smjjames

You know, they could have just put him on a podium on a mobile platform and towed/driven that podium around. Secret Service would probably have flashbacks to the JFK assassination if Trump tried to do what Jintao did and fervently say 'no bleeping way sir!'. Trump apparently wanted something like the French parade with the pomp and circumstance. Though I'd imagine that he'd also have the artillery play out 'Hail to the chief!' in booms.

This kind of segues into the current discussion. You know that Masterpiece Cakeshop thing? Well, it's back in the news, this time https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/16/17701712/masterpiece-cakeshop-jack-phillips-colorado-baker-transgender for refusing to bake a cake for a birthday plus the anneversary of the transgender lawyers coming out party. They say that they're being targeted and I'm kind of with them on this one. I mean, it seems too coincidential, a transgender lawyer of all people, the fact that it was ordered on the same day that SCOTUS announced they'd hear the case (whether it was before or after the exact time it was announced, the article and sourced artiicles don't say), and the fact that of every bakery that lawyer had access to, why that bakery? True, the announcement was on that date, but the case itself was in the news for months before that.

Not sure who you're responding to, but nobody's saying that about pedophiles and rapists actions or implying such. If it was at Chilloutman, it seemed like he was being sarcastic. As for 'gay' animals, there are definetly recorded cases of animals doing 'gay' behavior, but whether they actually feel the same way as human gays do or whether we're just overlaying our own emotions/biases/etc of human behavior onto animals whose behavior may not be for the exact same reasons as we do. That has the same points that we may just be applying our own psychology to animals who would have completely different reasonings for the behavior, even ones that would never apply to humans. It's possible that there are cases like that, but again, we are putting human rationalizations onto animal behavior.

Jainism takes it further, right down to microscopic, maybe even subcellular. The concept of Nigoda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigoda sound kind of like 'midichlorians' (you know, that attempt to explain 'the force') doesn't it. It also comes pretty close to acknowledging the existence of bacteria.

But reincarnation has a finite limit of whatever is the lifespan of your current incarnation, no? Also, if what you say is true, how does one improve from a lower life form? For example, lets say some terrible person dies and is reincarnated as a buttworm. This buttworm lives its normal life cycle, but being a buttworm, it isnt afforded any opportunity to worship or improve its station in the hierarchy. Seems like a soul can only go down from humanity to something lower. There are multiple reincarnation teachings. But in most popular versions (Hinduism and Budhist versions), souls of animals collect good merit by lessening suffering of other beings like for example by becoming meal of some other creature or by just showing companionship. And I suppose parasites get bad karma because they're parasites? Otherwise, it sounds like the normal cycle of life, also, if you die of old age, you still become food, for the worms and flies (or carrion birds in the case of sky burials), so, therefore, even those get to take part. edit: What if you die in a tar pit and sink before anything non-microscopic has a chance to get at you? Maybe you just continue forward without moving vertically.

Maybe it stays dormant until the nervous system is advanced enough to proccess said memories properly. It's like the bible, there are all kinds of things that don't make logical sense or contradict each other and religions don't always go out of their way to correct contradictions, they treat it as 'it just IS'. I wasn't giving Hinduism as a specific example, just the start of the 'contemporary religions' section. Since you're using Hinduism as an example anyway, it sounds like Karma (their interpretation of it that is) is an invisible number that slowly resets to zero or something.

I guess it's more about the bad karma wearing off? The rationalization varies from religion to religion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation#Hinduism Most of them don't seem to have the reincarnation go back into animals/plants or perhaps it's just vague.

There are no magical 100% foolproof solutions you know. You need to weight the scales. Organized religion surely stopped more atrocities and wars than it created. Good luck proving that though. The Church certainly did get involved in some conflicts like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas (which didn't stop later wars happening between the two colonial powers) and I can't discount instances of at least trying, but the record is probably 50/50 at best.

Uh oh, the thread suddenly transforms into an anti-religion argument. I can see the comment appearing again: "Take your baby murderin' god and shove em up your ***" *looks around* I don't see any anti-religion arguments....

The Old Testament and New Testament 'Gods' are practically different entities. Just one of the many discrepancies and contradictions in the bible. The Old Testament 'God' wouldn't seem out of place in a polytheistic religion with the venegance and stuff, sometimes could have passed as a war god.

Those statements don't go together. You tell people there is no judgement and ask them to be good on their own? Doesn't work that way. People thousands of years ago figured that out and invented religion. You are regressing us thousands of years my friend. Believing in god isn't a requirement for being nice to each other. The fact that 'there is judgement' hasn't stopped people from doing things in the name of god that god would probably disapprove of.

Weird analogies there. I'd disagree with the bed analogy, but then again, the author is explaining how some people treat sexual orientation.

