I am so afraid that this country has officially "jumped the shark." The interview with Ken Burns was awesome.... but he left me very disheartened with his brutal honesty. And when Bill asked him if he thought we (the U.S.) would rise to the occasion if a true "call to arms" was ever truly upon us, he clearly wanted to say, "No, not really Bill... not anymore." But instead he had to be politically correct and sound more encouraging, due in large part to the forum in which he was speaking. He probably feels a moral obligation and a sense of sincere jingoism that compels him NOT to tell the truth for fear of being a part of the problem. To this I can relate. It's similar to me being a vegetarian even though I know full well the cow's gonna get killed anyway. Why must the most realistic view points so often be pegged as negative view points? It's the same people who call Bill Maher anti-American and traitorous who perpetuate this untrue notion.
When will we finally realize that being an existentialist DOES NOT preclude one from also being an optimist? Just because you "see" reality very clearly and then talk about it does not mean that you plan on acquiescing to that same reality. In order to solve a problem you first have to clearly identify and define it. And unfortunately, when it comes to the really big problems (ie... our fundamentally flawed foreign policy, campaign finance, nuclear proliferation... an entire culture heading in the wrong direction!!!) we need to raise the collective consciousness to the necessary "tipping point" before we can move on to step 2 of the problem solving process. In other words we need to win hearts and minds because we need help. It cannot be done alone, or by a few, or even by many. Sometimes it can't even be done by the majority (see Bush vs. Gore '96). But when it comes to this country we CAN move mountains, change the landscape of the entire globe, and damn near shape the course of human history... if only we could get out of our own way first. When we ALL start pushing in the same direction there's no stopping us. Or am I just reminiscing about the past when I say that? Ken Burn's documentary pays homage to a generation of Americans who DID move mountains.
Are we still made up of those same fibers or has our fear of competing religious beliefs, our dependancy on crude oil, or our desire to get the new iPhone finally and irreversibly replaced our once good judgment; and served as a catalyst for our precipitous descent from the moral highground we once occupied, deserved, and were given in this world? Well, maybe it was forced upon us but only because we were the best man for the job... like when the town folk made Wyatt Earp the Sheriff simply because there was no one else who even had a chance to deliver them from chaotic lawlessness! I'm as furious as anyone about our enemies who seek to disrupt our way of life (or if not our current "way of life" at least the ideas and principles our forefathers once immortalized on a big piece of parchment paper.... the very ideas that allow for us to enjoy our way of life... and our iPhone... well maybe we just have Steve Jobs to thank for that but whatever, you get the point). I just have a much different idea about how exactly we should be defending our ideals and our way of life. Maybe some nuanced thinking is necessary; maybe some diplomacy or a little forward thinking might be in order? Maybe I should learn how to better use paragraphs and punctuation to organize my rants?
So yeah... I 'm an example of a bleeding heart optimist who refuses to give up or give in, and refuses to lose his faith in the power of the human spirit! I do however give up on the Mets... they're done. Bill Maher keeps it real, expressing his opinions about our leaders and our culture by utilizing his sometimes scathing, but deadly accurate version of reality. He sees things a whole hell of a lot clearer than our highest ranking politicians do. And that scares me, and makes me profoundly sad. Why is that? I guess it's because I can always tell when a once great show has officially "jumped the shark." For real... Grey's Anatomy almost made the leap last night!!! And I fear my country has their water skis on and is barreling toward that ramp at a rapid rate. I'm not even having children until I feel things have gotten considerable better. And by better I mean until I find a girl who will let me sleep with her.
Bill Maher is one of the few who mixes in a keen wit with excellent political commentary. He rivals George Carlin in that respect.
I know exactly what you're talking about when you write:
Why must the most realistic view points so often be pegged as negative view points? It's the same people who call Bill Maher anti-American and traitorous who perpetuate this untrue notion.
I've been blogging here since December 2005, and on an infrequent basis, I write political commentary. As a "liberal" posting that stuff on a blogosphere heavily made up of neo-Conservatives, I have been called everything in the book. Anti-American, troop-hating, Communist, hippie, wussy (for being against this war), terrorist, pedophile, etc.
But then I read stuff like this and I don't feel so bad about being in the minority.
As a Phillies fan, I'm more than happy to watch your Mets flush themselves down the toilet. It's nice watching it from this side of the fence now.
However, it's nice to see another lucid thinker here -- a rare sight in this blogosphere -- so I'll put away the "nyah nyah" insults. ;-)
Yeah right... Bill Maher is so locked in it's scary. Ya know who I used to like a lot until he jumped the shark and actually stopped being all that funny.... Dennis Miller.
About the Mets: Not so fast my friend. About Bill Maher: Just what is he accurate about? This is the same guy that lost his ABC show because he believes the 9/11 hijackers are "warriors". He IS certainly anti-American AND even worse he's terribly anti-God. I'm glad we're fighting terrorists over there and not over here. After we elect another pinhead liberal as our next president, give it about two years and people will realize that Bush wasn't so bad after all. We'll go with the philosophy that if we just leave terrorists alone they won't bother us and American citizens will die again. Bill Maher, Rosie O'Donnell and anyone who thinks like them are dangerous. We'd be much better off if they all went away.
