Smoothseas

Reply to What are your impressions on torture? in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

I question whether torture is even effective. Beating people is all about fear and submission. Some people will say anything truthful or not. Maybe it works for some people but when you are promised your pick of virgins in the afterlife I tend to think lying, deception, trickery and other such mind games might be much more effective on people who seem to be inherently vulnerable to these things to start with. There are several books on the market written by people who were involved i

Reply to The Politics of Green in The Environment JoeUser Forums

[quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="1" id="3030727"]l on how influential the human element was … and I still have my doubts … but am working on it. I’ll be back when I watch more of the[/quote] I posted that a few years ago mainly because I couldn't believe how the conversation went from is there any thing we can to about it to does it even exist. Shows how effective propaganda can be I guess. You learn about the greenhouse effect and O2-CO2 cycles in grade sc

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11 in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="355" id="3033008"]what conspiracy? I just want some facts that can justify some of the unknowns … so if that qualifies me as a conspiracy theorist so be it.[/quote] Judy Wood is the conspiracy theorist. The response was to the video you posted of her and my reply specifically used her name not yours. Unfortunately most of the questions will never be answered. The event caused a lot of chain reactions, there are many unknowns, and most of the forensi

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="24" id="3032996"]Today, any objective person can only conclude that the staggeringly high numbers and instances of these pathologies in our student population are causalties of Humanist classroom sex instruction. [/quote] No, that is what some religiously indoctrinated are told to think by their "authorities" whether that be their church leaders or political propagandists, etc. Some choose to believe it and others don't. Most people I know and that

Reply to What are your impressions on torture? in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="4" id="3031789"]I guess torture is ok then as long as there is what ... justification for it? I expected a lot more here too![/quote] I think what people do is simply reclassify certain things and then they feel it is justified. What our government did was reclassify certain detainees as "unlawful combatants". The Military Commissions Act of 2006 exempts "unlawful combatants" from the Geneva conventions. Then of course there is the CIA and their so called

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11 in Politics JoeUser Forums

Judy Wood does nothing to prove that some of these things couldn't or shouldn't have happened. She poses questions but does nothing to prove that it couldn't have naturally happened the way it did. She compares certain things with controlled demolitions. If it wasn't a controlled demolition then it wouldn't be comparable in some ways to a controlled demolition. There is nothing controlled in a situation where a plane full of jet fuel is involved is there? She says th

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="21" id="3030390"]Put Secular Humanism in its place. ANd what's that done for us?[/quote] Maybe you should take a look around the world to see what statistics other countries have and then maybe you wouldn't agree with such naive uneducated conclusions as to what causes such problems. As a whole this country is very religious and we have more problems than many societies that are much less religious. [quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="21" i

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="19" id="3030094"]Just curious. What's his name and when did that take place?[/quote] [quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="19" id="3030094"]I was thinking of Madalyn Murray O'Hair[/quote] Of course you were. Might as well pull the atheist out of a long list of cases which have led to current law regarding religious prayer in schools. I wouldn't expect otherwise since that what many people and groups have done over the years. The man I was

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="57" id="3029078"]Knock, knock, Smoothseas. These are facts, some hard facts why I oppose Romney for President[/quote] That article does not present the facts of the case. The case did not establish or alter any law. It found the states ban on same sex marriage to be unconstitutional and directed the states legislature to make the necessary changes within 180 days. Mitt Romney simply adhered to the decision handed down by the court. He then tried to get

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="15" id="3029081"]And this lack of belief in Almighty God is a decision that is made ..a deliberate decision.[/quote] Some cultures do not include any concept of your god or any other dieties. It is not always a choice between one or the other. It is different for everyone. When the Spanish arrived in South American the natives were not choosing between your god or no god. They were choosing between life and death. Same goes for North America. Many nativ

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="53" id="3028822"]But the bigger player was the fact they had been propped up for a long time when in fact their usefulness was gone. And that is solely a democrat policy (keeping those buggy whip manufacturers in business)[/quote] Geez I almost missed this sweet piece of incorrect information. Solely a Democratic Policy? Who was the president who served from '81-89? And as far as the solution to the problem who was the president that followed? Keep stepp

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="13" id="3028801"]The bulk of the problems are religion vs. religion and sect vs. sect[/quote] I personally don't think the root of most problems are religion vs. religion etc. I think people (and governments) use religion as a tool to solve their "problems". It is used as a control mechanism. Dictators use it to control their populations, politicians use it to pander votes in order to gain positions of power, Countries use it to wage war in order to ga

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="53" id="3028822"]Actually it is dead on. The only difference is in the size of the individual institutions. However, it hit the housing market hard (since S&Ls at the time were the primary lenders) and the total dollar value of losses was the same.[/quote] Unfortunately the size and effects of this crisis is much greater. Not to mention the way in which is has been handled is most likely going to cost the taxpayer far more. The losses are not the same. Y

