Town Quixote's

[Town Heretic]

The Saturday Afternoon Post...Gazette​

Answered a reasonable question about the clock builder's parents...

For the life of me, I can't figure why they'd not sign that waiver, since they so self-evidently have All Facts and Truth on their side it's somehow racist against the race that is the Islamic race to even question it. :think:

Because the school has a vested interest in making itself look as good as it can and, conversely, throwing as much of the kid under the school bus as it can without incurring a lawsuit. There's no upside for the parents so why in the world would they want their kid put through anything that potentially negative?

That turned like milk on the beach...

Someday, if my daughter takes the guts from an old transistor radio and glues them into a cardboard box, I will post video of the new radio and dare ANY of you to tell me she didn't invent a new radio. If you do so, I know a lawyer who I'll hire to sue you for defamation and racism.

...I'm beginning to suspect you could illustrate the Chinese Whispers game/effect in a monologue.

as glory wondered...

LA knows this but is ever on the hunt for a small bit of wiggle room. A way to deny but still affirm. You're a lawyer...surely you have a name for someone like that. :think:

:think: Sure. Congress[man].

Then someone who doesn't know the makeup of Congress tried for heat...

Which is made up of ... :chuckle:

Politicians. lain:

This is seriously funny stuff ... if serious and funny can be used in the same sentence.

...Like watching a politician try to throw from the mound to the plate on opening day and watching the ball just roll along in the dirt about half way there.

Then tried to pick it up and throw it again, from the stands...

Judging from the afore mentioned reps it appears that your sentiment is not unanimous nor my point lost on all. :chuckle:

House: 441 members
Senate: 100 members
Number of lawyers: 202

More than half of Congress is comprised of people, I'd imagine, a lot like you. Well meaning, sure they have it generally right, and wide of the mark. But if you go by their rep, popular among a group of constituents equally mistaken.

After JF noted the Clerk from Kentucky had signed a book deal...

I can't wait for her "I don't want to be the center of attention" book tour. lain:

While back in the liberal thread...

That looks like an opportunity to fall down a Wikipedia hole if I ever saw one. :chuckle:

Sometimes, when people use Wiki repeatedly, I feel like saying, "Close your Wikipedia hole."

But I never do. :nono:

Talked Trump with rm...

It is FOX's loss not his, they cancelled the interview prior to this tweet and we don't know what was going on behind the scenes maybe they are treating him unfair

Did you mean to write "tweeting him unfair"?

...He is still the leader by the polls

I for one think he'd be a great leader of the pollish people. lain:

at least so, I would say keep doing whatever is working, he still has a great following....

Let's just agree they're substantial...well, numerous then.

And turkey with chrys...

the odds are changing
hillary is 6/4
jeb is 5/1
trump is 10/1
you idiots can now make even more money

Who are you calling idiots? You think Hillary is 6'4". lain:

aCW was back...

No, I rely solely on you Libertarians for my knowledge of the Founding Fathers.
Sarcasm aside:
What would you call someone who appeals for prayer at the Constitutional Convention, an atheist?

A politician.

And aCW, feeling the power of his source material asked the question he thought he knew the answer to...but didn't...

Remind me what political office Benjamin Franklin ever held or for that matter, ran for?

He was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751. One assumes he ran since it didn't say he was appointed. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775. He was thereafter Postmaster General, a treaty agent and Minister to the French Court.

Though you don't actually have to be any of those to sound like a politician. lain:

Wrapping with chrys about families...

Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without.

I'm betting slaves who had families of a sort thrust into them or saw parts of theirs sold away from them would probably disagree with that "as never before" part...So I guess it's all about perspective.

Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family.

Biology isn't relation. Biology is sex. Relationship is more complicated than that. Relationships happen without sex being involved at all. And even relationships where sex is an integral part happen without that function leading to procreation more often than not and mostly always have, though without protection it did tend to happen eventually outside of particular restraints, like a low count or a woman being barren.

I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.

That much we agree on. Family life is a wonderful thing, though it's wonderful in couples and wonderful in a new way and dimension when children are involved.

Tomorrow? The clock is still ticking, more fantasy with aCW and I try the word game, again... lain:

 

[Town Heretic]

The Thursday, (guess who had to take his son to school) Gazette :yawn:​

DR asked...

I also think you Americans are a bit hung up on law. Does everything have to be either legal or illegal?

Name something that isn't. lain:

He actually had a different point in mind, but it wasn't as funny. lain:


Picked at must, because I had to...

So do you charge by the hour?

Most lawyers charge an hourly rate, unless they're charging a percentage for some sort of serious injury recovery. Are you saying your comment about defamation/racism was the result of a serious injury?

Just trying to plan ahead.

Admirable, but I don't provide the service that the comment you made requires. The people who do will tend to charge an hourly rate though. lain:

While aCW was making history...

If our country were ever physically divided (as we know, it's morally divided), I'd without a doubt live on the side that reflected the ideology of our Founding Fathers....

I think you're out of your tree. The Founding Fathers philosophy gave us slavery as a legal institution and women as second class citizens. That might be your idea of a Utopian society, but you're going to have a real problem finding a date on Saturday night. lain:

...Many were not slave owners and spoke against slavery.

I'm sure the slaves felt a lot better about their lot after the speeches.

...women pretty much stayed at home and did an invaluable job (raising children and keeping the family and home together) they were "second class citizens".

Yes, women who weren't given the freedoms they should have been entitled to, an equality under the law, nevertheless contributed greatly to the society that denied them.

Women are great.

...As I say in the thread that you got frustrated and left without even saying goodbye (aCW wipes an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye)...

Why not, it was an imaginary point.

Got a little better at the word game...maybe...

smug thug

thug boat

lain:

Then after I put together a very different picture of clock-boys pro-West, bootstrap pulling, small business owning, Sufi father...

