Thoughtless arrogance is a bad thing no matter the source. Islamists , Domionists, and many others are simply very displeased to see folk enjoying themselves, and think that an elite group should control such things and enjoy the benefits alone. The Religious fundamentalist would put their particular flavor in charge be that flavor Islamist, Dominionist, or Soviet Atheism. Thus even when it is Religious, it is Political. That said there are many folk of reason who are none the less also religious. There are also many Religions that do not include a god in their understanding. It is only this dance …
All 30 comments by...
FreeDem
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Amazing how people argue about the obvious and ignore the main point of the article. While some people (notably Fundamentalists) think that their Religion is an encyclopedia, many religious folk do not, and there are many religions where the very idea that religion should be such a thing is nonsense. To shorten the argument, the Atheists Mr Dapier is talking about are saying that the Bible contains many factual errors and the heroes of the Bible do some truly awful things, and the Judaic God seems highly improbable. So far, so good, most folk, religious and otherwise can agree with much …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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mlwmohawk You continue to react to the ignorant "bible as encyclopedia", and reject the rational "many subtleties explain deeper understanding" . Yes people use the ignorant to con with simple platitudes and give themselves power, and do great damage, but it is the con that is the problem and not the legitimate understanding of what they are perverting. It is the perversion that fights inquiry, actual religion has a long history in which nearly everything is given up in pursuit of free inquiry. It is the normal distractions of civil life that leads the monk and hermit to give these up …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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The “great spirit,” was not so much an entity but a metaphor for life. Just as the spirit of animals was not a metaphysical spirit, but behavioral wisdom of various animals. Not only that, there were over 500 different nations of indians each with differing belief systems. Exactly! By using the subtleties that could be understood in issues seen as animal behavior (either real or traditional thought) many deeper understandings of one's own life and issues could be explained by those "Spirits". People do not spend a lifetime trying to understand concepts that could be explained in a comment post, so …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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mlwmohawk To take from some Indian myths where Raven did some deed or Coyote did another. Children may think that you are talking about an actual Raven or Coyote, or a god in the form of a raven or coyote (and some adults may continue to think so as well) but such thinking misses the whole point of the story that the thinking person uses for insight to what it means to be a human in the world. Like the Great Spirit most religions do not envision a Judaic style God, and such gods as they do envision are both metaphor …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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So, we have two possibilities: (1) God “proves” himself by affecting our universe in a detectable way. or (2) God is unable to affect the universe in a detectable way. And in doing so, totally lose sight of the third possibility. My favorite example god is Murphy. There is nobody who believes in Murphy as any sort of god critter, but almost anyone can recite a long list of his laws and corollaries. Further you can note his sick sense of humor, and absolute disdain for Hubris, as well as the need to have the deepest respect for him lest he …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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NO! It is exactly the point, isn’t it? No god or metaphysical entity need be used as an excuse for human error. Indeed then we talk past each other. You insist that all points of information be of the Encyclopedic nature amenable to scientific investigation, just as the fundamentalist insists that all information be sifted through their encyclopedia of the Bible. By that, subtlety is lost and deep thinking nearly unknown, even as a possibility. While I would agree that Scientific investigation is the only real way to achieve encyclopedic knowledge, the very power of that one tool perverts what is …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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I suppose that which is hard to understand will be widely misunderstood. On one side are the magical thinkers with this or that fantasy, or subjective experience that often causes much illogical behavior and thinking, and on the other side the Atheists this thread is about who can even point to the regions of the brain that cause that subjective experience, but reject the deeper understanding that is as real as what they do believe in, but are to lazy or jaded to spend the effort to understand. Is there so few willing to spend that effort? While it is certainly …
Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity
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Moyers is Right, Power will only foot the bill for publicity, Never for actual news, unless there is a greater power forcing its hand. The American People are the only power that can do so, but only if they are awake and aware. Answering the alarm bells of the past 8 years (and more) is just the first step, there is a whole lot of work to do and not much time to change course, and most folks haven't learned to read a compass yet.
