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Messages - Universe Prince

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3376
3DHS / Re: Iraq/Iran Study Groups
« on: December 09, 2006, 09:17:44 PM »
So if we decided to do something that happened to align with something Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would like to see happen, then that something could still be the right thing to do?

3377
3DHS / Re: Iraq/Iran Study Groups
« on: December 09, 2006, 05:08:07 PM »
Is it your assertion then, Sirs, that our only course of action in Iraq should be the exact opposite of anything Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might like, regardless of what that course of action actually entails?

3378
3DHS / Re: Jerry Falwell as enabler of Pagan proselytizing
« on: December 09, 2006, 10:33:35 AM »
Quote from: Plane on December 09, 2006, 10:20:54 AM

Quote from: Universe Prince on December 09, 2006, 10:15:55 AM
Who said anything about quashing Christianity? Or protecting it from competing ideas?

Who ever it wa that said" No Christian fliers and no Pagan ones either. ".


Um, okay. Would you care to explain how that qualifies as quashing Christianity and protecting it from competing ideas? I mean, I really do not see how not having fliers distributed by schools suppresses the entire religion. And I cannot figure out how it protects the religion in any fashion. So please, if you would, elucidate.

3379
3DHS / Re: Jerry Falwell as enabler of Pagan proselytizing
« on: December 09, 2006, 10:15:55 AM »
Quote from: Plane on December 09, 2006, 10:04:38 AM

I don't think that Christianity needs to be quashed , nor protected from competeing ideas .


Who said anything about quashing Christianity? Or protecting it from competing ideas?

3380
3DHS / It's for the children...
« on: December 09, 2006, 10:12:53 AM »
Here is an odd story. A 12 year old boy and a 13 year old girl had what they apparently considered to be consensual sex. The boy has already been found guilty of violating the law against sex with someone under the age of 14, and the girl is now both the victim and a perpetrator as she too was found guilty of violating the law. And so now, as I understand it, both of them are officially sex offenders, a label that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Which means they will be treated by the government as potential sexual predators, tracked by the FBI, subject to residency restrictions and forever forced to deal with laws intended to protect children from sex offenders.

The Denver Post has the story over at the other end of this link.

3381
3DHS / Jerry Falwell as enabler of Pagan proselytizing
« on: December 09, 2006, 09:54:03 AM »
Last summer a pair of students attending Hollymead Elementary School in Albemarle County, Virginia, wanted to advertise their church's Vacation Bible School in the school's "backpack mail" (a school program of distributing info about school related events and the like by putting folders of fliers into student backpacks). The school initially refused, but someone contacted Jerry Falwell's Liberty Council, and after a letter from the Liberty Council, the school relented and allowed the VBS advertising.

Which brings us to the Pagans. A Pagan group from a Unitarian-Universalist church has received permission to advertise “an educational program for children of all ages (and their adults), where we’ll explore the traditions of December and their origins, followed by a Pagan ritual to celebrate Yule.” Apparently a number of Christian parents are displeased with the decision. And the school is now considering not allowing material promoting religious events or groups in backpack mail.

I am left wondering how long it will be until some parent or other becomes upset that the school won't allow their child(ren) to advertise some Christian event.

More on this story at the end of this link and this link. Warning: both links go to biased versions of the story. The first one leads to the Americans United for Separation of Church and State blog. The second leads to a WorldNetDaily article. The WorldNetDaily page does include a copy of the Pagan ad. Oddly enough, the WorldNetDaily article does not mention the Liberty Council, saying instead School Board chairwoman Sue Friedman is blaming a decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Maryland.

Of course, this is why we need more separation of church and state, not less. No Christian fliers and no Pagan ones either. Then the Christian parents won't have to worry about having Paganism pushed on their children. Pah ha ha ha ha. Sorry, it's just hard to drum up concern for Christians worried about other people proselytizing. And I say that as someone who regularly attends church.

3382
3DHS / Re: Iraq/Iran Study Groups
« on: December 09, 2006, 08:47:05 AM »
Maybe I missed a news story (wouldn't be the first time), but what makes you think the Iraq Study Group report is aligned with the interests of the Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

3383
3DHS / Re: Separating Personal Interest from the Public Good
« on: December 09, 2006, 08:39:53 AM »
As best I can determine, the situation in Iraq is such that no matter when we pull troops out, Iraq will be ripe for influence from Iran, leaving Iran in a position of political leadership for the entire Middle East. Other than doing to Iran what we did to Iraq, I see no way to stop this from occurring. Leaving Iraq may result in a dramatic rise in urban warfare regardless of whether Iraqis are trained as security forces. And we have no guarantee that the political constructs we have orchestrated there will remain long enough to establish the political stability in Iraq that we desire. The whole thing is a mess.