The Holy Land Foundation was the biggest Muslim charity in the U.S. Its founders -- immigrants -- are in prison for sending $12 million to Hamas. For years, they were believed to be an upstanding, law-abiding organization.

And Bernie Madoff was a beloved and upstanding member of the financial community once. Sure. People can get scammed.

...My point is that not all Muslims can be trusted because many of them hate non-Muslims just for being non-Muslims. And short of them admitting it publicly, we cannot tell which do and which do not.

It is reasonable to be concerned about someone acting suspiciously. It's not reasonable to be suspicious of every black person you see because you read crime statistics that show blacks disproportionately commit violent crime. Especially not reasonable if you have background on the man and what you can know is the sort of thing that should satisfy.

Or you can treat every Muslim like a sleeper and every black man like a volcano. But that's not a rational approach.

Your point about Muslim immigrants is...?

I don't like broad brushes, so my point has been about the man in front of me. He's no more responsible for any reasonable complaint I might have against Islam than I am for slavery or Tim McVeigh.

When glory chimed in elsewhere on a point of clarification...

Probably why you like me so much, too. Don't try and deny it....I know you do.

Deny it? I was thinking of getting a tattoo.

Speaking of which...

OK. But tattoo on his forehead "Bigamist" so no other woman can be dupped.

I could support it, though I have to say I read "but tattoo" and the rest was read laughing. It's been one of those.

Then during a bigamy discourse Knight said...

But seriously folks isn't having one wife more than enough??? :sibbie:

If you change "more than" to punishment it would be funnier...until your wife read it.

Before Meshak waded in on the question of Christ...

You don't seem to know much about Jesus' word.

I'll be a little more concerned about your judgment on the point when you understand who the author is.

What Jesus is saying that you cannot inherit His kingdom by lip services, not by what you claim or your doctrines..

No, he's saying you don't inherit, earn it by any of your or my frail efforts, but by his work. The rest is gratitude and the walk.

Jesus says we know them by their fruit.

Right. A good tree will bear good fruit, but no fruit will ever bear a tree.

And...

You are right. I will be judged accordingly if I speak carelessly.

Or you could simply look to God the Son for grace.

But I am confident in what I spread.

So was Stalin.

I have been reading your posts and your comments are so worldly, over all.

You probably just need a new lens on those glasses. I once thought Knight said he instituted a monkey reset...he didn't though, sadly.

Jesus' followers are not of the world, says Jesus.

Then you have a problem, because I'm a follower. Time to reset your judgeometer, I suppose.

Tomorrow? Squinting with meshak, chrys supports the Klan and who knows what else? :idunno:

 

[Town Heretic]

The Friday Afternoon Gazette​

Well...the Pope is gone, but his memory lingers on...to abuse the Beach Boys...

I heard Kim "I don't want to be the center of attention" Davis had a secret meeting with the Pope, but you know it got out and all over the news somehow anyway.

I know that has to really bother Kim, but no one asked her about it at the press conference. lain:

Mirrored a goofy habit...

they both support same sex marriage

Chrys supports the Klan.

I support
religious freedom
francis
kim

And the Klan.

and the family

Okay, and clans too. lain:

And...

why do women support the democratic party?

Isn't that like asking why black people can dance and love friend chicken? lain:

they are silent about that

Who is they? Because most women I know, dem or rep, are happy to tell you why they believe a thing. The only people I see suggesting otherwise are grumpy, stereotype minded old men with an ax that's nearly down to the handle.

Before meshak was back...he la...

You just made my case.

Only if you squint really, really hard.

Yes, but most of you made a doctrine out of Him.

Rather, he made a Christian out of me, by forgiving my sin, by being God. And if you don't have that you have a word and an idea, a doctrine in lieu, ironically.

Met up with our little AB... (yes, it's a theme)...

I wasn't aware that black people usually have poultry pals?

:think:

Worse Christmas gift ever. And God forbid you wrap the thing and put it under the tree a week early...even if you cook it first.

Then wouldn't it be chrys...

real men vote republican

Do they need bumper sticker, philosophical appeals relating to an otherwise unestablished masculine validation?

Or is that just a bonus? lain:

While DR made an itsy-bitsy, teeny weenie point...

Pas d'elle yeux Rhone que nous.

"Caesar adsum jam forte
Brutus aderat
Caesar sic in omnibus
Brutus sic in at"

There there was a whole lot of something going on...what, I can't say...

"Which two boxes would you choose to test this rule?"

Your link isn't working. lain:

And...

I'm going to make a logical inference that the link isn't working because there's no link there. lain:

Spoiler

Someone had a fever...maybe...

AMBIGUITY
uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language.
vagueness, obscurity, abstruseness, doubtfulness, uncertainty;
a lack of decisiveness or commitment resulting from a failure
to make a choice between alternatives.

FAIL by definition.

Tomorrow? Seasons in the sun...and whatnot...

 

[Town Heretic]

The Monday Afternoon Gazette​

Started off on the wrong foot in the Favorite Season thread...

:think: I'd have to say garlic. . .

Took a survey...

...Hogan's Heroes is a worldly show made by worldy people...are you surprised?

I suppose so, but mostly by the accents.

3. The View and other shows talk about what's going on in modern society so does many self-proclaimed conservative outlets online and offline.

Well, what's going on in society that will get people yelling about it. I mean, soccer games go on in America every day, but you don't really hear about them.

Had a word with fazap...

Hopefully, at some point, you will realize that it is not just democrats that are being herded into the squeeze chute ... it is humanity. Ideology is a myopia offered by our would be herdsman in the hope that we don't see where this is all headed until it is to late.

I don't believe in vast conspiracies to rid us of our right and power, but I do believe in the clumsy corruption and excess of power sitting too long in the same hands. In our state that's the republican establishment. And it's ham fisted sense of self is inadvertently inviting the U.S. Attorney to come down and clean house at some point. Hubris...

