of it during the last ten years.

Life was tuff on us during the 30's and 40's but I think it was better then than it is now. When you read the birth announcements in the paper and only about half of them mention a daddy and then about half of those that do mention a daddy indicates that they are not married. Most everbody is looking for a free ride and if given a chance will steal the nickles off a dead man's eyes.

I am very happy that I had only one daddy and one mother and a handshake was all that was needed to make a deal. If I had to go back to those good old days about all that I would miss is the air-conditioner in my pick-up and I do like that electricity and running water.

[saw]

Crime rates in Roswell: property crimes 1980---5,937.3 per 100K, 2005---6989.6 per 100K, violent crimes 1980---748.1 per 100K, 2005--- 959.1 per 100K.

Property crimes up 18%. violent crimes up 28%. from 1980 till 2005

First eleven months 2008 violent crimes 1131.84 per 100K, property crimes 5536.08 per 100K.

Projected to twelve months, violent crimes 1234.7 per 100K, property crimes 6039.4 per 100K.

1980 till 2009 violent crimes up 65% , property crimes up 2%. December has the highest property crime rate so the 2% will be low. The first two months in 2009 have shot up by a bunch.

[Daisy]

...if you fall into that one or two percent you do not feel comfortable.

I would imagine that's a very true statement. I have been lucky enough not to have been personally hit by the criminal element, but I recently heard that another house on my block was robbed. Hell, the criminal s***heads are even stealing batteries from the oil fields now. Those things cost $100 each to replace and they stole 6 or so last week. It's getting worse all the time!!

I think we can all agree that we wish crime would become extinct, but probably won't unless we get tough on punishment.

We can also agree that morality has taken a major blow - probably because it's not being taught to children like it used to be and should be.

[saw]

Trying to campare the crime rate in Roswell from 1960 to 2009 just won't work.

Roswell in 1960, had swarms of contruction workers and military folks.

The temporary population for that period was about 10,000 folks plus Roswell was the second or third largest city in the state.

[saw]

Here are some facts that will show the crime rates are higher than they use to be.

Cime index rates per 100K population
1960 NM 2386.6
1970 NM 4436.0
1980 Roswell 6684.4 NM 5979.6
1990 Roswell 5635.5 NM 6684.1
2000 Roswell 7765.0 NM 5518.9
2003 Roswell 8479.0 NM 4756.4
2007 Roswell 4538.2 NM 4389.9

For some time now the crime rates have been going down all over the USA

Now I going to compare Roswell to NM and NM to the USA in 2007

Violent crimes: NM is #8 in USA, NM had 664.2 violent crimes and Roswell had 833.8 violent crimes per 100K population.

Property crimes: NM is #16 in USA, NM had 3725.7 property crimes and Roswell had 3704.4 property crimes per 100K population.

Murder: NM is #5 in USA, NM had 8.2 murders and Roswell had 12.96 murders per 100K population. Albuquerque was at 9.16.

Larceny: NM is #1 in USA, NM had 2307.9 larceny thefts and Roswell had 3704.4 larceny thefts per 100K population. If Roswell does not make number one in the nation Mayor Sam is going to be so sad because he wants to make number one in something.

I think it is pretty safe to say that crime has doubled since 1960.

These kind of rates do not me feel warm and fuzzy, sorry!!

[Daisy]

Thanks for your stats, saw. I don't think most of us needed them to know how much more crime there is now, but I appreciate you finding them for us.

We just have to use our common sense (that almost extinct thing) to be aware of the realities and be prepared for anything. Of course we shouldn't live in fear, but neither should we close our eyes and our minds and live in denial.

[Daisy]

Another thing that may be on the endangered list is good ol' home cooking. An awful lot of people eat out or buy the ready made box mixes and frozen foods, like Hamburger Helper (which tastes like a box to me - too many preservatives!). There are also the frozen packages that all you have to do is add meat for soups or stews. I haven't tried those, but they are probably better than boxed meals.

