So true happiness is not affected by drugs? So true happiness must not be physiological and must reside somewhere other than the body/brain? So precisely _where_ does true happiness reside - in the soul, in the "great all of Buddha", in your mother?
Well, no, I don't think that true happiness is affected by drugs. Speaking as someone who is undergoing both cognitive therapy and medication therapy, I can say that. My experinces with both therapies have been far less than I expected - particularly the cognitive shit. All they want to do is tell you how to be a sheep. And I'm not a sheep.
BUT! After 4 months of that, the shrink started trying to get me to take meds. Again. I refused. 4 months later, she told me that she couldn't make anymore inroads, and that I should really try them. By this point, I was having daily paralyzing anxiety attacks that would take me out of commission for 4-6 hours. So I went. I had an honest frank discussion with the Psychiatrist, and told him, I've been down this road before, nothing worked, the last jerk OD'd me on Zoloft, and then DOUBLED my dosage when I complained. That resulted in me having a permanent tick.:( But I decided to trust Herr Doktor, and accepted his prescription for a different drug, that would affect a different chemical - dopamine - rather than seratonin. Turns out, that was the key.
The first four months I was on it, I lost 15 pounds, couldn't eat. But at the 5 month point, everything started shifting to normal. My anxiety started subsiding, I could eat, I could talk to other people, my attacks were less pronounced. Over the course of the year that I've been on this medication, both my physical and emotional body has completely changed. But the medication was just the key, as you say.
Just because the meds were clearing up the fog of 30 years of depression, anxiety, anguish, and hatred, does NOT mean that it took care of all of those underlying issues. In fact, it means quite the opposite, and I've only just now been realizing it. It has helped me to quell the symptoms, while allowing my responses to remain the same, making it my responsibility to manage those responses. And this is why the cognitive therapy is important, even if you only do it yourself at home with some great self-help books or something (just not the 5th of Makers Mark!), because you have to start managing and learning to change those ingrained behaviours and reactions.
I don't think that happiness can be found anywhere outside of the human mind. And the mind is such a complex creature in and of itself, that we are only just beginning to understand. But I know that this course of medications, for 2 years only - after that they begin the reduction and redaction process over six months - has changed my life, and helped me to change my world. It is up to each of us to find our own path to happiness, but the medications only help to brighten the path.
The problem is, they can't get the BladeCenters stable.:( I can tell you we did 4 BIOS upgrades just in the first half of 2005 on 4 fully populated BladeCenters. That SUCKED! All cuz they couldn't get the BIOS right, causing all traffic to just stop. Hrm. But they got it where it's at. My new company wants to swear off of them, but they can't STAND the HP or Dell blades.
I saw this tested after the CES show this year. It was the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen. I'm better off just playing lowlevel random junk on my PC! Then at least I can have some control of the white noise.:P
No *doubt*!!!! I can't even program in 'real' languages, because I learned Assembler first! I remember writing mods back in the day (I actually still have WOWII on my computer, I just can't get it to run)! Or having to write special OS instructions in a specific way and reboot off of floppy to get Doom to run! Or even even even...... copying Fortran code out of the back of Byte Magazine and compiling it into a computer game. 14 days of code for one AWESOME asteroid knock off!!! (it was a family Vic-20, I couldn't be on it all the time) Only to be saved to a CASSETTE tape that was connected to the computer. Remember our parents bitching about the burnin on the family TV???
For the record, I'm only 32!!!! I'm not old by any stretch. An no, I can't text message real well, I can barely use my cell phone, and I don't IM but 3 people. Heh. So what, I'm squarely in the middle of GenX, what are they calling the new one? Heheheh. Gen Hilton?
*sweeeeet* I so like your idea. Do something more than just vote every 4 years.... If you don't vote, you can't bitch anyway. But in order for us to change the landscape to something we want, we have to take action, something more than griping, too.
Thanks for putting this out there. I'm doing a lot of similar work. We're working on something bipartisan, open source, and noteworthy. I hope. If we can all stop bitching about Dems vs. Pubs.:P
When are you guys gonna realize that The Guardian is just a fancy tabloid like all the rest of the junk out there. They are one of the worst at spreading completely baseless stories with nothing but conspiratual CRAP. *sigh* But hey... that does make for some really funny stories!!! And it sure does take all kinds.
