jfields

If it is a celibate monastery, then no. If it is a Catholic church, then go for it. They are all about making babies!

I have no problem with people having sex in a church. While not the case for this radio thing, maybe a couple is religious and wants to start their family in the place they started their marriage. Whatever. As long as they aren't interferring with the services or making other people uncomfortable by getting caught, I see no harm in it. If people want to have sex and be seen in public, I have no problem with that either, but I'd have to draw the line and say that a church is not the right place for that type of exhibitionist show. That is more fit for, say... a runway or packing loft.

I agree with Bill. We could have demonstrated the a-bomb with far fewer Japanese casualties. We chose not to. I'm not saying that we made the wrong decision, just that we could have done things differently, but didn't. What can I say, I'm biased. I was born on Pearl Harbor Day. (Some bombing decisions were made strictly to avoid the emporer. He was the person able to call it quits for Japan. Had we removed that leadership, their pre-existing plans for "ketsu-go" (defense to the bitter end, or something) would have remained in place and we may have been forced to invade. So we chose targets with both military value and shock value.) I recently read a book about the issue that is packed with facts and documents from the inner circles of Japanese power near the end. I highly recommend it: "Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire" by Richard B. Frank While you are at it, check out "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes

Yup. That is one of my all-time favorites. It is actually minty, with nice chocolate chunks. And it isn't green!

I know we talked about the moose sex. As I recall, it was connected to Remster and being a Canadian. I'm not sure about the others. Have we talked about why mac 'n cheese is the best food in the universe?

I agree. I was talking about this with someone the other day. It would be sickeningly easy to bring something into the US. And since I live fairly close to Washington, DC, I may as well have a big kick-me sign painted on my back. My only realistic hope is that nobody wants to kick me badly enough. Becuase if they want to, they could.

While we are quoteing: Abraham Lincoln Joseph E. Levine Will Durant Otto von Bismarck

Are you happy to see me, or are we at break-off altitude?

Depends on where you put it. Next thing you know, there will be a joint venture between Larsen & Brusgaard and a vibrator manufacturer or something.

Not on this planet.

I have my own conspiracy theory. There is a massive cartographer's conspiracy. The truth is that the Mississippi River and the San Andreas Fault are really the same thing, and that the entire midwest really isn't there. Come on, the least they could do to make things look slightly more realistic would be get rid of all those silly rectangular states. They don't even look real. >

Vodka doesn't have enough taste to flavor much of anything. However, it is quite good at getting you past the point of caring what things taste like.

I'm going to be taking my B exam soon also, so I appreciate the link. The new SIM is nowhere near as friendly as the old one for people taking exams after the A. Also, what is the deal with the maneuvers part of the B-license requirement. I am pretty sure the "style set" or whatever they call it can be replaced with certain RW for the C, but what about the B? Thanks.

Who? Did you notice that in another comment down below that, dropzone.com got pimped?

I'd do a naked dive sometime, but I seriously doubt it will be at the Cross Keys "Freeze Fest" in February. Some things are just wrong! Although I wouldn't have to worry about flapping around... I'd be too damned shriveled due to the cold.

Yup. And I'm not sure we'll ever meet in the middle. Yup. I agree, but it is the official aspect of the process that backs up the other actions. You can have a good time skydiving with your friends, have a wonderful jump, but it isn't official until your logbook is signed off. You have, as I hope I have, rather than just wasting my time with long posts when I could be post-whoring with about 20 times more posts than I wrote in the time to do these serious ones.

