pirana

To certain kinds of people and ways of thinking, paranoid lunatic theorists are so much more interesting; and to these people, interesting means the same as credible. For example, paranoid lunatic theroists are one of the kinds of people who find what paraniod lunatic theorists have to say very interesting; and therefore credible. Wait a minute, I think I'm onto something. There was a really funny show on one of the psuedo-science channels a while back. Don't even remember the topic; it was UFO's or Planet X or Nostrodamus or some other such silliness. Anyway, the narrator segues to a segment with an "expert." Here's this guy in a very dark shadowy room, with pyramids and crystals all over his desk, what looks like blacklight posters on the walls, he's wearing a cape and what appears to be Star Trek officer pips on his collar. Hilarious. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I would need to make a list; no one answer would do - unless I could make it a huge open-ended one like: Please give a comprehensive history of everything that has ever existed. That way it would take care of all my issues such as how big is space, what is the purpose of ticks, the detailed workings of the female mind, and so on and so forth. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Conspiracy theroists don't go for any type of education that might contradict their beliefs. They can smell evidence and run like hell from it. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Just reading some history on Crazy Horse. Great stuff. Though the Father Guido Sarduci School would see this as a waste of time. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Well, I guess we just have a very different way of interpreting the world, as well as very different criteria for drawing conclusions. You pre-empted ny calling "history repeats itself" as another catchphrase. That is just too simple, and lacks any supporting discussion on how it is relevant. Does that comment somehow support the notion that humans don't know much? Or does the assumption we don't know much lead to the conclusion that history repreats itself? How are the 2 connected? Phrases like that remind me of the Father Guido Sarduci approach to education and knowledge. His class on religion was: God is everywhere. Economics was: Suply and demand. So history will now be summed up as: History repeats itself. And the whole of Humanities is: Humans don't know squat. That part was meant in fun, and not a knock on what I think you understand, Don't need to give me another Wow! " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

My take on this: I do not like the government telling us what to do any more than necessary. Almost all fat people are a product of their behavior. Even with genetic influences, you can know what they are and learn to counter them. Choosing not to do so is choosing to be fat. I'm OK with their obesity, doesn't bother me. I'm not OK with their obesity costing me money. If legislators are going to mandate weight reduction treatments, and provide free programs out of my taxes, then I'm OK with laws against transfats and other unhealthy foods. Bottomline: If we are going to legislate programs that fix their fatiness, and those programs hit my wallet, then lets go to the source and legislate the behavior that made them fat. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Never said many of those things. Never said we know everything. Never said we know most things. Never stated what we know as a portion of all things. I did say we know a lot, and stick by that, regardless of what portion of all knowledge that is. We may never know what the total possible pool of information is. Is that a reason to forever say we know little? Do you really think that because we don't know the total pool of available knowledge, that is reason to label what we do know as little? Even using the Earth as an analogy, if I hand dig a hole and end up removing 10 cubic yards of material, that's a lot of dirt. I don't care that it is some incredibly small percentage of the Earth. It is still a lot of digging. You do not deposit percentages in the bank, you deposit real dollars. That is my point. Regardless of how uncomfortable people are with what they do not know, it is without any merit to say we only know a "little." Additionally, the world was never flat and I would never have fallen off; regardless of any belief I or anyone else had about those things. It is not terribly relevant to use past ignorance as a means of proving current or future ignorance. The world is a very different place, with very different methods not just of observation and investigation, but of thinking. BTW, the flat Earth is a poor analogy because even if the masses had that belief, scholars had moved beyond that way before the timeframe you gave. As an aside; there are very strong hints that we are closing in on some very fundamental truths. The homogenous nature of the elementary particles, the fact that we have thoroughly mapped out the nature of matter at a level where there is very little difference in the structure of ANYTHING, including the forms and nature of delivery of energy in discreet and irreduceable packets; all point to a ceiling of sorts. And I still wouldn't say we know everything, but it is denigrating to our endeavors in general, and to the pioneers of discovery specifically, to say we only know a little. And do you really think the concept you described would be "to" hard for me to understand? You think it might be that I understand it but disagree? And the comment about not caring enough to explain? I do not think I was insulting or condescending to you. I deserve the same. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That is a great quote, and not just because it is catchy or cute. He and Bohr shed so much light on the illusiveness of reality that we are still struggling to catch up almost 100 years later. Pretty amazing when you consider the speed at which the world is changing and at which humans attempt to adapt. But the counter-intuitive implications of relativity have proven a tough sell. The energy/matter stuff most everybody gets. But the notion that space and time are not absolutes, WHOA, pass that thing over here. Relativism blew most any notion of anything being absolute out of the water. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