Yeah, but for how long?? Any bets on how long it will take MS to roll this (or something like it) into the Windows Updates downloads? Or worse, the iggits over at *AA.boofoo.inc hire virus creators to throw it out there in the wild so it gets propogated to every PC?
Thus creating the hostility filled workplaces that we have to go to today. *feh*
At least, that's a major experience I've had. It's taken me 5 years to FIND a job where the managers don't try to treat you as their children. Don't treat them like it, they won't act like it.
How about just putting someone in IT in HR/Training to cover the basic information for new hires? Include a tutorial CD and a basic manual. TADA!!! You've just made your life so much easier. Include web-training for basic apps, class training for your advanced apps. We did this all about 5 years ago when we converted from PCs to Thin Clients. Worked like a charm!
Hey there!
Um, yeah... THAT was so mature. Well, let me quote your inability to spell English: Funny how democrates were the ones that wanted campaign finance reform in the first place (when it suited them).
Well, accordng to the FEC It is a BIPARTISAN Act (hence the B, in BCRA) AKA McCain-Feingold law. John McCain - (R) Arizona (my vote in the 2000 Primaries), Russell Feingold - (D) Wisconsin. They are both about as bipartisan as you can get in Washington. So tell me.... where are the Democrats wanting this?
It would mean that "I persuade a congressman to vote for a law" and "I pay a congressman to vote for a law" is the same thing. Well if you want to live in a society like that I guess it's fine.
Unfortunately... it IS the same thing here. If you don't have money, you can't get anywhere near a congressman to convince them of *anything*. Let alone to vote for a law. Case in point: Feinstein & Boxer. Let alone Pelosi. Someone PLEASE make those three heads SHUT IT!!!!!!!! They are disgrace to decent Californians. Especially Pelosi. Someone called me from the GOP not too many months ago about launching a campaing to get her out of office. But it's not up to me, cuz she's not in my district.
That's one of the major problems here in the US that no one is addressing... is the redistricting measures that should and NEED to be taken. Especially after all the mass migration and resettling that's taking place right now in the wake of Hurricanes Katrita. *sigh* But everytime someone brings that up, the Dems go running for whatever dramastic measures that they can think of.... TEXAS.
So when do the Geeks start running for office? Come on now!!! You know you wanna. You know you can solve the country's problems with that big geek brain!!!:D I gotta wait 3 more years.:P
Yeah, I was just doing some research on it the other day for something else. Cuz I thought they got like 30%!!! Boy was I wrong. They work so hard, and this is the thanks they get... to be fucked in the butt by the RIAA coming and going.:(
Would the labels do anything that didn't benefit them? Greedy bastardes.:( I guess that's why my mom talked me so hard out of going into the music biz. Most of these music stars are so far in debt, it's ridiculous. They have to start these other companies to actually MAKE money!:P
Could you tell me exactly how you think our right to freedom of religion is eroding? And who you would cast as the "villian" in this issue and perhaps why you think they are doing what they are doing?
I would point the Evangelical Christian movement as the villian in this issue, because they seek to make *everything* faith-based. Live in Kansas? Don't expect your child to be taught evolution. Live in Texas? Don't expect your child to be taught Geology, Evolution, OR SAFE SEX!
I realize that flies directly in the face of what you thought I was saying in my other comments that you flew right on by. But that's ok... I believe our children's minds are formulated and mostly influenced 12 years old and up. And here is where we see the clashes of values, conservatism vs. liberalism, etc etc etc. NOT in grammer school. There is no liberal Math. Well, there wasn't when I was a kid... turns out I guess there is now. But of course, I use this as the most glaring example.
I consider myself to be a Pagan, an earth-worshiper if you will. I do not believe in God or the Devil as any of the Judeo-Christian sects would have you believe in. I could never believe in a God that would willingly strike down every soul on Earth, a city, or even just cuz. I do not believe in an eternal hell, except for those we make for ourselves. But, I am not free to gather and practice that religion without massive protest, argument, and upheaval. So I don't. For example: http://www.livejournal.com/users/jhohanna/53413.ht ml (yes, it's from my blog, but it's the text of the article no longer found on gazette.com). I have fought for a decade for us who are not Christian to have a voice. Yet we have none.
