peacefuljeffrey

I agree. It is this squelching of religious freedom that France is engaged in that makes me disrespect them. If they think that the best way to defeat intolerance by some demographic group against another is to eliminate the markings that identify someone as belonging to a particular demographic, they are fools. Is the best way to not get discriminated against as a Muslim or Jew to not let anyone know you are a Muslim or Jew?? Is the best way to prevent Neo-Nazis from hurting people who belong to groups they hate to make sure they are unable to identify who belongs to what group? Or is it maybe better to try to come down hard on the Neo-Nazis? I don't know what France thinks it is saving by banning the overt symbols of these religions, but whatever it is, it is not worth the clamping down on freedom of expression as they are doing. That sale of liberty will not be buying any safety any time soon. Now, with that said... I do not understand why wearing certain things (crucifixes, stars of David, head scarves, etc.) is so damned important? It seems to be more a shoving-it-in-someone's-face thing. Can't a person be a proud Jew without having to wear a gold necklace with a star of David? Can't a person be a good Catholic without having to wear a gold crucifix? The symbols do not equal the religion. They are just symbols. In fact, idol worship is forbidden anyway, right? If you fear that if your symbol is taken away, your religion has suffered a blow, then you were not true to the belief in the first place. I am not arguing that people should tolerate the banning of the symbols just because I think the symbols should not mean as much as they do. I am just saying that IF the symbols were diminished in importance to what they should be, the banning would practically be a non-issue. Thank god we have a Constitution over here that would prohibit such a move by our government. I guess France doesn't? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

As I have read it, historians and Constitutional experts read "well-regulated" simply to mean "properly functioning" -- NOT "falling under regulations"! It's not about being permitted to have X or Y, it's about being in good working order. The term's definition as you are applying it is not correct. Blue skies, - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

SO it's OK for the government to infringe a little, is that your message? Like the death of 1000 cuts. That is NOT what I said. Stop deliberately misrepresenting me in your paraphrases. Did I not say... okay, I'll quote myself here, "That's not to say that we should tolerate infringement on any of them"?! My point is, again, don't tolerate ANY infringements of right (your "death by 1000 cuts," which the left is attempting to administer to the right to keep and bear arms, btw) -- but given the fact that we all have limited time and resources to fight our socio-political battles it behooves us to prioritize what we will fight tooth and nail for. If I can manage to donate only X amount of money to rights organizations, or write only X number of letters to corporations, newspapers and politicians, I am not going to spend those resources writing about model rocket engines or spotted owls or the wording of the pledge of allegiance. Are you ready to read what I actually wrote, this time? You have made a habit of twisting, omitting, or misrepresenting me the way you did above, when my text is clear. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

That's great! I'm the son of a pianist who went to school and came out as a music teacher, but then went on to sell insurance for 37 years. Each of us four kids had a bit of music instruction, but it never really took with any of us. I myself did not discover how much I loved music until I was in high school; my appreciation grew through college and afterward, but DUH it never occurred to me to actually start ASAP to learn to PLAY music. So a few years ago I bought an acoustic guitar but I have not put the necessary time into practicing and lessons yet to be able to do much with it besides practice chord positions and some scales. I do want to be a musician eventually (just amateur). Your son is lucky to have that in his life. Good luck to him. Blue skies, - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Um, I might have been on that load you were watching land, and if I was, yes, I was having an awful lot of fun today, especially since Ron helped me modify my packing last week so that I don't end up with consistent twists on opening and it paid off this week like crazy! I'm so sorry to see you hurt and grounded, Wendy. I hope the time passes quickly til you're healed-up and skydiving again. *kisstomakeitbetter* See you next week. Hope you get good news about your recovery prognosis soon. Man, you must be one tough hombre to have gone three days with that injury before you got it looked at! I woulda been cryin' like a little girl! Blue skies, - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Flame you? I'm waiting for a moderator to BAN you. I'm one of the lazy fucks you called a moron. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Yes, Kallend, we know about your difficulties with obtaining rocket motors and the costs to liberty that that entails. - Are you suggesting that infringements on my liberty are somehow less important than infringements on your liberty? If the government were going to infringe on the First Amendment, would it be of graver consequence if they prohibited the broadcast of The Power Rangers or if they shut down The Wall Street Journal? Some liberties are more important than others. That's not to say that we should tolerate infringement on any of them, but if we are going into gripe-mode we might as well prioritize our gripes -- and firearms come before model rocket engines, as far as I'm concerned. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Yes, Kallend, we know about your difficulties with obtaining rocket motors and the costs to liberty that that entails. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

