narcimund

You're saying that there is no such thing as right or wrong - everything is contextual. Well, I certainly wasn't trying to say that, but I see that I didn't put enough thought into how I wrote my post. Let me rephrase to get to the point I actually wanted to get to: So tell me again what it is that they're doing DIFFERENT from what you'd excuse in yourself. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I lived in Portland for a long, long time. There's a significant agricultural labor pool which (I would suspect) is largely composed of illegal immigrants. I've never had any personal grief because of it. However, back when I was a child I occasionally made a tiny amount of money picking strawberries. I gather the mexicans do that instead of white kids these days. I don't know for sure if that's because the mexicans have pushed the kids out or if white kids don't want backbreaking labor any more. I suspect the latter. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Excellent slippery sidestep. Clap clap. If I were talking about the people who weren't coming to the US out of desperation I probably would have made an analogy that reflected that. Don't you think? First Class Citizen Twice Over

That's too bad. We just brought back a trunkload of great stuff from the states. First Class Citizen Twice Over

So if I understand you right, if you were in a desperate situation you'd break the law to survive then hide your crimes from the authorities. That sounds perfectly reasonable. I would too. And that's exactly what the people we're talking about are doing (or at least some of them.) So tell me again what it is that they're doing wrong MORALLY. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Would you turn yourself in? First Class Citizen Twice Over

I assume that smart intruders announce themselves as police officers so the homeowner comes out of hiding unarmed. That would make it ever so much easier to kill them safely. First Class Citizen Twice Over

What about people who are so desperate to leave oppressive governments that they would risk everything (including breaking the law) to get here now? If desperation and dire circumstances are the important part, I'm sure we could find lots of equally heartbreaking examples on the other side of the "legal paperwork" question. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Can you explain the connection between these two ideas? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Absolutely right! I hereby call for a constitutional amendment against chicken-head-biting. And furthermore: pre-emptive strikes against other countries which allow chicken-head-biting. This can't go on any more! Think of the chickens!!! First Class Citizen Twice Over

False? No, that's a bit strong. But you do make a good point that I went too far. Grief for the dead can be explained in light of religious doubts rather than outright disbelief. In that case I'd expect people to grieve according to the strength of their doubts however. The DEEPLY convinced would barely grieve (and mostly celebrate) while those with shaky convictions would act more like disbelievers do. Is there such a range? Could one measure that with a sociological study? Wouldn't it be interesting to do so? Lots of people claim to KNOW what awaits them. Pajarito claims to. And it's not a matter of whether they're right or not. We're only talking about how convinced they are. If they really REALLY believe that things just get better after death, they should be HAPPY about it. Why is that saddening? Earth is the time of tests and difficulty. Your loved one has graduated to the Great Reward. Frankinsense and Myrhh for eternity. WHY DOES THAT MAKE YOU SAD??? What is "NATURAL grief"? I've never heard that term before. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Because your not a bad man who want to blow me up with C-4. Well maybe you do but I highly doubt it. Non sequitur. Translation: He is unable to answer the question you asked. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Let's just say that it would make it easier to know that the person who has died was a born again Christian. You're avoiding the question with slippery misdirections. That reveals a lot. There's no sense to a committed, consistent Christian mourning the death of another saved christian. Funerals should be more like graduation ceremonies. We should expect to see cheering, confetti, and smiles. If they actually believed what they preach, christians should think the death of loved ones is GREAT! The fact that christians cry, moan, and gnash their teeth (just like non-christians do) demonstrates an indirect proof that even they don't believe their own superstitious party line. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Ok, you got me there. It's not USPA alone. It's also FAI. But you still can't argue that on dropzone.com (an international community) the ratio "CRW/CREW" to "CF" is approximately 20:1. Nobody is adopting "CF". It's a loser term and the public has spoken. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Well...in layman's tems its Crew and RW. In the competitive arena its CF (Canopy Formation) & FS (Formation Skydiving) Nobody actually calls it "CF". That's such an official failure on the part of USPA to exert power over language. Here's proof: Search for "CF": 677 results Search for "CRW": 5489 results Search for "CREW": 7841 results (Of course "CREW" could also be the English word, but a quick scan shows most of those 7841 references are the ones we're talking about.) First Class Citizen Twice Over

Please enlighten us with what you think the appropriate fund allocations should be. Give me the courtesy of an accurate quote next time and maybe I'll answer your question. All he did was add "blah blah blah" to part of your quote. That's not polite I suppose, but it IS an accurate quote inasmuch as it's a quote at all. You seem to be taking a VERY thin excuse for avoiding a chance to advance the central point of your own post. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Is it only because the time you're separated from him is longer? In other words, if you knew you would die in 4 years would your emotion at funerals be similar to my emotion when a friend moves far away for college? First Class Citizen Twice Over

I really hope we someday find out that Carroll O'Connor was gay First Class Citizen Twice Over

What a ridiculous statement. Of course they'll be missed. We're human and this life is all we've known. Knowing that we will see them again someday, however, is comforting. That still doesn't make the feeling go away that a part of us has gone away. To tell you the truth, though, I'd mourn an unsaved person even more because I'd know that I'd never see them again. I've been to the funerals of many family members in which this was the case. When someone I love goes away for a few years I have a nice jolly last visit with them and wish them well. I might feel a little sad for a few days but that's about it. Is that simiilar to how you feel when a saved person temporarily dies? First Class Citizen Twice Over

This truly is a strange paradox. Deeply confident Christians mourn the death of other saved Christians. How come? I don't buy the explanation that it's because they'll miss them for the next few years until they're re-united up in Candyland. If that's all it were, I could see them shedding a little tear and moving on. Instead they cry and grieve and suffer long-term psychological problems -- JUST LIKE NON-BELIEVERS DO! Christians are hiding massive disbelief and doubts -- probably even from themselves. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I'm not worried about being disrespectful of believers. I DON'T respect their beliefs. I respect beliefs that are based on decent reasoning and the GOD-based beliefs don't seem to be of that sort. However, I think what people usually mean by "respect" is "politeness". It's nice to be polite to people even if their beliefs seem wrong or even downright crazy. That's why I wouldn't have put it that way in normal circumstances. This is a frank discussion though, and it seems appropriate to put things in frank terms here. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I heard some people died yesterday too. I bet some will die tomorrow. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Rate per day spent jumping? Rate per lifetime? Rate per jump? Rate per minute in freefall? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Or maybe it's because we can't see any real difference between a "big bearded dude who gives prezzies to widdle children at the Winter Solstice" and a "big bearded dude who gives prezzies to adults up in the clouds." First Class Citizen Twice Over

You have an opinion about how many dollars NYC should have to spend on surveillance. How would you divide it? First Class Citizen Twice Over