Okay, opening a thread.
What preparations are underway for Turkey Day?
What are you thankful for?
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
Will you be taking a cigarette after passing through the TSA screening?
-
Archives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- January 2010
- November 2009
- April 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
-
Meta
From Drudge: a San Diego traveler opted to strip down to his Calvins rather than be felt up a second time. The TSA insisted he put his clothes on so he could be “patted down properly”.
Okay, you had a clear field of view. Why did they insist on a pat-down?
Oh, maybe I figgered it out…
perverts
Mornin’ Gang
TSA pat-down leaves traveler covered in urine.
Ladies, Gloria Allred said she enjoyed the patdown – in fact, it had been a long time since anyone had touched her privates.
OPS said he went to the airport seven times one day last week and came home with two phone numbers and a black eye!
I’m suspect that the pervertedness starts at the highest office of Homeland Security. Makes you wonder what’s underneath that skirt Big Janet wears – maybe that’s why the call her “Big?”
Seriously, if this is not clear cut evidence that Al Queda has won, what would be? And our President and his minions further that “scare the public into submission” idea even more for their own political gain. How much more are we going to take? Why aren’t our representatives in Congress raising cain over this outrage? Are we really finished as a nation of freedom loving people?
A singularity was lonely, so it found a date. Things went very well. They had a big bang.
#4. Here ya’ go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-N5adYM7Kw
I just read an article on a book on exorcism. The comments ranged from “Wicca is witchcraft – get out!” to “Lady, you’re crazy to say that.” Then there are the ones who claim those with a belief in God and evil and claim that those of us with faith are stoopid and boring. Then I came across this gem:
I thought about this one over the weekend. But alas, someone beat me to it.
#4 – & #6 –
http://market-ticker.org/
What is that old saying about “Trade a few of your freedoms for a little security and end up having neither” ?
Simple
We should be agitating for PROFILING at the airports. Or is the USA too far gone now for that to ever happen?
For anyone who needs a chuckle.
Simple
What preparations are underway for Turkey Day? Mrs. darren and I will be cooking a turkey and ham (ultra yummy on the latter). We’ll go to Mrs. Darren’s cousin’s house and enjoy a grand meal with family and friends. There will be a minimum of seven kids and four adults. My sister and brother-in-law will be going to Orlando to spend time with my other sister and brother-in-law so while we won’t be celebrating with them, we will be watching her dog.
What are you thankful for? The gospel of Jesus Christ, family, my freedom from living in the united States of America, health and overall general happiness.
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? You betchya. I got Mrs. Darren’s her gift as well as the boy’s. She got the girl’s gifts and all that is left are stocking stuffers.
Will you be taking a cigarette after passing through the TSA screening? LOL! No since I think it would be better for them than it would be for me.
Merle asked the question many years ago. What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHJ41ktt3Q
G’Morning all
Made fresh home made cranberry sauce. Ummm-ummm
Made 5 pie crusts for 3 pecan pies, 1 punkin’ pie and 1 cherry pie (all grandma’s pie recipes. Ummm-mmm-mmm)
Took 22 lb turkey out of freezer Friday.
Cleaned house “company” clean, including 3 chandeliers.
Got ingredients for grand kids to make deviled eggs, pimento cheese celery and veggie dip.
Collapsed in Lazy boy.
Family health, prosperity and good health.
Modern medicine that removed my head cancer and can fix Dee’s Achilles Tendon.
US constitution, especially the Bill Of Rights.
Results of this years election.
Do that year ’round.
Yes, and also a glass of wine and soft music on my IPod when I get in line.
A little scary… how do we “touch” people and gain their understanding when they have so little concept of what is happening outside their world?
Tedtam #7;
Jesus IS the only way. Amen!
Having been a proselytzing missionary in northeast Brazil I came across a lot of voodoo-based ritual practices. Spiritual possessions is quite real as well as using the power and authority of Christ to excorcise spirits out of bodies (if the individual wants to). Someday I may share a story or two.
