• 1,003 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    When our previous topic hit the 1,000-response mark, sleazy behavior by politicians was eliciting a certain amount of non-astonishment.

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • tphokie1
    Joined:
    Haven't had much to say
    for the last bit as I've been working crazy hours at work and then by the time I got things taken care of at home have had little time for much else. Got a little time now so I'll give a little input on some of the recent topics. First let me say my thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved in the CO and CA fires. I live in VA and its interesting to me that we have been under warnings of the possibility of severe fires here. That's not the norm here. Its been so hot and dry this summer that the countryside is a tinder box waiting for a disaster. Just one more sign of global warming! Its getting very scary what we've done to the planet. On the issue of burning Korans and free speech let me say that burning any holy book is offensive. This guy in FL is a total wacko and its unfortunate he's gotten the press he has. I heard on some news outlet that he had been dismissed from his previous congregation for stealing money from the church. This probably tells us something about this guy! I'm a passionate defender of free speech as I am terrified of what could happen without it. However, the point is well taken that with freedom comes responsibility and people should think about the impact of their speech on others. If free speech is abused it may be taken away. Its a shame we can't remember to speak with respect for others. Finally, I'll share a personal decision I've made relative to some of what's currently going on. I was watching the movie Gandhi a couple of weeks ago. One of my favorite movies about someone I consider one of the greatest men in history. While watching it and considering the current mood in this country it occurred to me that I needed to actively reach out to the local Muslim community. It took me a while to act on this impulse as procrastination is one of my worst traits. I finally called the local mosque after hearing the FL nut case talking about burning Korans. I've been invited to worship with them and plan to go next Friday. I'm sure it will be a leaning experience for me and will hopefully help foster understanding in some small way. Experience has taught me that those "other" people are always less scary once you get to know them. I'll post results of how this goes. Peace to all! Good to be back!
  • johnman
    Joined:
    Freedom of speech
    As with anything else, should be tempered with common courtesy, and respect for others, both concepts that seem to be sorely lacking in the modern world, and not just in the US . No, Tiger...have been no recent sightings of the winged rodentian thieves, but I suspect they are in collusion with the Nazi frog, who I believe may have left the confines beneath my dining table and ventured into my backyard, which the Mouse has recently rescued from the ever present Northwest Blackberries.
  • TigerLilly
    Joined:
    Woody Allen & Sarkozy(s)
    Sarkozy's wife had a small part in a Woody Allen film, that himself produced-and got the cut??Am finding this combination hard to believe, but funny somehow. French soccer team goes home in disgrace and Prez's wife chopped out of a film. Vive la France! Is this all true CB, or just strange German rumor about our neighbors? ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
  • gratefaldean
    Joined:
    Wish I could see the vid
    But it's blocked on the computer I'm on. The flip side of the coin for me is the seemingly huge number of people in the world who think that being offended is justification for violence. Slightly offended (Hey, Yo mama!) to profoundly offended (burn my holy book, my flag, etc). It would be nice, for once, to be able to put some of these things in perspective. Here we have guy whose message from God is to protest radical Islamists (and as far as he's concerned, all Muslims are radical) by burning Korans (I have to admit that I am curious as to where he's getting his Korans...I know I don't have pile gathering dust in my house anywhere. And now that he's not going to burn them, what's he going to do with them?). First, why do we pay any attention to ANYONE who claims to receive personal messages from God? That's an instant signal to me to move on. Second, he's got like 30 or 50 members in his church -- those numbers should tell us something. And here we all are, the entire world it seems, giving him the time of day. Huh? Let it go, give it up. Save your indignation for something that's worth the effort....
  • JackstrawfromC…
    Joined:
    "Spoiled kids"
    I like that one Badger!! "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
  • cosmicbadger
    Joined:
    Frank says it better
  • cosmicbadger
    Joined:
    freedom's just another word...
    It seems to me that some folks proclaim the magic word ‘freedom’ so much that it has diluted and cheapened its meaning. They end up acting like spoiled kids, using a simplistic interpretation of the concept of freedom to excuse offensive, antisocial, selfish and stupid behaviour. Freedom is a complex concept (as Marye has previously pointed out) and itself needs to have limits. If those limits are not to be set by the State (something I admire as being fundamental to the American way), then it should be the job of responsible citizens to define those limits themselves thorough their own behaviour. For many people in the world freedom has a more fundamental meaning than freedom to act like an attention seeking brat; they seek freedom from fear, oppression, discrimination, dispossession, disenfranchisement and enforced poverty. If Jones wants to give the message that Americans will not be intimidated by radical Islam then there are many more intelligent and productive ways of doing it than burning Korans. Anyway it seems that Jones has found a way out of the corner he got himself in by claiming that God has conveniently given him a message to back off. It’s a shame really, because I was about to stage my own special protest against his idiocy and teach him not to mess with me. By exercising my freedom to rip up a bible and use it to.....oh never mind. I miss Frank Zappa.
  • JackstrawfromC…
    Joined:
    Burning any religous or national symbol (flags)
    Is a direct call for violence. Simple as that. And as George Carlin always said, none of us have rights. Say what you will but you better understand that there is a certain responsibility behind what you say especially when you are addressing the public. Worship whomever or whatever you want but don't push that on me, the list goes on and on.. "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
  • TigerLilly
    Joined:
    Indeed Dean
    I learned in law classes in college that freedom of speech stops at directly inciting others to violence-and burning holy books is a pretty much guaranteed going to incite violent reaction. Though the line in this case is still blurry between direct and indirect. And yes, you would think that a self-professed man of God would be conscious of his moral responsibility to others, and try to be a good example as opposed to a rabble-rouser. ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
  • gratefaldean
    Joined:
    It's a struggle TL
    But I'm in agreement with you. Preserving our rights means allowing idiots to do stupid, offensive things. How this podunk small-time pastor got so much publicity...I guess I mark that down to the 24-hr news cycle, the age of the Internet and instant communication. It's also the age of zero personal responsibility. The guy in question is currently disavowing responsibility for any harm that's come to people protesting his provocative words/intent. And while it's true that the responsibility for violence lies with the people doing the violence (and the violence proves the preacher's point, as far as he is concerned), knowing that your words and actions are certain to result in inciting violence in others...there's a burden to be borne there as well, IMO. You'd think a professed man of god would get that. Personally, if there are objects in the world that I hold sacred, books are at the top of the list. And Beatles records. Really, who would ever stoop so low as to burn Beatles records to make some kind of point?
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Forums
When our previous topic hit the 1,000-response mark, sleazy behavior by politicians was eliciting a certain amount of non-astonishment.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years
Permalink