Add to all of this, all of President Bush's agendas and ideas and funding all have something faith-based attached to them. I think that's wrong. I don't think that one 50c3 should get more funding because they happen to be a Christian organization. I don't believe that Muslim organizations should get passed over for the same funding because they are Muslim (this occurs all the time). I believe in equality of all... not of some.
But all too unfortunately, it becomes an issue of money and power. Who's got it, who wants it, and what do they want to do with it? It's like the 80s all over again. The Southern Christian Baptist Convention is the biggest congregation in the country. They are also the biggest lobbying firm. Hrmph.
And yet, despite all of this, yes, I am still a Republican. Because my faith does not guide my politics. My head does. Maybe a little bit of my heart. And what is now will not always be. Tomorrow is a brighter day... and the current Administration can only hold for 3 more years. *sigh*.
Jho
Hi there Alsee -
Let me just say that I really appreciate you taking the time to reply so nicely. Your response is refreshing, so well thought out and communicated. We may not agree, but you state your points well, and your reasoning is just, not flawed like so many people here. I respect your thoughts, your views, and I thank you for sharing them.
Except for this small part:
Well then why don't you go sign up yourself if you're so gung-ho to impose mandatory conscription on everyone else?
Oh... I'm sorry... are you homosexual?
That was a bit harsh. I'm not for imposing it, I was asking WHY it's ok for all these other countries to do it, but not for the US. Because we're free.:) That's why. FWIW, I did get accepted to the Air Force Academy, but failed my final physical because a heart condition showed up. They pulled my medical records (which were conveniently in the AFA Hospital because that's where I was seen), and found that I have a lifelong heart condition. It goes with the birth defect that I have. So they denied me. I went to every military recruiter, and they all said, no way could I ever join the military because of my health problems. Not even a waiver will cover heart arrythmia and/or Marfan's Syndrome. And NO, I'm not a homosexual, I'm a female who is married and starting to have kids (at 33).
Yes... allegiance to country, obey your leaders, right or wrong! Good healthy Conservative values!
Actually, it's not about obeying the leaders, but doing what's best for the country. I wish our idiots in Congress would do that.... rather than what's best for their corporate goons. (re: PorkFat in bills). Allegiance to country means (to me) that you hold fast to the things and reasons that our country is great and has overcome. Hold fast to the basic beliefs that make us American - all huMANs are created equal, free speech, free religion (though that is eroding), and freedom to assemble. Etcetcetc. NOT blindly following your leaders, but watching them, and calling them on their BS. Problem is, no one in the GOP will call Bush on his bullshit. I can't tell ya why.
An educated population is GOOD for the country. Anyone who takes PRIDE in being uneducated needs to be taken out back and shot. Note that I am not tarring you with this, or all Conservatives. An intelligent educated Conservative is a good thing.
Heheh.. thanks for not tarring me on that one... because I'm right there with ya. I like to consider myself an intelligent educated Republican (note, I'm not exactly what they call Conservative, though I am on some views), but I'm not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. I do believe in good education... and that is something that apparently, San Diego Schools don't believe in. The public school system here is worse than I've seen anywhere in the country, and that includes Oakland and Hayward (where I went to school). It's not so much that I think that the primary school systems are liberal per se... I think they are not functioning as well as they should be for a proper education for our kids - and this is not true in a lot of the US... at least that's my fervent hope. But more the high-school and college level educators that won't teach our kids about Vietnam.... or that the Nazi's were just in their assault on Europe. Stuff like that. I've seen so many kids that were taught that. One class my friend in college took last year actually tried to teach them that the Chinese are happy in their lifestyles and that the government is really just trying to care for everyone. Until I started reading the book that he used for the class. How do these instructors get these ideas!??! They are teaching them that socialism is the ideal solution for America!
(1) Are you suggesting Conservatives are somehow incapable of getting the education and accreditation to be a teacher? If so that hardly reflects well on Conservatives, now does it?
I don't believe that, no. I be
Hey... how come all the other countries in the world have mandatory conscription?
And how come we don't?
Truthfully, that's one of the things that I can never wrap my geek brain around. I mean, we used to have mandatory state militias even... and now we have an all-Pro Military Force (HEH! They are making more than *I* am now, I found out!!!! Lt. Cols. are making 75k just muckin' around on flight sims).
