john5746

http://www.reuters.com/article/CHMMFG/idUSN0936136620090309 It's about time. We have no money now, but at least our heads are in the right place.

Universal Godless day. Think for yourself day. Think for someone else day.

I call that....mental masturbation.

In general, I think no, the situation going forward depends on Iraq. If anything, we may need to accelerate the removal if say a civil war breaks out. We went there supposedly for WMD and Saddam. We stayed to rebuild some power structure so they can be a country again. That doesn't mean we owe them a guaranteed safety net forever, especially since we are bankrupt.

I agree completely. I should add that I do not mean to imply that spirituality requires any altered state, just that maybe some memes are possibly started that way and they are not necessarily a bad thing.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html I think altered states of consciousness, whether through brain damage, seizures, chemicals or meditation do have something to do with spiritual beliefs. That's fine, but I would still recommend treating for termites and ants. I also wouldn't rule out antibiotics for those pesky bacteria.

Well, I hope it will not be equal or greater than the Great Depression, but I do think it will be considered a depression. While the standard of living should stay above that of the 30's, I am not sure our ability to recover relative to the global economy will be as strong. Our piece of the world pie will probably shrink.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29489602/ What do you think? Too far already? Not even close to where we want to be?

Thanks for the clarification. These things can only really be called in hindsight, since time is required for everything to play out. Still, I think this time period will be viewed as a depression eventually.

I think we are in a depression. There is no formal definition, but... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKMkV532Xkq0&refer=home With such a large decrease in just one quarter and with all the company and bank failures, it should be easy to call this one.

I would like to see companies withhold student loan interest pre-tax. Type in SSI number, get the loan payment info, then setup the withdraw amount. Have only a % taken if the employee income is at certain % of loan amount. I guess that's too hard, let's send men to Mars, that will be easier

Immortality should be illegal. It's the last thing humanity needs.

I'm always seeing the past.

I was going to post some examples that were much more overtly racist from the left regarding Condoleeza Rice, but let's just say there is plenty of stuff out there that didn't seem to generate this kind of response from the Sharpton crowd when it was against the Bushies. You might not like the cartoons or the opinions of them, but to fire the cartoonist would only be scapegoating, IMO. This isn't something he blurted out with no approval - more eyes saw it and decided to run it. So, you can boycott the paper if you want - that might lead to his unemployment. While I understand that some saw the reference to Obama, I still do not think it is an objective truth that only secluded white people don't see a problem with the cartoon. The fact that you are trying to present more obvious examples of bigotry shows that this cartoon is not overtly racist. An obvious explanation has been provided and an apology from the paper AND the owner has been given. It will be interesting going forward what will be considered racist regarding the Obama administration. The comic with Obama on Mt. Rushmore - what is wrong with that? Maybe we are a nation of cowards.

OK, I think it has been established that this cartoon was easily interpreted at least two different ways that lead to two very divergent results. Other than an apology to those who were offended, what do you think the Post needs to do? Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedThis might explain why some found it easy to interpret the cartoon as comparing Obama to a chimp. Curious George

Because then it would appear to be making fun of Obama's race, rather than his intellect or ability to do the job. Most people in this culture would "get that", but that doesn't mean we have to not put chimps, fried chicken, watermelon or any other possible stereotyped symbol in cartoons in reference to the government. It's the first President that isn't a white male, so there will be some sensitivities. If the President was gay or female or an atheist, we wouldn't want people making issues of those demographics. IMO, if they we displaying the chimp as Obama, the worst thing would be that it was shot dead. That would be inappropriate regardless of race.

You've never heard the phrase "Detail those instructions so that even a monkey could do it" or "Even a trained monkey could do that job?"

I just took the cartoon to mean that a monkey could have written the bill. Kind of like the Geico commercials - so easy, a caveman can do it. But with Sharpton and his ilk, you can't use rational explanation, you must kiss his ass. The paper was stupid in trying to get back at him with their apology, they should have just left it at "sorry if you see a black man in every ape cartoon"

No, just that the majority of people continue to be religious bigots, especially in the bible belt. It's kind of a "don't ask don't tell" at the moment, although people can ask and the atheist must do or they won't be elected.

This article explains what YT posted. congeners I would also think that drinking beer first would lower your inhibitions, leading to drinking more of the heavy stuff later, but that would not account for those who kept an accurate count. I always felt that sugary drinks like coolers made me sicker, but really I usually had to stick to beer to avoid the toilet bowl.

I thought these were funny. Weird Laws Also, some of those state constitutions also bar god deniers from being a witness in court. I wonder if a lawyer has tried to use that one?

I think it is obvious that you are not a citizen until you are born, so any citizen rights can't be applied. The unborn can be seen as property of the mother, but I think most would agree that it isn't ethical for her to take drugs/actions that would result in a severely damaged baby and then bring it to term. Also, genetic testing such as trying to make human/animal hybrids, etc should be avoided. But, I see this as an ethical law to protect the human race more so than individual eggs(persons). I agree with iNow's sentiments regarding the hypocrisy of some regarding the care for children. But, we also should recognize the hypocrisy of those who want more social engineering by government(the people) while demanding a 'live and let live' attitude. Just as we demand CEO's take less pay for bailouts, should we demand(legislate) behavior for those getting government support?

I think the President should be elected by popular vote using some type of instant runoff system. That way, every person's vote is counted and no one would feel that their vote is being thrown away by voting for an alternative candidate.

I love stand-up, hard to pick just a few. Robin Williams Sam Kinison