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="10" id="3028489"]t was the militant Atheistic Humanist who caused that prayer be removed from all public schools[/quote] Actually it was a Jewish man who took the school prayer issue all the way to the supreme court because his son was taunted by christians because he didn't participate in school prayers. As to the pledge of allegiance a christian sect called the Jehovah Witnesses was the first group to challenge the pledge in public schools

Reply to Brief Note to the Atheist in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="10" id="3028489"]Atheism is a deliberate one-sided affair...Atheist's make a decision against God.[/quote] No it is simply the lack of belief in dieties. It is in no way a religion by itself, however there are religions which are atheistic in nature. It is not a decision against anything because you cannot be against something you don't believe in to start with. [quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="10" id="3028489"]But God'

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="51" id="3028287"]So how is that bigotry and ignorance?[/quote] You're homophobic and a religious bigot Lulu. Just look at the definition of bigot and you may understand why you are being called one. It shows in many of your posts. You have little if any tolerance for others who do not share your religious views and think this country's law books should mirror your interpretation of the bible. I have no problem with someone believing that homosex

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="46" id="3027782"]He is not a politician, so speaks the truth more often than not.[/quote] He's a lobbyist and political talking head. He may have a plan but it is a lousy plan. He is paid for spinning tales not telling the truth. [quote who="Dr Guy" reply="46" id="3027782"]If you are expecting some sort of magical plan[/quote] I'm not. I'm expecting the Bush era tax cuts to expire and not be renewed at some point in time.

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="44" id="3026815"]Romney promoted the homosexual agenda as indicated in the "Romney Report" and the book, "The Romney Deception", as president he would homosexualize all schools, courts and other institutions. His lawyers would sue clergy, churches and synagogues which say that homosexual conduct is sinful and would charge them with "hate speech" and "discrimination".[/quote] Your bigotry and ignorance truly shine here. [quote who

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Smoothseas" reply="42" id="3026591"]I like Newt, and I think that he comes across as one of the most knowledgeable of the candidates," Swain tells OneNewsNow. "... He inspires confidence based on the fact that he does have experience [and he] comes across as a person also who would be able to tackle a wide range of issues confronting the nation[/quote] Unfortunately Newt is all about Newt. It should be obvious by now that he will argue the side that gets him elected but wh

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="41" id="3026387"]The uncertainty is why they are not hiring[/quote] It's lack of demand. You need to stop listening to pundits and start listening to economists. Demand will only rise substantially when the housing market bottoms out and recovers. [quote who="Dr Guy" reply="41" id="3026387"]I have not heard from all 8, but I do know most of the republican candidates have indeed addressed the issue honestly. [/quote] Everything they say is

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="36" id="3021463"]The Chamber of Commerce has already stated what is needed[/quote] The Chamber of Commerce is a lobby group, its OPINIONS are very one sided. They represent only one side of the story. There are certainly areas where regulation is hindering certain businesses however this does not fix the job problem. There is a lack of demand. That is the crux of the problem. Big business is sitting on record amounts of capital and are not investing it becau

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="31" id="3018917"]he knows how to delegate and take advice[/quote] Hard to say. He's had campaign staff quit because they said he wouldn't listen to them. He looks hard-headed to me. [quote who="Dr Guy" reply="32" id="3018920"]I like Cain mostly for his ideas[/quote] Ideas? Most have been the same old crap the pundits throw out on a daily basis. I would consider his tax plan an idea however I think by next fall the tax i

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="32" id="3018920"]Romney too saddled with baggage,[/quote] Romney has the problem that he had to run campaigns in Mass., most recently for Gov. The people there are fairly liberal on some social issues so at that time he had to assure them he wouldn't go against the popular opinion of the residents of that state on certain issues. Polls suggest that he has the best chance to get the centrist vote in the general election. I tend to agree. I personally like

Reply to Wolf-Pac in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="5" id="3018395"] always perk up when Noam takes part.[/quote] Noam is an interesting character. No sensationalism... He just calls it as he sees it in a very nonchalant way. I would suggest reading his book "Hegemony or Survival" if you haven't already. [quote who="BoobzTwo" reply="5" id="3018395"]I would recommend “Even the Rain” also on Netflix[/quote] That is a well written movie. Great ending too.

Reply to Go Newt! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="27" id="3018454"]Even though we have known oil reserves here in the US, we are importing oil primarily from our 2 neighbors...Canada and Mexico.[/quote] It's a very complex situation. Mexico's reserves are lower than ours so they won't be #2 for long. A lot of Canada's come from tar sands which is much more expensive to produce. So we average the cost of expensive sources with inexpensive sources. Otherwise you would be payin