That turned into a rabbit hole...

Evidently you haven't perused your Bible far enough to encounter mention of the antagonist in it's plot.

lain: There are two sorts of conversations. This isn't one of them.

Then when meshak shook her finger at metaphysical qualification...

Qualification for salvation, what else.

Everyone believes in qualifications or we'd just wake up rich and happy.

Chrys had a peculiar notion...

good morning
good morning
so what is new?
another shooting
another chance to ban guns

Because those are the choices, do nothing at all or completely ban guns. lain: What NRA chapter are you president of?

another chance to restrict our freedom

Most freedoms are restricted. Unlimited freedom isn't a virtue or we wouldn't have prisons and laws.

As aCW dug a hole that hit China...

...It's human nature for the guilty to be nervous, the innocent know that the police are their friend and wouldn't be nervous if they were telling the truth.

See, if I ever believed you were a law enforcement officer that alone would have completely turned me around. You literally don't appear to have any experience on the point with that comment. Not even remotely true.

Another myth is the belief that only guilty people appear nervous. This idea assumes that a person who has nothing to hide has no reason to be nervous or to demonstrate fidgeting and anxiety often associated with deceit. Questioning by law enforcement can be stressful for anyone, especially someone with little understanding of the criminal justice system. That anxiety can be heightened by accusatory questions or an aggressive interviewing style. Not surprisingly, innocent individuals often demonstrate many of the stereotypical behaviors associated with deception, including speech errors, fidgeting, and gaze aversion. The Truth About Lying: What Investigators Need to Know, by Brian D. Fitch, Ph.D., fbi.gov​

TomO practiced his English with Granite...

"Bite me, clown".

Horrible British accent, unfathomable euphemism and questionable punctuation aside, sure, you say that, but if someone actually bit your clown you'd probably shoot them. lain:

And after a couple of members went at it over who was trying to fool whom with what for five to ten pages I couldn't help noting...

Nothing brings out the fun like a logic quiz. lain:

Before chrys asked me...

do you know what honest is?

Yes. It's what prompted me to give you the answer on my first vote when you asked it even though I knew how you'd use it.

It's what you and your friend don't exhibit when you tell half the truth to give a misleading impression.

Thanks for asking.

While back in the Simple Logic Puzzle laugh-fest...

A quote-unquote simple logic quiz, Town.

Nothing brings out the grammarians like a simple logic quiz. lain:


quip. "Simple Logic Quiz." TOL., 27 September 2015. Web.

Tomorrow? Murder, sex, movies and liberality, more or less. lain:

 

[Town Heretic]

The Thursday Morning Gazette
(now with coupons!)​

Chrys served up one for posterity...

another reluctant feminist
who
can't admit to being one
and
it is my fault because I don't know what a feminist is

Considered Jefferson's complaint and the odd notion of it as a liberal or conservative point...

Cornell President: “Speech Can Be Regulated … To Serve A Compelling State Interest”
.

Always has been. No right is without some fetter. Among the things you can't do with your right to free speech? Run down the street screaming profanity, or hand out the plans for making a chemical bomb. Try inciting a riot with speech so calculated, and so on.

It's not a liberal or a conservative notion or position, rather more of a functioning political neccessity, so why you have it under liberal censorship is anyone's guess.

Talked the cost of Halloween finery with anna...

...now it's a marketing/money-making gold mine and that's too bad.

This year I'm going trick or treating as a corporate ladder and Jack is going to wear a suit and climb me. lain: My wife is going as a radical, so she'll mostly ride along in the car I provide while denouncing the entire business via social media.

Likely surprised a few right wingers with my response to Aik...

Wouldn't you agree that it is under attack from ideologues on both sides today?

...I'm more concerned with the left than the right these days...The right, at their worst...use speech to couch contrary ideas as unpatriotic. That can have a chilling effect on discourse, to be sure...but the left has introduced the notion of hate speech and that concerns me more. I can write off a fanatic waving a judgment at me, but when words become entangled in criminal convictions it tends to do more than temper speech, it can move to eliminate it.

Rebutted a bit of geographic homerism...

Maybe we secular baby-eating New Englanders have figured something out that the Bible Belt could stand to learn from.:think:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you have to live through August in the South then you can tell me about the restraint of New England. When your weather is lousy it's actually harder to shoot someone. lain:

And after noting my reservations regarding sexually fueled public wrestling matches...

Well then don't look.

I wouldn't, but it's like greatness, sometimes you have it thrust in front of you. :shocked: Except it's not so great and often looks like an impromptu oral surgery coupled with the sort of groping you usually have to go to an airport to experience (either).

Elsewhere, meshak threw a shriek on the barbie...

My name is mentioned many times in this thread in mocking way.
They seem to so angry about me.

Well, you know. That's how some people get with heretics. Even the well meaning ones. So let's see...you threw Paul out of the Bible? What other books have failed the meshak litmus?

I seem to get many people's nerves. Most my threads are what is going on at the Christian communities that most of you don't want to talk about. It seems to apply to your churches, obviously.
the truth hurts.

So do lies told repeatedly...and really tight shoes. Or hats, maybe.

Gamely attempted the word game again...(yes AB, I meant "gamely" and that is exactly how you spell it :mmph...

Ferris Bueller

Ferris fair lain:

Wrapped up discussing one heretic with another...

So, Scripture causes people to stumble, eh?

Not unless you confuse yourself with scripture. Which may well be the case now that I think about it.

...You are taking the doctrine of the Trinity and twisting it to the Son IS the Father

That's simply untrue. What I am proclaiming is that Jesus Christ IS God. Is fully God as is the Father or the Holy Spirit.

BTW, capitalize the word Trinity, Town, when you're referring to the Father, Son and Ruach.

