Check out how many of them (and Republicans did the same) voted for the Patriot Act the first time around. Even recently, there were a large number of them that voted to renew the Patriot Act. We have stop-and-frisk, the TSA, the NSA surveillance, constitution-free zones, free speech zones, public surveillance, among other things. These are bipartisan efforts to infringe upon our fundamental liberties, and anyone who says otherwise is a partisan fool.
Check who voted for the Patriot Act the first time around. Almost everyone from all parties. Those were their true colors; they took advantage of the situation and used it as an opportunity to take away our rights. Furthermore, many people in both parties (except now it's Republicans that tend to do this more often) continue to vote to renew the Patriot Act.
If Obama really hated this, he'd try to stop it with his executive orders *even if* that would only be temporary. At least it would stop the collection for now. But he doesn't, and it doesn't matter what he does, because you seem to be an Obama drone.
Really? I see people saying that security is more important than freedom all the time. Furthermore, many people apparently think that the government will not harm them if they're doing nothing wrong (History and simple logic would show otherwise, but they don't realize that.), so they think they *are* being left alone. No one else matters but them, so if someone else is abused at some point, who cares? They must've been filthy terrorists.
As I said above, freedom was always balanced with personal responsibility, and today because of the internet people are abandoning personal responsibility and abusing their freedom.
I don't think they're abusing anything, nor do I think this situation is a problem that the government needs to take care of. You either have the freedom to do some specific thing or you don't; it's not 'abuse' just because you don't like how they're using their freedom.
So you end up with furry pr0n and disgusting things that are a blight on society.
Yeah, but omnipotence. It doesn't matter what question you ask, as the answer will always be something like, "Omnipotent beings defy logic!" or some rationalization for why they'd be able to do what you ask. The specific question or logic doesn't matter when you're dealing with nutters or omnipotence.
If you need to ask that question... -> "Then maybe you should move elsewhere and start a tyrannical government. All of you authoritarians can go start a country where mob rule reigns supreme and you can decide that certain offensive things are illegal."
To me, that is like asking, "Why is it always intolerable for the government to murder people merely for criticizing it?" It's just a silly question. I believe in freedom of thought and freedom of speech. Words do not harm anyone beyond completely subjective emotional harm, and if you banned things based on that, everything could be banned. What is and is not "horrible" is 100% subjective, so that just demonstrates yet another problem with your thinking. Furthermore, I like the idea of an open marketplace of ideas, where censorship is unheard of.
Fortunately, you censorship lovers cannot win. The Internet has shown that, although some websites occasionally get taken down, it cannot, as a whole, be censored.
I'm saying the same thing could be applied to anyone, and for any reason. That is, if you were referring to when he said, "The world is going through a period of hedonism atm and like any "mood swing" they will get bored and seek salvation eventually. When they realize the internet cannot provide what they seek, people will turn back to faith and look inside for answers."
And I could have just as easily said that people like you would eventually change your minds in some way, and it would be just as valid to make the same comment right back at you. There is no point to be had in baseless statements.
The part about current Atheism, that I find scary, isn't about the actual non belief in a god, but the hate towards religions, and finding the same amount of zeal/anger and the feeling that they MUST convert people at any cost that any religious has.
When someone says something blatantly incorrect, people tend to feel the need to correct them. This is not a surprise. I have absolutely zero respect for anything which encourages people to be absolutely irrational, like most religions do. It's ultimately about education.
Education makes you realize that there is no real reason to believe in these things. Why not believe in the flying spaghetti monster or Santa if you're going to believe in magical sky daddies?
Since we don't like to think of ourselves as broken (and, heaven forbid, agree with what the Bible says about us) some choose the "no God" path.
Incorrect. That is not why people choose to be atheists. I am an atheist because there is no reason to believe that a god exists. Ignorance is not evidence, either.
Really? Now I know how the average white person in a first world country is so spoiled on life that they don't need faith to be happy or keep their sanity.
There are plenty in shitty situations who do not need fairy tales to keep them happy, or people who are immune to the 'benefits' of these fairy tales.
In the meantime, the rest of the oppressed world kind of has it pretty shitty.