Steve, So be persuasive. Convince 10 friends. Or convince 1 person with a whole lot of influence and money, so they can influence a lot of people. Only by trying can anything happen, and can you improve the woeful political choices. How many is enough? I don't know. Maybe just one. Maybe you fall a few million short. There is no way to tell if you don't try. The only certainty is that doing nothing will result in nothing. Mayor? City Council? Captain of the Neighborhood Watch? I'm only saying that half in jest. The last time I voted, there were a lot of local issues that were very hotly contested. Some were decided by a couple percent. And these were issues that directly affected me. There were also local elected offices where a minor candidate ran unopposed. It wouldn't have been hard for an interested person to get on the ballot. Maybe all you need to do is get onto the Internet and be a stubborn mule. Maybe if you persuade just one person to vote, they will get one more person, and enough of a mass will build that change will be possible. I certainly don't know any stubborn mules on the net. It is like the Olympic torch. I don't have time to run across the country or something. I wouldn't make it. I'm not strong enough, fast enough, etc. So I could say that getting good torchbearers is hopeless. Or we could make it a relay and I could take a half mile, then pass it off to you. You could run a little bit, then pass it off again. I'm not saying everyone needs to run for president. But I think that some form of civil activity is important. Even if it is little, the person has done something contributory. You are making a decision, and it is well within your rights. I choose differently, but that is okay. At least we have had a mature conversation about it.

Steve, I can understand the frustration with the choices. Believe me. But there are things you can do. Scenario 4: Find some person you do like, and help their campaign. Work to get someone you like into office. Scenario 5: Write well-written factual articles about problems you see with a certain candidate, offering remedies and tangible solutions. You can help influence people so you have "less sucky" choices next time. Scenario 6: Run for office. You believe in yourself, right? Actually, while your scenarios 1 & 2 are distasteful to you in some ways, you have done something to express your preference (however slight) between the options in front of you. Scenarios 4-6 all take much more work, but when combined with personal voting, have much more impact. It is okay that we don't agree. My perspective is that voting really is one of our fundamental liberties. Using that right reaffirms its importance to me, and in some way honors those that fought for it. I see it as a personal duty. Of course, that is my choice, and I don't expect everyone to agree with it. Rhino, [Devil's Advocate] What difference does it have whether you have the right to vote or not, if you don't do it? [/Devil's Advocate]

Rhino, You are missing the point here. You are slamming our political system as ineffective and revolving around the dollar, yet you don't lift a finger to change things. It would be easy to dismiss you as irrelevant, because you choose not to vote. Believe me, if you don't vote, the politicians do dismiss you completely. You just became a non-entity in their eyes, so what you say makes no difference. Serving in the military is completely irrelevant to voting. They are separate issues. You could be an incredibly patriotic, flag-waving, hard-core Marine, but you mean less to the running of the government than a drunk homeless person that straggles in to vote. Homeless person - 1 : Rhino - 0. For what it is worth to you, I decided to serve my country as well. I enlisted in the Army. And when the elections came, I filled out my absentee ballot and was counted. This relates to a lot of threads I've seen here. It is very easy to point fingers and say, "They suck" or "that blows" or "I could do that better than them", but much harder to actually put in any effort to make it better. I'm really not trying to pick on you unduly, Rhino. I'm just trying to make the point that voting is important, and a key part of making a difference in this country. Money helps too, but only as a means of influencing votes. Effort and energy can help swing votes too, and they don't cost anything besides time. Even if you have no money, you still get one vote, so it is important to use it. Using your right to vote is pretty connected to your unofficial right to complain. Skip on one, and you've waived the other.

This sounds like the Wonderwoman, Superman and Flash joke waiting to happen.

Then quit bitchin' and step up to the plate. Put your money where your mouth is, or sit quietly in corner if you don't want to vote. If you ran, a lot of us would vote. Believe me, we would vote!

Using your analogy.... Try to untie they guy until the bus gets close, then step out of the way. At least you tried. Same with the political process. If enough people try, they just might succeed in changing something. If apathy rules, then there is a zero chance of anything changing.

But, as Clay says, "It is all about me."

Does this phrase amuse anyone else? It reminds me of people mentioning "wee-wee's" when I was about 4.

I know there is a Marine Corps joke in there somewhere. I can just smell it. But I'll be good.