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according to the story, the violent couple got a tip about the reporters whereabouts and showed up. That sounds a little fishy to me... a tip? hmmm.. still, i know reporters can be assholes, and these so called "investigative reporters" can too, but i gotta admit, to some extent I like what they do IF they are exposing frauds and hucksters. what these two attackers did was way the fuck out of line and i hope they pay big in jail and $$$. if they reporter was in the wrong, they could have filed for restraining orders, filed suits against him and the news company, etc. but for that kind of violence, sorry, no pity for them. ETA: By the way, some of you think this shit is FUNNY? Shame on you! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Remember Robert Fulghum? Sure you do. He's the self-professed libertarian dude that wrote All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It, and others. They've been enjoyable reads, for the most part, I would say. Well, while looking up his website to be sure I spelled his name write for another thread in Bonfire ("Poll: Morbid Question"), I found this entry that he wrote... It's, well, an... interesting proposition... what do you think? --------------- August 14, 2006 From Seattle, Washington Written at the beginning of August, 2006 Going about in the world wearing my writer’s goggles looking for ideas is like traveling with a camera and always looking for the next photograph. Not only do I miss some things, but the fields of my mind don’t lie fallow in preparation for the next season of planting. So I stepped aside from creative work and have been lazy for six weeks - floating without paddling. Meanwhile, the committee in the back room of my head has been quietly cutting kindling and stacking firewood for the next season. I’ve waited for their insistent knock: “Hello! Ready when you are.” And I’m ready. I NOMINATE FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here’s my thinking, provoked by Newt Gingrich (remember him?) who made the prescient comment that the Democrats should run for office during these next two years under the banner of “HAD ENOUGH?” And if the answer is “YES!” then it’s time to get actively involved in the next round of elections already in process. And to get actively engaged in the election of the next president, a process that will crank up loud and strong immediately after the first Tuesday in November. Sitting with friends this week out on the porch in the light of the full moon we set aside the anguished “Ain’t it awful” small talk about the events in the Middle East and England, and moved to speculation about candidates for president who could win. A clear consensus: the Republican Party would go with Senator McCain. He could win. And the Democratic Party? Al Sharpton finally? Al Gore? What’s-his-name who was the VP candidate with Kerry? Kerry? Liberman? Richardson from New Mexico? Nancy Pelosi? And, of course, Hillary? Consensus: No. Not electable. None. So who? And what are the qualifications of someone who is electable? 1. Already very well known and respected. 2. No heavy baggage in personal life, political position, or military record. 3. Successful in their life endeavors. 4. Independently wealthy. 5. Telegenic, media savvy, and comfortable in the public arena. 6. Proven managerial ability. 7. Credibility with women and minorities. 8. Well connected to power outside the beltway. 9. Intelligent and street-smart. 10. Cool under fire. 11. Cultured but not elitist. 12. Well known outside the United States - respected and trusted. 13. Attractive to the middle - not a polarizer. 14. Broad spectrum social values. 15. Middle aged. 16. Capable of rallying large-scale and broad support. 17. Has a base that crosses all religious and political lines and includes no extremist or radical identification. 18. Proven ability to delegate. 19. Tough and resilient and hard-working. 20. A “have” who is compassionate toward the “have-nots.” Nobody, you say? Oprah Winfrey I say. Really? Yes. I’m quite serious. Woman, minority, self-made billionaire, manager of a broad empire in television and publishing, and - according to many polls - the most respected public figure in America. And. She meets all 20 of our requirements. “But I can’t stand her show,” comes the wailing complaint. Think beyond that. Think big. And stack her up against the likes of Ronald Reagan, Bush One, Bush Two, Nixon, Ford, or even Hoover. And Remember Harry Truman. President Oprah Winfrey. Think about it. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I'm intensely interested in this thread and it has provided me w/ great pleasure to read! I don't find this stuff morbid at all. Maybe it's b/c in my belief system, death is just another birth, just as being born is a death to life in the womb. Who knows. Anyway, it's quite fascinating to hear everyones wishes and to see that the overwhelming majority of you want to be creamated and also that so many of you want to help others w/ anatomical gifts. Me and my wife do too. I always got a kick out of a picture in one of Robert Fulghum's books, you know, he's the guy that wrote "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." I forget what book it was, but it was a picture of him, taken from the back, sitting in a chair, in a cemetary, of what would be his grave when he died. Very poignant image, as he sat there contemplating his own mortality. In my particular religous tradition, I've read about St. Jerome, who would spend long hours translating the Bible and on his desk was a human skull so as to remind him that his time was not forever. Death was inevitable. It's something I try to think about too. And it leads me to think of things like, am I living the kind of life I want? should? could? Am I loving the people in my life like I want? should? could? What do I need to do now, today, w/ the time I have left in order to really live my life with no regrets? After all, I have no idea how long I have left here. When I'm gone, will my wife really know that I loved her? Will my kids know that they meant the world to me? Will how I worked at home and in my job inspire them in their lives? Who do I need to tell that I love them while I have the chance? As for my wishes after death, I don't know... my family will want me buried so they can visit my remains and pray, to feel some connection. That'll probably be all that happens. And that's fine w/ me, as long as any of my organs go to helping anyone that can be helped, if that's possible. Sorry for the rambling.... I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I'd like to respectfully disagree. What does your body turn to after a few years of being in the ground? How is God going to raise that? Same way he's gonna raise you up if you've been cremated. Neither nature nor you are doing anything that God can't undo. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I hope to God they bury your sick ass, b/c I'm gonna come poop on your grave, take a picture of it and post it here! Then Billvon is going to delete it. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Seems a lot more reasonable than Christianity doesn't it? I mean no matter how many lifes you have fucked up you get infinitely more chances and the worst case scenario is being a lower life form temporarily and once you reach nirvana it is permanent. In Christianity you have approximately 65 years to make decisions that will have one of two extreme outcomes that will last an eternity. If you meet the standard during your one life you have eternal bliss; fuck up once too often and you get eternal horrific suffering. Heck christianity sentences you to eternal agony even if due to personal suffering you end your own life. Part of me really hopes the buddists are right because christianity is too extreme in its outcomes. Cheers, Richards Actually, the average life span for humans is a few years more than 65, but for the sake of argument, we won't bicker over that. However, what we can debate on is that one's time in THIS life is, according to you, too short to make the right choices... to meet the standard as you put it. Just a couple of points... If we're talking about the Christian viewpoint (which your post does), you've left out an important -indeed crucial- consideration and that is Grace. While it's true that, according to Christianity, you only have one shot, you are not left alone, w/o God's assistance which is a simple way of saying that God gives you the Grace sufficient to make it to Heaven. He (sic) gives you the tools, the capacity if you will, to know Him, love Him and serve Him so that you can attain eternal life and not damnation. The second point leads from the first. This life, with the help of Grace is sufficient to reach the eternal goal of Heaven. There isn't any reason to despair. Whereas in the case of reincarnation you get a bunch of "do-overs" in the form of other lives, it could actually be in the form of high life forms or loewr depeding on how you've lived your former life (at least as I understand that particular belief. I could be wrong.) In Christianity, however, you have "do-overs" in your present life. It's called forgiveness. Redemption. Conversion. Until you stop sucking air, you're allowed to return yet again to the God. As for the suicide question you noted... at least in my own religious tradition, those who commit suicide are not automatically damned to hell b/c they took their own life. True, the ACT of suicide, objectively, is a seroius one. Subjectively however, there are factors that mitigate ones culpability for the act. For example, did the person have depression? Did they think/feel/believe that they had no other recourse out of their suffering than to end it that way? It is Christian teaching, at least in my faith, that God has mercy on these people. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Oh you just want to know how things work? I thought you wanted to avoid hearing your woman talk your ear off all night? Believe what you want about me, bud. If you read my post carefully enough you'd know that I don't watch TV in my home...at all. Even if I did watch TV, I wouldn't steal cable. Stealing is stealing. ETA: I forgot... you were only "borrowing" it. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