And believing in magical sky daddies does what to improve their situation in any tangible way, exactly? It might make them 'feel better' in the short term, but it does nothing to make them rational thinkers, something which could improve many people's lives.
But really, just because something makes you feel better doesn't mean you should ignore reality.
While you treat faith like an extra ice cream cone
I treat faith like a piece of shit. I like ice cream cones.
You don't need a "good religion" for that, nor can it be so easily solved by believing in bajeebus. Stop spewing forth religious bullshit, and stop blaming random crap on atheism; that was merely a way of controlling people, much like religions.
No, the Internet is the same as books, tv, etc., but more easily accessible, and it's of course more easy to post your own content for others to see. I've seen so much bullshit on the Internet, but the same holds true for books and television. You have to do some research to find quality sources.
Don't pick a side, don't be part of the control system.
You don't need to pick a side. If you lack a belief in a god, you're an atheist. It doesn't matter that you don't want to be labeled; inevitably, some labels will apply to you, due to how they are defined.
Without that, I truly fear what the average person is capable of.
Really? Now, I know the "average person" is unintelligent, but I don't think they'd suddenly become murderers or something without their precious faith.
I'm pretty sure that I know what the definition of evidence is.
You're using a definition of the word that people don't expect. It's easy to say that evidence exists even if it's complete bullshit, but when you say there is evidence for something, usually people will think you mean that it is good evidence.
In the very recent past Humanity tried the ways of the Atheist Communism with not good results, not only because of the Communist part but also because of the Atheist part...
As opposed to the countless times that religion (including your precious Christianity) has been used to justify wholesale slaughter and war? The problem is always humans with the desire to murder others or coerce people into doing so. Atheism was not the problem.
Yes, because blindly believing in fairy tales will definitely provide the answers people seek, and not just bullshit that other people made up. How very creative.
Slashdot Mirror
Check out how many of them (and Republicans did the same) voted for the Patriot Act the first time around. Even recently, there were a large number of them that voted to renew the Patriot Act. We have stop-and-frisk, the TSA, the NSA surveillance, constitution-free zones, free speech zones, public surveillance, among other things. These are bipartisan efforts to infringe upon our fundamental liberties, and anyone who says otherwise is a partisan fool.
Check who voted for the Patriot Act the first time around. Almost everyone from all parties. Those were their true colors; they took advantage of the situation and used it as an opportunity to take away our rights. Furthermore, many people in both parties (except now it's Republicans that tend to do this more often) continue to vote to renew the Patriot Act.
If Obama really hated this, he'd try to stop it with his executive orders *even if* that would only be temporary. At least it would stop the collection for now. But he doesn't, and it doesn't matter what he does, because you seem to be an Obama drone.
Really? I see people saying that security is more important than freedom all the time. Furthermore, many people apparently think that the government will not harm them if they're doing nothing wrong (History and simple logic would show otherwise, but they don't realize that.), so they think they *are* being left alone. No one else matters but them, so if someone else is abused at some point, who cares? They must've been filthy terrorists.
That's probably it. Charismatic sociopathic assholes will always be able to get irrational dumbasses to do their bidding.
Well, too bad, because some labels will apply to you regardless of whether or not you want them to.
As I said above, freedom was always balanced with personal responsibility, and today because of the internet people are abandoning personal responsibility and abusing their freedom.
I don't think they're abusing anything, nor do I think this situation is a problem that the government needs to take care of. You either have the freedom to do some specific thing or you don't; it's not 'abuse' just because you don't like how they're using their freedom.
So you end up with furry pr0n and disgusting things that are a blight on society.
Oh, you're trolling.
Yeah, but omnipotence. It doesn't matter what question you ask, as the answer will always be something like, "Omnipotent beings defy logic!" or some rationalization for why they'd be able to do what you ask. The specific question or logic doesn't matter when you're dealing with nutters or omnipotence.
Fecal frenzy mathematics?
-1 unsupported statements.
Why is censorship always intolerable?
If you need to ask that question... -> "Then maybe you should move elsewhere and start a tyrannical government. All of you authoritarians can go start a country where mob rule reigns supreme and you can decide that certain offensive things are illegal."
