Rocky

chili today, hot tamale....? :D--> You talkin to me?

Angels and Mariners are on ESPN right now, from Peoria, AZ. :D--> You talkin to me?

Tom Strange: First -- NO need to apologize for spelling. Spelling doesn't count against anyone here at GS. Second -- you make excellent points. The one that resonates with me, as father to a teenage daughter, is "I would submit we could find a lot more folks who have been attacked or come onto by a heterosexual. Lately, female teachers preying on both boys and girls in school have been making news. It's wrong, and it's pedophilia. Further, I've read plenty of news accounts citing statistics showing the prevalance of female rape victims. Who are the attackers? Almost exclusively -- heterosexual males. These points can help to put the fears in perspective and hopeful allow us to open our minds to consider whether our fears and concerns are reasonable or not. And whether we can reframe our personal view of homosexual individuals more along the lines of incorporating the godly nature (somewhere in the epistles of Peter, I think) in our outlook. Which takes us back to having to come to grips as individuals with our prejudices and hopefully choose to look at homosexuals as people who deserve respect as individuals, and if not, then for unacceptable conduct that hurts others, as opposed to hating them just because they are homosexually oriented. :D--> You talkin to me?

Well put niKa. Whatever it takes to get people's attention. This conservative argument makes sense. Even takes pot shots at liberals, probably just to help the conservatives connect with the writer. The whole thing is inevitable. We are either, personally, going to cope with the societal change or we are going to continue to participate in the fear and loathing, which leads to propagating superstition and hate crimes. :D--> You talkin to me?

you are correct sir. I got the jokes by email. They are funny anyway. My experience in family court and regarding homeowners' association issues both makes it so I can relate to the attitude toward lawyers and at the same time still figure that's the direction I need to go. I've been telling people for years that if I won the lottery, I would go to law school. Well, it's looking like I might have a way to make that happen. I wouldn't be able to start before fall 2005, however. :D--> You talkin to me?

There are superstitions that people believe which say more wierd things happen when there's a full moon. :D--> You talkin to me?

What do you throw to a drowning lawyer? His partners..... What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50? Your Honor. .... . . . . . . . :D--> You talkin to me?

and as to the Giants, it's always wise to keep your eye on an Alou managed team, but Barry may have to give up his power brew this year, so ya never know. :D--> You talkin to me?

NL east... I'd like to say the Marlins should still be strong, but they did lose the glue that held them together -- Pudge. It's always (at least in the last roughly 15 years) a bad idea to count Atlanta out... but I can't say I'm overly impressed with any of them. The Mets are always trying to upgrade, but seemingly always at least one step behind George and his Bronx crew. :D--> You talkin to me?

well...ya gotta figure the Cubbies are gonna be in it... and Houston definitely upgraded their pitching staff... and the Dbacks upgraded offense, but have the potential for a very good pitching staff... So, they would be my guesses for the NL. :D--> You talkin to me?

ok, Tom... how about -- either one? The Shi-ite Muslim baseball players, eh? :)--> :D--> You talkin to me?

Diamondbacks won their first spring training game... yesterday, before the skies opened up with torrents, the Cubs and Giants played in Mesa (or Scottsdale, I forget) on ESPN. So, prognosticators, who's gonna be playing in October? :D--> You talkin to me?

I hope you folks get some sort of cathartic thrill out of your hostility toward me... ...mwah! :D--> You talkin to me?

1-800-96-Jerry :D--> You talkin to me?

Yeah Radar, but watch out for Hurricanes... and the sun is out now at my house. cnn says predicted high of 69 the rain is a blessing and within a couple of weeks, the desert wildflowers will be bloomin like crazy... :D--> You talkin to me?

Nice job Tom! -------------- If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the newspaper? :D--> You talkin to me?