I think I will call up old Duncan's office too... and ask him that, as well as when the FUCK they are gonna finish putting up that fence, and where the sharpshooters will be stationed. Not to mention why our country doesn't do conscription anymore.
Personally, I think it would be *really* good for a lot of these kids graduating from high school to go through 2 years of military training. Even if they got out and went straight to college (partly funded by their stint in the military... the longer the stint, the more school you get). Talk about growing up, becoming an adult (at 20, not 40), and learning allegiance to your country.
Oh, but wait... we're FREE!!! That's right. And no one ever had to sacrifice a thing for that right to be ours. But who's going to be left to defend that freedom once the liberal education system gets done programming our kids to think the military and the government are evil???
Thanks! I love him. I seriously think I've developed a serious infatuation with him.:P Only he understand me.:P
Seriously though, I've been doing the physics thing on the side for 20 years now, and I fell in LOVE with Dr. Kaku several years ago the first time I saw him do an interview on The Science Channel for the program Understanding Uncertainty... about sub-atomic particles. He actually used terms that my HUSBAND could understand, so NOW he at least pays attention when I'm explaining particle theory!!!!!!!!
Jeeez... what a parrotted bunch of junk. You listen to Air America don't you? These are all *exact* quotes.
I feel for your plight, because you were a victim of terrorism. I feel for you because you are blinded by those whom you choose to quote rather than thinking for yourself. (How can Gitmo be considered a Gulag when it's the Ritz-Carlton compared to Chino???)
But most of all, I'm saddened that you can't see the long reach of the Doctrine. Which I have read. What people do not understand is that things that are set in place in one administration generally doesn't have any effect until the NEXT one, or even the one AFTER! This military doctrine won't even take effect for another year at least. Then, Bush will only be in office for 2 years, and Cheney can't run for office cuz of his health.
God... just, one day, I want to walk up to him. And spit in his face, and then walk away.
You might want to be aware that this could be considered a threat. Not that I really believe that anything would come of it, but it IS one that could get you in trouble. Everything else you can say... but making physical threats of any kind against the President could land the Secret Service on your door. Not trying to mean, I'm just saying that it's one of those things we gotta watch. Because I do totally respect your freedom to say what you want... short of treason or sedition. Those laws all still apply to those who are American Citizens.
Thank you for posting this. I was one of the very few people who got the pleasuer of being trained by HP *way* back in the day.
I was one of the people hired in '91 to run a COBA lab full of brand new HP 386-33 machines. They hired me cuz I knew MSDos 5.0 and WordPerfect 5.1 (I had taught both as a student teacher my sr. year of high school). We got to go to the HP plant for 2 weeks of training in customer support, technical support, and consulting best practices. IN 1991!!!!
Those tools and tasks and everything that I learned 14 years ago, still apply to everything I do today and more. They were standard basic tricks that they taught to their own employees, and fancied teaching us that would represent them. HP then made some of the best products in the world, though I wouldn't count the Vectra's among them. I sure did love those laser printers and huge plotters. The best was the printing conference room whiteboard... not seen in the board room for another 10 years. I loved that thing. Oh, and the underdesk mounted monitors!!!
I was spoiled to get this training, only because HP DONATED all of this equipment to a local University. They hoped to cull the university of it's CS students, when it didn't even HAVE A CS PROGRAM YET! That was pretty amazing foresight. After a semester, I took that training and knowledge and went to a real CS School for 2 years... long enough to find out it was a WASTE OF MONEY! Not to mention time.:) I may not have a degree, but I sure do have a lot of learning.
Later, my ex worked for a company that split off from HP back in the day to go their own way. Heard tell they got bought by AMD not too many years ago. *sigh*
Slashdot Mirror
So true happiness is not affected by drugs? So true happiness must not be physiological and must reside somewhere other than the body/brain? So precisely _where_ does true happiness reside - in the soul, in the "great all of Buddha", in your mother? Well, no, I don't think that true happiness is affected by drugs. Speaking as someone who is undergoing both cognitive therapy and medication therapy, I can say that. My experinces with both therapies have been far less than I expected - particularly the cognitive shit. All they want to do is tell you how to be a sheep. And I'm not a sheep.
:( But I decided to trust Herr Doktor, and accepted his prescription for a different drug, that would affect a different chemical - dopamine - rather than seratonin. Turns out, that was the key.