An error of a keystroke, easily repaired. Your thinking may be harder to amend. We'll see.

And...

...The Son has God-ship by virtue of His Father only. You're putting forth a twisted version of the doctrine of the Trinity. One that Yeshua would not and did not support.

Why it's so hard for you to speak your heresy plainly in denial is a curious thing. Jesus is or isn't fully God. I'm in the "is" camp.

You don't appear to be.

...Yeshua was not two-faced.

Straw flying everywhere. Windmills tilting full blast.

Scripture isn't froth

Of course not, but I wasn't speaking to scripture, as you know, but to what you were doing and, more importantly, what you weren't doing.

Yeshua reduced His own Name to a magic word?

No, again answering this peculiarly twisted habit of yours, I said those who don't acknowledge the authority behind the name are reducing it.

People like you and meshak.

The rest of your insult and straw throwing aren't of particular interest to me. You could have saved us both a great deal of time and simply declared Christ to be a man granted power by God but not fully God and ended this ages ago. I was clear enough on the point.

Observed...

No one with a rep score over a million should be allowed to comment about rep...aw, man. :mmph:

Ending with this horrific conflagration of temper and malice...

Spoiler

I say, relevant satire is not appropriate on this thread old bean. Kindly take such shenanigans someplace else...

:nono:

Old Sport...probably the worst cologne ever made. lain:

Tomorrow? Hard to say. Maybe the sports page. oly:

 

[Town Heretic]

The Saturday Afternoon Gazette
(now available in mint flavor)​

Over in the breakfast thread...

Oops, I double-posted.

And that....that is how you get ants. :mmph:

While in the Moron of the day thread, Eeset was busy quoting...

Moron of the Day
Town Heretic
May 3rd, 2012 10:56 AM

Proving what some had suspected

That you lack even the pretense of originality? :thumb:

Then chrys came rolling in...

this is a mean spirited thread

In the sense that holding a mirror is mean spirited, yes.

Else, no.

and the person who started it is not a republican

Or a democrat. Go figure. Seriously, you should go somewhere and try to figure that out. lain:

Before Eeset wondered...

What is the line on whether he will close this thread?

And take away your opportunity to make the unintended point you'll quickly put your eyes out with?

Perish the thought.

And, trying for traction with the ol...

any good lawyer (is that even possible?)

It is more often than you might imagine. And as anyone reading you interpret an opponent's position over the years or watching you cobble a conclusion sans facts understands, you have imagination.

...the vast majority of abortions would not be possible without the support of the democratic party

They wouldn't be possible at all without the republican party.

...so those not voting republican are an accomplice to the killing of babies

See what I mean? Imagination. You've got it out the wazoo. Which is likely where you pull most of your points from.

Started a conversation about responsible responses to the latest shooting tragedy...

Guns aren't cars. Regulating them in the same fashion is senseless

I'm not on board with all of it, but how is it senseless to mandate a course in the safe use of a potentially lethal instrument? In fact, I'd argue that a safe and proficient use aids everyone, making the user less likely to do something foolish and hurt someone who doesn't need it.

In that light, training, certification and renewal make perfect sense to me.

While in the Halloween thread...

When you hit high school, it's time to ditch the costume

SWAT team descends on CO school over student’s Halloween costume

Did someone go as a clock? lain:

Then continued with Stripe on guns...

...Regulations might very well be justified. They are not justified by comparing guns to cars. Rules are justified if their implementation and enforcement is reasonable compared with the potential benefits.

Okay. I don't have a problem with that.

[asked which regulations he particularly objected to and why] Probably all of them.

I probably disagree with you then.

They don't let you have guns where you live, do they. lain:

Certainly all the ones liberals are demanding today.

I'd have to see specifics. If Stalin advocated for penicillin it wouldn't impact my thinking on the drug. ...Gun safety courses? Absolutely a good idea. I don't want someone handling a boat without an understanding of how to do it safely. To have a lesser standard for a lethal instrument is insane.

The reason they are made is a knee-jerk reaction to specific instances of violence, ignoring the overall problem and implementing worthless measures. What they teach is that people cannot be trusted or taught.

Like I said, it's an idea to idea examination. Toss the bath water, but keep the baby. And that's where we need to rise above the partisan noise and make progress that makes sense and benefits everyone involved.

Then Cal was back with Halloween hijinks...

I can't stand Halloween. I like going to parties, but I hate dressing up in a costume like a child.

Do you mean that you have difficulty with buttons or that you wear the wrong sort of costume?

Also, trick-or-treat happens on my birthday, so I flee the house and go out for margaritas while hundreds of little gobblins troll my neighborhood for candy.

I can't wait to hear about your Christmas. lain:

And I tried to mend fences with Rusha...

lain: I shared my tale of woe and you ... laughed at me.

Hmmmppphhhhh ....

I'd rather think of it as laughing with you...if from a couple of paces back and to one side.

Tomorrow? Seating arrangements, movies, gunplay, fish in trees and I get a pony ride...okay, it's a dead pony, but when in Rome and whatnot. :thumb:

 

[Town Heretic]

Gazette Editorial​

No one who witnessed 911 responders rushing into harms way, or has heard the tales of members of the armed forces winning medals of valor for placing their lives in jeopardy to defend their fellows could be confused on the point of their personal courage. And we've all heard of family members casting aside the thought of personal safety to protect their loved ones. More rarely, people will rise to a moment in defense of friends. Rarest of all, doing so for strangers sans that military or other training on the point.

But most people in those situations don't respond heroically. Overwhelmingly, they don't. And there's no cowardice in an absence of heroism.

In fact, most soldiers, men trained to respond to that sort of thing, don't receive medals of valor. Most who do meet the moment heroically, the vast majority of that overwhelming minority do so in defense of people they've been trained to protect in situations they've been drilled to respond to in ways the rest of us simply aren't.