Posted to In Praise of Reporting Reality--And The Truth
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I recently discovered two different threads on the Internet that combined might shine more light and less heat on the subject. The one [url=http://www.lcurve.org/] here speaks most eloquently about the real disparity of wealth in this country,[/url] and how even the highest paid person who's day is actually accomplishing something, is a serf compared to those just a few points above him. If you make more money than 99% of those poor sops below you, you still make less than 10% of the average of those above. And now for something completely different... sort of...[url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html] Chris Anderson has written and expanded …
Posted to We Are All Waiters Now
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From the early days of Nixon's "War on Crime" I observed that when crime becomes political, it creates its own constituency. And within that constituency, real criminals find succor and support. I saw it first hand in the sixties and seventies, where people who would never consider a crime beyond their choice of smoking materials, found themselves infiltrated as much by really bad people pretending to be like them, who were thieves and rapists, as they were by triple agents, every bit as bad but secretly carrying a badge. As with every war, it is the noncombatants who are the easiest …
Posted to How A Few Harm All
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It would seem to me that the union itself might replace such a generic fundraising organization as a democratic group. Knowing that they were working toward a personal and humanitarian future they would have more and more enthusiastic help. And knowing that they were supporting a multi demensional activist group that practiced what they preached should bring in more and better moneys Transparency and honor are always the best way to get honorable help to achieve honorable goals
Posted to Do You Have a Minute for ?
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[quote]"Who the heck can be on the side of charging 521 percent interest rates for people that are vulnerable and desperate?” I am, as someone who wants that vulnerable and desperate person to be able to get money he obviously needs very badly and immediately. If 521 percent is the best deal he can get (and if he could get better then why wouldn’t he?) for money he needs badly and immediately, then all this legislation does is stop him from getting the money he needs.[/quote] Exploitation is always the Repuglican way, Who would charge 521% when they could get a …
Posted to Economic Populism Proves Popular
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There were laws against usury not so long ago, till loan sharks bought enough legislators to remove the laws. It took a while longer to make it impossible to escape such usury by bankrupsy.
Posted to Economic Populism Proves Popular
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I find that Dr Tanton's walk across the cultural divide is very interesting, if for no more than it's rarity. The right wing is full of confused and frightened white guys, so caught up in their racism and bigotry, that they can't see how they are "pissing in their own soup". In a similar way many on the left are against the racism on simple moral grounds, if not that they themselves are at the pointy end of that racism, but cannot get a handle on the devastation a bottomless labor force has on everybodies quality of life (except those who …
Posted to Keeping America Empty
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Theo, I for one would be interested in your ideas and alternatives to Capitalism, and how they would be an Improvement, and the same with Beauty. Many years ago I was struck by Bill Buckley claiming that Capitalism and free enterprise were essentially synonomous, and bells went off and said he was wrong. I had pretty much reached the conclusions spelled out in the[url=http://www.catb.org/~esr/halloween/] "halloween documents" [/url],. with Free Enterprise in the Commodity corner, and Capitalism in the Decommoditized corner, when they came out. However Wingers have trouble with these concepts. As pointed out [url=http://liberalunderground.activeboard.com/index.spark?forumID=60876&action=viewTopic&commentID=6135971&subForumID=159321] elsewhere[/url] I do not find government …
Posted to The Ultimate Fighting Anarchist
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Hello Beauty and Theo, I think Beauty has the better handle on my point, but I guess I did not write so clearly as I had a link [url=http://freedemocrat.blogspot.com/2006/03/great-libertarian-fallacy_31.html] here (more localized this time) [/url] that went into a lot more detail. The political compass is more of a Libertarian method of convincing most that they are all Libertarians ( the majority would consider themselves 7,7 or near it. ) The key fallacy as I point out on my blog is that they define government very narrowly, while I define it broadly, and point out that everyone is subject (voluntarily and …
Posted to The Ultimate Fighting Anarchist
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If you want to see what the reality is behind the "Free Trade" discussion, see the whole[url= http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/] PBS Frontline show about Tankman[/url] The Chinese Communists have applied the Neocon model of "Free Trade" that controls benefits for a corrupt elite, while it exploits the working poor to an early grave, hiring young healthy people and tossing them aside when the harsh dangerous conditions, burn them up in a few years. Using a very tightly controled press to hide their fates. Unless America wakes up this will be the Future America. [url=http://freedemocrat.blogspot.com/]I wrote a long note explaining this at my blog …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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[quote] Saw the PBS special. It was striking. Pity you have to confuse the debate comparing American neo-con philosophy with Chinese totalitarianism. But I guess muddying the waters is about the best Dems can do given their history of the past ten years [/quote] Jay Perhaps you are unaware of how much the Neocon Philosophy is influenced by "ex" Communists, and just how totalitarian their mindset is. What the Frontline show brought home to me was how much the "new China" is a mirror of that philosophy. It is obvious to me that they are aware of the details, and struck …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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[quote] I read your piece and remain dumbfounded. Strauss as a communist?? as the New Prophet for Marxism?? You must be joking. [/quote] Jay, Look at the reality, not the babble, neither Communist or Neocon has the slightest commitment to his words. They are arranged to deceive, good for the momentary fight and nothing more. Prove them wrong, show how they are operating as if facts were 180 degrees from their previous claim, they don't care. That was last weeks fight and they are about next weeks fight. Communists took on liberal babble, but paid it little more than lip service, …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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There are a few facts that I don't think are in much dispute. 