So the empty suit in the WH is afraid to expose himself, and express his honest opinion about the hugely insensitive plan by Rauf, the Ground Zero Islamofascist, yet in the Gates case, he couldn't wait to tell us the white cops "acted stupidly..." I guess they belong under the bus along with his "typical white" grandmother...and now Nutsy Pelosi wants to "investigate" me, and the other 70% of Americans who know what our enemy is up to...hmmm, I wonder if she's including Harry Reid...???
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

as non-judgemental and informed as ever, I see.********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

Yesterday I commented on how much I'd have hated being on Blago's jury, boldly proclaiming that I'd prefer an armed robbery or murder trial anyday. In a "reap what you sow" moment, I arrived home last night to find a summons to jury duty in our stack of mail. I'm 55 yrs old, and this is my FIRST-EVER jury summons. This cannot just be a coincidence. Can it? I at first thought this was a case of cause-and-effect: I wrote this thing down, then out of the blue (postal uniforms are still blue, aren't they?) something quite related happened . Thinking about it some more, I realized that the summons was already in the mail when I was spouting off, so it looks less like cause-effect and a little more like clairvoyance to me. One shot deal, or the start of something new? How can I use my new-found power to do good, or at least to win scads of money?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Congrats. Mr. Dean. You are about to find out what one of your sacred duties as a US citizen is. America needs more people on juries like yourself. I hope you serve honorably. I think you lose money an a jury, unless your vote is for sale. As it is said: "In America, we get the best justice money can buy." (More directed at the lawyers, I believe)
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

Just cuz you're summoned doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up serving jury duty-I THINK anyhow! But congrats on being given the opportunity to do your civic duty!! Always wanted to play 12 Angry Men, but the summons never came :(********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

I'm 54 and have never been summoned myself. Like you I've been somewhat disappointed by that. You may find that the attorneys really don't want discerning folks on the jury and you may not get to serve anyway! Best of luck. Let us know how it goes!
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

