Grateful Dead

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!

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.

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

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....

I like that one Badger!! "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"

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.

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"

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

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?