Fixed that for you. Aren't you happy? But hey, Trump is the libertarian candidate. Tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, rolling back welfare and environmental protection systems, removing all those pesky things that force people to be a little nicer to each other... Truly, a libertarian paradise it shall be (sans coastal states once the lack of regulation results in even faster climate changes, but who cares about death as long as you have ~*LiBeRtY*~). While I get that the second part is sarcasm, I would say Trump is more anarcho-capitalist than libertarian. While I really only remember Gary Johnson for his position on marjuana, his isolationism, and constant gaffes, his policies on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Gary_Johnson are pretty obviously not Trump. He's actually pro-EPA, just thinks that the government shouldn't subsidize (or bail out) renewable energy. Though interestingly, he seems to think that the government should prop up fossil fuel industries...

As I posted before, Libertarians are not Republicans. And certainly vice versa. The Republican Party has done nothing, less than nothing, to expect Libertarian votes. Ditto with the Greens and Democrats. And I think you'll find people who have actually worn the uniform and served in conflicts overseas are a little more reticent in their support of asking other people to do it. Both D & R love sending us into wars. The only difference is who the bombs are falling on. It is way past time for that s--t to stop. I know Libertarians aren't Republicans, it's just that with the way things are set up, it seems like the best way to gain traction is to masquerade as Republican/Democrat. I was pointing to Ron and Rand Paul and Trump as examples of that, though Trump is the more extreme example. No idea how much of the Libertarian vote Rand Paul actually gets though, despite caucasing under the Republocans. Basically, it's just taking advantage of the fact that the two are big tent parties. Sometimes it seems like the best way for third parties to actually be competitive is to have an European style parliament since third (and fourth, fifth, sixth, etc) parties do just fine there. Yeah, I know, there are a ton of structural differences, but one can't help but be jealous at them.

You're right, my bad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai Probably shoulda checked myself first, heh.

Bridge on the River Kwai is Vietnam though...

There ARE Libertarians who are just anarchists or anarchocapitalists under a different name though, and those tend to be the loudest voices. Which is kind of the problem with Libertarians. Yes, there is a reasonable argument for toning down the military industrial complex and doing less military stuff around the world, but it shouldn't be at the cost of ceding to our rivals and just turtling up into hermitage isolation, which is the issue I have with L/libertarianism (which I've voiced before). Anyhow, seems like the best route to office for third party groups is wearing the jersey (or skin if you want to get macabre) of either main party. After all, you have Rand Paul (and previously, his dad Ron Paul) who are pretty clearly Libertarian, but run under the Republican jersey. And then there is the aggressive bodysnatcher-esque method that Trump did. @kaineparker: I heard that it had something to do with a bet he made.

Gary Johnson is running for NM Senate (on the Libertarian ticket, naturally) http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/401816-gary-johnson-launches-senate-bid Looks like he's running on his record as NM governor back when he was a Republican. Go him making it easier for Democrats to hold that state, though they are favored to hold it anyway. The article does state that he's likely to siphon support from the Republican candidate, but really, he's going to siphon some from both. We'll never know the proportion that gets siphoned away from whom without a ranked ballot or something similar.

Saw that one elsewhere. It was right after an arrest (you'd think an arrest would actually stop him from getting on the plane, was probably a warrant than an actual arrest) for domestic violence. So, it's sort of like, domestic violence? I'll show you domestic violence! The wife and his kid escaped unharmed though.

*shines a golden light at sonicmages intelligence* Now you're as smart as Trump! Only side effect is that your hair now matches Trumps hairdo. lol (joking around with you)

I thought that had echoes of 'legitimate rape' (as said by a few Republican politicians) when I read that.

If you consider protesting being triggered, then you're the snowflake. Also, theres no sound other than music, maybe the video author is deliberately hiding something because he got triggered? The captions (which just keep saying music and applause) are in spanish for some odd reason. Theres also a few odd bits of text from the captions, but the captions aren't working for some reason. Though if you mean the big banner, I'm sure conservative protests (NOT far-right) have similar out there language. They changed that part of their post.

You mean 'trigger the left', not the right.

Rep. Chris Collins is suspending his re-election campaign over insider trading allegations. It's not clear what the Republicans are going to do next as he already won the primary and his name is still going to be on the ballot. Short of maybe defaulting the election to his opponent. Also, it's mentioned here that "Under New York law, Collins’ name can be supplanted on the ballot at this stage of the cycle only if he dies, moves out of state or is nominated for another office — like a local judgeship. According to Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, the exact mechanisms are still being worked out, but he noted Collins owns houses in Florida and Washington, D.C." and top Republicans in the state are meeting to try and figure out what to do and choose a replacement (maybe the runner up from the primaries seems reasonable).

He seems to have mostly stayed clear of the Stormy Daniels stuff, probably at his own lawyers instructions. The Mueller investigation ticks him off a whole lot more than the Stormy Daniels stuff anyway, which has kind of faded somewhat into the background among the noise.