Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy

[J. S. Bach]

The Cliff Note story of Budweiser. "Bud Wiser got lost in the desert. He was so thirsty he drank his mule's urine. Then he became so delusional he let some barley ferment in it for a few days, drank some more, and named his new brew Budweiser. ...snip...

I always said that Budweiser should be poured back in the horse.

[Mitch]

And for goodness sake, buy good drinking beer and not corporate mass produced swill that you see on TV advertising.....

Beer brand and beer taste comes down to just one thing: OPINION! I might be able to choke down a bottle of that hoppy yeast you drink, Rufus, (again, opinion), but it would be tough. By the same token, what you call conglomerate "swill" is loved by millions. So what's a man to do? Why, continue drinking what you like, and don't sweat other people's opinions.

Born and raised on Iron City, Kohler, Pabst, Schmidt's, and more than a few others, in my old age, I've narrowed my choices to just a few, Miller Lite, LaBatts Blue, and Duquense. The latter two slightly "hoppier" than the other pilsner.

[healey36]

Ruf - With regard to overseas suppliers, most of the folks crying about this are the same ones buying $17 dress shirts made in China. Up until a few years ago I bought top-of-the-line Arrow made-in-the-US dress shirts, but they cost $52. Until they're willing to do that they should probably shut up.

I'm with Mitch...Miller Lite.

[Mitch]

What'chu talkin' about, Healy. It's been twenty-five years since I've needed a dress shirt, and back in the day, bein' a "large" man, I always wore either Arrow or VanHuesen shirts, 'cause I could get the 38" sleeves and 1/2 sizes in the neck, and when I went for new shirts, I found that both were then made in China. I was pissed! But take a look at outdoor wear. I mean Woolrich, made in China! Pendleton wool, yup, China. Christ! I'm due for a new pair of work shoes; Herman Survivors are out, China, and I hate to mail order shoes, 'cause sometimes a 13EEE just ain't when ya get them. Then ya gotta mail 'em back. But there ain't any good shoe stores around anymore. I went all the way to the outlet mall at Grove City to the Red Wing store. An outlet, mind you, and they didn't have a pair of boots bigger than a 12D. Life sucks. Last good pair of shoes I got was 4 years ago when I was out to Lancaster for the Rough and Tumble. Went to an Amish store, (Weaver's) and got a good pair of Carolinas', on sale, no less. It's really gettin' tough to buy an American made shoe.

[robert.]

I hate that shoe bs. I try on boxes of the same size model just to make a pair that fits the best. not much quality control in sizing.

[HONDO74]

Let me know when Trump actually keeps a company from being sold to a foreign company.....w/o losing the jobs.......w/o the product getting priced beyond sellable.....

Have you noticed how Chinese come to this country and buy American companies but American companies can't buy Chinese companies. And it's not just the companies. China has been buying up land in Canada and California. The land is Calif has first water rights. I think China sees the future when they may not be able to feed their people

I am with Rufus. I like the dark dark stuff from our local craft brewers. Somewhere back in this thread I posted pictures of them

[healey36]

What'chu talkin' about, Healy. It's been twenty-five years since I've needed a dress shirt, and back in the day, bein' a "large" man, I always wore either Arrow or VanHuesen shirts, 'cause I could get the 38" sleeves and 1/2 sizes in the neck, and when I went for new shirts, I found that both were then made in China. I was pissed! But take a look at outdoor wear. I mean Woolrich, made in China! Pendleton wool, yup, China. Christ! I'm due for a new pair of work shoes; Herman Survivors are out, China, and I hate to mail order shoes, 'cause sometimes a 13EEE just ain't when ya get them. Then ya gotta mail 'em back. But there ain't any good shoe stores around anymore. I went all the way to the outlet mall at Grove City to the Red Wing store. An outlet, mind you, and they didn't have a pair of boots bigger than a 12D. Life sucks. Last good pair of shoes I got was 4 years ago when I was out to Lancaster for the Rough and Tumble. Went to an Amish store, (Weaver's) and got a good pair of Carolinas', on sale, no less. It's really gettin' tough to buy an American made shoe.

