George Aar

I think I'd rather eat a razorblade sandwich...

Hey Topper, Best to you on your day. (stop by and say "hi" sometime, 'kay?)

Gee Geisha, If you wanted to come across as more arrogant, condescending, and pretentious than you already sound, I'm not even sure how you could accomplish that. And of course, who needs evidence? I didn't even realize it was possible to be so cocksure of anything in life, let alone something as vague and subjective as religion. How DO you do it?

WG, the comparison I was making was with what we do. We seem to take a dim view of military exhibitions in Red Square. Film clips of these events are often coupled with dire warnings of how diligent we should be so as to not allow our evil enemies to overtake us and such. I'm just wondering, what's the difference between the "evil" displays in Red Square, and OUR displays of military might? Is it because we're "good" and everyboby else is "bad"? Or maybe showing off one's military prowess is a perfectly healthy and patriotic endeavor? I dunno. Convince me. As with Hap's points, I see a horrendous expenditure of fuel, manpower, and materials, AND an unacceptable risk - at the least to the pilots, if not the populace. 1 in 10 DIES? If those numbers are right, I'm stunned. That many "cream of the crop" pilots are lost so we can be entertained for a few minutes? Honestly, I think the excercise is an anachronism that will slowly fade away, just from sheer logistical considerations, if nothing else...

Geeze, I've managed to kill off this thread pretty effectively. Well, one more giant hint - the "wife" of said lawman went on to become a real-life Princess...

I had a relative who was a small-town cop for about 25 years. I used to ride around with him in his squad car - when that sorta thing was still allowed. I got to see a bit more of the private side of that police force, and it wasn't always pretty. Lots of arrogance, lots of jocks, lots of disregard for the populace they were supposed to be serving, and - I found out later - lots of steroid abuse (it was legal then). BUT, there was also the work they HAD to do. Like going on "DB"s (dead body runs), to collect the - often well decomposed - remains of somebody (usually a loner, old widow/widower with no family, or a homeless guy). Or going out to an accident scene to scrap the remains of some kid off the pavement. Or going out on a "domestic dispute" call (the most dangerous of all of 'em), and trying to get in between some drunk husband and his screaming wife - (only to then get attacked from behind by the WIFE). But then they DID have a toteboard in the basement of the station where they put stars by the names of the cops who'd written the most tickets that week. :blink: Bottom line is, we NEED a police force. People do not behave themselves without somebody keeping some sort of tabs on them. It's not many ( I guess the estimate is about 1% of the population is going to cause 90% of the crime) but somebody HAS to be around to enforce the law. And then there's all those really nasty jobs that nobody else is gonna do. The problem is, it's still pretty easy for a cop to do an awful lot of WRONG stuff with impunity. Hell, we had a state trooper here in WA. that was pulling over good-looking women to fondle them and attempt to do whatever with them, and it was YEARS before he finally was brought to justice, despite a mountain of complaints and evidence against him. So, yeah, what Sudo said. Watch what you say, always treat them with the utmost respect -whether or not they deserve it - and hopefully they'll just go away. As a last resort, there are channels for filing a complaint. But if you're in a smallish community, I'd be really reluctant to go there...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61SV...8GL._SS500_.jpg I dunno, seemed appropriate...

O.K., think "Western" (and older yet)...

Yeah, i've got mixed feelings - at best - about the whole exhibition. I remember when I was a kid, at the opening festivities of the Seattle World's Fair in '62, that the Blue Angels did a show. One of the planes crashed, killing a retired couple who were sitting down for breakfast in their own home. Is the show worth putting the performers AND the general populace's safety at risk? I dunno... And the larger question is about the militarism and all. When they have displays like this in Red Square we all sorta deride them dirty commies for such blatant saber rattling, don't we? But when WE do it, well, it's just good fun (?). All that being said, when they're practicing over the Lake in Seattle, I STILL stop and watch them for awhile. It certainly IS an awesome display of frightful technology...

I remember when I lived in Tucson that I'd have to let the water run for a looooong time before it was cool enough to shower. When I needed to, I'd run a load of laundry first so as to not waste all that hot water. I don't remember EVER turning the water heater on there. Seems like it got a little cooler in the winter, but not so much that a displaced squarehead would notice...

O.K. another hint. Hmmm, seems like any hint I could give would be a giveaway, thinking... Think "Law enforcement"... And, this is an old film...

Doitashimadange! (I've gotta get my hiragana keyboard back) Joji yori

Honto ne! Nihongo de dekimasu ka? (Uh, you misspelled "sakka" though, {I think you've spelled "sekka" - a good painter, but not a sport}) At any rate, anybody who speaks a little Japanese is O.K. in my book (and maybe just a little bit better than everybody else, I think)...

