Guard Dog

A divine experience is an experience with the divine. The point I am making is that a person who has a singular event without any witnesses still have that experience and that experience would be fact for them, even though it wouldn't be verifiable to another. If there was no physical evidence and no other witnesses of the murder, yet GD said he saw it happen, it would be a fact for him that the murder took place, while a exercise of belief for others. That really depends on my credibilty as a witness. If I were a drunk or drug addict, or just nuts and witnessed something it would have less weight than if I appeared to be just a normal person. That is where Nightshape disqualifies anything I might say about religion because he thinks I'm nuts (you know, my imaginary friend, God). I commented before about arrogance and hubris and how athiests were closer to communists than christians were. The theists (including killian, being hostile to God but still believing qualifies) on this board are not insulting or ridiculing the atheists, but it seems the reverse is not true. You gotta love his knee jerk response; anyone who has a different belief is deluded or crazy or ignorant. Like I said, arrogance and hubris enough to make LoF envious.

How sure of that are you? Honestly, people who post on the internet hardly remind me of the sort who would fight and die for their beliefs. Would you rebel against the US government, if there was a lawfully elected socialist or communist government? Humor aside here, I would not need to rebel. There would be a number of states that would seceede. I'd just go there. Let me turn that one around on you though, if you lived in a now truely socialist America and say half the states seceeded to form a new nation in the mold of the original US Constitution would you advocate war against them for reunification?

Poorly trained paramilitaries are hardly the threat you seem to think they are. Besides, if there's a revolution, it will have an appearance of propriety. Your reaction would seem disproportionate and wild to most. A revolution here is not going to occur tomorrow in some kind of socialist putsch. It will be the product of a generation's work, and of months of hard labor before the actual act. In 1904, it would seem as bizarre and insane to think of a socialist Russia as it is today to think of a socialist America. No sense of humor! Evidently you did not get it, you are the one who said there are no rights that are sacrosanct. Gun owners beleive the right to keep and bear is. So the ones who beleive in rights are the ones that own the guns. It was meant to be a little joke but I guess I did not set it up all that well. Besides, you strike me as a humorless fellow anyway.

Don'r worry Kill & KOTOR, this discussion is all academic anyway. LoF and those like him are a tiny fraction of a minority, and even if his ilk ever did gain any political power those of us who view individual rights as sacrosanct are the ones that own guns and are willing to use them.

Add to that the Gramm Leach Biley Act passed under Bill Clinton which allowed investment banks to merge operations with FDIC ensures savings banks, undoing a depression era law (The Glass Stengal Act) that was passed as a lesson learned from 1929. Also a BIG factor was the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act passed under Carter by an all democrat congress that got the federal governmet out of the business or regulating banks and setting interest rates. I laugh when I hear liberals and democrats complain about Wall Street being out of control and needing regulation. They used to be regulated, it was the DEMOCRATS who removed the regulations in the first place, then passed laws forcing them to loan to bad credit risks and then acted surprised when the whole thing collapsed. It was almost like they wanted the financial system to collapse, I'd say it was a conspiracy but they are not smart enough for that. Merely incompetent and lacking any idea how economies actually work.

Don't give me too much credit Hiro, I am convince the whole concept of anthropogenic global warming is just absurd to begin with. For example, last year I posted a whole week long series the BBC ran on Mars and Venus and how their surface temps were rising and falling at an even rate with the earth. Nobody here wanted to believe it. It's become a religion to these nitwits. They can't explain it, they can't conclusively prove it, the skeptics cannot disprove it. But they believe it. Ironicly the one who do are ususally the same ones who just can't use the same logic to believe in God. I find that very comical.

No sense of humor!

Lets all do as Al Gore suggests, abandon technology and return to feudal economics. It's a rough life but hey, the life expectancy was in the 40s so at least you did not have to deal with it for long.

In the US it can still be done if you are so inclined. But my meaning was more along the lines of not buying what you do not need to live, just give up luxury, ammnities like computers, cell phones, etc. Don't spend your money in large stores/big companies, buy from small business only. Yes you will pay more and get less but if you are doing this out of some kind of priciple then you should be ok with that. And when all that is said and done take all the money you have left over and give it to someone else. See, it's just like communisim only you are doing it yourself rather than having the government do it to everyone else. I bet LoF doesn't do this.