What you're saying is true for strict fundies. The Catholic Church has never taught that the world was literally created in 6 24 hour periods. That would even be contradicting the text itself, since it isn't until "The Fourth Day" that God creates the lights in the day and the night to seperate the day and the night that would define a 24 hour period. But what I said to kallend is not false either. That statement has been said to mean what I said. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I'm crying for ya buddy. Just consider yourself lucky if you don't get a BILL for the months you stole. You're better off w/o TV anyway. Most of it is shite. Unless I'm on the road for business, I never watch it at all. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

fixed it for ya buddy! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I always wanted to be reincarnated as a vagina, but on second thought, maybe that's not such a good idea. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

therein lies the jab. Are you now claiming that fundamentalists don't use arguments like "a day to God is like 1000 years to us" to justify the Genesis myth? THAT, my friend, is re-writing the rules. That statement has nothing to do w/ rewriting any rules. It's simply an expression to try an explain the difficult concept that God, as Creator, is outside of time. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

You know, I bet I could win 4-way gold at nationals if I could only be bothered to get off my ass and do something about it, and re-write the rules to suit my style of skydiving. Just can't resist, can you... what was that you said about not needing a nanny? I believe my comment was a legitimate response to "I bet he could win...". That is a totally hollow claim unless you get off your ass and compete. If you consider it a jab, so be it. therein lies the jab. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Ah... then you might've added the word "against" in there

You know, I bet I could win 4-way gold at nationals if I could only be bothered to get off my ass and do something about it, and re-write the rules to suit my style of skydiving. Just can't resist, can you... what was that you said about not needing a nanny? kallend's inablity of being able to resist taking jabs is almost like your inablity to resist responding to him. Well, somebody has to! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Ah... then you might've added the word "against" in there

Oh yes I do. They are yumilicious. I like raw cookie dough too. Oh baby. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I can argue that point quite well, thanks. B/c during the 6 years I was a therapist I saw it day in and day out. Parents baked, kids living in squalor. True, parents who OCCASIONALLY smoke a bowl can LATER still be excellent parents. The key word in your post was LATER. it's DURING the high that is the problem. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I drive an SUV like I stole it. It has a big engine and is fast. Yea me. I also drive a beater old ford escort wagon. And a tractorette. Soon we'll be driving a couple of horses.

You forgot your Harley. Or did you sell it? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I can see your point about ACME, but your first statement is just utter lunacy! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

And he couldn't even carry his home state in the election. He's not liked much there. Poor dick. ____________________________________ Yeah! I'm cryin' tears big as horse turds for him, too! Chuck LOL!! Yeah, I bet you are!!! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

and a Waco and a Cub... Lord Have Mercy! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

But there is the argument to be made that drug use/abuse isn't a victimless crime: look at parents who neglect their kids while using (applies to alcohol too for that matter). Or harming people while driving under the influence... I think you got to focus on the actual crime without extrapolating to the excuse given (or implied) for doing it. Plenty of sober people beat their kids. The crime isn't in getting high (well, OK, it is a crime for now) it's in beating the kids. I didn't say beating their kids. I said NEGLECTING their kids, and I used that term specifically, b/c parents who are stoned out of their mind CANNOT and DO NOT care for their children properly. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...