I'm not sure about the persective, here. I understand the arguments, just not the overall philosophy. The philosophies working here seem to be "increase productivity" and "balance our spending". Here's Texas : "Expenses need to be cut. That much is clear. Defense is one are where we certainly do not need to make cuts. I think there's a lot of wasteful spending out there that should be targeted first and foremost, and ho
"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it? Good God, we would also be happy if we had no books, and such books as make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves. But what we must have are those books that come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea insid
SD: I agree with most of your takes, and certainly your position on these issues. Still, I'm not sure abortion is purely a religious debate. And while I agree that in the end, in most cases, it should come down to personal choice, I also think that it makes little rational sense (how's that for a redundancy?) to declare abortion as a personal choice. The most important point you make is this: <TABLE cellpadding=8 wi
If any "losing" took place, it was definitely my fault. In some ways I am saying "nothing" exists-- at least that's what the theory is saying. But that's not it exactly either. Let's say you just picked up your favorite bowling ball, gave it a nice dusting, waxed it to a perfect shine. You take a long drink of your favorite refreshing beverage and then face the pins. As you begin to take aim at those ten pins down the way,
Thanks for the thoughts, Danny. I'm not so sure the thought is off topic, either. There's at least two issues working here. One of them is whether or not some entity we think of as "GOD" created the world, and the other is whether or not "GOD" has the individuality (that sounds weird, huh) and the consciousness we ascribe to "GOD'. Let's say a conscious, individual Entity created the w
Here's a debate that's going to go on for some time: Creation versus Evolution. People love to choose sides on this one, as the recent JoeUser post, "HERE'S THE PROOF THAT GOD EXISTS" by Marvin Cooley and subsequent postings demonstrate. The author and sympathizers make some effort to debunk evolution. By using creation to polarly oppose evolution, they
You're peering too deeply into a mirror you use for shaving or for viewing the street you've already seen. You're on the street and you think you recognize a woman through the cafe window. A thought takes you but you can't remember the words when you're waiting for the "Don't Walk" sign to pass and now you're really pissed. But the light changes and the t
Jake, Happy T-Day. My family is much smaller than yours, and very far away, but some friends here are putting a feast together. I do not know what you get to eat for T-Day, but one of my friends makes a real, proper turkey with cornbread stuffing; another is a vegetarian and brings this lentil stew which is delicious. They invited me to eat all the good food, so I am very thankful, like you, to have good friends. Also, I am thankfu
Man why didnt I think of number five? Maybe GWB can come and I'll wait outside....
Someone must have the goods
I'm not usually a blogger game guy, but honestly, I like this one. I'm in. 1)Buddha: Having Mr Jesus sit at the table probably would clear things up something fierce for me, but I have a feeling that he'd start telling stories and the Buddha would nod his head and smile, without any pressure to speak. Dynamic is key, here. 2)A. Einstein: Dude can sleep over, too, if he needs a place. Too much brilliance, too much insight
Little Whip/ David/ Yeah, Everyone: I posted a similar comment on Whip's thread, but her explanation to the questions I pushed her for at David's urging seemed, if anything, overly candid, and deserves a response here. David accused her of many things, and if this had not been relevant to this thread I would not have made an issue of this. She retorted, leaving me with a mess of labels thrown about in a thread descending from an arti
Once, I typed "Humor". Results= useless. Another time, I tried "Political Satire. Results= 1 of 20, maybe. Then I became bored of clicking "next". The "good stuff" sites must be out there. I believe it. I do. But at the moment my total link inventory is simply: Link , or the Onion. And the Onion is a hardc
Little Whip, David, Start, or anyone else: Feel free to leave or stay; of course no-one chooses that but you. Nevertheless, I was not suggesting anyone in particular had made up an imaginary blogging personality. But for the sake of clarity and for the sake of honesty, why not skip the ambiguous declara
Yes, absolutely, TB. Popular opinion, which happens to be flexible and very suggestable, dictates policy in representative governments (though parliament governments--like Israel, for example--are swayed more significantly by fringe beliefs) when no immediate crisis confronts the nation as a whole. So here's one of my questions that was buried somewhere in an earlier comment: What do you think happens to policy, or, for that matter,
Hmm. While I have no problem with participants "hijacking my thread", I wouldn't mind a little honesty, here. Little_Whip, I remember you suggested emailing you with specific questions regarding this topic, and I said I would investigate first. Well, my investigation did not uncover much except the odd links on your home page...which I'm still having a hard time determining the common t
Supporting defense spending is not the same as being pro-war; similarly, voting against defense spending is not the same as being anti-war. First of all, pro-war/anti-war are terms that make little sense, except for presenting perspectives of extremists...and I do not think Kerry fits this bill. When someone labels him/herself anti-war, this usually means that he/she is against a particular war, or how a particular war is being waged
Excellent point, Lee. But (and I do not have any figures, so I apologize if I'm wrong) I also think the huge defense-spending--associated with Reagan's Star Wars plan, as well as what liberals might call indiscriminate defense relating to what everyone calls the Iraqi War, and what conservatives might call the war on terror--has changed the Democratic dynamic more than any lack of willingness to defend the country. I'm just one libera
I will investigate, and then I will email you, Little Whip. TBT
Little_Whip is certain further right on the continuum than I am, if not on the opposite end; but she hasn't ever proposed anything that would make me think of her as a white supremacist. Are you, Little_Whip? TBT
TB (sorry for screwing that one up): Again, thanks for providing the models. The one part that still bothers me is the dependence this has on popular opinion. While it does a great job judging how a specific individual compares to the pop. opinion, it seems to have nothing to do with ideology. The reason I brought up international examples was because if you used this model in Nazi Germany, the pop opinion would be the nearly absolu
6/2/1998 Yad V'Shem (Hand and name) Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jerusalem "Don't fix your large brown eyes upon me.... And don't ask me Why and wherefore we have to leave our homes." --SB Shayewicz, "Lekh Lekha" 1942 Dedalus, Consider how quiet it is here, now. Earli
Dr. Guy: Thank you for your comments. Reply #9 By: Dr. Guy - 11/23/2004 8:07:36 AM Good Article. But the way to stop the slide into anarchy or civil war is to keep the center, and not start adopting the fringe elements, regardless of the pressure. I would agree with you. But i
Wow. There's a mouthful. I assume because he's been blacklisted, there's not a wealth of his comments remaining for me to check out, is there? Does he direct his remarks toward people for the purpose of disruption, without basing them on any substance? TBT
What do you think of anti-semetism? Or racism? Do you think the fringes on both sides cause people to become bigots out of self-defense, when they lose their comfort zone? The word "people" is a good one, I think. I think the fringes tend to make everyone less comfortable, especially in times of rapid
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