These 'fast foods' are great when you are very busy and don't make time to cook......... if you don't mind the taste. They are also much more expensive than cooking from scratch. Remember on the program Star Trek - they had replicators to make their food and drink!

Home cooking may very well be a lost art in the near future. :eek:

[jsatterfield]

You got that right, I miss good homemade meals, this crap that comes in a box, bag, can is just total crap, most people don’t have time or don’t care to teach their kids to cook anymore and kids don’t care to learn either. I think this has a lot to do with why so many people are overweight myself included. I can’t tell you the last time I had a real homemade meal.:meh:

[saw]

How about some skillet fried taters, red beans, and a slice of cured smoked ham (also fried). Then a chunk of cornbread to go under them red beans.
Of course we have some chow-chow to go along with the beans and some green onions. Then to top it off, a fresh peach cobbler.

I would trade the best steak that Cattle Baron has for the above.

[Daisy]

YUM, saw! It's been a long while since I cooked fried potatoes (or fried anything) - I used to cook them all the time, but now that we're older, I cook a lot more healthy. Since my husband shot both an elk and a deer last year, we are eating mostly that lately. I use the elk and deer burger just like hamburger (meat loaf, stroganoff, spagetti, enchiladas, etc.) and it's very lean and isn't real gamy if seasoned right. And our potatoes are now steamed, baked, roasted or mashed.........no more fried. :ohwell:

Yep, since we both have some health issues, fried foods are pretty much extinct at our house. We don't eat out much, but when we do, we sometimes splurge on some good ol' fried potatoes or seafood or my all time favorite, chicken fried steak...........mmmmmmm. :smk3:

[jsatterfield]

:smk1:
I done made up my mind if I move to NC I’m going to hire me a big old lady to cook for me twice a week. I want some fried chicken sweet potato pie, and some greens.

[saw]

During WWII red meat was rationed and about once a month we would get a chance at some red meat. You have to get all of your red ration coupons gathered up and maybe have borrow some from friends and go the butcher shop and get a round steak about 1.5" thick. To tenderized it my Mother would beat it with the edge of a plate until is was about .75" thick and then season it with salt and pepper and bread it with flour. Then she would fry it in a skillet with lard. Then the mashed taters or fried, flour gravy, fresh corn, fresh sliced maters and we knew that we had gone to heaven.

These little thin deep fried crispy critters that they call chicken fried steaks now just don't make the cut.

I was on a project in the deep South in the early 60's and they did not know what a "chicken fried steak" was. I guess it was a Texas' thing and they did not have any corn bread dressing.

[saw]

I will go for that good old Texas buttermilk pie.

Got really tired of chicken during WWII. We ate those things boiled, broiled, fried, baked, and then canned. We had soup, dumplins, and pot pie.

The good part was the killing, scalding, the picking, the gutting, and then cutting them up. It was not my thing to do but I did it because I was told to do it or just starve, so I did it.

Think I can file abuse charges?

[saw]

Something else that seems to becoming extinct in America is the will to stand up and fight for a cause.

It seems that here in Roswell and I am sure it is going on all over the country is a big old case of apathy. The way most folks seem to feel is as long as everthing is going my way there is no reason to become involved.

The Mayor of Roswell was elected with 14% of the registered voters, Green was elected with 11% of the registered voters.

There was 1100 construction workers on Wake Island(1941) that choose to fight the Japs knowing that they would be treated as war criminals if the island fell to the Japanese. The miltary force was very small.

After the island fell to the Japanese, They lined up 97 construction workers and killed them by machine gun fire. Many more died in prisons. Some had their heads hacked off with swords.

I don't see this kind of commitment any more.

You can read this story in a book titled "Given Up For Dead" by Bill Sloan.

If anybody can read this book without getting a tear in your eye truly has a case of major apathy and I don't give a ---- about anybody else.