Last edited by TnNole on September 30th at 7:26 PM.
Hey Travis... How can you be a Mets fan? I sincerely hope you're not. I don't want someone as confused as you in my Met fanbase. You should clearly be a Phillies fan or possibly just stick to NASCAR.
"Bush wasn't so bad after all" ????? Are you serious? They still make you? Listen... it's over. The jury is NOT still out on this one. The verdict is in... The only question now is will he solidify the top spot as the absolute worst U.S. President in the history of our beautiful country. He has dragged our name through the mud for too long and I resent him for it. If you think Bush is more "American" than Bill Maher I'd like to know exactly what America you live in? Cause it's not the same America I've come to know and love. And if you think the dangerous people are the ones who formulate opinions based on deductive reasoning, logic, common sense, honest and open discourse with the most intelligent among us... RATHER THAN relying on simplistic and psychotic notions about the "end of days," fighting them there instead of here, and God's plan... then it's clearly YOU who are the dangerous one! Along with your boy in the White House who only got there because unfortunately in the past decade or so people like you have finally come to out-number people like me... and if thaT trend doesn't reverse itself in quick fashion then we all better start learning Chinese or something cause this country would have officially morphed into Ancient Rome once and for all. Bread and Circus... Arby's and Nascar... there's no difference. "Let's go down to the Colisseum and watch the Gladiators,"
Well, you've obviously pegged me right. I'm sorry a Fundamental, Right Wing, Bible believing, Arby's eatin', NASCAR lovin', stuck in the mud, barefoot, hick #### is part of "your" Met fan base. (Growing up I became a Met fan watching Gooden, Strawberry and a few others play rookie league ball in my little hillbilly hometown.) Shucks, we might get running water and indoor plumbing one of these days. We're so backward down here in the south we can't even think for ourselves or figure out what common sense is. But we haven't forgotten there's Almighty God we're accountable to, what right and wrong is, how to smile and say hello to somebody, love one another, and that there really are moral absolutes that we won't compromise. Of course even some of that is fading down here because of all these yankees that are moving down here on us. (It must not be too bad down here.) That old Bible has just blinded some of us. Even though our founding fathers stood on it, all of our laws and system of government is based on it, and its words are still carved in marble all over our nation's capital.
The verdict is in? Bush the worst president in our history? Says who? The out of their mind liberal media and left wing nuts like you. Thank God for Fox News. The ONLY ONE conservative voice in American media. Bill Maher and all of HBO aren't worth Sean Hannity.
Last edited by TnNole on September 30th at 10:27 PM.
You said you and those like you "formulate your opinions based on deductive reasoning?(You believe the evolution lie, I'm sure), logic?, common sense?, honesty?(Please!), and open discourse." It makes alot of common sense to me that it bothers you that cows are killed to feed people but you don't care that we will murder more babies tomorrow than we've had soldiers killed in Iraq since the war began. Its logical to me that y'all voted for the war in Iraq and now want our soldiers to die and for us to lose because of political gain. Honesty? Bill "It depends on what your definition of is is" "I smoked but I didn't inhale" Clinton is without a doubt the most dishonest and worst president in U.S. history. Dodged the draft, fled to RUSSIA, had an extra-marrital affair inside the most sacred office in the world, lied to a federal grand jury. Rosie O'Donnell, Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, Al Sharpton: there's real honesty, intellect, and integrity for you. Nobody has drug our name through the mud more than these degenerates and I resent them for it. One more question: Why is every terrorist regime and enemy of America in the world salivating for Bush to get out of office and to see a liberal elected president next year?
NASCAR: You've never been to a race. What do you know about it?
But you are right about two things. The Mets: They are now officially done. (Heart breaking!) Ancient Rome: You are going to see it again. Its called the Rothschild Dynasty, European Union, and Roman Catholic Church. Do a little research on it. Romans 3:23 6:23 5:9 10:9-13
Last edited by TnNole on September 30th at 10:29 PM.
Yes, I will research the bible and all the other made up stories that have become as antiquated as the Bush War Plan in Iraq. I have a healthy respect for religion in general. I myself am a very spiritual person. Did you call evolution a lie? Oh my God. See, it's when you religious zealots take yourselves too seriously, believe in the stuff LITERALLY (like 2 of every animal, water into wine, seas parting, etc... they are metaphors!) and worst of all try to convert the rest of us "non-believers" condesendingly telling us that we need to be saved if we have any makings on being accepted into God's Kingdom! Does that brand of rhetoric sound familiar to you Travis? For your sake I hope not. But if it does then please give me a call and I will attempt to be the Virgil to your Dante; the Mike to your Mad Dog. You really are part of the problem my friend. Open your mind and entertain the possibility that you may be wrong about a few of your ideas... maybe ALL of them (I know that's difficult to do and it will take all your strength). Make me proud son!