My preferring a murder trial statement (as it relates to clairvoyance, that is), but I might get disqualified if I get questioned about the death penalty. As I'm anti- , I'd have a hard time voting conviction for someone who might end up on death row. I liked it much better when I lived in a no-death-penalty state...
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

indeed a dilemma, and I would have the same problem!********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

I figure how would be asked my opinion on the death penalty and automatically disqualified by the prosecutor. If I actually got on the jury I think I could determine guilt or innocence independent of that but if I the jury determined sentence I could never vote to put someone to death.
user picture

Member for

15 years 10 months
Permalink

Unless you are unemployed and have nothing better to do. As far as the death penalty goes that is about as controversial as it gets. If someone harmed my daughter or any family member for that matter I'd have a hard time feeling sorry for them being put on death row. But yes I know in the grand scheme it is a very touchy subject. Don't worry - you may not even be picked for one thing and the chances are if you are picked it will be a snoozer trial for shoplifting or something. "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Watching the news on Friday is always interesting. They put stuff on that would otherwise get buried. They know that a lot of people aren't paying attention. Last Friday the news about the flood was frightening. They took a plane over the flood and there was nothing but water (with small islands) for 25 minutes. The worst thing was the sound bites. I've never heard people who are starving begging for food before. OMG! I'm making a small donation today. My wife dug up a picture on the internet some time ago of buzzards following a starving child in Eritrea (N. Africa). The photographer committed suicide shortly after taking the picture, some time after the child just fell over and died. These images can haunt you. I guess some things should be censored from the news (and I thought I'd never say that). Not the fact that people are starving, but the live images.
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

German news was talking last night about how aid reaction is so small and so late. They showed some heart-rending scenes as well. Now cholera is breaking out. The Pakistanis are soo desperate they accepted aid from their arch-enemy India. One tiny ray of hope in that awful situation, I suppose; if neighbor India is reaching out in Pakistan's hour of need.********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

that 1/3 of Pakistan is underwater.....I just can't imagine that. why are we not seeing more in the news? I've always had a problem with the media, but this is ridiculous.
user picture

Member for

15 years 10 months
Permalink

The Pakistan government turned their heads on their own people before, during and now after the floods. It's sad but I can also understand why the people there are ready to start a revolution. "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

They are supporting all kinds of dark things, including the Taliban. They see India behind every tree, trying to take over their country. The governments of the world have thus far contributed $800,000,000, including Nepal, the thirteenth poorest country in the world. Still, it is nothing compared to the cost of rebuilding most of the country's infrastructure. No wonder Gandhi was so pained by the partition of India in 1947.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The 110 (not the Harbor Freeway in LA) has been backed up for more than 10 days. It is taking drivers three days to get through. The traffic is backed up all the way to Inner Mongolia. The jam is expected to last another 30 DAYS!! Jeez, how do you explain that one to your significant other? "Uhhh, honey? Yeah, the trip to Mongolia went well but I've got a small problem now... I just cleared the Great Wall and won't be home for three days because of traffic." The Chinese are blaming everything but the real reason, there are simply too many cars and lorries for the road to handle. They are getting strangled by their own prosperity. This is not just a problem in China. It is all over the developing world. China is a more than interesting example of an economy run amok on unbuckled capitalism. Where will it all lead? I think the winter weather patterns this year may give us part of the answer.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

I have searched for good news can find nothing we got floods bp afghanistan and the rest of the shit.Old lady in sheffield uk got a hip replacement free on the nhs thats all igot. I will take this opportunity too say hell send you good blessings and wish you peace. Smiles.
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

Found alive in Chilean cave-in. That's the great news!! The I-can't-imagine-it news is that it could be 4 months before they can be rescued. FOUR MONTHS!! That mining company must be a BP subsidiary.... Sorry, Gonzo, the best I could do this morning.
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

2This August marks the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s debut 48-night stint at Indra, a strip club on Große Freiheit, a notorious side street that runs off the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's infamous red-light boulevard." The Local (Germany's news in English) ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

And the Midwest baby....also Red ROX!!!!!♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Will continue looking for good news to bring here. Happy for miners, Beatles & Furthur coming to Chicagoland.
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