I think we are short-sighted if we try to make this about President Bush's personal interest. Certainly that will play into the situation, but his is not the only interest involved. There are the interests of the insurgents, the members of the Iraqi government, the President and Prime Minister of Iraq in particular, and the President of Iran. So even if Bush's personal interest could be taken out of the equation, I have doubts that would lead us to an amicable resolution of events.

3384
3DHS / Re: Ariz. Waitresses Dress As Naughty Nurses
« on: December 08, 2006, 07:10:39 PM »
Quote

"Nurses are the most sexually fantasized-about profession," said Sandy Summers, executive director of the Center for Nursing Advocacy, based in Baltimore.


This sounds like it could be true. Is there documentation on this or some way to find out?

3385
3DHS / Re: Why doesn't Bush get credit for the strong economy?
« on: December 08, 2006, 08:13:12 AM »
Quote from: Plane on December 08, 2006, 06:54:16 AM

How about Sowell?


He's generally better. Why do you ask?

3386
3DHS / Re: And Poppy Wept...
« on: December 08, 2006, 08:08:46 AM »
Quote from: Lanya on December 08, 2006, 07:35:43 AM

Prince, if by "mean-spirited" you mean "tell the truth as I see it about a Republican" then so be it.


I did not say you in particular were being mean-spirited. But to answer your question, no, that is not what I mean. There is a difference between telling the truth as you see it and presenting speculations as truth. In this situation we have several people gloating over Bush the elder letting tears go in public and proclaiming it as a sign of his troubled conscience, but not because there is any reasonable basis for that speculation. And that is mean-spirited. As for whether that applies to you, if the shoe fits...

Quote from: Lanya on December 08, 2006, 07:35:43 AM

By the way, is it mean-spirited to note that Poppy Bush is not lying in the cold ground?  He's alive, rich, etc. while his idiot son dithers and naps his way through the presidency?  While so far, 2,922 servicemen and women have been killed and who knows how many Iraqis?  Is that too mean-spirited?


With your tone, it might be. I did not say criticizing the man for what we do know of and about him was inherently mean-spirited. I do not believe unfounded gossip does any of us any good. While it may help some feel morally superior to the Bush family, it still unfounded gossip. Something I should think we would want to reject rather than embrace. If that criticism offends you, too damn bad. I too get to tell the truth as I see it.

3387
3DHS / Re: Childsplay
« on: December 08, 2006, 06:36:33 AM »
Quote

what does it say about the trustworthiness and brand image of our non-profits if even 7-year-old girls named Olivia would rather give to something as corporate and unsexy as the Gates Foundation, rather than trying to find a local animal or environmental group that appeals to her heart?


Maybe the aims of the Gates Foundation, like eliminating diseases and poverty, did touch her heart. Sheesh.

3388
3DHS / Re: Why doesn't Bush get credit for the strong economy?
« on: December 08, 2006, 06:27:53 AM »
Too many people give Krugman too much credit for knowing what he is talking about.

3389
3DHS / Re: This sums it all up real well
« on: December 08, 2006, 01:27:39 AM »
Quote from: Plane on December 08, 2006, 12:24:46 AM

I can't imagine that the sanctions were going to last much longer and when Saddam was free of them in the past his bluster killed a cupple of million people.


And meanwhile with sanctions the people of Iraq suffered from a lack of trade, which resulted in an inability to repair needed infrastructure, a lack of medicine and food, and the deaths of thousands of people—mostly children as I understand it—from otherwise preventable causes. Was it really worth the price?

3390
3DHS / Re: And Poppy Wept...
« on: December 08, 2006, 01:15:43 AM »
Quote from: Lanya on December 07, 2006, 07:38:54 PM

I'm not holding a grudge, I'm saying that's how politics is.  It is more like street fighting than it is beanbag.  Crying is not done, not in politics, not in our culture.


I suppose you're correct, though I still say the mean-spirited speculations are unnecessary and ridiculous.

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