Well congrats to youse guys in TN, OH, the Carolinas and FL, though FL folks probably are used to it more. Here in the desert, we've had rain this last few days. Yesterday, it even hailed enough in some places in the Phoenix area to accumulate on the ground as if it had snowed. At my house, it's been raining all night. It's a refreshing change, even though the temps are in the 40s-50s. Last week, I had the front door open several days... but not today. :D--> You talkin to me?

Anyone got a phone number for the Jerry Springer show? :D--> You talkin to me?

Rained here too today... no twisters, however. Probably more snow in the mountains... the desert will love this. (and I do too). :D--> You talkin to me?

How about teaching your "dear" friend zixar about personal boundaries and other reasonable social skills. I don't stalk him. He stalks me. I don't interrupt his discussions. He butts into mine as the whim hits. Resolution won't come by "taking it private." Because when I did try that, Pawtucket banned me from political forums. But when your "dear" friend zixar does it, people tiptoe around his feelings, because they love him so. Resolution will only come by demanding, one way or the other, that he leave me alone as I do him. And Radar, do you or do you not want this to stop? Then why on earth do you take his bait looking for people to beg him to stay? :D--> You talkin to me?

As much as i appreciate LG's insights, I also believe Fog's question is relevant. From a civil perspective, I can see no problem with allowing same-sex marriage. Of course there are logistics, such as insurance and social security survivor benefits issues, but those are hardly justification to undermine the Constitution's equal protection clause or the Declaration of Independence's Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. so that brings us to the religious realm. And for Christians, many have accepted the notion that they should not hate homosexual individuals, but still have a difficult time with various social/cultural implications. And granted that if we accept the Bible as God's will, then there appears to be enough written to suggest God doesn't like homosexuality. However, God also, if I read the bible (and I think I have done so before), seriously dislikes lots of other things that are tolerated in our society, cultures and even churches. And frankly, i think Paul spelling out the admonition in Galatians that from God's viewpoint, there is neither male nor female, etc. is very relevant to people getting past their fear in considering people a little more according to how God does -- by looking at the heart. So, while opponents of same-sex marriage will not be persuaded by me or these points, I believe same-sex marriage as an accepted cultural institution is inevitable, and is not something that is cause for such fear and gnashing of teeth. :D--> You talkin to me?

How can a pregnant woman tell she's carrying a future lawyer? . . . . She has an uncontrollable craving for baloney, How does an attorney sleep? . . . . . . First he lies on one side, then he lies on the other. :D--> You talkin to me?

I can only speculate... but I would guess that's because the fear of homosexuals is based primarily on superstition and not on biblical scholarship or godly reflection. btw, I am not the author of the letter I copied above. :D--> You talkin to me?

Fog, I've answered you. While it is not an authorative answer, I DID answer you and did validate your question. -------------- Here's a letter in the Arizona Republic... because it's a letter, the items claimed as fact have not been checked... anyone able to check it? Gay marriages already plentiful Mar. 4, 2004 12:00 AM To those who fear the world will meet its biblical end if gay marriage is recognized in the United States, you need not worry. We won't be the first country to tempt fate. In fact, at the rate we're going, we may be among the last. On Jan. 29, the United Nations announced that it will grant benefits to same-sex spouses and domestic partners of its employees who hail from countries that recognize such relationships. To date, same-sex marriages and/or civil unions are legal in Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and some Canadian provinces. Gays are granted certain non-marital benefits in Australia, Austria, Hungary, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. However, if you still live in fear of WMD (weddings of mass destruction), grab your Bible and the duct tape. :D--> You talkin to me?

In case, JF, you haven't observed, I DO leave his discussions alone. HE is the one who DOESN'T leave me a lone. And Pawtucket ALLOWS it, even though he claims to have made rules to prevent such attacks. And NOW, Zixar's buddies are singing his praises for him doing what got me banned from the political threads, using the alert button to keep it private. Only, when I used it, it was about posts that violated stated rules. When zixar used it, it was because I was complying with the rules. You figure it. :D--> You talkin to me?