You dear folks know I'm EXTREMELY non-partisan (hate' em all, greedy bastards), but I'm wondering why Pelosi wants an investigation into who's funding the anti-mosque ads in New York, but doesn't seem concerned with who is funding the cultural center itself? Is dissent now illegal? Doesn't that put the shoe on the other foot? And why is the cost of chocolate going up? Dang...i need a cookie
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

...you might seem to be in league with Rauf, the Ground Zero Islamofascist, along with Nutsy (Pelosi) & Harry -- characters to which Dewlover has introduced us. (Sorry, couldn't resist that :) :) :)) Actually, we got your cookies, J'man. The good ones. We give'em out in the parking lots of churches after AA meetings. The first one is always free!
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

but i think what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so to speak.......er.................uh....but really, shall we silence dissent that we disagree with? are we only going to allow opinions that agree with our own?................AA meetings?......hmmmm...Deadheads anonymous, mebbe!!....heeheeeee!! Hi....my name is johnman...and I have Dead tapes at home.....
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

( & ) ; ~ }
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

London uk weds this week woman filmed picking up a cat a locking it in a dustbin.I am naming and shaming this bitch Mary bale 45 from london.Poor pussy was in the bin for 15 hours but is well now. Mary said and i quote i really dont understand what people are getting excited about its only a cat.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

What are those wild and crazy guys in Iran up to these days? I mean besides celebrating the making of fissionable material to make nukes with? They are copying the US military's drones. Instead of coming up with a cool name like "reaper" or "predator" they came up with: Ambassador of Death! You know, I'm beginning to believe these sand flea bitten Persian camel jockeys are obsessed with death. Not that I wouldn't be if I was going toe-to-toe with the US & Israel. Yikes!! I think Obama needs to draft the Dalai Lama and launch him as an Ambassador of Peace...
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

Maybe they just need some acoustic Dead? 10-10-80 Warfield Theater, San Francisco, Ca. (Fri) Acoustic: On The Road Again, Roses, Monkey & Engineer, Jack A Roe, Dark Hollow, To Lay Me Down, Heaven Help The Fool, Bird Song> Ripple Electric-1: Half Step> Franklin's, Me & My Uncle> Big River, Candyman, BIODTL, Row Jimmy, Minglewood, Althea> Jack Straw Electric-2: Scarlet> Fire, Samson, Big RxR Blues, Estimated> Eyes> Drumz> Truckin> Nobody's Jam> Black Peter> Around> Promised E: U. S. Blues "Jack A Roe" appears on "Dead Set" - last "Nobody's Jam": 08-13-79 [98] ♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

~ let there be songs to fill the air ~ somehow I don't think ahdmadhinejad is listening though - but we can hope!!
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

When he sayed "Imadinnerjacket" ahmendinasomething lol♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

A copy of reckoning and the dalai lama may help maybe we should introduce some white widow too this party.Seriously they are beyond help.I wish them all peace.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

DL: So, Ahhdie, whats up with the ambassadors of death?AHD: It's kind of a status symbol in our part of the world Really? Yeah, reigning down death and destruction on your enemy when he least expects it is all the rage these days. Well, uhh, do you think you might tone down the names a bit? What do you suggest? How about "Messenger of Gentle Persuasion" with a non-exploding warhead? No, no, no. In Iran we're all death to this and that and mother of all them and those. Ahhdie, whats this macho posturing all about? Death to infidels, Dolly! Maybe you guys just need to unleash your inner lambs Nahh, we kill them too - delicious!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

My wife asked me this morning "Is marriage the end of hope?" -- I turned to her and said, without missing a beat, "No, Glen Beck is the end of hope!" We both got a good laugh on that one! Seriously, this former morning commute DJ doesn't deserve demagogue status, he deserves a freakin' Oscar for playing the role to the 9s. I do not believe this guy actually believes a word that is coming out of his mouth. He is rich beyond anyone's wildest imagination because he was in the right place at the right time. I don't blame him a bit. However, this vitriolic hyperbole about Obama is just plain dangerous. The lunatic right-wing fringe has descended on Washington DC en masse along with a lot of well-meaning people concerned about the defecit who are along as normal window-dressing for the crazies. They will rally at the Lincoln Memorial in DC tomorrow. If any rally ever deserved to be stink-bombed it is this one. The danger is that some freak will try to end Obama's life. And, Glen Beck is like the dog that told Berkowitz to do the killing. Chilling, isn't it?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Picture two skeletons walking down a beach into a glorious sunset. We sure had a great time this summer. Hoping you are too! Enjoy!!
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