[1rs]

I agree. It would be great to do something about the pandemic of apathy in this country. People don't want to get involved in anything unless it causes them personal discomfort. "All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." I believe it was Edmund Burke that said that.

[Daisy]

"All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

That's one of my favorite quotes, 1rs.

The big questions are:
~ How do we bring caring about one's city back from the brink of extinction?
~ How do we get people involved?
~ How do we get 'good men' to DO something to right the wrongs?

I don't know how to do these things, but I sure would like to see apathy become extinct in America.

[1rs]

I really think that we give up when we don't stand up for our convictions. It is discouraging when everyone else doesn't stand with us, but we are not responsible for them, just for ourselves. If we believe passionately in something, we must take that stand. It is the people that aren't afraid to take the stand for the police pay raise, against annexation, against lack of integrity in elected officials, that are making differences. We may be laughed at, but "consider the source", who cares what they think. Sometimes it feels like we are just the gate holding back the flood, but if we don't stand, the flood will win. I would rather go down fighting, than step aside and just let the opposing side win. And - we just might win.

[1rs]

I appreciate the letters to the editor that some of you have sent in. Thanks for taking the stand.

[67cj5]

What I am reading here is that "America" is becoming extinct. NO! She is not! She is here! She is Talk Roswell. She is YOU! Never doubt it! YOU are America! Know her, live her, love her, but most of all DEFEND her. America is not a place! She is YOU! YOUR voice is her voice! Always know YOU are America! America never backs down! America NEVER runs away! If you are going through hell, keep going! It is not just some country song you heard today, it was stated by Winston Churchill during WWII. The Angel who came in to pull them out of the fire was YOU America! Never forget who America is. She may move on, she may update, but she is who she is. Always know She is YOU! God Bless AMERICA, and God Bless YOU.

Never give up, the revolution did not end when General Washington won his last blattle! The American revolution is a never ending battle! Fight on soldiers!

What would John Adams say about this thread?

[Daisy]

Wow, thanks for the passion and fire in that post, 67cj5!! It was awesome!!

I truly hope that kind of love for this country is not becoming extinct. But when I see what Obama and his minions are doing, with no one protesting in the streets daily, I wonder.

I know there are a few of us here on the forum who want to change things for the better here in Roswell, but are we enough? How do we find the others to share our passion for this city and this state and this country??? They seem to be in hiding or so deeply apathetic as to not even exist.

I refuse to think that love for city, state and country is extinct, but it sure isn't as strong as it used to be.

[Wilberforce]

I LOVED reading the Albquerque Journal on a Sunday morning. Have a nice big cup of coffee & spend over an hour in the easy chair digesting the news, the photos were great. And, I will confess, I loved the funnies too. No more of that! It's just not the same on the #^$*^!@ internet.
VCR's. I remember the top-loading betamaxs that weighted a ton & cost a small fortune. DVD's are great.
CD's are now on the wane. I thought my cup ran over when I first heard these notes & parts I NEVER heard on records! Putting a quarter on the tone arm of my record player so it would'nt skip(!) And don't EVEN get me started on 8-tracks! They would cut off in the middle of songs & would get "ate" eventually. Took up a LOT of room also.
Still have a landline. I know the day will come when someone or something will force me to get a cellphone.:evil:
No more magazine subscriptions in a few years. Or BOOKS.:bye2:.....
WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nerves:

[Director]

BECOMING EXTINCT IN AMERICA

Got this in an email from another member, thought I would post it.


24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.




25. Medicare
26. Social Security
27. Apria
28. Medicaid

To gather voters to their cause, to hold onto power, the democrats and President hussain, will allow, encourage, recruit Yugaslav immigrants, those without visa, illegal at that, to recieve free medical care for any condition, injury, illness, sickness, any time, day or night or week-end ALL THE WHILE, WHEN AN AMERICAN CITIZEN NEEDS, DESPARATELY, assistance, health care, they, he, she, black, brown, red, Republican, Free Market, Democracy, are turned away, denied, ignored, marginalized.