BUT! After 4 months of that, the shrink started trying to get me to take meds. Again. I refused. 4 months later, she told me that she couldn't make anymore inroads, and that I should really try them. By this point, I was having daily paralyzing anxiety attacks that would take me out of commission for 4-6 hours. So I went. I had an honest frank discussion with the Psychiatrist, and told him, I've been down this road before, nothing worked, the last jerk OD'd me on Zoloft, and then DOUBLED my dosage when I complained. That resulted in me having a permanent tick.
The first four months I was on it, I lost 15 pounds, couldn't eat. But at the 5 month point, everything started shifting to normal. My anxiety started subsiding, I could eat, I could talk to other people, my attacks were less pronounced. Over the course of the year that I've been on this medication, both my physical and emotional body has completely changed. But the medication was just the key, as you say.
Just because the meds were clearing up the fog of 30 years of depression, anxiety, anguish, and hatred, does NOT mean that it took care of all of those underlying issues. In fact, it means quite the opposite, and I've only just now been realizing it. It has helped me to quell the symptoms, while allowing my responses to remain the same, making it my responsibility to manage those responses. And this is why the cognitive therapy is important, even if you only do it yourself at home with some great self-help books or something (just not the 5th of Makers Mark!), because you have to start managing and learning to change those ingrained behaviours and reactions.
I don't think that happiness can be found anywhere outside of the human mind. And the mind is such a complex creature in and of itself, that we are only just beginning to understand. But I know that this course of medications, for 2 years only - after that they begin the reduction and redaction process over six months - has changed my life, and helped me to change my world. It is up to each of us to find our own path to happiness, but the medications only help to brighten the path.
Just my $2.00.
Jho
The problem is, they can't get the BladeCenters stable. :( I can tell you we did 4 BIOS upgrades just in the first half of 2005 on 4 fully populated BladeCenters. That SUCKED! All cuz they couldn't get the BIOS right, causing all traffic to just stop. Hrm. But they got it where it's at. My new company wants to swear off of them, but they can't STAND the HP or Dell blades.
Jho
Heheeh... I've been doing this in production for a year now! It's just NOW making it to Slashdot? That's frickin' funny.
In fact, I'm running Linux & AIX on the same cluster, separate LPARs. All over the place. Hrmph. Jho
I saw this tested after the CES show this year. It was the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen. I'm better off just playing lowlevel random junk on my PC! Then at least I can have some control of the white noise. :P
Jho
No *doubt*!!!! I can't even program in 'real' languages, because I learned Assembler first! I remember writing mods back in the day (I actually still have WOWII on my computer, I just can't get it to run)! Or having to write special OS instructions in a specific way and reboot off of floppy to get Doom to run! Or even even even...... copying Fortran code out of the back of Byte Magazine and compiling it into a computer game. 14 days of code for one AWESOME asteroid knock off!!! (it was a family Vic-20, I couldn't be on it all the time) Only to be saved to a CASSETTE tape that was connected to the computer. Remember our parents bitching about the burnin on the family TV???
For the record, I'm only 32!!!! I'm not old by any stretch. An no, I can't text message real well, I can barely use my cell phone, and I don't IM but 3 people. Heh. So what, I'm squarely in the middle of GenX, what are they calling the new one? Heheheh. Gen Hilton?
Jho
Aren't they already doing this with Cryptography? I agree with your point totally, and see alot of potential there!
Jho
*sweeeeet* I so like your idea. Do something more than just vote every 4 years.... If you don't vote, you can't bitch anyway. But in order for us to change the landscape to something we want, we have to take action, something more than griping, too.
:P
Thanks for putting this out there. I'm doing a lot of similar work. We're working on something bipartisan, open source, and noteworthy. I hope. If we can all stop bitching about Dems vs. Pubs.
Jho
When are you guys gonna realize that The Guardian is just a fancy tabloid like all the rest of the junk out there. They are one of the worst at spreading completely baseless stories with nothing but conspiratual CRAP. *sigh* But hey... that does make for some really funny stories!!! And it sure does take all kinds.
Jho
Yeah, but for how long?? Any bets on how long it will take MS to roll this (or something like it) into the Windows Updates downloads? Or worse, the iggits over at *AA.boofoo.inc hire virus creators to throw it out there in the wild so it gets propogated to every PC?