What preparations are underway for Turkey Day? Going to my sister’s house again this year. I am getting some fruit together, maybe put together a side dish later, and I’ve already purchased several bottles of soda to share.
), a roof over my head, loving children, our health, and various sci-fi movies and shows 
What are you thankful for? YOU GUYS, my family, my Lord, (not necessarily in that order
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I usually have my shopping pretty well wrapped up by now, but with the economy the way it is, I’m running way behind. I have a few things I’ve found on sale, and am looking at some home-made items to fill out my list.
Will you be taking a cigarette after passing through the TSA screening? I rarely fly, and I don’t smoke, so I’ll never have to worry about this configuration of events. Who’da thunk titillation would ever be part of the pre-flight preparations?
Turkey Day was started as a feast giving thanks to God for providing enough food to get through the winter. (also thanked the Indians for teaching them how). Since it is a religious based holiday, are atheists and agnostics being hypocritical if they have family turkey dinner?
#19 Oletimer
Nope, they’re just hungry.
Hey, if we can get them in the back door without them realizing it…it’s all good, right?
Tedtam #1;
I just saw that story on The Blaze.
And the result:
Man Arrested for Trying to Record Underwear Strip-Down at TSA Checkpoint
People more and more will place obstacles in front of TSA’s pat downs. And rightfully so.
The indefinite article.
I’m pretty much OK with not knowing for sure about a lot of things.
#19 Not at all.
The tradition of post-harvest fall festivals predates all contemporary religions by thousands of years. A connection to the supernatural is neither sufficient nor necessary for them to happen, but I see no harm in folks making the connection if that’s what floats their boat.
Okay, I know at least one of you out there uses Open Office.
Do you know why my OO docs don’t show up when I ask Windows XP to pull up “recent documents” or otherwise search for a file? Is there a way that I can force my searches to include OO docs?
What preparations are underway for Turkey Day?
Turkeys and pork butt bought. Brine bought. Smoker set up and ready (and me too).
What are you thankful for?
There is nothing I could add to Darren’s #13. Well said, sir.
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
Yes, indeed.
Will you be taking a cigarette after passing through the TSA screening?
I had no travel plans that involved flight prior to this recent TSA mess, and now that it’s exploded, there is no way I would fly even if I did previously have plans to do so. BOYCOTT!!!!
Are you saving them in the MS Office format or in the native OO format?
#23 Bob
My take on Thanksgiving. I could be wrong, but this is what we were taught back before revisionist history.
The religious day of thanksgiving and the harvest festival evolved into a single event: a yearly Thanksgiving, proclaimed by individual governors for a Thursday in November.
Some presidents proclaimed Thanksgivings, others did not. Abraham Lincoln began the tradition of an annual national Thanksgiving..
1. No preparations b/c I do not get the day off. I am taking the family out on Thursday for what is billed as a traditional Turkey Day dinner fare.
2. If they get #1 correct and use proper “American” spices, I will be thankful. If they add cumin and olives to any of the dishes I will wonder why I shelled out money for a Turkey Day meal. Otherwise I am thankful for God, family, and my job.
3. I have no clue as to the Christmas shopping. We will probably order stuff online and have it delivered to our house in Sugar Land. Of course asking Santa would be easier.
4. We took a vacation to Belgium last week and I got frisked at the Brussels airport on the way back. I completely emptied my pockets. The only thing that could have set off the metal detector was my belt. Instead of having me take it off and go back through I got the pat down which was probably the most thorough I have been subjected to. They also had to check one of my carry ons because I forgot about that 1.5 L bottle of water I was carrying plus the sipee cup filled with the same good ol’ H2O. As far as the cigarette, no thanks, I do not smoke.
#26 Dude
Both. Neither pull up.
I knew that there was something about John Boehner that looked very familiar. But I couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it was.
#29 TT,
If you’re doing a complete search of your hard drive, search for “*.XXX” where “XXX” is the extension of the file. The * works as a wild card operator. Just make sure you’re searching the entire C: root and not just a single directory on C: where your files may not reside.