The beauty of Christianity, and freedom for that matter, is you can take it or leave it. You do not need to believe in it at all. It's purely voluntary. I do not have to prove God exists to believe it. You do not need to disprove him to disbelieve it. Like I said, I do not pretend to know who or what God is, what his motivations are, and you will never hear me saying who will/won't/should/shouldn't go to hell or heaven. Thats beyond me. When it comes to theology there are two simple premises to choose from and both are absurd on their face: 1) A supreme being that you cannot see or interact with or even prove/disprove the existence of created everything or 2) Nothing created everthing You need the pick the one that makes the most sense to you based on YOUR life experiences, education, etc. Capitalisim you can also take or leave. If you do not wish to participate just don't buy things. Don't consume. You can opt out at any time. But for the Communist it's not enough for them to choose not to participate, they have to destroy the whole system to ensure that YOU don't participate as well. I have to tell you most of the atheists I hae met are a lot closer to communists than capitalists. It's not enough that they do not believe in God, they cant suffer to be around anyone who does and harrases them with the same condescending arrogance that LoF had down to an art. Ironic isn't it?

Is that so? http://www.thetowerofhope.org/ They train dogs (including dogs from animal control) to be service animals to the disabled. The animals are trained, vetted and placed for free. http://www.guidingeyes.org/ They train dogs to be seeing eye dogs for the blind. They are trained and placed for free. Many of their alumni are former shelter dogs. http://www.petsfortheelderly.org/ Pays all pet adoption and veterinary expenses so low income elderly people can adopt a companion from an animal shelter And of course I donate $1K to the American Red Cross every year. I'm guessing you hate them too because they support our military. I also volunteer my time and material goods to USMC Toys for Tots and I volunteer at Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary when I can where I help with rehabilitiation/behaviour modification for dogs used for dog fighting (something I've had a lot of experience with since three of my dogs were rescued from dog fighting operations). I guess buying toys of poor and sick children don't provide any benefit to the poor in your opinion either? I'm sure all of those groups will be glad to hear they do nothing for the poor. The problem with you is arrogance. Any viewpoint other than your own has no merit to you. Small wonder you advocate a totalitarian society where those who disagree are met with death or imprisionment. Your other big problem is ignorance. "You give to dogs!" but it never entered into your mind how that might be a help to someone. You are obviously educated and intelligent but not very wise and without question you are lacking in any real compassion. I'm guessing you are probably just a little young. I find it ironic that you are here throwing out the "Christian" virtues to be found in an economic/governmental system that strips away the most important part of being Christian; Choice, Altruisim, doing right because you choose to do right, because it IS right. I take it by your answer you do not give to any charity at all, not your money, not your time. Since you have your bible out anyway why not look up Matthew 5:7 or Matthew 25:34-40. While we are on the subject, care to offer an opinion on why communist states all over the world and through their history have made it a practice to stamp out and peresecute religious freedom and implement strict enforecement of state athiesim? I mean, since you are here telling us how communisim is in keeping with christianity that seems like a pretty relevant question to me.

Now reading Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel and The Lance and the Shield by Robert Utley. It's a biography of Sitting Bull. Very interesting man.

Depends on your definition of coercion I think. Communists just have the power to enforce their threats while Christians don't. It's an odd contrast to hear "Why can't we be friends!?" and "YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN THE ALMIGHTY DUDE IN THE SKY WHO MADE ZOMBIES!" from the same person You know, I've had this conversation before and I'll repeat now what I said then. There are two things about God I know to be a fact. 1) There is a God 2) I'm not God I don't know who gets into heaven and who does not. I don't know what is a sin or what isn't. It is the height of idocy for one human to tell another "You are going to hell". It is for far greater beings to judge the worth of someones soul. I do not know if prayers are answered, or ignored as the deists would tell you. I do not know if God has predetermined everything and there is no free will as the Calvanists propose. I do know if the Baptists are right and drinking and sex out of marriage are mortal sins then I'm already screwed. The reason I am a Christian is that there were two incidents in my life, one just this year, that convined me beyond doubt that while my chosen faith may not be all true as I understand it, there is very much truth in it. @ LoF: I am a real world Libertarian. I believe in, above all other things, the unimpeded freedom of the individual (one big reason why you and I will NEVER agree on anything LoF). Jesus taught that the virtue in giving comes from doing it because you WANT to do it. Not because the state TOOK it from you. Jesus said "What you do for the least of my children you do for me". If I donated my entire paycheck to a charity because I wanted to, that is virtuous. If the state confiscates my entire paycheck and uses it for what it deems "the greater good" there is no virtue in that for me. There is no virtue in it at all. It is just a group of people taking something they did not earn away from someone who did. There is a word for that too. Just curious LoF. Do not answer if you will not answer honestly. I donated just under $3500 total to six different charities (most of them dog rescue groups) this past year. How much did you give?