:P
I just hope the damn thing breaks everything.
Jho
Thus creating the hostility filled workplaces that we have to go to today. *feh*
At least, that's a major experience I've had. It's taken me 5 years to FIND a job where the managers don't try to treat you as their children. Don't treat them like it, they won't act like it.
How about just putting someone in IT in HR/Training to cover the basic information for new hires? Include a tutorial CD and a basic manual. TADA!!! You've just made your life so much easier. Include web-training for basic apps, class training for your advanced apps. We did this all about 5 years ago when we converted from PCs to Thin Clients. Worked like a charm!
Jho
That's just hysterical. I found the same thing on the BRCA site. :)
Jho
Hey there! Um, yeah... THAT was so mature. Well, let me quote your inability to spell English: Funny how democrates were the ones that wanted campaign finance reform in the first place (when it suited them).
Well, accordng to the FEC It is a BIPARTISAN Act (hence the B, in BCRA) AKA McCain-Feingold law. John McCain - (R) Arizona (my vote in the 2000 Primaries), Russell Feingold - (D) Wisconsin. They are both about as bipartisan as you can get in Washington. So tell me.... where are the Democrats wanting this?
It would mean that "I persuade a congressman to vote for a law" and "I pay a congressman to vote for a law" is the same thing. Well if you want to live in a society like that I guess it's fine.
:D I gotta wait 3 more years. :P
Unfortunately... it IS the same thing here. If you don't have money, you can't get anywhere near a congressman to convince them of *anything*. Let alone to vote for a law. Case in point: Feinstein & Boxer. Let alone Pelosi. Someone PLEASE make those three heads SHUT IT!!!!!!!! They are disgrace to decent Californians. Especially Pelosi. Someone called me from the GOP not too many months ago about launching a campaing to get her out of office. But it's not up to me, cuz she's not in my district.
That's one of the major problems here in the US that no one is addressing... is the redistricting measures that should and NEED to be taken. Especially after all the mass migration and resettling that's taking place right now in the wake of Hurricanes Katrita. *sigh* But everytime someone brings that up, the Dems go running for whatever dramastic measures that they can think of.... TEXAS.
So when do the Geeks start running for office? Come on now!!! You know you wanna. You know you can solve the country's problems with that big geek brain!!!
Jho
Yeah, I was just doing some research on it the other day for something else. Cuz I thought they got like 30%!!! Boy was I wrong. They work so hard, and this is the thanks they get... to be fucked in the butt by the RIAA coming and going. :(
:( I guess that's why my mom talked me so hard out of going into the music biz. Most of these music stars are so far in debt, it's ridiculous. They have to start these other companies to actually MAKE money! :P
Would the labels do anything that didn't benefit them? Greedy bastardes.
Jho
Could you tell me exactly how you think our right to freedom of religion is eroding? And who you would cast as the "villian" in this issue and perhaps why you think they are doing what they are doing? I would point the Evangelical Christian movement as the villian in this issue, because they seek to make *everything* faith-based. Live in Kansas? Don't expect your child to be taught evolution. Live in Texas? Don't expect your child to be taught Geology, Evolution, OR SAFE SEX!
t ml (yes, it's from my blog, but it's the text of the article no longer found on gazette.com). I have fought for a decade for us who are not Christian to have a voice. Yet we have none.
I realize that flies directly in the face of what you thought I was saying in my other comments that you flew right on by. But that's ok... I believe our children's minds are formulated and mostly influenced 12 years old and up. And here is where we see the clashes of values, conservatism vs. liberalism, etc etc etc. NOT in grammer school. There is no liberal Math. Well, there wasn't when I was a kid... turns out I guess there is now. But of course, I use this as the most glaring example.
I consider myself to be a Pagan, an earth-worshiper if you will. I do not believe in God or the Devil as any of the Judeo-Christian sects would have you believe in. I could never believe in a God that would willingly strike down every soul on Earth, a city, or even just cuz. I do not believe in an eternal hell, except for those we make for ourselves. But, I am not free to gather and practice that religion without massive protest, argument, and upheaval. So I don't. For example: http://www.livejournal.com/users/jhohanna/53413.h
Add to all of this, all of President Bush's agendas and ideas and funding all have something faith-based attached to them. I think that's wrong. I don't think that one 50c3 should get more funding because they happen to be a Christian organization. I don't believe that Muslim organizations should get passed over for the same funding because they are Muslim (this occurs all the time). I believe in equality of all... not of some.