Why the docs would not show up in the recent is more likely an application setting than anything else. I don’t have OO at work but I can look at mine at home later and send you specifics on that.
Next thing you know Bob will be telling us that the Pilgrims were Wiccan
Blessed are the cheesemakers!
#29TT
My Office/OO searches do all kinds of crazy things too. I haven’t figured it out either. Yesterday I saved a file and it didn’r go to the default folder I have and I couldn’t find it. I did searches by actual file name, *.doc, *.oo, date, and anything else I could think of with no results. I finally found it by creating another file and did a save as and it displayed the folder things were going to. I have no idea why the default save folder changed itself.
At least my Google desktop search isn’t so discriminating. It just pulls up so much stuff sometimes that it’s annoying.
When I did my search just now, I didn’t specify anything except a keyword in the filename and time frame. Still couldn’t find it.
#33 Dude
YES! I like cheese!
Just don’t cut it – at least, not in public!
I’ve been thinking about going Ubuntu, but this IS my work computer, and my life depends on me not screwing it up.
Sounds like the OpenOffice thing may be a result of Windows weirdness. I only use OO on Ubuntu, so my experience may be of no help to you.
If you’re searching the root using *.* and it’s not finding them then I really don’t know what to tell you, except maybe stop using Windows.
/sorry… couldn’t resist
Don’t be skeert!
#16 TT
Hell, 50% of the population of Afcrapistan isn’t permitted to get any education at all.
I’ve read that I can download an Ubuntu app to a flash drive and use it from there. At least I can see what I’m missing. I used to work as a mainframe programmer, so command line stuff doesn’t scare me – just the time to get to learn it while I’m supposed to be working (like now). Using the latest Ubuntu environment, will I have to learn command line commands?
Gorezilla admits his support for ethanol subsidies was stupid and nothing more than buying votes for president.
#32 Hamous, lol, but nope. Not Wiccans. But eventually, Unitarians.
Of course, the very socially conservative “Puritans” of those days would blush, then faint at contemporary UUs.
Many of the Puritans were later known as Congregationalists (and Presbyterians, etc.) That term illustrated their opposition to the top down authority exerted by the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. They didn’t think the protestant reformation went far enough in establishing religious freedom at the congregational level. In the 1750s, Unitarians split from the Congregationalists. Today, each UU fellowship/congregation remains an independent self-governing entity.
#41 Tedtam, In addition to booting Ubuntu from flash or CD, you can install it on your windows machine in a “dual boot” environment that is much faster. I’ve never seen it give my Windoze partition any trouble.
Ubuntu is the most user friendly Linux dist I’ve seen, but a little command line knowledge never hurts.
What preparations are underway for Turkey Day?
I get most of it from Randall’s. Their pecan pie is better than mine.
What are you thankful for?
hamous.org, (as TT said); 2010 election results (as OTL said); every morning that I wake up and my knees still work to get me out of bed.
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
Husband & I have decided not to gift each other this year. Neither of us needs anything that we can’t just go out & buy anytime, and the house is piled high with too much stuff as it is. What we really need for Christmas is time & energy to de-clutter.
Will you be taking a cigarette after passing through the TSA screening?
Fortunately I have no need to travel & certainly not by air.
Not really. The Gnome desktop interface is pretty user friendly. As best I can remember right now there is nothing I’ve done that I couldn’t have accomplished via point and click. If you’re not afraid of command line stuff that’s good, but it’s not really necessary.
The USB drive option is a good place to start. I’ve never done it myself, but there is ample information available on how to do it out there on them interwebs. The time factor is another thing entirely. Can’t answer that except to say that if you spend a little time now familiarizing yourself with it then it may benefit you a lot in the future, making it a potentially very good ROI for you.
And consequently they believe in everything and nothing simultaneously. UU – the Schrödinger’s cat of religions.
#42. Yeah, and his trading exchange for carbon credits just shut down, too. It’s been a bad year for the man-made global warming cultists.