Oh, not to any great extent, as I think I"ve pretty much "been there, done that" enough already. Without an uncritical acceptance of The Bible as some sort of spiritual roadmap in life, on it's own it just doesn't interest me much. Other questions I sorta mulled over during my transition from Buhleever to vile, worthless, apostate: If God really wants all men to be saved, why not be a little more transparent in what The Truth actually is? If God is really so loving and all, why would He set things up so as to have to have a freaking HUMAN SACRIFICE in order for His will to be fulfilled? If I punch Jimmy in the mouth and then become a Christian, I guess I'm forgiven for that sin, but what the hell good does Christ's DEATH do for Jimmy's teeth that I knocked out (feel free to extrapolate further in that regard)? Religion just makes less and less sense to me the older I get. I don't hate God, or "His" word, I just doubt the existence or veracity of same. Why should what we believe be so crucial to our salvation, but what we do be so irrelevant? I'm sorry, I don't dislike anyone because they're Christian or Buddhist or Islamic or whatever, I just can't join in the exercise, as it makes no rational sense. It just doesn't, sorry...

Well, gee, we get another "expert" opinion from someone who spent his time on the sidelines. If one has never had and raised children, never been married, and never been on the receiving end of the uglier "blessings" that were doled out by WayWorld, maybe it would be wise to just STFU with regards to stuff you have no inkling about? Maybe? (Just a thot! Ha-huh!)...

Is the guy in the green T-shirt Snuffy Smif? (David, that was John B*tler wasn't it?)

Mark, A spoon was used a great deal on one of our older boys, less so on the oldest, as he was always such a mild-mannered kid. The youngest two kids got very little of that treatment at all, and by the time we left WayWorld, and they were about 2 and 3, they seldom got any corporal punishment. And when they did, I really don't think it was beneficial at all. At BEST, it made them resentful. I think that verse of scripture - if indeed we're even understanding it correctly - is simply WRONG. If you want to teach a kid to hit, then hit THEM. If you want them to learn to have a short temper, a lack of compassion and empathy, and to "solve" problems with violence, by all means, smack them around a little. If you'd like your kids to learn to behave differently, maybe doing the same 'ol stuff that's been done for centuries ISN'T really the answer...

I've taken quite a few steps to curb the household budget lately. I only use Winfred's services 6 days a week now, and have allowed Millicent 3 days a week for her leisure. The back lawn and the Children's garden only receive attention bi-weekly, while the Bentley is seldom used at all currently, save for First Night and such like. Polo activities have been drastically curtailed, and I fear I may have to trim a few ponies from the stable entirely. I take most of my meals at The Town residence, and have actually begun to budget my visits to "The Club". Oh, and I only allow Reginald to polish the Aston-Martin on a monthly basis. No sympathy please!, we all must make sacrifices...

Yeah, I thought it was creepy on several levels. Creepy and cruel. Well, sounds like church to me...

Ummm, lemmee see, "day by day, day by day, blah blah blah, see thee more clearly love thee more dearly follow thee more nearly, day by day" Wasn't that a "Yardbirds" hit? (maybe it was "The Four Tops")...

I'm working on it. Maybe in the fall? (I'll need to visit musumesan by then, she's already sounding a little frantic)

Holy mixed metaphors! I thought it was a pot 'o gold at the end of the rainbow? never mind...

I find it quite remarkable that there's still so many (especially in The States) that subscribe to the concept. There's really nothing all that unique about "The Bible", other than the fact that it represented the religion of choice of the people who ended up in charge of things (for the most part). There's certainly no shortage of "holy" writs with claims of infallibility (and associated dire warnings for those who don't accept the doctrine). And there's nothing all that remarkable about the contents of The Bible either. The basic story line of the N.T. was getting pretty shopworn from overuse, even in biblical times. The virgin birth, the "Christ" uber-human figure, dietary restrictions, miraculous healings, and the all-seeing benevolent - or sometimes MALevolent - omniscient God, and the various and sundry morality tales were all used repeatedly in other cultures and religions. I guess there were maybe 16 or so "christs" BEFORE the time of the (quite possibly fictitious) one that we revere today. And then there's all the palpable error contained in The Bible. Rabbits the chew the cud, dragons, giants, boats that circumnavigate the globe but physics says couldn't even hold themselves together, the value of Pi, and on and on. I honestly think that, had we not been given an incredibly forceful a-priori belief at a very early age that there was something really special about The Bible , we wouldn't give any of it a second thought today - if we even knew of it's existence. I think the reverence and abject obeisance to it is stark evidence of the power of a "meme".

I wonder about all the toadies that went out with guns drawn to chase off Loyboy's "attacker". Gawd, what do they think NOW? Are they still proud of themselves for threatening and ousting a guy whose only crime was defending a woman against a serial rapist? Really, what do these clowns think when they look themselves in the mirror? The plagiarism, the lying and denegrating of anyone outside of the pack, the unabashed profiteering, the forced servitude, the sexual predation, and the shameless exploitation of virtually everyone that got involved, gee, wasn't it all just swell? And we thought we were onto something so holy. Gawd, the irony...

And if I may beat a dead horse a bit longer (are these Wierwille sycophants really worth this much effort? One wonders...) when an eyewitness (and VICTIM!) of a crime tells what happened to them, it's not their "opinion" fer crissake, it's their TESTIMONY! You may not like it, you may not believe it, but it's not a freaking "opinion"! Grow the fark up already, boys...