We shouldn't confuse or conflate the absence of that action and training with cowardice or play word games to defame the dead. If you haven't had the training you're likely going to respond instinctively and most of the time that's going to mean you'll put as much distance as you can between you and a lethal instrument. That isn't cowardice. That's a very understandable and human reaction.

Should we celebrate and acknowledge great acts of courage? Of course. We simply shouldn't expect those acts to define the normal or expected or cast aspersions on those who fail to meet that mark, as most do and will. If professional soldiers don't typically manage it, the chance of you doing it without that training are slim.

If you haven't found yourself confronted with violence, you can't know how you'll respond to it. For most of you the answer won't look like it does for a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. And there's no shame in that. There is shame and a sort of cowardice in attacking the defenseless though and their reputations. So try not to do that if you can help yourself.

 

[Town Heretic]

The Tuesday Morning Gazette​

In A Momentary Life, observed...

Our faith isn't something we approach, but is, instead, a thing we inhabit.

When Cruc started a "my faith's better than your faith" thread...

This thread is an illustration of the real folly that besets Christendom and has since apostles argued over a seating arrangement.

Then a Protestant response was issued...

It is rather a clarification that the Protestants are authenticated if not more authenticated than the Catholics.

And I summed...

Well, just let me know who gets to sit nearer the head of the table when you two hammer it out. I'm fine anywhere, just so long as I'm at it.

Stripe was back in the gun violence thread with...

...People are generally not good

An unproven assertion. Some people demonstrably aren't. That's one reason we have prisons. It doesn't follow that everyone belongs in one.

And it has, literally, nothing to do with the point that safety training will make people, in general, safer.

...People can learn how to pass a test.

And learning how to pass this one would involve understanding how to safely use and maintain a firearm.

Being able to pass a test is not what we want.

It is if we want people to be able to safely use and maintain their firearm.

They can be a measure of that. However, they become rote. They should never be relied on to teach responsibility and care.

We drill soldiers not so they'll weary of being responsible, but to ingrain responsibility right down to the muscle memory of how they respond.

Played for the double score in the rep thread...

It's noon here in SW Oklahoma and a very pleasant 67 degrees. It's a nice change, and the forecast is more of the mild weather for the next several days. We're ready for the cooler weather.

Down here cooler weather means it's hot. lain:

Before PJ contested...

you don't know what heat is in Florida -

In the way a fish doesn't know wet.

SD was getting into the spirits of things in the Halloween thread...

A favorite day for Sodomites

But really, who doesn't like candy? lain:

Noted a Jack happening...

Jack said he wants to go as a big sack this year and then people will give him more candy because if they don't it will look like they're stingy.

Gotta love a thinker.

Revisited One Sentence Movie Reviews

San Andreas: plenty of fault to go around here..

Pan: panned.

The Martian: how many times does Matt Damon have to be trapped before we realize he isn't cut out for space travel?

Pitch Perfect 2: not sharp at all.

Tomorrow? Faith, numbers and suspicious snow. :idunno:

 

[ok doser]

Gazette Editorial​

No one who witnessed 911 responders rushing into harms way, or has heard the tales of members of the armed forces winning medals of valor for placing their lives in jeopardy to defend their fellows could be confused on the point of their personal courage. And we've all heard of family members casting aside the thought of personal safety to protect their loved ones. More rarely, people will rise to a moment in defense of friends. Rarest of all, doing so for strangers sans that military or other training on the point.

But most people in those situations don't respond heroically. Overwhelmingly, they don't. And there's no cowardice in an absence of heroism.

In fact, most soldiers, men trained to respond to that sort of thing, don't receive medals of valor. Most who do meet the moment heroically, the vast majority of that overwhelming minority do so in defense of people they've been trained to protect in situations they've been drilled to respond to in ways the rest of us simply aren't.

We shouldn't confuse or conflate the absence of that action and training with cowardice or play word games to defame the dead. If you haven't had the training you're likely going to respond instinctively and most of the time that's going to mean you'll put as much distance as you can between you and a lethal instrument. That isn't cowardice. That's a very understandable and human reaction.

Should we celebrate and acknowledge great acts of courage? Of course. We simply shouldn't expect those acts to define the normal or expected or cast aspersions on those who fail to meet that mark, as most do and will. If professional soldiers don't typically manage it, the chance of you doing it without that training are slim.

If you haven't found yourself confronted with violence, you can't know how you'll respond to it. For most of you the answer won't look like it does for a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. And there's no shame in that. There is shame and a sort of cowardice in attacking the defenseless though and their reputations. So try not to do that if you can help yourself.

feel free to actually engage in a dialogue about this if you think you're up to it

i have a whole thread going over here!

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Gazette Editorial​

No one who witnessed 911 responders rushing into harms way, or has heard the tales of members of the armed forces winning medals of valor for placing their lives in jeopardy to defend their fellows could be confused on the point of their personal courage.

Very much liked the Gazette Editorial. Resonated with me. While in the jungles of Vietnam the oft-used expression was "when bullets start flying find a coke can to hide in." It was only after months of exposure to human carnage that the expression devolved into "if it moves shoot it, if it does not move shoot it and find out why it is not moving". Indeed, the first time someone was shooting in my direction, despite all the training, my reaction was to look for a coca cola can.

By the end of my twelve month tour, I managed well enough, had the swagger and the thousand yard stare that all the FNGs (ahem, Freakin' New Guys) recognized. Thankfully I had not reached the point of some of my other fellow combatants who wore the ears of their enemy around their necks. Sigh.