And another thing. Please don't fall into the trap set by Bin Laden and his cohorts the same way we did before. It's when we get so overwhelmed by our emotions about a thing that we end up making knee-jerk reactions and also have a tendency to underestimate our enemy. Meanwhile our enemy, regardless of how evil he might be, calmly lies in wait, his next move(s) already planned based on our predictable reaction to the initial blow that he has struck us with. Are you with me here Travis? Fool me once shame on you but fool me twice and shame on me! So let it be known now... if we suffer another terrorist attack (GOD FORBID!) after the near-sighted Bush Administration finally leaves office then it will likely happen because our enemy feels that they can do this all to us again, and we will run through the maze that they've laid out for us trying to chase that piece of cheese, a Ghost. Again, fueled by things like fear and simple desire for revenge. Those are emotions that we all feel and have to deal with. The most enlightened among us feel it too. The only difference is we don't allow it to cloud our usual good judgment.
Can you at least consider the possibility that I'm right? Please? Do you think our enemies are stupid? Evil, definitely. Stupid... probably not. I actually think their plan was well thought out and played out better than Osama could have ever hoped for. Do you think the fatherless and hopeless children of the Middle East care about why, EXACTLY, their lives have been turned upside down? Do you think they are old enough or savvy enough to understand the politics and the "necessity" behind why their Dad is dead? Do you think they see the big picture, the greater good? It seems to me that we're just not doing ourselves any favors here. And I'm not a real smart guy or an expert on this stuff by any means. Do you know anything about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? It seems to me that Third World people, for the most part, don't yet have the luxury of chasing or even caring about things like freedom and iPods. I just can't see caring much about HDTV when you still don't have indoor plumbing. Am I crazy? And to finish off my thought here... after these children and young men are finished being sad they then start to get mad. They're human too. They seek retribution too. And when the Bin Laden types take them in and clothe them and feed them and are there for them in their hour of need... brainwashing them with the idea that we are the evil ones and we are the reason why their father, their Grandmother, their Uncle is no longer with them. Before long they have this kid strapped up with a bomb and walking through Times Square!!!
They have used our arrogance against use. Know thy enemy, right? They've hated us and studied us for a very long time. Hell, we educated and militarily trained them in Afghanistan, didn't we? We are a hippocritical nation. We are lazy. We are fat and gluttonous. We are reactionary. We are wonderful but imperfect. I'm afraid this has brought out both the best and the worst in us. We should have evolved past this fight fire with fire universal mentality. Sometimes you need to fight fire with water unless a firestorm is what you want. I could go on forever on this topic. Do you think we can keep bad people from having nuclear weapons forever? Can we successfully keep ourselves immune from terrorist activities within our borders? Seems to me if some crazy evil person wants to kill a bunch of Americans he's got a very good chance at success (especially if he's willing to die in the process, which is way too often the case thanks to that crazy religion thing again... albeit the wrong religion you'd say, I know). Can we continue to use all these fossil fuels forever? Isn't that a non-renewable resource? I think I remember hearing that in Grade School! How could something we all learned in Grade School (well maybe not down south but... j/k) be so easily ignored be so many? Oh that's right... cause that Mellencamp song is catchy and we need the V8 Hemi so we can... do what exactly? Drive on the highway? We have pavement pretty much everywhere now don't we (well, again not sure about y'all but... relax, j/k).
Anyway, we'd probably be better served if Madison Avenue was in charge of formulating our foreign policy than having those idiots on Pennsylvania Avenue doing it. Get it? We need to convey a better image throughout the world. Brightly like the Bat Signal so that our generosity and our harmless love of life (after we re-establish it I guess) shines into as many caves and dark alleys as possible, in all corners of the World. We were supposed to be a beacon of light amongst the darknees, up on a hill for all the world to see.... right? Think I learned that in H.S. !!! What the #### happened? Put yourself in the shoes of somebody outside the U.S; somebody who isn't sitting on their couch nice and cozy watching the NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV with chips and dip in front of them. Yes, they're jealous. Wouldn't you be? Should we change the way we're living so that they're less jealous? #### no.. I NEED those football games! How else am I gonna get my money's worth for all those parlays and teasers I lose? But we also don't need to rub their noses in it, which is what we "appear" to be doing to them way too often. Know the enemy, understand the enemy, see things from their perspective and then blow the snot out of them... if you still have to. I have no problem with that.
And for the record... I am a vegetarian but not an activist. I mind my own business and allow my neighbors to do whatever they want so long as it doesn't infringe on my rights and my way of life. I also will rarely start a fight or be pre-emptively aggressive toward anybody. But I have no problem finishing a fight when I feel the fight has been brought to my doorstep. So I am maybe not your typical bleeding heart liberal. Actually, while I am certainly very liberal when it comes to some things, there are probably just as many that I am very consrvative on. I am a nuanced thinker. I know that I am not always right. I know that I can be wrong. I am open-minded and will always listen to opposing points of view. I think open debate is not only productive but probably necessary in most instances. And to steal something from my friend Bill Maher again, from a few weeks ago... He used this quote from Bertrand Russell to make his point, "The trouble with the world is the stupid are ####-sure and the intelligent full of doubt." He then re-wrote that saying 57 more times! Ha Ha. But you see "DOUBT" is, for lack of a better word, a good thing. Doubt suits human nature. Doubt makes you careful. Doubt is what makes you open to change. I, for one, am so tired of all these mental-midget retards getting the bigger audience simply because they are the ones talking to loudest (and because the majority of people are extremely impressionable... and in most cases just down-right stupid).