I wonder if his pending divorce and sexual harassment issues are providing him with a “come to Jesus” moment.
You can also install Sun’s Virtualbox and then run Ubuntu as a virtual machine. I have WinXP installed as a virtual machine on my Ubuntu box for the sole purpose of syncing my iPod Touch.
#49,
That’s a good idea. Sounds way better than trying to run Weenders stuff under WINE, which I’ve not really heard very good things about.
Hammie, if I install Sun’s Virtualbox does it have an app I can run that will make Salma Hayek my virtual wife?
I think I could have some fun if SHE was syncing my touch.
#51 Nope. Salma’s already MY virtual wife.
#51 You can do that with the software already installed in your brain. But if you need a hand with it, the TSA is there for you.
Ooooohhhh…. er…. umm…. what was it we were talking about again?
#19 OTL
OleTimer, speaking as the acknowledged atheist in the group: I can be thankful for my wonderful life in the USA just like everyone else. I just don’t think there is a god who makes that wonderful life happen. I do thank a long line of ancestors dating back to the Stone Age who made good decisions, leading to Western civilization.
#47 Hamous, you’re getting close, but still no cigar. UU fellowships do not require a set list of beliefs or non beliefs.
For example, I reckon that quite a few of the folks at my church assume I’m gay. But I know that most wouldn’t presume that, and all wouldn’t care if I was. Also, as a non-theist/non-deist/non-spiritual, I’m in the minority in regard to theories regarding the supernatural. Again, this is not a problem.
When folks there ask me why I go, I’m honest. I like the people, I like the social interaction and intellectual stimulation, and I like the challenge of learning music with the choir. All of this is cool there.
It works for me.
I think you just made my point.
#28 Texmo
Are you “bach’ing” it over in Morocco or wherever you are working in North Africa? If so, could you take family but chose not to? (Just curious)
#57 Hamous, I kinda see your point. It is a crowd of creedless folks of varying opinions that manage to get along with each other. There’s no paradox there, just the lack of a requirement for directed group think.
What I don’t get is the Schrödinger’s cat analogy.
The paradox (hence the cat analogy) is that UUs are an organized group without an ethos, without a dogma, that call themselves a church. It’s the ultimate “cafeteria religion”, one step removed from all-out atheism.
Roughly analogous to the Anarchist Party
#36;
I do all the time.
#55;
Like Catholics?
Its getting more and more interesting as time goes by. No wonder the Straus team wants to get this vote out of the way.
Does any of this sound like the kind of crap we’ve gotten so very, very tired of?
We just had an election that was all about back room deals.
#60 Thanks for the clarification Hamous. That makes sense from the perspective that in order to be called a “church” an organization must adhere to a directed, pre-determined, specific dogma that is typically resistant to change, and holds little regard for factual inconsistencies that were bound to develop since the various (and frequently inconsistent/incompatible) dogmas were first determined.
I couldn’t disagree more with the second half of that statement, and I suggest that you don’t have a clue about what you’re talking about. It’s merely your uninformed opinion, and in my experience and study, completely baseless in fact.
Many of my atheist friends criticize my association with the UUs. Additionally, there are more theist/deist UUs than atheist UUs, so I would have to conclude that you simply do not know what you’re talking about there, at all.
The only ethos I’ve observed among UUs is that tolerance, freedom of thought, self determination, and a will to seek new knowledge are good things, and are encouraged. I don’t agree with a lot of what I hear there, but it still works for me.
We’ve been around for quite awhile, but we don’t hold a candle to the Juice, who have been around at least since the Bronze Age.
I think this proves hammie’s statement:
Just got this in an email:
Brilliant!
Massachusetts partially decriminalizes weed and starts handing out citations for possession.
Stoners aren’t paying the fines like they’re supposed to.
Wow. Who could have seen that one coming?
#63 Darren
It’s quite possible. Known roots from Germany, England & Scots-Irish. Some but not all may have been Catholic at some point. Those who weren’t were surely some other flavor of Christianity during the last 2000 years.