But all too unfortunately, it becomes an issue of money and power. Who's got it, who wants it, and what do they want to do with it? It's like the 80s all over again. The Southern Christian Baptist Convention is the biggest congregation in the country. They are also the biggest lobbying firm. Hrmph.
And yet, despite all of this, yes, I am still a Republican. Because my faith does not guide my politics. My head does. Maybe a little bit of my heart. And what is now will not always be. Tomorrow is a brighter day... and the current Administration can only hold for 3 more years. *sigh*. Jho
Unfortunately, the artists still only get 8 cents out of every .99 song they sell. About the same as what they get from the labels. :(
Jho
Hehehehehe..... and look what comes up SECOND!!!!!!! YAY!
*snickering loudly*
Jho
Hi there Alsee - Let me just say that I really appreciate you taking the time to reply so nicely. Your response is refreshing, so well thought out and communicated. We may not agree, but you state your points well, and your reasoning is just, not flawed like so many people here. I respect your thoughts, your views, and I thank you for sharing them.
:) That's why. FWIW, I did get accepted to the Air Force Academy, but failed my final physical because a heart condition showed up. They pulled my medical records (which were conveniently in the AFA Hospital because that's where I was seen), and found that I have a lifelong heart condition. It goes with the birth defect that I have. So they denied me. I went to every military recruiter, and they all said, no way could I ever join the military because of my health problems. Not even a waiver will cover heart arrythmia and/or Marfan's Syndrome. And NO, I'm not a homosexual, I'm a female who is married and starting to have kids (at 33).
Except for this small part: Well then why don't you go sign up yourself if you're so gung-ho to impose mandatory conscription on everyone else? Oh... I'm sorry... are you homosexual?
That was a bit harsh. I'm not for imposing it, I was asking WHY it's ok for all these other countries to do it, but not for the US. Because we're free.
Yes... allegiance to country, obey your leaders, right or wrong! Good healthy Conservative values!
Actually, it's not about obeying the leaders, but doing what's best for the country. I wish our idiots in Congress would do that.... rather than what's best for their corporate goons. (re: PorkFat in bills). Allegiance to country means (to me) that you hold fast to the things and reasons that our country is great and has overcome. Hold fast to the basic beliefs that make us American - all huMANs are created equal, free speech, free religion (though that is eroding), and freedom to assemble. Etcetcetc. NOT blindly following your leaders, but watching them, and calling them on their BS. Problem is, no one in the GOP will call Bush on his bullshit. I can't tell ya why.
An educated population is GOOD for the country. Anyone who takes PRIDE in being uneducated needs to be taken out back and shot. Note that I am not tarring you with this, or all Conservatives. An intelligent educated Conservative is a good thing.
Heheh.. thanks for not tarring me on that one... because I'm right there with ya. I like to consider myself an intelligent educated Republican (note, I'm not exactly what they call Conservative, though I am on some views), but I'm not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. I do believe in good education... and that is something that apparently, San Diego Schools don't believe in. The public school system here is worse than I've seen anywhere in the country, and that includes Oakland and Hayward (where I went to school).
It's not so much that I think that the primary school systems are liberal per se... I think they are not functioning as well as they should be for a proper education for our kids - and this is not true in a lot of the US... at least that's my fervent hope. But more the high-school and college level educators that won't teach our kids about Vietnam.... or that the Nazi's were just in their assault on Europe. Stuff like that. I've seen so many kids that were taught that. One class my friend in college took last year actually tried to teach them that the Chinese are happy in their lifestyles and that the government is really just trying to care for everyone. Until I started reading the book that he used for the class. How do these instructors get these ideas!??! They are teaching them that socialism is the ideal solution for America!
(1) Are you suggesting Conservatives are somehow incapable of getting the education and accreditation to be a teacher? If so that hardly reflects well on Conservatives, now does it?
I don't believe that, no. I be
Uh, ok. In your reality plane maybe. :)
Hey... how come all the other countries in the world have mandatory conscription?