So I guess my point really is... PIPE DOWN TRAVIS... and for the love of Satan please stop preaching your nonsense on the internet and in your trailer park. And I sure hope you haven't procreated. We need to get you a vasectomy asap. And I know you probably don't have health insurance so I'll even offer to pay for it... I'll even throw in a few new teeth for ya!
You mentioned that our founding fathers stood on the bible and that all our laws are based on it ???? Are you serious with that comment? My GOD! Are you just conveniently forgetting the whole separation of church and state. Wasn't that kind of a big one for them... and for good reason, as prescient as they were. They knew that was a slippery slope. They knew that religious beliefs shouldn't play a role in government. And if you think our laws against killing and stealing were adopted from the Bible you're nuts on that one too. I'm fairly certain those things would have made their way into the Constitution anyway. After all.. they were attempting to form a civilized society. Our forefathers set us up with the best system of government that has ever beed scripted, and then someone like Bush comes along and finds ways around it every step of the way. Who the #### does he think he is? I guess he doesn't see the genious in even the smaller details of that great document. In fact there were no small details. They left almost no stone unturned. It is a living document that has held up amazingly, almost eerily, well given how long ago it was written. That's what great, intelligent, nuanced thinkers were once capable of locked up in Congressional Hall for a month or whatever, with the help of a little opium to help expand their minds and predict future scenarios based on little more than a fundamental understanding of basic human nature. Truly amazing when you really think about it, huh? We haven't changed all that much. Men are still greedy, duplicitous, and
inclined to becoming drunk with power. A couple things need to be brought up to date but the core is still rock solid... and it's even easy to predict what their stance would be on most modern day dilemmas that they could have never anticipated, but unfortunately there are many who will interpret it based on what will best serve their own agenda. This country was not based on the Bible buddy... quite the opposite in fact. Do you remember why our forefathers originally came to this country in the first place. It was to escape religious persecution, and they were adamant about doing everything they could to ensure that would never happen in this country. Religion is a personal thing that should be kept in homes and places of worship only. Keep it out of our schools and our government please.
How do you look at a #### or even our coccyx bones (where our tails used to be) and the rest of the vestigial remnants from a time long ago and still not believe in evolution. Just how #### brainwashed are you people?
And Abortion too? Yeah, let's get rid of that, cause we don't have enough people around here! Respect human life sure, but can we wait until it actually is a life first... please? It is irresponsible to bring a child into this world before you are ready. And there's probably 50 abortions for every family trying to adopt (or more) so what do you recommend? It's a woman's choice, her right. And it needs to stay that way.
Well, since you "always listen to opposing viewpoints" let me give you a couple. Even though your nuanced thinking and open mind already know they're all wrong. Let me say this to begin: #1. I'm not your son. #2. Unless you have a PHD I'm as educated as you are. #3. I won't be so classless as to tell you not to procreate. And we do still have free speech in this country so as long as your preaching I might as well too. By the way, just so you don't worry, I still have all my teeth. So you don't have to worry about buying me any. But if you're serious about paying my insurance I'm all for it.
About the Bible: Written by at least 40 different authors over at least 1500 years and it never contradicts. Men have tried to attack it, discredit it, and stomp it out for hundreds of years and it has withstood. (By the way, Christians are murdered by the thousands around the world daily for the Bible and cause of Christ and the media never says a word about it.) There are no less than 38 different prophecies, specifically about Jesus, all fulfilled by Jesus, and all written at least 500 years before His birth. Mathematically impossible without God. Besides all that, Daniel wrote over 2600 years ago, long before any of these nations except Israel existed, o####reat battle that would occur at the end of the age. He mentions Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt specifically as invaders of Israel with Russia aiding. Any of this ring a bell lately? Study the history of Israel. Its only about the size of Rhode Island. Destroyed and sold into slavery twice. The Romans were the last to
destroy Jerusalem and glut the slave market with Jews and 2000 years later, with virtually every country against them, they become a nation again. Have you ever studied the facts concerning their war for independence, the Sinai War, Yom Kippur War, and especially the Six Day War? They could not have survived without God. I'm honestly not being condescending even though you certainly have been. GOD DOES NOT DEAL IN METAPHORS! He deals in truth only and being spiritual or a good person ain't gonna get anybody into Heaven, myself included. Christ is the only way.