To me, that is like asking, "Why is it always intolerable for the government to murder people merely for criticizing it?" It's just a silly question. I believe in freedom of thought and freedom of speech. Words do not harm anyone beyond completely subjective emotional harm, and if you banned things based on that, everything could be banned. What is and is not "horrible" is 100% subjective, so that just demonstrates yet another problem with your thinking. Furthermore, I like the idea of an open marketplace of ideas, where censorship is unheard of.
Fortunately, you censorship lovers cannot win. The Internet has shown that, although some websites occasionally get taken down, it cannot, as a whole, be censored.
They have imaginations? So does everyone else, but it seems a bit strange to me when people begin believing their favorite work of fiction.
I'm saying the same thing could be applied to anyone, and for any reason. That is, if you were referring to when he said, "The world is going through a period of hedonism atm and like any "mood swing" they will get bored and seek salvation eventually. When they realize the internet cannot provide what they seek, people will turn back to faith and look inside for answers."
And I could have just as easily said that people like you would eventually change your minds in some way, and it would be just as valid to make the same comment right back at you. There is no point to be had in baseless statements.
The part about current Atheism, that I find scary, isn't about the actual non belief in a god, but the hate towards religions, and finding the same amount of zeal/anger and the feeling that they MUST convert people at any cost that any religious has.
When someone says something blatantly incorrect, people tend to feel the need to correct them. This is not a surprise. I have absolutely zero respect for anything which encourages people to be absolutely irrational, like most religions do. It's ultimately about education.
Education makes you realize that there is no real reason to believe in these things. Why not believe in the flying spaghetti monster or Santa if you're going to believe in magical sky daddies?
Since we don't like to think of ourselves as broken (and, heaven forbid, agree with what the Bible says about us) some choose the "no God" path.
Incorrect. That is not why people choose to be atheists. I am an atheist because there is no reason to believe that a god exists. Ignorance is not evidence, either.
Really? Now I know how the average white person in a first world country is so spoiled on life that they don't need faith to be happy or keep their sanity.
There are plenty in shitty situations who do not need fairy tales to keep them happy, or people who are immune to the 'benefits' of these fairy tales.
In the meantime, the rest of the oppressed world kind of has it pretty shitty.
And believing in magical sky daddies does what to improve their situation in any tangible way, exactly? It might make them 'feel better' in the short term, but it does nothing to make them rational thinkers, something which could improve many people's lives.
But really, just because something makes you feel better doesn't mean you should ignore reality.
While you treat faith like an extra ice cream cone
I treat faith like a piece of shit. I like ice cream cones.
You don't need a "good religion" for that, nor can it be so easily solved by believing in bajeebus. Stop spewing forth religious bullshit, and stop blaming random crap on atheism; that was merely a way of controlling people, much like religions.
No, the Internet is the same as books, tv, etc., but more easily accessible, and it's of course more easy to post your own content for others to see. I've seen so much bullshit on the Internet, but the same holds true for books and television. You have to do some research to find quality sources.
Don't pick a side, don't be part of the control system.
You don't need to pick a side. If you lack a belief in a god, you're an atheist. It doesn't matter that you don't want to be labeled; inevitably, some labels will apply to you, due to how they are defined.
Without that, I truly fear what the average person is capable of.
Really? Now, I know the "average person" is unintelligent, but I don't think they'd suddenly become murderers or something without their precious faith.
But you can be born lacking a belief in a god.
Jesus is a bit too far away from being a simple invention.
Nope. Just because lots of idiots believe in fairy tales doesn't make them any less silly.
I'm pretty sure that I know what the definition of evidence is.
You're using a definition of the word that people don't expect. It's easy to say that evidence exists even if it's complete bullshit, but when you say there is evidence for something, usually people will think you mean that it is good evidence.
In the very recent past Humanity tried the ways of the Atheist Communism with not good results, not only because of the Communist part but also because of the Atheist part...
As opposed to the countless times that religion (including your precious Christianity) has been used to justify wholesale slaughter and war? The problem is always humans with the desire to murder others or coerce people into doing so. Atheism was not the problem.
Yes, because blindly believing in fairy tales will definitely provide the answers people seek, and not just bullshit that other people made up. How very creative.