I'm with ya, Mitch - when Woolrich went over to the dark side I figured all was lost. Still, until we're collectively willing to pay for stuff to be made in the USA it ain't going to happen...well, I guess we could wait for wages to rise in China and fall in the US and then everything would equalize (that was the theory of globalization, right). I'll have six feet of dirt on me for thirty years before that happens.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Pendleton wool, yup, China.

Yes, my Pendleton hat is from China..... Not sure where my Land's End shirts came from other than Sears for $9 each. Most of what I wear are LL Bean.....but my better ones are from Joe Banks, but I just don't need all that many so having a handful for when I have to stand up and give lectures takes up a small bit of the closet.

You need to try one of the stouts aged for a few years in a bourbon barrel that get up to ~15% alcohol,

China has been buying up land......

And in the cities......... Greed is good - let's sell everything and then we'll have all the money........and they'll have all that matters and we'll have to buy everything we really need at top prices, if they'll sell it to us at all. The long view vs. our short-term self-interest personal entitlement view.

[rex desilets]

<snip>

China has been buying up land......

And in the cities......... Greed is good - let's sell everything and then we'll have all the money........and they'll have all that matters and we'll have to buy everything we really need at top prices, if they'll sell it to us at all. The long view vs. our short-term self-interest personal entitlement view.

We remember how, in the Eighties, Japan was doing much the same. And how it all came crashing down. There are signs and portents that China is following the same course.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

<snip>

China has been buying up land......

And in the cities......... Greed is good - let's sell everything and then we'll have all the money........and they'll have all that matters and we'll have to buy everything we really need at top prices, if they'll sell it to us at all. The long view vs. our short-term self-interest personal entitlement view.

We remember how, in the Eighties, Japan was doing much the same. And how it all came crashing down. There are signs and portents that China is following the same course.

Perhaps, but Japan actually tried to push back against China recently and lost. China stopped the supply of rare earths and everything came to a screeching halt. China has been very smart long-term again on critical materials - they buy our trash and take back the materials that were need....

[HONDO74]

[rogruth]

IMHO China is probably controlling much more of the world than most of us want to believe.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

JUST my opinion, but, Japan, China, and everybody else NEEDS a very strong USA so all the stuff they make will have a market. Who else could compare? In fact, does the whole rest of the world combined even come close to what the USA purchases as imports? I doubt it.

And I'm not certain China's reputation for quality merchandise is as golden as they may presume it is. For example, in our hobby, are you thrilled and expecting top quality when you see "Made in China" affixed to your new loco? Eh? Huh?

Airbags? Batteries? Lexus? Accord? Pollution (and they have plenty of USA Steel history to have learned from to have done a better job than USA steel did.)
I hear stories.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

JUST my opinion, but, Japan, China, and everybody else NEEDS a very strong USA so all the stuff they make will have a market. Who else could compare? In fact, does the whole rest of the world combined even come close to what the USA purchases as imports? I doubt it.

Sort of......but wholesale blind dependence on imported everything while abandoning self-reliance might just not be a good thing....and selling off all of the raw materials in parallel might also not be the best idea.....although greed does motivate.

And I'm not certain China's reputation for quality merchandise is as golden as they may presume it is. For example, in our hobby, are you thrilled and expecting top quality when you see "Made in China" affixed to your new loco? Eh? Huh?

Or maybe that shirt you're wearing, the shoes on your feet, the hat on your head?

Pollution (and they have plenty of USA Steel history to have learned from to have done a better job than USA steel did.)
I hear stories.

That's sort of a by-product of cramming 100+ years of industrial revolution into a few decades to force transcendence to be a competitive world economic power - there is cost. Yet at the same time the recognition of the value of raw materials and wholesale recycling of the same critical to national security materials comes with a real cost - what we take for granted and throw away, or at least recycle at a local level was going back to China by the shipping container amount to be recovered.

We're hooked on cheap consumables.....

[MurphOnMillerAve]

...or the tie around a presidential candidate's neck...(unless that's just an urban legend).....