And how come we don't?
Truthfully, that's one of the things that I can never wrap my geek brain around. I mean, we used to have mandatory state militias even... and now we have an all-Pro Military Force (HEH! They are making more than *I* am now, I found out!!!! Lt. Cols. are making 75k just muckin' around on flight sims).
I think I will call up old Duncan's office too... and ask him that, as well as when the FUCK they are gonna finish putting up that fence, and where the sharpshooters will be stationed. Not to mention why our country doesn't do conscription anymore.
Personally, I think it would be *really* good for a lot of these kids graduating from high school to go through 2 years of military training. Even if they got out and went straight to college (partly funded by their stint in the military... the longer the stint, the more school you get). Talk about growing up, becoming an adult (at 20, not 40), and learning allegiance to your country.
Oh, but wait... we're FREE!!! That's right. And no one ever had to sacrifice a thing for that right to be ours. But who's going to be left to defend that freedom once the liberal education system gets done programming our kids to think the military and the government are evil???
Jho
Obviously you don't get it... shall we repeal your Geek Card? :P
:P)
j/k... it's a JOKE!!!!!!!
Jho (go watch Wargames and get back to me if you still don't get it.
Thanks! I love him. I seriously think I've developed a serious infatuation with him. :P Only he understand me. :P
Seriously though, I've been doing the physics thing on the side for 20 years now, and I fell in LOVE with Dr. Kaku several years ago the first time I saw him do an interview on The Science Channel for the program Understanding Uncertainty... about sub-atomic particles. He actually used terms that my HUSBAND could understand, so NOW he at least pays attention when I'm explaining particle theory!!!!!!!!
I'm gonna pick up his new book... *sweet*
Jeeez... what a parrotted bunch of junk. You listen to Air America don't you? These are all *exact* quotes.
I feel for your plight, because you were a victim of terrorism. I feel for you because you are blinded by those whom you choose to quote rather than thinking for yourself. (How can Gitmo be considered a Gulag when it's the Ritz-Carlton compared to Chino???)
But most of all, I'm saddened that you can't see the long reach of the Doctrine. Which I have read. What people do not understand is that things that are set in place in one administration generally doesn't have any effect until the NEXT one, or even the one AFTER! This military doctrine won't even take effect for another year at least. Then, Bush will only be in office for 2 years, and Cheney can't run for office cuz of his health.
God... just, one day, I want to walk up to him. And spit in his face, and then walk away.
You might want to be aware that this could be considered a threat. Not that I really believe that anything would come of it, but it IS one that could get you in trouble. Everything else you can say... but making physical threats of any kind against the President could land the Secret Service on your door. Not trying to mean, I'm just saying that it's one of those things we gotta watch. Because I do totally respect your freedom to say what you want... short of treason or sedition. Those laws all still apply to those who are American Citizens.
Jho
Thank you for posting this. I was one of the very few people who got the pleasuer of being trained by HP *way* back in the day.
:) I may not have a degree, but I sure do have a lot of learning.
I was one of the people hired in '91 to run a COBA lab full of brand new HP 386-33 machines. They hired me cuz I knew MSDos 5.0 and WordPerfect 5.1 (I had taught both as a student teacher my sr. year of high school). We got to go to the HP plant for 2 weeks of training in customer support, technical support, and consulting best practices. IN 1991!!!!
Those tools and tasks and everything that I learned 14 years ago, still apply to everything I do today and more. They were standard basic tricks that they taught to their own employees, and fancied teaching us that would represent them. HP then made some of the best products in the world, though I wouldn't count the Vectra's among them. I sure did love those laser printers and huge plotters. The best was the printing conference room whiteboard... not seen in the board room for another 10 years. I loved that thing. Oh, and the underdesk mounted monitors!!!
I was spoiled to get this training, only because HP DONATED all of this equipment to a local University. They hoped to cull the university of it's CS students, when it didn't even HAVE A CS PROGRAM YET! That was pretty amazing foresight. After a semester, I took that training and knowledge and went to a real CS School for 2 years... long enough to find out it was a WASTE OF MONEY! Not to mention time.
Later, my ex worked for a company that split off from HP back in the day to go their own way. Heard tell they got bought by AMD not too many years ago. *sigh*
I want the old days back so bad!!!!!!!!!!
Jho