#66 Pyro
Pretty sure I don’t have any Juice ancestry…
Gov. Christie tells of the can of awesome he unloaded at the President of the NJ Teachers Union.
#67 WB, I don’t understand how you might arrive at such a conclusion. Please elaborate.
I see no evidence that you or hammie know what your talking about in regard to UUs. What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
State your case.
#73 bob
You stated there are some number of UU’s who are atheist.
The remaining step toward “all-out atheism” is the remainder of UU’s becoming atheists.
The top commander in the Colombian insurgency, FARC, has been diagnosed with an acute case of death.
Gee—You always get so huffy when people ask you to do that—–
#69WB
LOL wonder how long it took to come up with that one. Sounds like an old Cheech & Chong reoutine
Boy, Bobby’s more incoherent than usual today. From one of the many UU websites, but they all say pretty much about the same thing, which is “We’re the ultimate Cafeteria Religion. One step away from all-out Atheism!”:
#74 WB, I stated that atheists were a small minority, and that is a fact. There is no evidence supporting your notion that there is a trend toward an atheist majority in UU congregations. None at all. Zip, zilch, nada. You and Hammie are seeing things that just aren’t there, and I suspect are confusing UUs with a larger trend in the U.S. that has completely nothing to do with that organization. It seems like yet another case of defensive broad brushed painting to me, but hey, that opinion is not based on any dogma, so my mind could be changed.
#76 Sarge, how bout you read my evidence and first hand experiences above, and when you get done, state your case for this completely absurd and totally unsubstantiated nonsense.
Clueless.
#78 Hammie, at the very least, I think you’re making a leap of faith with your interpretation of that quote. Yes, atheists are tolerated and welcomed, as are any theistic or deistic beliefs. But the fact of the matter remains that the growth of the atheist population in UU orgs is no higher, and often lower than the growth of non-theism in the general public. Hence, my classification of your “one step away” nonsense as nonsense.
I’m guessing that I know far more about Catholicism and other monotheistic faith traditions than you do about UUs.
Here’s a turkey recipe for you people:
Gut the dead Turkey bird that Daddy shot.
Cut off it’s head and pull the feathers out.
Make sure Mommy isn’t in the room or she will barf.
Then Daddy drowns it in water full of 10 pounds of salt.
Take the Turkey out and dry it with a towel.
Sprinkle 2 cups of the powder stuff that tastes funny.
Open the legs and put a loaf of broken bread into the bum opening.
Make some cooked carrots and stuff into the bread.
Turn on the oven for the whole day and bake it until black.
When it’s done Mommy makes gravy and potatoes.
On a lighter note, a long practiced tradition in my family is listening to this tune in addition to the other Arlo Guthrie classic.
Well.
Guess I won’t get all huffy and tell you that I refuse.
Here’s my case:
A religion that includes all religions and atheists too.
Roughly analogous to a political party organized to advocate for anarchy.
Good afternoon all. Balmy 66 this morning at 6, full Moon gracing the western sky on her way to bed, filmy clouds floating past her face and beneath her played peek-a-boo. All was still and peaceful, a lovely interlude before the day began.
Hmmm, the rising anger over TSA personnel excesses and in some cases downright assaults results in pathetic excuses and denials offered by the TSA brass. Methinks they see We The People revolting and refusing sheeplehood, and it scares the daylights out of the government types. On the heels of the election tsunami by We The People and the liberal/leftist inability to comprehend how that happened, perhaps now the TSA debacle might give them a tiny glimmer of how a spontaneous and leaderless rejection of their edicts works. No leader or leaders to blame, just as with the tea party movement. No idea how to put the genie back in the bottle. Deep down they might see the American people as—-
The Borg. Resistance Is Futile.
Heh. The UUs even have a Swingers Auxillary.
Hmmm:
One step away…
#72 Wagonburner
I ———— love ———— it !!!!