About Evolution: It has not and cannot be proven. Even Stephen J. Gould and the world's other leading evolutionists have stated that fact. The leading evolutionist of the 20th century, Sir Julian Huxley was asked in a television interview why scientists were so quick to adopt Darwin's Theory of Evolution. His answer was, "Because the idea of God interfered with our sexual mores." That sure sounds objective and evidenced based to me. What do you think? The fact is they use it to try to explain away God so they can live any way they want to live and not have to be accountable to God. If you believe evolution then we're no better than cockroaches. The truth is science points toward a designer. Where did all the matter to make up this vast universe come from? Big ####: Have you ever seen an explosion cause order? Its impossible. The Cambrian Explosion: Evolutionists even acknowledge it but can't explain it. During what they call the Cambrian period, evidence indicates that life appeared suddenly and fully
developed not slowly evolving over time. The Law of Conservation of Mass and the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics: matter and energy can't be created or destroyed and everything moves toward chaos. There is no object in the universe period that could put itself together much less any working system. All things must have been designed by somebody. There must be water to sustain life. Water is the only substance in the universe that becomes less dense in its solid state which means it floats. All other substances in the universe when they become solids sink. If water followed the norm all bodies of water would freeze solid from the bottom up and all life would cease to exist. Just coincidence? You have 206 bones perfectly formed and fitted together, attached to 700 skeletal muscles, controlled by a brain that can handle more information at any given moment than all the world's phone systems combined. You have in your body 62,000 miles of blood vessels which would circle the Earth 3 times. Your skin totally replaces itself every 2 to 3 months. One square inch of skin has 1 million cells. Inside each cell is, if stretched out, 6 feet of DNA. Your DNA, the genetic code that forms you, is a 6 BILLION piece puzzle. All pieces must be in the correct order. With all our technology and resources we can't create DNA in a lab but you think it created itself and put itself together. What a crock. Evolution is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Its like if you tell a lie long enought it becomes the truth. Nobel Prize Winning mathmatician Leconte du Nouy states that anything
with a probability greater than 1 times 10 to the 50th power could never happen even with unlimited time. When calculated, the probability of ONLY ONE CELL being created by random chance is greater than 1 times 10 with 40,000 zeroes behind it. Conclusion: it is statistically impossible a single cell could have evolved anywhere or anytime in the entire history of the universe. Besides, if the universe were billions of years old, and there are millions of different species of living things, and we all evolved, wouldn't there be a intermediate walking around somewhere? There's NOT. Not even one fossil. All this is not to mention how dangerous evolution a.k.a. natural selection is. Survival of the fittest. Killing off the weak so the genetically superior can evolve into something better. Karl Marx (evolution was a foundation for communism), #### (quoted Darwin in Mein Kampf), Mussolini, Stalin, Moa Tse-Tung all openly believed this Satanic lie and they used it as basis to slaughter millions of innocent people they viewed as inferior. The shirt Eric Harris chose to wear the day he walked into Columbine read "Natural Selection". He wrote in his journal about natural selection, "Damn, this is the greatest thing I've ever heard. Killing off the weak." And I don't have time to look at things like a platypus, bombardier beetle, incubator bird, or gecko that absolutely could not have evolved from anything. And how, when you were conceived, did one cell eventually form TRILLIONS of differnt cells that do different jobs but work and fit together.
About our Founding Fathers: Just a couple things. They came to America because they were tired of the state controlling their lives and forcing the state church on them. Seperation of church and state, as I'm sure a nuanced thinker like yourself is aware of, is nowhere in our Constitution or Bill of Rights. Our founding fathers wanted the state out of the church but nowhere in their documents did they tell God to get out of the state. They believed that if we ever existed as a state it would be because we honored a Holy God and all of our documents from the conception of our nation, prior to the constitution, acknowledge our dependency upon God to exist politically. The Mayflower Compact will preach all by itself. George Washington: "Its impossible to govern without God and the Bible."
Abraham Lincoln: "The Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. Without it we COULD NOT KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG."
Ulysses S. Grant: "We are indebted to the Bible for all the progress made in civilization. We must look to it as our guide for the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."
About Abortion: So the second before its born its not a life. A baby has a beating heart and flowing blood within 17 days of conception. We've wiped out over a generation in the last 40 years. Funny they were killing babies when Jesus was born and they'll still be killing them when he returns. God says innocent blood has a voice and He listens.
So, did you get all of that. I know it will be difficult but make me proud son. Open that mind up a little wider. I know you can do it as long as one of those piercings or that tattoo ink hasn't poisoned your system or effected your mind. Hopefully one your STDs or those drugs and alcohol haven't done any permanent damage. If you don't have health insurance I can only afford my own. JUST KIDDING!
You really seem like a smart guy. No sense of humor but really a very smart guy. It's a real shame that you've used all that brain power on backwards thinking. Seems like you went from specific to broad and got caught up in the illusion that can be seen when the human mind flexes it's profound ability to rationalize. Oftentimes we see only what we want to see. We are so damn over-evolved at this point that we have brains on top of brains and sometimes we are literally too smart for our own good. Like I said. I'm not a very smart guy myself, just a useless undergraduate degree that took me 10 yrs to get, somewhat "book smart" but not tremendously so, and not even all that well-read. I am, however, starting to think that I must have done something right, and/or just been blessed with a fairly powerful intellect because you're freaking nuts man. And there's so many of you. You really are part of the problem. And the problem is some sort of sick Jungian-like collective unconscious involving a great number of naive and incredibly disillusioned people like yourself who base their thoughts, and actions, on some crazy literal translation of the Bible and religion in general. Did that make any sense? It's like an epidemic that seems destined to sink us all because it's in reality a self-fulfilling prophecy on a massive scale. You, and those like you, are going to somehow, some way, perpetuate your own reality and drive us all right into the abyss you're creating in the process. You #### freak! You were serious about Bush, huh? I half thought you were kidding. And the evolution th
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:08 AM.