How you been? Vid is great btw! :) ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

"Iranian newspapers have been banned from publishing the names or photos of the leaders of Iran's green movement, according to a confidential governmental ruling revealed by an opposition website. The move is part of a new round of censorship, which follows the recent closure of a newspaper and the suspension of two magazines." Guardian.co.uk ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The meeting of 12 government ministers was held in scorching heat Friday in Gashuunii Khooloi, a sandy valley in South Gobi province, about 670 kilometers south of Ulan-Bator. GASHUUNII KHOOLOI, Mongolia – Top Mongolian officials donned dark green baseball caps reading "Save our planet" and set up chairs and tables in the sands of the Gobi desert for a Cabinet meeting aimed at drawing attention to climate change. The meeting of 12 government ministers was held in scorching heat Friday in Gashuunii Khooloi, a sandy valley in South Gobi province, about 415 miles (670 kilometers) south of Ulan-Bator, the country's capital. The ministers, dressed in suits and ties, arrived in the desert in jeeps after a 15-hour journey. Officials planted a Mongolian flag in the ground, set up long tables and chairs in the fine, golden sand and discussed climate change against the backdrop of a vast expanse of desert and a bright blue sky. "Mongolia is feeling the impact of global climate change," Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar said at the one-hour meeting. Batbold pointed to the recent winter as an example of problems Mongolia faces. The winter was the harshest in decades and a fifth of the country's livestock died. The government blames global warming for a decrease in rainfall and says that rising average temperatures have caused many rivers and springs to dry up and snow cover to melt. It also says the frequency of natural disasters and drought has jumped. The site for the meeting was chosen because parts of it used to be arable land, said Badarch, head of social policy for South Gobi province, who like some Mongolians uses only one name. "Five years ago, there used to grow many edible plants in this valley and there were fewer sand dunes. Now look here," he said. "The valley is completely covered with sand. The sand dunes are moving and taking more space each year." Minister of Natural Environment and Tourism Gansukh Luumed said Mongolian herders' traditional way of life is under threat. "Global climate change accelerates the desertification process in Mongolia. Currently, 70 percent of Mongolian land is affected by desertification." In December, Nepalese officials held a Cabinet meeting at Mount Everest to highlight the danger global warming poses to glaciers. It followed an underwater Cabinet meeting in the Maldives in October to underline the threat of rising sea levels. The government said it hoped that delegates attending global climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, in November would reach a decision that is "favorable for landlocked, developing countries ... very much affected by climate change and desertification." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * What a spectacle! The poorest people in the world are holding meetings to point out the obvious to developed countries whose wealthy titans obfuscate and dither. The horror, the horror...
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The Glenn Beck Magic Revival Hour is over now. The concession stands have sold out of "Freedumb Pop," while Believers shout hosannas and praise the "Word" as revealed to Beck from the burning sagebrush of John Wayne's sacred spirit. The great Oz Media has analyzed, punditized, commercialized and celebritized the Archie and Veronica of moral mediocrity, proving once again that if it sparkles like shallow water in sunlight it must be worth ratings. There is nothing new here, nothing even original. Joe Pyne did it in the late 1950s, Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson did it in the 1920s, and my friend's dad, Cleon Skousen, warned all of us, America's children and parents, that creeping Communism and Sputnik and rock 'n' roll would bring about the downfall of America unless we joined the John Birch Society. The country is awash in Commies and Sinners. The End Times are upon us. Again. Sing a hymn. Say a prayer. And send a dollar for God's profit - Glenn. The great American stupid goes on and on. People died in Afghanistan today. Equipment at a construction site for a new mosque in Tennessee was set on fire. Americans continue to lose jobs and houses with little relief on the horizon. The GOP plans to hold probes into possible impeachable offenses by the Obama Administration if they win the midterms. Or at least shut down government. But hey, a bible-thumping millionaire bunko artist set up his Chautauqua tent on television and spoke in tongues and that is twice as cool as life and death. God bless America. In the name of the Holy Trinity: Larry, Curly and Moe - Amen.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

Thanks Lamagonzo, that has always been one of my favorite episodes of the 'Three Stooges'....I channel the spirit of Niagra Falls at least once a year and people look at me like I'm some kind of fool,heh heh....