I’ve always said that if there weren’t various physical, marital, and spiritual blocks to such a union, I’d have Christie’s baby in a heartbeat.
Awesome doesn’t do it. We need to invent a new word to describe Christie.
Spinally enhanced? Fantabulistic? Absolutely clonable?
#83 Sarge, very roughly, if at all. And still not substantiated by any evidence.
If I was inclined to estimate the political leanings of UUs I’ve interacted with or the organization as a whole, it would be “liberal/democrat” by a very large margin.
Anarchy my ass! You have a keenly developed talent for running your mouth off about stuff you know nothing about, and I find that entertaining. Please don’t stop.
#85 Right, polyamory is indelibly etched in UU “dogma” and is widely accepted by members of the UUA.
You’re not as entertaining as Sarge is, but please keep trying. You’re getting there.
#83 Sarge
It sounds a lot like putting all of your socks in a pillowcase, putting in your hand, grabbing two of them, and hoping like heck they match. If not, repeat the reaching process until you figure out you really need to look inside the pillowcase, see where the socks are, get rid of whatever isn’t going to help you, take what will help you finish getting dressed, put them on, and start walking.
Otherwise, people start thinking you have a sock fetish.
Join the UUPAs!
#81 Wagonburner
Here’s my recipe for turkey:
Go to my sister’s house. Bring a side dish and big “thank you!”
#90 Hammy
Ummm, no. I’m no UUPA loompa!
I guy I work with flags every single one of his emails as urgent, the effect being that the recipients have no choice but to regard none of them as urgent.
When you believe in everything you believe in nothing. Dang, there it is again. One small step…
#86 Good! You’re doing your homework. From your linkie:
Where’s the trend? How many steps away are they?
Keep trying. But I’m in no way convinced that UU is “one step away from atheism,” which you have boldly declared it to be. And I say that as both a UU and an atheist.
Wow. Some folks used to speak of “big tent” conservatism. The conservative tent had nothing on the UU tent.
#93 Hammy
Get him a little stuffed wolf to keep near his computer.
Barf Kitty came over and began harassing me. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, and eventually found a way into my lap. Once there, she nosed up to my neck and began kneading it. I swear, the cat’s a neck junkie! She is agitated until she gets it out of her system.
Neck kneads and hot pads – her version of catnip.
Heh heh. I rest my case … on both the atheist/UU thing and your incoherence.
And barfed.
Now the aholes want us to pay for it too. From CNN
#99 SC
And that idiot Bloomberg’ll prolly give it to ‘em.
100
#97 Hamous, it is an interesting conversation, and I’m glad that we can have it.
Let me put it to you like this. Which is more likely to happen, a typical UU welcomed in to a strongly atheist org, or a live and let live atheist being welcomed into a UU org?
In the summer when the choir is off duty, I make it a habit to visit other churches on a few Sundays, because I find it interesting. In recent years, I’ve visited Baptist, Pentecostal, and among others, an Ecclesy-something church downtown whose name I wish I could remember, because I really enjoyed the time there. (I’ve not made it to a “mega-church” yet, because if I’m gonna deal with the parking and the crowds, I wanna see me some football!)
I’ll try to stop by a Catholic church again some time soon too. Likewise you are welcome to visit our little UU church anytime you like. I reckon in the view of some, that invitation might make me an “Evangelical Unitarian.” (OMG!)
I hear that Thursday night services at the Catholic Charismatic Center are really something! I think that’s their healing mass night.
#94 Bob
So I am not the only acknowledged atheist here? Shucks.
#95 Dude
Yah, I think UU is just a social club so people who are so inclined have a place to go once a week.
#104 mh42
infidel!!!!11!!1!!one!!!
Pyro? Is that a hex?
Nope.
It’s a ASCII.
/geek humor
#102 tedtam – Thursdays are holy roller night at our parish too. I’ve never attended one, mainly because its in Spanish. I have a hard enough time following a regular Spanish mass much less a Spanish mass where they speak in tongues
#106 Hexadecimal only includes the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-F. (Geeks are apparently more picky than UUs.) WB’s comment was transmitted to your screen in a variety of ASCII encoding known as ANSI.