... thing too? Holy shitballs man! So anyway, I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you that you were brain-washed from a very young age and it has made you function under a certain, very specific belief system that, over the course of your life, has forced you to work backwards from those beliefs in your desperate attempt to make it all seem real. Along the way you have formulated this completely jaded outlook on life that has essentially disabled your innate ability to use reason and logic and even your 5 senses in some instances I fear. I almost view you as a schizophrenic who has created this inventive and elaborate alternate reality, and you are using all your hand-picked "facts" (and debateable facts at that) to make it all seem "real." Viewing this all from back here in the real world it's patently obvious that you are using every ounce of our God-given ability to rationalize (oh the irony). But no shame in that really... We have all fallen victim to it at one time or another as we try to hold on to the things we think we need and love, blinded by the light. I find it helpful to take a step back from time to time and attempt to view myself as if I am not myself... like I am floating above my "self" and then I objectively observe what is REALLY going on in my life. Then I come back into myself and hopefully, and sometimes painfully, put my new knowledge to use. Otherwise we run the risk of going so far down the road we're barreling down that we can't ever find our way back. Travis, come back to us, please! It's not too late... I hope.
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:29 AM.
Also, maybe you could try this. Go visit the Grade School you went to when you were a kid. Walk up the stairs and through the hallways. Notice how small it all seems now, and in turn how BIG it all seemed back then. The reason why I say this is that so many of the things that we were raised with, back when we were wee little tikes, end up playing a HUGE role in the rest of our lives. In part because these are obviously our formative years when we are basically a wet lump of clay, malleable, and barely formed. Wet and fragile and impressionable beyond belief. If we are dented that dent will probably become a permanent fixture for the rest of our lives. Plus we think our parents are GODS... and usually by the time we figure out that they were just a couple of regular folks who had a kid or two the damage is already done. Hopefully there was no damage done (I have heard rumors of such cases but never really seen a good example).
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:30 AM.
My point, if I have one, is that you were dented with the religion hammer pretty good and now you are forced to work backwards from that, using all the power of that big brain of yours to stand up on your shaky foundation. You were all caddiwompous and lopsided when you were placed into the kiln and now you're wobbly, crooked, and top-heavy. It's ok man. It's not your fault. You were just a kid. There was no way you could have known that the operating system they downloaded into your brain had a virus (hell... was a virus). McAffee wasn't even around back then. But it's not too late. Just de-program and download Windows Vista. Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool. I know it's hard because it feels like what you're removing isn't just a part of you, but rather ALL of you. But trust me it's not.
As my good friend Aaron Lewis wrote once... Now I'm older and it feels like I could let some of this anger (or religion) fade... but it seems the surface I am scratching is the bed that I have made. But you can change the sheets man! You don't have to go on like this. It's more than any rational human can bear I'm sure. Just look at how you responded to my tongue-in-cheek rambling with all that hoopla about "end of days" and ice floating??? You did that and were so defensive and passionate because I obviously struck a very sensitive and frayed nerve. I inadvertently cut into the core of your fantasy land existence. And when that happens you immediately lash out in feverish self defense of a belief system that you know deep down you have an all too tenuous hold on... what with it being based on tall tales and fables written by we don't even know who... and backed up by nothing tangible; nothing we can actually see, hear, or taste. I have faith in a higher power but definitely not in the way you do. It takes a strong man to have faith, but it's a weak, scared, and feeble man who has blind faith... blind faith in something that was extrinsically dictated to us back when we were wet lumps of clay! And by the way, I think ice floats because it IS actually just water in a different state. I think it probably has something to do with density and buoyancy and gravity. I'm not sure really but I am sure that Bill Nye the Science Guy's explanation would sound a lot more sensible than yours did.
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:38 AM.
Honestly, we could probably go on forever doing this, attempting to match wits and back up our opinions with sound reasoning and all, but I'm tired. All I know is this... I feel like I am what happens when a kid grows up without any real tampering from an outside source. I consider myself a sponge that has gone through the world never being injected or saturated with any tainted and unnatural fluids. All I've done is soak up all of life's water and processed and analyzed it all with my keen and completely objective (God given?) senses. And now from time to time I wring myself out just for fun so that I can let some of my friends drink it in and swim around in it. I am not perfect or a genius but I am very REAL. I feel like you are saturated with all that same water but with a bunch of foreign chemicals mixed in. You're polluted. But so many of us are polluted and so it seems like maybe you're the pure ones. Strength and comfort in numbers I guess. You say that just being a good guy with strong morals or whatever is NOT enough to gain entrance into God's Kingdom, Heaven, whatever. Ya know what... go #### yourself you pompous and simple-minded robot. If that's the strict and inflexible criteria that is used at the Pearly Gates (I even feel silly typing this stuff) then count me out. Doesn't sound like any Heaven I want to be in. Who the #### do you people think you are... interpreting and being the spokespeople for God's words and intentions??? What arrogance! Who elected you the holders of the flame. Go rape a little boy you repressed freak.
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:43 AM.
Sorry Sorry. I was maybe projecting a little there. It's just that sometimes it feels so good to just take the low road and slap the #### out of someone when they deserve it, instead of always being so calm and pragmatic!
And I got news for you... there's a very good chance that when you die you go six feet into the ground and you stay there with worms crawling in and out of your dead carcass (or in your case carc-####) until you completely decompose and return back to the Earth from which you came. I know it's uninventive and difficult to wrap your mind around that theory but it's probably true. That said, I believe sometimes perception truly is reality and that when enough beautiful humans collectively believe in a thing that the "thing" essentially becomes real, on many levels. Heaven and hell exist only in the minds of the people who believe in them. And that's fine for me. You however need a crutch to stand up so you've used the one you were given a long time ago before you even had the wherewithal to choose the one you may have actually wanted. I feel so bad for you. But whatever gets you out of bed in the morning. More power to ya. Religion can oftentimes be a very good thing. But I think it's people like you that give it a bad name. I believe in the power of the Universe. I believe in myself and in the strength of individuals. I think I believe in God... about 7 or 8 billion of him (or her). God is within us all. We are God. Give yourself the credit or the blame for the the thing that is your life. It's ok. You did it. You are where you are today because of YOU !
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:46 AM.
Maybe we are all here because God initiated the process (I'm not even sold on that but I also won't argue about it... it's a relatively harmless notion I think) but he is gone now, and he's not coming back you silly goose. It's ok... he loves us, I know (even me) but it's more important that we love ourselves and stop replacing THAT love with H... HIS love. Can't you see... it's self love you feel and put to use... and then you go and say that it's God's love that makes you strong. What a circuitous route some need to take to arrive at self-worth. It may be a greater distance (the way you went) but it is ALL highway! I'll give you that. And the path has been blazed and is well lit. I went into the darkness to arrive at essentially the same place... or in other words I came to a fork in the road and I chose the path less traveled... and it made ALL the difference! You're way is easy... it's a cop-out actually. My way is hard... but it's potentially so much more rewarding. Even if it precludes me from getting into your Heaven. I'll be ok though. I don't need to be saved. I swim just fine on my own.
Last edited by foboman on October 3rd at 10:49 AM.
I've got a great sense of humor but I've never tried to be funny with you. I've just been restating the hilarious barbs you keep shooting at me. I am very passionate but my nerves aren't frayed. I don't recall telling you to go f--k yourself or calling you a repressed freak because I didn't agree with you. And, "Go rape a little boy."? I'll admit, I've been told a lot of things in my life but... I don't even know how to comment on that. I'm not very smart either but I have thought and I have studied. You called me a robot and said us Christians can't think for ourselves when all you are is far left clone of a liberal like Bill Maher. I know you've been listening to him too much because he said Christians must have a chemical imbalance and couldn't think right also. I've got news for you, if you really believe that then you're beyond stupid and you both need a brain transplant. There's not a thing in the world wrong with my mind. And what do you know about how I was raised? My dad is not even a Christian. I've not been brainwashed since birth. Have you? I've done what you absolutely refuse to do and that's look at all sides and weigh the evidence. And, after doing so, overwhelming evidence convinces me that there is a God in Heaven. He is sovereign and in control of even the smallest details. The facts I gave were not hand picked and none of those facts are debateable. You just can't argue them. And they were just what I could think of until I got tired. I could write facts for days more on exposing evolution, proving the Bible, or what our nation's designers stood on.
But what good would it do because your conscience is seared anyway. And I was as simple and specific as I could be. Not even Bill Nye could have done it better. Since you didn't get the water thing let me try again. How many different substances are there in our universe? Too many to count. Water is the one that is absolutely necessary for all life. The point was that of all the substances in the universe water is the ONLY ONE that becomes less dense (density determines whether or not something sinks or floats) when it turns to a solid. The only one! Why is that important? If water behaved like EVERYTHING else, and sank when it turned to a solid, then all life on Earth would cease to exist because all bodies of water would freeze solid killing everything in them and causing catastrophic climate changes that would kill everything else. Ice floats which freezes the top and lets the water underneath stay warm enough to remain liquid. There is no way that just happened on its own. Nor did anything else I mentioned.
How do you figure Christians are the overwhelming majority? There's a lot of religion. But religion is dangerous. Bin Laden is religious. I'm not religious I'm saved. There's not enough truly saved people in most cities in America anymore to fill a subway car. And its good that God made salvation so simple. He said so simple a child could understand it. There is not any confusion and everybody enters the same way. A child's heart is tender and innocent. Its not the Bible that corrupts people as they grow older its sin and the world.
You said, "Who the f--k do we think we are being spokespeople and interpreters for God's words and intentions?". First the only words of God I've ever found are solely in the Bible. And God elected and called out people and gifted them to be "holders of the flame". You are ignorant. Its not arrogance its a COMMAND DIRECTLY FROM GOD to take the Gospel out to what He said was a lost and dying world. He also said that in so doing we would be persecuted. You said, "weak and feeble men have blind faith" but you have all this evidence to support what you believe right? Just what or who do you have faith in besides yourself? You've done everything on your own right? Its all about you right? Now that's pompous the absolute epitome of arrogance. How in the world can you call anybody else arrogant? I've got news for you, whatever it is you have faith in you can't see it, feel it, touch it, taste it, or test it either. Your faith is just as blind as anybody else’s. I stand on a solid foundation and its has absolutely nothing to do with me but its all about Jesus. Every breath you take and every beat of your heart is a gift from a loving and merciful God. As rotten as men are its purely His love, mercy and grace that keeps Him from dropping us all into Hell where we deserve to be, me included. And what is so much harder about your way? You need to follow me for a week. Try ministering to somebody besides yourself and putting the needs of others ahead of you and your own family. Nursing homes, hospitals, funeral homes, cemeteries, trying to comfort people.
