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Reply to Ideology and analysis in Politics JoeUser Forums

Draginol: One of the key statements of statistics and application is: "Figures lie and liars figure." I think liberals and conservatives both want some reassurance of their point of view because their frame of reference says there must be some basis to show they are correct in their worldview. So...for example, a conservative would say "Gays are only 3% of the population." Liberals would then counter that if that were true that would mean 8

Reply to Fear The Village More than Moore in Politics JoeUser Forums

Draigon74: Some notables who were against NAFTA (as an example of isolationism) include Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan. Politics makes strange bedfellows amongst both liberals and conservatives. I think war-protestors are for international solutions to politics, not unilateral solutions. The U.S. is in an interesting position, politically and trade-wise. We often bully countries with trade and troops, using American policy to full benefit.

Reply to Fear The Village More than Moore in Politics JoeUser Forums

Sarah: I wasn't trying to belittle the film and was not trying to say it only is about terrorism or the Bush administration's response. However, neither was Moore's movie only about Bush and the media and neocons tried to make it sound like it was a referendum on Bush's leadership.

Reply to Fear The Village More than Moore in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: There is an answer for your comments but without spoiling the movie it is impossible to answer how Shymalan deals with this. I felt he created the same feeling many have for the Bush response. Actually, (although this is not a review) he uses a device that demonstrates how much of the world feels about terrorist threats.

Fear The Village More than Moore in Politics JoeUser Forums

A few weeks ago there was a bunch of hoopla over John Kerry's Hollywood Star-studded cash bash when personalities like Whoopi Goldberg and John Mellencamp made derogatory statements about President Bush and the administration. John Kerry said at the end of the night that "Hollywood conveys the image of America" which many neocons saw as absurd and insulting. Michael

Reply to Nosey neighbors to the north? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Canada is the country to the North? Hmmm....not if you're in Alaska! hehehe J/K

Reply to Is It Time To Reconsider Afghanistan? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Sand.ie: I would never minimize what the troops are doing but it sort of reminds me of the story of the man who built his house on quicksand. Regardless of the workmanship or the good intentions, the house sank. As for Karzai, I don't think anyone could make the situation work, but to appear to the ruling warlords to be "America's puppet" would make them all the more determined to wait him out until the troops leave. The U.S. State and Defe

Is It Time To Reconsider Afghanistan? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The U.S. press doesn't it discuss it very often or loudly (page 4) but the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly to the point that the only area that the NATO-American forces control is the capital. Historically, the warlords in the country have a siege mentality of waiting foreign occupiers out (for example: Russia) and are in no hurry to pick a side bet

Reply to Let the Conventions Begin! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: On OPEC, when it comes to trading commodities, especially oil, every country looks at what everyone else is doing. IF you look at the price on the open market for long term contracts I rarely see any contracts not in line with OPEC policy. Besides the ones you mentioned, Russia is one of the main one who thought about moving away from OPEC but found the possible problems caused by it were not worth the possible benefits. As

Reply to Let the Conventions Begin! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: Well, the only thing I would disagree with you is on the influence of OPEC. I would contend (from a trader's point of view because that is how I spend my days when not on here) that countries both discuss their production as well as price with OPEC on a continuous basis and the price and quotas OPEC sets for its member countries is pretty closely adhered to for long term contracts. Now, the spot market is a little more "sloppy" in te

Reply to You Won't Read This in the Bible in Religion JoeUser Forums

Adventure-Dude: Thanks for sharing. I consider myself a Christian in a faith sense but have attended many churches and maintain good relations with peoples from all faiths. Having been thrown out of a church once (they even threatedned to have me arrested if I came on their grounds! Ouch!) I can tell you that it isn't the building that makes a church but rather the faith of the people inside. Regardless of where or how you worship, its all

Reply to I HATE SPYWARE!!!!! in Internet JoeUser Forums

Robert: I think you'll find that the spyware places a trojan in your registry (no sexual puns intended) and that it has to be removed manually. Good luck. Once their there, it's time to consider the disk-wipe.