If you jump out of an airplane and then just decide that you no longer believe in gravity, you'll still die regardless. Not according to Douglas Adams. He's dead, though. But didn't that require the Infinite Probability Drive, not just a belief? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

but that is the definition of Speaker's Corner - it's a great thing, not bad, but a wonderful, marvelous thing Pizza Cold. And then, of course, the second I'm finished, Kim calls and wants to meet for lunch. not "Lunch", just lunch, of course So the definition of Speakers Corner is willful neglect? High and mighty opinions, pointless pontification, non-stop rambling, endless debates on unresolveable issues - I'll give you all that. If it was just willful neglect we'd all ignore each other and get back to work. And, oh, lunch? Is that LUNCH or lunch? Nudge nudge, wink wink, know what I mean. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

How do you reach that conclusion? I had someone who was debating the size of the universe with me throw that line out, as if it supported either side of the debate. I say we know a lot, and that there is also a lot we do not know. I would say classifying the entire body of knowledge aquired to date by the human species as "little" is a glittering generality that is not only irrelevant to the discussion, but is mostly just a popular catch-phrase used by the uninformed. I'm not selling myself short and nobody should. I know a lot. Not everything of course, but more than a little. I think lines like that are a euophemism for "I do not feel like putting a lot of energy into this, and desire to diminish the legitimacy of those that do." " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Did you warm it up or eat it cold? A full personality profile; including vocational recommendations, matchmaking services, and the diet that is best for you will be based on your answer. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and the opinions generated by them. However, anybody who suspends, or displays a lack of diligence in the use of their critical thinking skills simply because it looks like the conclusions will contradict their belief or violate their senses, is willfully negligent in their search for the truth. They at least need to examine the contradiction and decide what is more important to them; basing belief on faith, hope, and desire; or basing belief on evidence, reason and logic. Nothing wrong with going with the former, as long as it is not used to investigate and draw conclusions on things that fall within the realm of the latter. For example, it is nothing short of foolish to use faith based beliefs to study the structure of matter, the details of evolution, or the workings of the human genome. Likewise it is foolish to look to the scientific method to explain matters of faith like the purpose of life and reasons for existence. IMO, people who understand that distinction can easily reconcile everything they observe, and have no problem with conflicting beliefs. Those who can not are doomed to reach the most ridiculous conclusions. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Thinking that beliefs can change reality, other than the reality of what you believe, is just plain silly. Reality is that which does not go away or change just because a person's thinking goes away or changes. (My variation on a well known statement by someone or another). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I think we have you on this one. Ready? Well then who created Santa, huh? Huh! HUH? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Tell me about your childhood.

I think the biggest concern for Mr. Obama will be staying alive. A black person just getting this close to being a serious contender has got to already have the radically rascist elements very upset. If he makes a serious run, I put the odds at 3-2 against for him making it thru the primaries without an assassination attempt. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

p.s. - Did meet her years back (during her husband's administration) at a symposium on health care financing when she was making the rounds and pushing a national plan. She is so packaged and put on it hard to say what she is really like. I did not detect one iota of sincerity. She is like watching a living commercial. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Agree, she is the epitome of a career politician. Her outright whorish behavior in her run to her current seat will never fly in a national campaign. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Agree very heartily. What's the saying about laws and hot dogs? Once you see either one being made, . . . I too was close to lobbying and lawmaking efforts for a few years. Disgusting process, loaded with deceipt, manipulation, and just about every other unsavory behavior there is. Met a few of them up close. I will give you that some of them may be nice people; but when they are in politician mode, they are all slippery, slimey, and despicable. Not to mention that the result of the favor-trading, influence-peddling, power-mongering process we call legislating is almost always at best a patchwork of crap. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

So the penalty for dressing up is being burned alive! Must weigh more than a duck. BUUURRRRNNNN HERRRRRRRR! " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Because we do not go on Holiday, we go on vacation. A holiday occurs on a predetermined day in celebration of some event or person, and is pretty much universally celebrated within a culture. A vacation is taken whenever one pleases. People who take vacation during holiday screw up everything. BTW, I'm about as atheist as they come, and I say Merry Christmas. I'm OK with Happy Holidays. I'm also in with Best Wishes for the New Year. I'm also good with Peace be with You Brother. Back at You will do in a pinch. But a good hearty throat-scraping AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!! is still my favorite. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

No surprises here. Yeah, we are a bit chubbier, on average, but folks on the Northern Plains are a pretty healthy bunch. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Homeopathy has been absolutely, positively, completely debunked. Not one controlled trial has ever shown the approach has any validity whatsoever. That is all you need to know about it; except for my favorite homeopathy joke: Heard about the homeopathic patient that forgot to take their medicine? Died of an overdose. Encore, encore!!!!! Will everyone who believes in kinesthesiology please raise my right hand? I once almost went out with a clairvoyant. She broke up with me just before we met. Thank you, thank you; try the veal. And be nice to the moderators. . " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

My response to born agains is always the same: "Forgive me for getting it right the first time." " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley