Tired_Old_Man

How can we assume that other countries are ready for democracy while we (the USA) are in the process of destroying our democracy?

I read a book recently; "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick warren, and I was amazed how he says things like "God knew what your DNA would be before he created the Heavens and the Earth in Genesis" (paraphrased though I used quotation marks). Where in the Bible did Reverend Warren find the word DNA? It amazes me how Theists revise their thinking because of science, while simultaneously refuting science.

They say that two heads are better than one. Here at LBT, we have a multitude of heads and I hope that people of good will, will always be able to stir the thinking process for anyone who needs help with an important decision.

I spent a week at a drug/alcohol rehab visiting a family member who was a crack addict and alcoholic. I would like to make two points: #1. Every drug addict there (of the 200 at that time) was also an alcoholic and the top drug councilor told our group of "family" that about 99% of drug addicts are also alcoholics. #2. Because drugs, alcohol and sugar work similarly on the brain's chemistry, sugar is not allowed in the rehab facility during the 2 month stay of the patient.

Falwell quoted a biblical verse about the planting and harvest will continue until Jesus returns. I can not find a link to it, but I saw him say it on a TV news show. His interpretation, I guess, is that the world can not end because of global warming because of that verse.

Don't be ok with it, but don't claim it threatens your marriage. It is not a lifestyle. When and how did you decide to be straight? I never did. My penis told me which gender I preferred, not my heart, nor my larger head. One more Supreme Court Judge appointment by a conservative president and it will be. #1. Theory as used in "Darwin's Theory" does not mean the same thing as when I say "I have a theory that it would be better to go to dinner before we go shopping". It is more akin to the Theory that all triangles have angles that total 180 degrees. #2. If the school systems are required to teach religion in science class, should the churches be required to teach Darwin's Theory and other science in church? How about if once each month, the minister's sermon is replaced by a science teacher's lecture?

My wife, Tina came to the USA in 1955 as a British subject when she was 8 years old and became a legal resident. She married me in 1967 and has been a law abiding member of our society. Recently (2005) she became a US citizen because the Patriot act took away some of her rights. She could be treated differently than I would be treated if we were arrested for charges related to terrorism or even if the charges were something as innocuous as smoking one marijuana cigarette (no, she doesn't smoke, just an example), she could be deported. When we bough our home in Florida, there was a clause, that if the sale was by a non-US Citizen, that 25% of the proceeds had to be placed into an account pending some investigation (as per the Patriot act). I worried that if I die before Tina (and that is a good assumption) what she might have to go through to get her money when she sells the house, so she became a US citizen. There were other changes also, but, I guess since people who are US citizens are not effected by them, it is ok to abuse people who are here legally (even from the USA's #1 ally, Great Britain). Then there are the other things about locking people up without charges and eavesdropping. For all you know, I am on a list of people to monitor. We make a lot of phone calls to foreign countries since my wife has relatives in London, Whales, and other countries that are part of the British Commonwealth. In another thread, someone suggested that I am a traitor and should be prosecuted as one for what I say about BuSh. There was a peace group of people in my age bracket, who were all hard-working or retired US born citizens and they were on a US government watch list. When is it a crime to want to stop people from being killed in a war? I am in a similar group and have taken part in peace demonstrations. Should I be spied on? After the next 911 attack, should I be arrested? Are we building holding areas for the expected arrests after the next 911?

I agree that the WSJ is a highly respected news source, but their editorial page is extremely conservative. The fact that the article that you provided spent so much space warning its readers Hillary is proof (IMHO) of that. Likewise, MSNBC is also a highly respected news source, but though some of their editorial shows are extremely Liberal, the linked article that I posted was from their news department, not from the "Countdown" show (of Keith Olbermann). Yes, I admit that I should have not posted the NPR link, because they are a known Liberal entity, however this article seemed to lack any editorializing (except for the last two paragraphs {of 20} and even that was an opinion of an expert). All News sources are not equal. But there are two main differences. Clinton fired all the US Attorneys and it is a (conservative) stretch to think he fired everyone (93) "get" to one or two, and maybe most importantly, he still had to get the new lawyers confirmed by the Senate. What makes the latest story so important is that there was a plot to bypass confirmation (as if we were under a terrorist attack) by the Senate by using a little known (and IMHO, little needed) and easily abused clause of the newest version of Patriot act, and that the Attorney General lied and hid information from Congress. Even though I admit I am a Liberal and do not like the policies of BuSh, his advisors and his administration, I think you (and everyone) have to admit that they did something wrong or else why would both BuSh and Gonzales be admitting mistakes were made by Gonzales (and others) and why would Republicans be calling for the dismissal of Gonzales? BTW, I didn't comment on what Clinton did for three reasons. One: doing something wrong (if it was wrong) 14 years ago has little value regarding the direction our country is headed in now and Two: it is not so much the firings, it is the e-mails with the reasons for the firing which are so damning and Three: The abuse of power and concentrating of power into the executive branch by this administration has been unprecedented and it is the pattern rather than just the act that makes it so bad. If this had been the only thing done by BuSh lately, it would not be such a big deal, but when taken along with all the other abuses of power under the guise of “its a different world since 911”, this stab at the heart of Democracy can not be condoned. There once was a case where eight policemen each stood over a man who tried to run away from a speeding ticket on a motorcycle. The bike rider lost control of the bike and laid on the ground in pain, but without life threatening injuries, so the eight policeman made a circle around him and each in turn hit him with their long flashlights; round and round it went until the bike rider had been dead for quite a while. When this went to court, the lawyers for the eight police defendants argued that no one blow could be proven to have been the fatal blow, so therefor no individual policeman could be convicted of murder. The judge (not a jury trial by request of the defendants) ruled in the defendants' favor. There was another possible verdict: That the police had conspired to kill this man, one blow at a time. No one blow was sufficient to kill the man, nor could any expert have determined which was the actual deathblow, but the results were obvious, inescapable and predictable. Democracy in the USA is that man laying on the ground. How many more blows before it is dead? And will we know which blow killed it? Will we even realize it is dead before it is too late?

My questions are a way of learning the answers (for myself) and a way of making all of us think. Some might say that Paladin was more harmed by the mistaken assumption that he was a Ron Cusano clone than Ron was. I was not sure, so I asked. Yes, I am a wise guy.:cool: But depending on which words you place the emphasis on in the above statement, you can get at least two different meanings.

How can you compare an editorial with the MSNBC news article? The editorial spends as much time talking about Hillary Clinton who held no office at the time as it does on President Bill Clinton. And if Bill Clinton did something wrong, does that make George W. BuSh right for doing the same or worse? But there are important differences. Some differences are that Clinton then nominated new attorney's which had to be ratified by the Senate and he cleaned house. Presidents commonly clean house and put in people of their own choosing. Cabinet members are replaced when a new president comes to power. In theses cases, there was a check on president Clinton (by the Senate) to make sure the new appointees were not political hacks hired to do political hit jobs. BuSh wants to use a new clause of the Patriot act to bypass ratification by the Senate to eliminate any checks on his power and therefor there will be nothing to stop him from appointing people who's goal it is to indict Democratic candidates prior to the 2008 elections (for example). When the Democratic candidate is acquitted after the election is over but the Republican is elected (because he was running against a candidate under indictment), it is too late to redo the election. The other difference is that the attorney's weren't being singled out for doing their job by Clinton. BuSh's administration is using the firings to make a point that BuSh's bidding must be done or goodbye job. It is coercion, pure and simple. The trail of e-mails make it obvious. BuSh and Gonzales have already admitted that Mistakes were made (after they were caught).

What Gets Longer When Pulled, Fits Between your boobs, inserts neatly in a hole & Works Best When jerked? v v v v v v v v v v v v v A Seatbelt you pervert! Buckle Up!:faint:

Good Luck.

Have you heard about the BuSh scandal de jour? The BuSh administration is accused of having United States Attorneys (USA's) target Democrats for indictment and to turn a blind eye toward Republican law-breakers. 8 USA's were fired though they had good records (including bringing down California Republican Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham for taking bribes). And there was a scheme to fire all 93 USA's and then replace them with people who would do the BuSh administration's bidding. In on the scheme were Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Myers (supreme court nominee) and the usual gang of idiots. Somebody forgot to tell BuSh that he is a President, not an Emperor. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8285957 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17592698/

Because Paladin has been a member since May of 2006. How come the answer to everything is Paladin? Who started this thread? Who is the main character in "Have Gun, Will Travel"? Who is Ron Cusano accused of being? One answer fits all.

"Have Gun, Will Travel" Where did that come from?

Tina complains when I am at forums "running my mouth" as she puts it, but when she gets on her iMac and starts answering and forwarding e-mails or writing letters to her relatives in the UK, or IM'ing with friends and/or family, I can not pry her away from it. She doesn't believe in this "internet forum foolishness", but she loves her iMac.

Which one is owed the apology?:faint:

I loved that show. "Pat Paulson for President"

Sounds almost like the lines for the toilets at a concert or sporting event.

Who said "What's Up Doc?"

RUBBERNECKING Out of the house at 7:35am to take the 100 mile drive in order to get my wife Tina to Miami airport for a 12:05pm flight to LGA. We got up at 6am, turned on the TV and found out that a tracker-trailer (18 wheeler) had overturned on the Florida Turnpike (AKA Ronald Reagan Turnpike) in the Northbound direction shutting down all Northbound legs and causing 5 miles of backups in the Southbound direction about half way between our home and the airport. So we left about 30 minutes early intending to switch from the Turnpike to Interstate 95 after about 25 miles. About 5 minutes after we get on the Turnpike, the radio traffic report says that there was a crash on I95 about 2 exits away from the Turnpike crash. Anyway, I stayed on the Turnpike and by the time we got to the 18 wheeler crash, the 18 wheeler had been lifted by a crane and the Northbound direction was open, though the Southbound direction still had about a mile of rubbernecking delays. We got to Miami International Airport almost 2 hours before departure. If I had not put on the TV, we would have gotten there on time. Go figure.

Maybe if Barak Obama is elected president, the issue will wither away and (almost) die, but I see neither happening.

Well, I just got rid of Tina today. Out of the house at 7:35am to take the 100 mile drive in order to get her to Miami airport for a 12:05pm flight to LGA. We got up at 6am, turned on the TV and found out that a tracker-trailer (18 wheeler) had overturned on the Florida Turnpike (AKA Ronald Reagan Turnpike) in the Northbound direction shutting down all Northbound legs and causing 5 miles of backups in the Southbound direction (a good topic for the "What peeves you" thread) about half way between our home and the airport. So we left about 30 minutes early intending to switch from the Turnpike to Interstate 95 after about 25 miles. About 5 minutes after we get on the Turnpike, the radio traffic report says that there was a crash on I95 about 2 exits away from the Turnpike crash. Anyway, I stayed on the Turnpike and by the time we got to the 18 wheeler crash, the 18 wheeler had been lifted by a crane and the Northbound direction was open, though the Southbound direction still had about a mile of rubbernecking delays. We got to Miami International Airport almost 2 hours before departure. If I had not put on the TV, we would have gotten there on time. Go figure. Tina will be gone for 12 days, so if any of you ladies want to drop around...

Something I believe in also: Victimless Sin. It is akin to Victimless crime. If a person is committing a sin that only hurts himself (and possibly a willing consenting adult), let God punish him (them).

Good for you. It is your body and you have to decide what you want and need out of life. Tina on the other hand (and I also) do not believe in plastic surgery (for ourselves) except in cases of disfigurement through an accident.