TankBuster

I'm not a card carrying Libertarian, so I really need to do some research before I can speak to that. From what I do know, you are right, they believe as I do, that there is no government responsibility to ensure everyone has the same opportunity. Equal opportunity under the law and sameness get mixed up too often. In my world, the crack whore's child gets help from the local community, the church, or some other secular benevolent organization. Not the federal government. From each according to their ability, to each according to their need - should be voluntary, not done at gunpoint. In your world, professor, how does the one child get the same opportunity as the other? The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Does the child of a single, homeless, crack addicted teenage mother have the same opportunity in life as the child of an ivy-league-educated multi-billionaire in a stable marriage, and what do Libertarians have to say about it? The only party that promises to create Utopia and unite us under the "Department of Happy" is the Marxist Party. I look forward to their day of victory under Mr. Obama. And by the way, if you want a good exmple of opportunity, read Star Parker's biography. On welfare and with a criminal record, she decided to stop buying into the victim of opression and lack of opportunity bullshit. She educated herself, has become a noted author, and founded the Coalition for Urban Renewal. I personally know several people, including my own father, who were raised in poverty, yet worked hard to build prosperous lives for themselves and their families. Some even became -gasp- "filthy" rich. None relied on government assistance or the empty promises of a political party. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Yes this soldier is a dumbass. I guarantee you these guys get briefed ad nauseum on what they can do, what they can't do, and how to conduct themselves in a muslim country. This little renegade either fell asleep during the briefing, or was more interested in having some fun with his buddies. Either way, it was handled, and in my mind they went way overboard. Apoligize, discipline the soldier and send him home. That should be enough. The candy ass who kissed the Quran should also be sent home. And - as far as it being a recruiting tool for the jihadies - fine. Any of those little bastards who want to join the jihad and attack the US because of an isolated incident of some idiot shooting a book - great - draw them out of their caves and kill em. Kill em all. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

The loyalists called the patriots treason? The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Yes, but positive change is smaller Federal Government, lower spending, lower taxes, no meddling in the economy, allowing us to build refineries, nuclear plants, drilling. The Dems are VERY good at all that. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Someone help me to a chair. A thread authored by Kallend, where everyone agrees that personal responsibility and smaller government is the way to go. I'm going to go grab a beer and declare victory. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Cremation itself is not a very "dignified" procedure. Burn most of the body and then grind up the bones that are left. Probably best if it's done at a place that only services human remains, but by law they have to be in separate furnaces/grinders, so it will still be as dignified as it can be. Gates and McCain have to respond because they are politicians. What you have here is a minor issue to most but for the America haters/US military haters it is an excellent chance to win some of those who are uneducated or who don't want to do much of their own research. They hear the irresponsible twisted rhetoric "cremating our war dead in a pet cemetery" or maybe a better tag line would be "burying our heroes with dogs" and it's a great opportunity to stir up more of this bullshit. You bring up Abu Ghraib and Haditha as if you expect God-like perfection from an institution made of humans. I've been in the USAF, flown with them, lived on the ground with the Army and Marines, and spent quite a bit of time with the RAF, Canadians, Belgians, even the French military in joint operations. Overall, the finest bunch of people you could ever call friends. Sometimes, though, there's a breakdown in discipline or leadership that causes an incident like Ghraib or Haditha. It gets corrected. Having said that, I'd challenge you to put down your keyboard, pick up a weapon, and roll into a situation like Haditha. You might have a different point of view. Things aren't as black and white when the leads starts a' flyin'. Sometimes, a decision gets made about a cremation contractor which might be less than tasteful. It gets corrected. For most of us at that point, life goes on, but not for the staunch liberal Bush/America/US military hater. They resort to rhetoric which is much more dishonorable. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

3. Pretty much anything that involves an act of Congress. Again, these are some of the most corrupt people in the country.... In contrast of course to Obama... now there's one honest politician! The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

They're gonna have to pry the nomination from her cold, dead hand. I think she'll hang on till the bitter end - and she should, you never know what scandal/terrorist buddy/black militant mentor is looming that could send some super delegates her way. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program." - Ronald Reagan The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Actually, I did grow up in a Baptist church, and heard my share of fire and brimstone. But, I don't think that the pastors wanted you or I to go to hell, nor took pleasure in the thought, as the athiest in the video seems to think some Christians wish upon him. I know many Christians (I am one) who turned away from God because our early exposure to Christianity was not that of truth and love. There are a lot of misguided teachers out there, and there are many very gifted ones. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