The "gung-ho" FNGs (thinking their mission was to Kill a Commie for Christ) that accompanied us were kept in the rear during their first few humps in the jungle. Why? When ambushed these chums were invariably the ones who would start running away and would just fire off automatic bursts of rounds to their rearward direction as they ran. No one with any experience wanted to be located behind these John Wayne wannabes. Accordingly, positioning them in the rear and knowing to run perpendicular to these guys when the shooting started reduced (sigh, again) the friendly fire casualties during not a few ambush encounters.

So, when I read of the former soldier taking seven rounds in defense of the folks in Oregon, it made perfect sense to me. When "crap happens" (enemy bullets flying) the experienced combat veteran enters into that zone of indifference, wherein the only thing that matters is self-preservation and rapid extinction of the threat(s).

Of course, "the threat" is what we call actual men, women, and children, but to someone locked and loaded in combat, that "human being" sentiment ends up getting your buddies killed. It is drilled into you "the enemy", "the target", "the threat". These impersonalizations help to harden whatever decent moral compass you are carrying around when "crap happens" so you can get on with the task at hand. Sadly some soldiers never overcome the hardening and return back to "the world" from combat zones quite dead inside and in need of real help.

No matter how many years pass, (well over thirty for me), the combat experience never quite leaves you alone. The Vietnam experience, for me, is the filter through which events in my life passes. Well-meaning friends and family say I am so calm, non-plussed by most things in life, rarely upset when life hands me a test before giving me the lesson. They just do not understand why this is so, or that the fleeting moments of a nearby passing helicopter immediately transports me back in time, filling my mind's eye with images I'd rather forget. Yes, things could be worse, I could be in 'Nam has become a "should I get worked up or not" litmus test for me.

AMR

 

[ok doser]

Todd Beamer didn't have a military background

just sayin'

 

[Town Heretic]

Very much liked the Gazette Editorial. Resonated with me. While in the jungles of Vietnam the oft-used expression was "when bullets start flying find a coke can to hide in." It was only after months of exposure to human carnage that the expression devolved into "if it moves shoot it, if it does not move shoot it and find out why it is not moving". Indeed, the first time someone was shooting in my direction, despite all the training, my reaction was to look for a coca cola can.

By the end of my twelve month tour, I managed well enough, had the swagger and the thousand yard stare that all the FNGs (ahem, Freakin' New Guys) recognized. Thankfully I had not reached the point of some of my other fellow combatants who wore the ears of their enemy around their necks. Sigh.

The "gung-ho" FNGs (thinking their mission was to Kill a Commie for Christ) that accompanied us were kept in the rear during their first few humps in the jungle. Why? When ambushed these chums were invariably the ones who would start running away and would just fire off automatic bursts of rounds to their rearward direction as they ran. No one with any experience wanted to be located behind these John Wayne wannabes. Accordingly, positioning them in the rear and knowing to run perpendicular to these guys when the shooting started reduced (sigh, again) the friendly fire casualties during not a few ambush encounters.

So, when I read of the former soldier taking seven rounds in defense of the folks in Oregon, it made perfect sense to me. When "crap happens" (enemy bullets flying) the experienced combat veteran enters into that zone of indifference, wherein the only thing that matters is self-preservation and rapid extinction of the threat(s).

Of course, "the threat" is what we call actual men, women, and children, but to someone locked and loaded in combat, that "human being" sentiment ends up getting your buddies killed. It is drilled into you "the enemy", "the target", "the threat". These impersonalizations help to harden whatever decent moral compass you are carrying around when "crap happens" so you can get on with the task at hand. Sadly some soldiers never overcome the hardening and return back to "the world" from combat zones quite dead inside and in need of real help.

No matter how many years pass, (well over thirty for me), the combat experience never quite leaves you alone. The Vietnam experience, for me, is the filter through which events in my life passes. Well-meaning friends and family say I am so calm, non-plussed by most things in life, rarely upset when life hands me a test before giving me the lesson. They just do not understand why this is so, or that the fleeting moments of a nearby passing helicopter immediately transports me back in time, filling my mind's eye with images I'd rather forget. Yes, things could be worse, I could be in 'Nam has become a "should I get worked up or not" litmus test for me.

AMR

Thank you, for your service, this post and your friendship and help in any number of meaningful ways over the years. I'm going to let this sit atop my usual nonsense for a few days. It darn nearly justifies the thread.

 

[Town Heretic]

The Night Owl Gazette​

Offered helpful advice...

RUSHA - COME TO CANADA AND FROLLICK IN THE YELLOW AND BROWN SNOW.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ps. WHY DOES CHRYSTOSTOMP

POST LIKE ME ?

AND WHERE IS THE OP FOR THIS THREAD

AND WHAT IS THIS THREAD ALL ABOUT ?

Have a nice day

In order: leave the discolored snow alone, likely a head injury, at the other end, geraniums, you too.

Commented in the rep thread...

Sometimes math seems to be the greatest unifying point for Christendom here, if almost entirely in division and fractions. lain:

rpchk made a peculiar pitch...

There would be no Protestants if there had not been Catholics and the Chuch

When will you come Home?

So if an atheist says, "There would be no saints without there first being sinners. When will you come home?" lain:

Pure thought...

God made us each to be uniquely ourselves. Not to throw ourselves away to join some Bible-worshipping religious cult. Turn off the radios, shut off the TVs, and put down the Bibles, and take the time to sit with and face yourself.

I'll agree that the unexamined life isn't worth much. I don't know why I'd want to put down my Bible though. Seems a bit like going on an expedition without a map.

Summed my response to the petarded "better than Protestants"...

Sure thing. Take care now.

You too and bless your heart.

Seriously though, there's the one seat and we all get it if we love and rely on Christ. The rest is just...hubris.

So if Catholicism as a process helps your walk, our disagreements notwithstanding, I say good on you. And the same to the Baptist. If that is insufficient for you then you have my bemused compassion.

Then there was meshak...

Boast away all you want. See if Jesus approve of your boasting.

Relying on Christ entirely isn't boasting, though claiming your works will save you seems rather hard to call anything else.