You obviously haven't watched many people die. And there's a difference when people with and without Jesus. Does that sound easy to you? But I know this much, you were right, we all have an appointment with the grave. Which reminds me, would you die for a fraud or a fake? (And by the way there's more than enough documented writing about Jesus from non-christian writers to know all about his life and the lives of His disciples.) It's documented that all of His disciples died martyr's deaths. Matthew was nailed to the ground and beheaded, Peter was crucified upside down, Thomas was speared to death - all for spreading the Gospel. Would they have suffered such deaths if they were not sure Jesus was who He said He was? You can keep swimming and thinking you're doing it all by yourself if you like but I promise you one day you'll need Him. Because one day trouble will come to your life or sickness or, if not, you'll have to face that cold, black, terrifying monster called death. So I'm tired too. And unless you want to talk about the Mets I'll shake the dust off my feet and go on. And I know this also, when you stand before God you won't be able to say, "I didn't know" and I won't be accountable.
I really never read blogs. I stumbled upon yours because I saw Mets. Maybe we would agree about what they should do. Me personally, I love Glavine but they should let him, Shawn Green, and about half their pen go. They should do whatever they need to do to clear up enough money to go get Johann Santana if they can get him to sign. Pitching is the problem. They've got to do something about middle relief also. I think Pedro will be fine and probably El Duque if he stays healthy but they need a stopper at the front of their rotation terribly. A legitimate #1 starter. If they could get Santana and some bullpen help I think they're hands down the team to beat in the N.L. next year. The one that everyone has forgotten about, who I thought was the best setup man in baseball last year before injury, was Duaner Sanchez. His injury, even more than Pedro, probably cost them the World Series last year. If he can get healthy and they can get a starter or two they win the East without a problem next year.
Do you believe the American people are that different since 1941? Sure, we all change, but down deep, do you really think our basic values have changed?
You know, before the greatest generation went to war our eventual allies were begging for our help and the American people, by and large, looked the other way. FDR was stuck in a quandary, he wanted to help but it was not the popular thing to do. What was the eventual answer? There have been several volumes written about the days leading up to Pearl Harbor and how it appears our government looked the other way and allowed our people to be killed in a "surprise" attack. What was destroyed? Our fast carriers? When normally at least one would be in port, there were none. Our outdated battleships took the hit. Ever look into this? This act brought the American people together and unleashed the might of an untouched industrial nation on the Axis.
Do you doubt that a similar act today would cause our people to once again rise up?
I'm an optimist, I believe we would willingly defend our way of life.
The point is, our people don't want war. We're all so busy enjoying our freedoms, we don't want to be interrupted. It took a Pearl Harbor to get the citizens of this country up in arms. If the government did conspire to unite our people in this effort, it certainly worked. The American people today have not changed that much, and I'm afraid our government is still playing with our minds...
Maybe, but they didn't do a good enough job linking it to Iraq if that is in fact what the goal was (to go to war in Iraq).
I hear ya on the we would rise up part. It would be nice to feel like one nation (even the under God part if we must) again instead of being so divided. I still blame religion for the most part, more so than simple politics at least. I agree we would unite if we were ever (really) attacked. Not to diminish what 9/11 was. I grew up in the shadow of those buildings and I understand it was an attack on U.S. soil... but what we have done in retaliation embarrasses me quite frankly.
Travis... I am extremely irreverant and comedic but in all seriousness you just can't be saying #### like evolution is a lie, there's only one way to get into Heaven, and Jesus is coming back, and whatever else. I know nothing about religion but I do have a healthy respect (and envy in some ways if you must know) for those of strong faith such as yourself. It just has to remain a personal thing, and please keep it away from other people unless it is solicited. I never heard Bill Maher say whatever it is you thought I got from him but from what I can tell his views are very consistent with my own. More people have dies in the name of religion than from any other cause. I am glad you're "saved" and I know how alone one can feel during life's cruelest moments. I am happy for you that you have Him in your life and by your side and you feel His presence at all times if that's what works for you. I am far from brain-washed by the liberal media or whatever. I just don't have an imaginary friend who I use to make me feel less lonely. Maybe I did at a time but I grew up. It sure must be nice to believe in something like that so strongly. Takes all the pressure and accountability off of yourself. Life really is so trying at times, so hard day in and day out. How could I fault somebody for relying on his best friend when the going gets tough... even if the best friend lives up in the clouds and has a beard. One last question though... when I hear thunder is that really God bowling? I have always wanted to get to the bottom of that.
As far as the Mets go everything you said seems on point. I just can't even talk about them yet, or what it is we need for next season. I'm not totally sold on Willie Randolph. I argue with my friend about him all the time (he loves him). I just think he's a little too smooth, but in a way that comes off as not being all that smooth so that his contrived "smoothness" is disquised as something genuine. When talking to the media he always seems to give the fan exactly what he wants. Always says what we want to