Reply to Let the Conventions Begin! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: I wasn't suggesting the Middle East was the only provider, but there is no doubt that if we produce 40%, OPEC or those associated with OPEC provide 60%, right? The point is, that if the outside sources of oil (besides U.S. production) cut off oil, a crisis would ensue. Such a crisis would cripple the economy. So, any way you slice it, OPEC has the U.S. "over a barrel."

Let the Conventions Begin! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Every 4 years one of the seminal events of politics used to capture the attention and television audience with its glitz and grandeur, suspense and drama. They were shown on all networks and received great ratings because they provided a peak at the democratic process. My parents were glued to their sets as each political party laid before the American people their

Reply to You Won't Read This in the Bible in Religion JoeUser Forums

Adventure-Dude: Well, Luke 18 1/2 doesn't exist. The concept was to use a "supposed" Biblical passage from the gospels to illustrate the point. God is very personal. Faith is very personal. But religion is not personal. It is a communal situation, akin to any group dynamic. I attend a Sunday School class where 3 of us are against the death penalty and 7 are for. How can that be if we are all Christians? Because each of us has a differe

Reply to Can the Death Penalty Be Applied Judiciously? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Evan, Wouldn't a better comparison of time frames be between England (no death penalty since 1954) and the U.S. from 1960 to 1995 (or whenever the stats were last reported) and compensated for by population? I have heard that the English have had a lesser number of convictions per capita than the U.S. I do think that it is not a factor in whether a murder is commited that someone will think "gee, what state am I in, I could get the death pe

Reply to Confessions of a Misfit Christian in Religion JoeUser Forums

Gideon: Every person of faith is a misfit. If you take the old testament, consider the "list of misfits": Moses was a murderer, David, a shepherd, youngest son and not considered by his father to be worth God's consideration, Jonah, reluctant to God's will because he knew in the end God would not follow through on the very message he had been told to deliver. You could go on and on. Faith isn't about the perception of perfection but rather

Reply to Can the Death Penalty Be Applied Judiciously? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Evan: Thanks for the link. I guess from a practical standpoint, it's hard to know how many have been executed that were innocent. The thing is, once executed, there's no way to say "sorry, goofed, go free."

Reply to Can the Death Penalty Be Applied Judiciously? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Evan Woods: Do you have a source to link to? I remember a story on 60 Minutes a few years ago about the head of the forensic labs for the state of Tennessee supposedly falisified the data in 156 death penalty cases but that does not prove they were innocent. Should their convictions (and death penalty sentences) be overturned because the DA used data that the labs falsified?

Can the Death Penalty Be Applied Judiciously? in Politics JoeUser Forums

There are many issues that surround the death penalty and the debate goes on now 7,000 years into real human history. Both those for and against can make compelling philosophical arguments why their position is correct. Of course, 99% of those who make such arguments will never be in a position personally where it will be an issue. Perhaps the focus, then, should b

Reply to TERRORISTS AND DEMOCRATS in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Personally, it's the Drengin that are responsible. They attack my supply lines, they demand tribute, they attack when I'm not looking..... ( offstage ): psssst... What's that, it's a game? Oh well, never mind!

Reply to Red or Blue—Which Are You? in Politics JoeUser Forums

historyishere: Do you think it is because you read a lot of blogs? Hehehe

Reply to A Very Different View in Politics JoeUser Forums

Steven: We hunt what we can. Much easier to take out the Taliban and Iraq than deal with the real world issues of WMD's held by everyone. Sort of like the guy who lives up in the hills with a bear problem. He's more likely to go looking for rabbits, deal with the bear when it's taking beer out of his refrigerator. Yeah, we're like that.....

Reply to Red or Blue—Which Are You? in Politics JoeUser Forums

xtine: Me too. I think middle is synonymous with "well rounded." Knowledge provides a compass to the path of reason.

You Won't Read This in the Bible in Religion JoeUser Forums

Luke 18 1/2: Then Jesus and the apostles came to Selfcentria along the coast of the Dead Sea. Many in the town had heard of the great miracles performed by the Master and had sent the Rabbi to speak with him. The Rabbi spoke with the Master about a great illness that had effected the whole town and how healing them would be a great miracle and serve the p