And...

You too, Town.

What about the horse I rode in on?

Who's going to feed it?? :shocked:

I will not respond to your gibberish talk.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the problem is with your vocabulary? oly:

off you ignore.

Of course you haven't.

So after someone flexed, chrys tried the mysterious...

you forgot innuendo

I love to hear ironically challenged internet tough guys crying like someone stole their ponies. :chuckle:

But then...

why did you think we were talking about you?

Who said anything about who you were talking/thinking about?

I mean other than you, just now.

So after I noted the foundational truth of Christendom...

this is your doctrine

No, it's not. It wasn't the "doctrine of the Pharisees" either. They were about as hostile to Christ as anyone could be, but the foundation of their hostility was that same foundation.

and I am talking about what Jesus says.

Jesus didn't argue the point of his authority.

So stop trolling.

Anyone calling the truth of who Christ is an act of trolling is in need of grace. And given you're steadily posting this denial on a Christian site I could as easily say the same to you.

Also, it's poor form to start a thread to insult people of a particular faith then whine when they show up to differ.

Before chrys said...

I believe in Him

That's a great place to begin.

I believe I will be forgiven

What do you think the hold-up is?

I believe I must do better

When do you think you'll do good enough?

Speaking of one sentence movie reviews...

Tomorrowland: been there/saw that.

Terminator Genysis: hopefully won't be back.

Tomorrow? Someone gets hammered and mistakes are made. :shocked:

 

[Town Heretic]

The Sunday Afternoon Gazette​

anna confused me in the personality test thread...

...the questions attempt, with operational definitions of hypothetical constructs to measure what can't be directly observed.

You lost the group tour with that one...but I loved Operation as a kid, if that helps. Now they've made all the holes too big and anyone can get to the funny bone, or whatever they've replaced it with...probably a toaster...stupid Hasbro. :mmph:

Third (no doubt there are plenty better reasons, but I'll stick with these three because they're mine ), personalities are shaped by genetics and environment, by the nuances of millions of experiences and interactions - and maybe the best we can do at this point in time is muddle along with the various diagnostic tools we have

Muddling long among tools? Sounds like the Back Alley.

Maybe someday these tools will look positively prehistoric, or maybe they'll never really be able to cross that mental frontier.

Because the Nativists are restless.

Said of meshak and my general position about those laying claim to the Body but standing on foundational heresy...

...For all that I don't dislike her. I don't think she actually means harm and I believe that she's sincere in her beliefs. But I also believe her presence here is a bad idea. It's one thing to oppose the faith and another thing to pervert it. The former is done from without, is by its nature separate and antagonistic, the latter takes on the appearance of being done from within. That I'd excise, would deny a platform and cast it out from the appearance of being a real division among us, like the declarant or not.

So, of course...

...Should we contrast the two?

Only if you mean to miss the point, which doesn't surprise me. I'm talking about Christ and you'd rather make it about--

meshak has never reported, attacked or insulted me.

Differed with a friend on a point of tolerance...

...I said I didn't expect that from you, and when I asked if the light was for everyone in the house, you didn't answer, and yes, you did invite the inquiry or I wouldn't have asked. I think it's a reasonable question to ask. Who is the light for, if not for the unbelievers also?

I don't think it's a reasonable question because any Christian...should understand the commission that flows from that understanding.

I don't think your analogy fits.

Then tell me how.

Here's the parallel again: fidelity is to marriage as divinity is to Christ.

To value marriage and infidelity is to work against the proffer.

To value Christ and deny his divinity is to work against the proffer.

These are houses divided. It invites confusion in those we are meant to minister to and I think that is the root of the scriptural response to it.

You're saying that you'd rather battle unbelief than heresy. Both are outside the faith and I don't see why you'd differentiate between the two.

Hopefully it's a bit clearer now why I and Paul and I think any of the Church fathers would reject them. Meshak has been presented the truth more than scripture requires and has rejected it and with it her place among those who are to bear witness to the truth of Christ.

Then someone was busy trying to paint Tot with a familiar brush...

I prefer to pray for you and town. meshak is not in need of prayer.

Someone who rejects Paul's teaching and the divinity of Christ isn't in need of your prayer but those who don't are.

Priorities, eh?


And clarified a point or two...

...Who exactly are you ministering to who's been confused by Meshak? Sincere question.

I don't doubt it's sincerity but it's the wrong question. It's like saying I can't argue against cigarettes unless I can name someone who might be dying from them.

Meshak presents a false gospel, denying the foundation of the faith and does it in the name of the author of that faith. She misleads anyone who credits her. Now it may be that none will. It may be that one will. And if we empower her to mislead even one in the name of Christ we do a disservice to our commission.

Reject how, in the context of TOL nuts and bolts specifically?

I'd deny those misrepresenting the fundamental truth of Christ the opportunity to confuse the witness of the Body. I'm sorry if I was unclear on the point. I'd do what I could to correct them, but if they insisted on the heresy I think it's clear what the Biblical position regarding them is along with the folly of presenting a house divided.

Then Eeset was back to...

Oh gosh town I forgot you worshiped Paul.

...I honor the Word of God and Paul's part as a minister of that word. What Christian doesn't?

...Can we get back to the part where Jesus is cavorting with sinners and tax collectors?

Thanks. That makes me happier to be among those you insult.

Following her cavorting remark, remarkably, with the hubris of...

You sir are the very reason this country is abandoning God, equality and liberty.

And whole foods and line dancing.

But not in your mind. No, you deny it.

Well, I'm rational, so it's bound to happen.

And you will continue to deny it while society collapses around you. I hope you have stored enough for your family to make it through the tough times.

You're like the Shakespeare of complete crap.

I wish you no ill will.

That really comes through. :thumb:

Tomorrow? I meet the new guy and Pure judges the judges...