You say I'm being "naive." Hmph. I thought I was just avoiding jumping to conclusions. I wonder which of us will turn out to have been correct, when they trace the origins of these toys. At least I'm not saying I "KNOW" what went on in their production, until I get to see more facts. Call me crazy. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Just imagine the benefits if some chick pulls a "Bobbitt" on you and they don't find your pecker in the gutter! They could just grow you a new one on your back! - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Hey, unfunny jokes are unfunny jokes. "What this forum needs...is more cow bell" It sure does! I'm tellin' ya, fellas, you're gonna want that cowbell! Blue skies, - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

This is what I mean. There are loads of crappy NYC toy souvenirs, and this is probably one of them. Probably has nothing at all to do with the 9/11 attacks. Why would the makers of this thing use "9011" if they were making a dig at us about "9/11"? Doesn't add up. I think the toy is just a crude depiction of the (former) New York City skyline. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

The bible is supposed to tell you what god wants out of human behavior, i.e. it's about the only guidebook there is that supposedly tells us how to get into heaven, right? That and the ten commandments. So I think it's fair to expect of the bible some sort of explanation of what we are, and how to use it properly according to god's will. It is not the same as asking for aerodynamics out of a history book, bill. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

When you say "facts have never been important to the REPUBLICAN movers," it definitely appears that you are saying this to the exclusion of DEMOCRAT movers... and since we all know that Democrats lie just as bad as Republicans do, your statement makes you seem utterly biased by leaving out Democrat liars. I'll leave it to you to point out the Republican lies, but here is a bit about Carolyn McCarthy, the woman who ran for congress strictly on the basis of supporting gun control. She has consistently supported and sponsored gun control legislation that does nothing to support crime; touts the 1994 "Assault Weapons Ban" as having had a tremendous and worthy impact on making America safer from gun violence despite the fact that it simply prohibited further manufacture and sale of weapons with specific cosmetic features that have no effect on the caliber, power, rate of fire of firearms; claims there is a "gun show loophole" by which terrorists are obtaining weapons (when everyone knows that terrorists are not hard-put to obtain guns from states that support terrorism) and which allows guns to be sold at gun shows without a background check performed on the buyer, which is true only of private person-to-person sales at gun shows, a small percentage of the overall sales that are conducted at them (and dealer sales are legally required to have background checks as though they were taking place in a gun store). So DEMOCRATS lie. How about them apples? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I think that even people who don't believe in SOULS can agree that the product of cloning would likely grow to exhibit all of these traits. I don't see how your post gets to the heart of whether there would be an actual "SOUL" as in the religious notion of a soul that can go to heaven or hell, etc. (that nature of which has not, of course, been fully worked out by adherents to religion, either). - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Very few. Care to do a search and count them? Not likely. I know I've seen it plenty. And if they weren't all by you, they were by clones of your opinions and fallacious lines of argument. It's been enough that I've surely taken notice of it. - So you admit you lied? Uh, NO, I didn't lie. I already said that if it wasn't you, it was someone writing opinions similar to yours, so it was easy to confuse. I am certain I have seen numerous posts in which someone on the left tried to derail a line of commentary just because the politician being criticized was not running for president, as if that means that criticism of that politician is of no value for anything. I am not used to doing searches here, and I don't know where I would begin if I were trying to find "so-and-so isn't running for president, so it's irrelevant" unless I already knew word-for-word what passage I was looking for. Absence of proof on my part is not tantamount to proof of falsehood for my allegation. Newsstand, you guys ought to know that. In logic, can you really assert that because I didn't offer proof that my statement is true, it is proved to be false by that very failure? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