1. [url=www.svabhinava.org/friends/JosephMartin/StraussConjecture.htm]Strauss was deliberately obscure, that his agenda would only be for an elite [/url] there is an [url=http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/InterviewDisplay.aspx?i=132] Ann Norton interview thatmakes details about this clearer [/url] 2. David Horowitz, Irving Kristol, Max Shockman, and many other Straussians are fairly open about their previous Marxist backgrounds, though they claim to be opposite of that now. 3. The frontline show you said you watched documented an about face by the Government that went from a supportive to …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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I do use Straussian as a reference to those who claim him as the father of their thinking. Ann Norton properly points out that the goal posts have moved as his diciples have gone places he might have frowned on. She also notes a range of intelligence/awareness in the application of his thinking, not unusual as any such base will quickly have schisms. Unlike Marx who famously claimed himself not a Marxist, Strauss was dead before NeoCons came to power. But with that caveat, it would seem to me that NeoCons are direct Straussians. I would use the term (perhaps not …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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Democrats believe in democracy. So do Republicans. And Libertarians. And the Green Party. And most Independents. But that is indeed the problem. As long as real democracy flourished, I could care less about most specifics in a particular party bent, in most cases reality will be the final athority, and individuals will advocate whatever gives them the most freedom. This is the founding fathers' expectation. In their day the only truly totalitarian challenger was religious extreamists, and they had thought that there was a suffecient wall to keep them out of power. The then recent horrors in England and Salem stood …
Posted to A Primary Concern
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The unemployed are only those recently so, after unemployment runs out, or if you are not registered with the unemployment office you are not a part of the unemployed. More to the point four years into "Recovery" only the higher incomes have recovered, most peoples (80%) real incomes have declined in real dollars while the top 20% has gone up and the top 0.5% have several hundred percent increases. Just because Bill Gates walks into a bar dosen't mean everyone in the bar got richer, just because the median income of the customers shot through the roof
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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No one will be happier than me if Democrats sweep the next elections but unless the voting system is repaired, it will be fixed again, and Republicans will win landslides even if nobody votes for them,
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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Wow from the record lows of the Bush administration stocks have risen aprox 20%. of course that is still aprox 30% below where they were when he took office. Of course with the increasing distance between investors and Corporate management, most of the profits have gone to Corporate management. If there had been an honest fix of the Wall Street cessspool the stock values would likely have doubled. Not to worry, in a couple of years stocks will be up enough that the insiders can do another shearing, like they did when Bush "won" the first time. If you would say …
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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FreeDem, I’d go so far as to say Clinton was the best republican president ever. That’s why the Conservative (so-called) Republican Loyalists hate him so much. If they hadn't hated him so much he'd never have gotten so much support. He was my last choice among early possibilities, and I was totally against the Nafta/WTO sellouts, but the other side was so much worse I had to support him. I mean even on a Monica level at least she was female, human, and of age. Quite aside from the fact that nobody died. Except Steve Kangas :(
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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Tina I am happy your sister owns a home, and it went from 800k to 1.5 mil. I am just glad I am not trying to buy one there. I live in what was a working class area that went hollywood. Houses that went for $50k a few years ago have been torn down and made into 800k townhouses two to a lot. Whats the problem with that? Well if you were renting (and most were) you are flat out of luck with no place in the area to live. Lucky me, I bought a place, so I am rich now? …
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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Gee Tina you have a list of local Democrats involved in local vote fraud, you left out the only one I know the specifics of, where a Democrat got paid for collecting absentee ballots. The local Republicans have made a big deal of it for years now, going to court, losing, and appealing, and making big news at every turn, all slanted to make them the agreaved party. I had a friend who was contacted by the Republican party to be paid to do the same (for Republicans only). But that never even made the news. There are lists [url=http://www.bradblog.com/Diebold.htm]here[/url]and [url=http://www.bradblog.com/ClintCurtisSummary.htm]here[/url]and …
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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and perhaps while you are making lists [url=http://www.armchairsubversive.com/]this little list should be handy[/url] * Republican County Constable Larry Dale Floyd was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with an 8-year old girl. Floyd has repeatedly won elections for Denton County, Texas, constable. * Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation. * Republican Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy. * Republican teacher and former city councilman John Collins pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 13 and 14 year old girls. * Republican …
Posted to GOP Trashed in Special Elections
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