 

[Town Heretic]

The Thursday Morning Gazette​

Continued to speak to the problem of essential unity...

Who are you reflecting His light to? Only believers? Or everyone in the house?

I've answered on the point of the difference between those outside of the faith and those who lay claim to it while presenting a fundamentally opposing gospel.

Continuing my analogy, if we attempt to advance marriage by pairing ourselves with those who deny the foundation of it, who reject fidelity, then we fool ourselves and work a harm against our witness.

I'm not advocating those who disdain marriage be removed, only those who pretend to honor the object of our adoration, but reject something fundamental to its nature.

So of course...

You sir are the very reason this country is abandoning God, equality and liberty.

And whole foods and line dancing.

But not in your mind. No, you deny it.

Well, I'm rational, so it's bound to happen.

I wish you no ill will.

That really comes through. :thumb:

Had a long conversation with a new guy about his experience with two apparently inexperienced Christians attempting witness...

... clearly these guys are not here to enjoy the view but are targeting people to ram there views and perception (of what seemed like extremely cherry picked verses and quotes from the bible ) down peoples throats , they had been talking to a group of 5 lads before we arrived who on seeing us slipped away quickly.. now i knew why. I explained i totally respect there views and beliefs

Their cherry picked beliefs they meant to ram down the throats of others? Is it that you actually respected them or that you'd like to think of yourself as having that sort of response, but maybe you're carrying your own baggage into it?

as i was explaining how i need to see hard evidence to believe in such a big thing as a GOD , he explained how i was made in Gods image and that as a non believer would be heading firmly to hell .... this interested me and my response was " well if i am made in Gods image then surely God has a Conscience and will give me a chance to accept him on my death , as that is what i would do "

The problem with that is twofold. First, it presumes that if a God exists His ways and standards are yours. Now that either means you think too little of God or too much of your own standards. But if God exists you have to begin with the premise that He's correct and more than that. So instead of anticipating God conforming Himself to your expectations you'd have to be open to conforming your conduct and thinking to a higher one. Second, you've engaged yourself at that point in a debate when you said you wanted to be (gently?) rid of them. So you're presenting a contradiction of sorts to them and you've already had reason to suspect they aren't really ready to engage you on the point in that fashion.

Then Pure rode his "everything is relative but my relative is better" horse into it...

You are saying this. … But why are you saying it, I wonder?

Because you wrote:

I don't believe that people proselytize others because they care about their souls.

and I find that dogmatically judgmental, unfair and remarkably blinkered, as cynical a statement as could be found on the point.

Not really. It's not like I've recommended the proselytizers be punished for it.

I didn't say you had. But yes, really. It's a horrible stereotype of the sort that just doesn't rationally stand up. I've known people who pray to be seen praying and it's not hard to spot them and I've known people who went door to door out of an earnest concern and in gratitude. To suggest only the meanest interpretation of action on the point is staggeringly jaded and, I think, contrary to reason.

To whomever asks.

No, you won't make the case to whomever asks...good grief, you might as well be going door to door yourself or shouting at the faithful from a street corner with that bit.

And "satisfaction" is not the pertinent point.

It is if you understand the word. You can argue a case, but making one requires agreement or all you're saying is that you're satisfied on the point and nothing else matters.

So quip said and I said...

Yes. Wishful delusions, by any other name..............

That and your signature line are unworthy of the best you have to offer and I've never met a girl who was over a fellow who felt the need to drive past his house and speak ill of him among strangers.

And...

Then again, subjects of infatuation don't feel the righteous need to sermon one into an insufferable hell...at least eternally. :sibbie:

You just haven't met the right girl yet, after a fashion. lain:

Ribbed Oct in a timely fashion...

Heretic is for the birds

That your A game? lain: Well, your day is coming.

See what I did there?

Then someone met a sustained rebuttal with the ol block quote...

So basically, the only argument you can offer is that I didn't qualify my generalizations?

I always know when someone is in trouble. They go for the huge block quote then misstate something. That's what you did there. You declared what was in the mind and hearts of those bringing witness and did so universally. I noted that the want of qualification itself spoke to a problem in your methodology and judgment. Then I turned your method on you.

Man! That's a pretty weak argument.

Nice flag. Hand stitched. Too bad you didn't put that work into your posit.

And it only serves to support my theory that you knew I was right all along,

Of course you did. That's always the case when you begin with a conclusion.

Rejected a bid to reduce the nature of Christ...

To me and my Christian journey it is actually quite simple. Compare my own life to the ethical teachings of Jesus.

You want ethics lessons from the unbalanced? Because if he isn't God he must be that, dying to no real purpose and in the company of the worst sort of liars, who described miracles no philosopher could deliver and who died senselessly themselves for no better reason.

While elsewhere and on a less serious note...

Exploring is not frowned upon anymore. When I pass people at the store I feel like everyone wants me - :rotfl:

What kind of stores do you go to? :think:

I'm betting meat markets. lain:

Or maybe he tried to go to Sam's and just ended up at some dude's house. :shocked:

While discussing levels of insult and deception...

Giving someone an incurable, life-threatening disease doesn't seem to be on the same level as not telling someone you used to be a woman.

How about if you gave them tickets to a Chiefs game? lain:

So...

I didn't know you liked rugby

While I agree it doesn't look much like actual football, you're only going to make kmo feel worse with this sort of thing.

Tomorrow? Heretics, footballs and hotels, maybe...and someone has to work harder. :think:

 

[Town Heretic]

Graphic Classic

 

[Eeset]

:idunno:

 

[OCTOBER23]

What is Thought ?

 

[Town Heretic]

What is Thought ?

Take one or Eeset's posts and go in the opposite direction until you run out of room. You're there. lain:

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Graphic Classic

Ready. Fire. Aim.

Sigh.

AMR