This has seemed to become a common refrain I see in posts that are rife with controversy: "Incredibly, I'm gonna have to say I agree with peacefuljeffrey on this one." "Will wonders never cease? I agree with PJ!" * *(paraphrases similar to actual quotes) I'm thinking that of all the people here with whom one could find oneself agreeing, I am the one that most people find it most surprising to agree with -- and people feel the need to comment on the auspiciousness of any subject on which they agree with my views. It seems to me that I see a lot of that "surprisingly I agree with PJ" kind of comment. How about you? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

My very own homemade Beef Jerky, made from London Broil. It's the BEST. I've been selling quarter-pound bags of it at work for $8 a bag and I've had repeat business already. At the moment, I'm chomping Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts like they're goin' out of style. I also find I have a difficult time stopping when I'm eating ZOURS candy. Think "Mike & Ike" with a sour outer coating that makes your mouth run with saliva. (OMG it just happened, just from thinking about them!) - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

LOL! I was gonna say... That pic is hysterical! That one in the back is an elbow-biter, eh? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

You sure he's not an American Angora? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Dude, cut me some slack, okay? I hadn't seen mention of that. Is it for certain that that's not a product marking like a catalog number? Why would a "9/11" toy say "9011"? Hey, let's discuss what we're gonna DO to the people who made this affront to our sensitivities! Should we put a leash on them and point at their naked genitals? Attach electrodes to gonads? I mean, let's say someone did do this in a mean-spirited way. Is that something that is PUNISHABLE? Why are we getting bent out of shape? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

When I was a kid, bad language was punished with a finger full of black pepper grounds applied to the tongue! Yeah, we kids hated it, but it got the misbehavior to stop, and it was present in your mind when you contemplated the same misbehavior later. That said, I LOVE fresh ground black pepper at this point, and I have for years. I also love hot-sauce on food. I really dislike the attitude that these means (hot sauce, pepper, a spank or two on the ass) should be taken away from parents as a means of disciplining their children. Without them, you are left to attempt to reason with a child, which is about as effective as trying to train a cat. Let me put it this way: if you could truly reason with a kid who is misbehaving, that would mean that the kid was capable of adult-level cognition -- which would also mean that it was NOT unfair to charge children as adults for serious adult-type crimes. I see nothing wrong with "hot saucing," "peppering," or "spanking." These are things that can be done responsibly without ever crossing the border into abuse. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Oh, fuckin' puhlease. If they were trying to do that, they didn't have to wait til it affected them personally. Anyone can see that ON ITS FACE, TSA policy is fuckin' moronic. Grandma can't have her knittting scissors. Dad can't have his nail clippers. I can't have my Benchmade Mini-Griptilian. Should I even mention the hassles they give skydivers with their rigs?! (Think Thailand record/broken reserve pin fiasco) And we're all safer. Funny, I have flown a couple of times since9/11, and I have NOT been terribly inconvenienced by security measures (with the exception of not being allowed to take a simple pocket knife I used to be completely okay to carry) -- and without having had personal travel difficulties I knew that TSA screening is worth shit. Kennedy had to wait three years, and finally get hassled himself, before he would go to bat for us against a useless and incompetent government bureaucratic agency. What a swell guy. Always lookin' out for us. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

The CNN story has a pic of two of the toys. I dunno... Is it possible that this thing was created as a sort of toy souvenir before the WTC attacks? It doesn't depict damage or destruction, it's just a jetliner (not even a depiction of the same kind of jets that hit the towers) between two buildings that look similar to the World Trade Center. I think it is possible that it is an innocent New York City souvenir. It will be interesting if anyone finds out when these things were produced; and if it was after 9/11/01, who produced them and why. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

So do I. She's great. I call her Feather. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"