Thousands of dead Muslims would like to have a word with you regarding The Crusades... but they can't. Because they're dead. Oh, right. Good point there and very relevant to the world today. I mean, heck, that just happened last month right? I can certainly see how Christinas today might feel bad about it you know. Why I just got back from killing muslims in Acre myself just last week. Deus Vult and all that. While you are at it why not trot out the inquisition, destruction and forced conversions of the Aztecs, Incas, Patagonians, Insert-Native-Population-Name-Here. Being Christian means I have to answer for all of that crap too right? Why is it everytime on this board someone mentions that there just might...might be a glimmer of virtue in the Chrstian religion every horrible act done in its name by people hundreds or even thousands of years dead gets brought up to impugn the entire philosophy and everyone who follows it? The one I really feel sorry for is God. Imagine having to watch all the horrors humanity has commited in His name.

*Sigh*... One troll thread wasn't enough huh? Yes Christianity teaches selflesness. I am a Christian and I do believe in that. But you are missing a pretty major point. Becoming Christian is a choice everyone must make for themselves. We do not coerce. Under communisim if you do not go along you get a bullet in the head or get shipped off to a cold place to be worked to death. In fact in your other thread you seemd to think this was a good thing.

Ahem... B-U-C-C-A-N-E-E-R-S Go Bucs! Hey, hey Tampa Bay The Bucs know how to shine Hey, hey U.S.A. The Bucs know how to shine If we're in trouble that's O.K. We can pull it out Because we know we're on the top When we stand up Stand up and shout! Hey, hey Tampa Bay The Bucs know how to shine Hey, hey U.S.A. The Bucs know how to shine Give a cheer for the Buccaneers Go Bucs! Bucs 20 Saints 17 WHOOOYAAA!!!!!

Christmas was nice. She stayed at my place until Sunday morning. Bowing to the advice of folks here and the little voice in the back of my head I kept the Tiffanys thing hidden and hit the Germantown mall on Thursday for a few gifts that were nice but not so....much. It may make a reappearence on Valentines day depending on how things work out. Then again i may just return it. You can buy a lot of beer and dog food for what that thing costs. I'm off work for the rest of the year and it is a clear and beautiful day so I'm going to take a walk over to Cold Creek and do some fishing. I'm bringing my camera this time, maybe I'll finally get a shot of that otter that only shows up when you don't bring a camera.

Heh, no thanks, I do NOT want to go through THAT again!

Merry Christmas everyone

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She was not just a one nighter because we have history. Plus after talking the past few days we're going to give it another try but take it slow. Was that too much? I can still hit a mall somwhere tomorrow and just hold on to that. Jeez, it would have been a hell of a lot less complicated had I just not taken her to lunch!

Last Weeks Results: Kelverin: 10-6 GD: 9-7 Volo: 9-7 Season Standings: Kelverin: 151-72 GD: 148-75 Volo: 148-75 A bad week for all, tho less bad for Kelverin who pulls further ahead.

Looks like it will be a white Christmas this year. I just heard the weather for West Tenn. light rain and falling temps for today and tomorrow and snow flurries on Friday. Since a certain good looking blonde nurse will be spending Christmas with me this year I had to by one more christmas present. So I went to Tiffanys website and made a last minute buy and had it sent overnight. It got here today. And no it is not an engagement ring. Been there, done that. So, here is the dilemma. I don't know where things are going with this girl. We dated for a few months after the accident and she really helped me with a lot of the BS I was going through back then. But, we also had some fundamental personality conflicts. We just sort of got back together a week ago. I wanted to get her something nice but not too suggestive so I settled on this: http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?...n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+ Is this ok? Does it send the wrong message? It seems pretty neutral to me but I gurantee she will have experts in male psychology from all over the world analyzing what I meant by it. The irony is it meant nothing.

Still not done? I hit Amazon for everything this year. I had it all delivered gift wrapped to it's recipient. Not real personal I know but by God it was easy. You should get a pass this year though, not like it's easy for you to get around right now.

*GD stands up and applauds* Another convert to Federalism. Way to go Awesomness, I knew you had it in you!