So that's what I'm trying to figure out. We're here because of some random mixing of elements, however improbable, somewhere between 2.5 and 5 billion years ago? The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

OK then gimme some of your individual views. I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm seriously trying to understand the nature of thought among athiests here. If atheists rely on the human understanding of science to explain every occurance, there must be at least some general scientific direction. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

How does the athiest consensus explain the origin of life? Is it (albeit very simplistic): 5 billion years ago, there was no life. Then, a random combination of elements formed a self replicating molecule, which formed a minimal cell structure, which started the evolutionary chain? From what I've read, that seems to be science's best guess. I've read some dissertations on the low probabilities of that occurance, which vary wildly based on assumptions. In any case, it seems to be based on a very highly improbable random combination of elements/protiens under exactly the right conditions. I'm not saying it's not possible, just want to know if I have the basics. Any thoughts? The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

True, and there are countless examples of that. Maybe better words would be ...rely only on your intellect and your senses..... Many defenders of Christianity, including CS Lewis, don't exclude intellect or sensuality from their writings. I believe that there are things that science, as we think we know it, can't explain. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

It's unfortunate that this fellow has only dealt with angry Christians. A true believer would never wish hell on anyone, but would pray for his change of heart, and be available to provide guidance. His study of Christianity is flawed. We are not born into debt to Christ. Quite the opposite. All debts are paid. Regret and self loathing for true Christians is a thing of the past, but something most people still struggle with at times. This chap does seem angry and wants to provoke Christians, and maybe that's why he gets - or maybe perceives - more anger. Jesus was a servant. His whole life, he served others. On the week of his death, he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not on a gallant horse as a king or conqueror would. There is a lot of written evidence of His life, from the Jews, from the Romans, and from the Greeks. Not just the Bible. If you simply rely on your intellect and your senses and you don't believe in God, nothing I can say will change your mind, but it may plant a seed that only God can cultivate in your heart. C.S. Lewis was a devout athiest who became a most noted Christian apologist. He was converted back to Christianity by JRR Tolkien. Both learned, intelligent, tallented men. I'm not angry that you are an athiest. I don't like being attacked or belittled because I am a Christian but I understand it. I find it interesting that I am posting this on a forum. Emails, the web, and forums are sterile places to post ideas. Christianity is about loving, serving relationships. Best cultivated where people laugh, eat, live, and love. I see miracles every day. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

I didn't. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Why was I expecting that answer? The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

So,.......uhm,,,,,,Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marine. Food for thought. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

What do you believe his comments indicate? I applaud his service, but he seems to have turned down a different path since he took up the cause of black liberation theology.... He claims the government invented AIDS to kill off the black man? Maybe he hasn't departed from patriotism. He's departed from sanity. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

and de facto so did Clinton, Bush41, Reagan, Carter, ..... The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Kallend - are you saying I ever had any credibility with you? I'm almost flattered, in a very twisted way. And, because I love being a smartass, did you mis-spell "damn?" The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

I know. My first post was pure sarcasm. I didn't realize the story was broken by Huffington. Good for them/her, but those comments would have been outed before long. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

Why would a Christian say "...that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion...." Why put those in the same category? Most Christians I know "cling" to Christianity because we believe in it as a way of life, good times or bad. What do you think he means by "cling to guns.?" That they go out and shoot someone or commit gun crime? Those of you who say his remarks are the truth- I don't agree. I believe it helps to remember his audience - San Francisco elite. "Latte Liberals" At some point in his speech, in order to pander for money, he had to bash religion and guns, and he picked a stupid way to do it. He is proving himself an elitist, along the same lines as senator Kerry. More and more, though, he is proving himself a full blown Marxist. The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.

OK, let's try this one more time. My point was - GW didn't write the CIA interrogation manual. Neither did Billy Boy, but that point was lost on you. The actual intent of my post was to get you to go off on some non-sensical rant about Clinton. Success! I couldn't find many "facts" in your post to argue. Tell you what, confuse me by giving us an example of one of these "thwarted attacks" that we never heard about. And by the way, the expression is "couldn't care less about the rule of law and the Constitution...." The forecast is mostly sunny with occasional beer.