In Hex, it would look like this:
mharper42 #70;
That’s all fine and dandy but my Catholic question was in regards to your declaration that you “don’t need a god” to credit for forming western society; only ancestors. There’s no doubt Catholics played not only a significant but a critical role in forming the West. In your ancestorial case there’s likely to have Lutheran and Protestant roots as well. The common denominator between these groups is a devotion to God. I say that you can remove any non-theist group in history and the West would still have been formed based upon freedom. The same cannot be said if you remove the religious groups.
Furthermore if Christians, mainly Catholics, had not preserved the Bible as devoutly as they have, there’s no way in h*ll western society would have shaped the way it has. Take that fact and add the Protestant movement as well as the Enlightment (which as a whole I do not find was “anti-God”), and you have a nation created based on individual freedom as opposed to collective freedom.
God has played a crucial role in forming the West.
#110 Darren
You must have missed a statement I made here recently that I fully credit Judeo-Christian religion with the development of Western civ as the best place on Earth. We owe a debt to Greek philosophy too.
So while I cannot agree that “God” has played a crucial role in forming the West, I do agree that a belief in the Judeo-Christian God was “crucial” to my ancestral lineage. (I quoted “crucial” because there is a bit of special meaning there.)
#111 Harper, do you think it would be accurate to say that the ability to openly discuss the various ways man has defined “God” over the years, and the ability to do so without fear of violent retribution had a role in shaping Western culture?
Yup.
#96. You and that cat might ought to get a room!
Cannot believe I’m watching Dancing With The Stars, but it’s all for a good cause – p!ssing off the libs!
Red State posts another comment opposing Straus for Speaker of the Texas House. Does he really want to stifle ordinary political commentary, such as we batter about daily on this site, and call it advertising? This is scary for Texas if true.
http://www.redstate.com/razshafer/2010/11/22/joe-straus-stands-against-free-speech/
What can we do to oppose Joe Straus? I live in a gerrymandered district with a Dem state rep, no way he is any help to me in this.
Suggestions, anyone?
#112 Bob
It hasn’t always been easy even in the West to disagree with religious authority. I think that’s what the Inquisition was all about.
Something changed here with the Baby Boomers. I think it’s true that the Greatest Generation raised some of the worst kids ever — the hippies, the stoners, the flower children. The US has been soft and squishy since the 60′s. Part of that could be due to the decline of religion. For the most part, those who lost religion just became libertines, they did not replace religion with another ethical philosophy.
NewsWeaklings got it wrong. God of The Propagandist Liberal Media is more appropriate.
Well, over at Big Jolly, David Jennings, whose opinions I generally respect as being well founded, posts a rebuttal to the Red State story and is supporting the Straus position.
http://www.bigjolly.com/sections/texas/572-straus-foes-continue-nonsensical-assault.html
One of these days maybe I’ll decide to get interested enough to find out for myself what’s really going on in Austin. Not sure that I want to know though. Redistricting should be a real hoot – who will be the first to claim racism? Or has that already been done? Will the Federal judge throw it out no matter what because Texas is a Republican state and does not elect enough Democrats. Is there really an ACORN. Who will set the record for the most phoney voter registrations filed – Harris County or Dallas County? What nanny state idea will Dan Patrick be promoting this time around? Oh, there are so many questions to be answered.
mharper #111;
Very nice.
Ummm, bob, what country do you live in? Christianity played no role in developing it? Wanna talk about expressing religious opinions regarding gay marriage and watch the retaliation fly?
But, bob, as long as it is against your social morality, you hate direct Democracy. You call it “mob rule”. Greek philosophy influenced Christian thinking quite a bit but I say if you removed all the Greek philosophical injections into Christianity we would still have western culture as is. You cannot say as much if you remove Christian doctrine.
Wow, I really liked how 42 in #116 kicked sand in 42 from #112′s face. That was good.