So I'd say that the Christian Trinitarian God defines right and wrong. And he defines that there are no subhumans.
Well, no subhumans except for the Amelekites - "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling [ed. note: a suckling is what you refer to as a "just-born child"], ox and sheep, camel and ass." (I Samuel 15:2-3.) The Ammonites are likewise done to death in II Samuel 12:31, the people of Jericho in Joshua 6:19, the whole population of Ai in Joshua 8:25, and of course all the firstborn of Egypt (again including the cattle) in Exodus 12:29-30.
Last, but not least, there's the Biblical authorization of slavery in Leviticus 25:44 - "As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may aquire male and female slaves."
Come to think of it, the set of "subhumans" would appear to be "everyone who isn't in the tribe," so there's quite a few of them around.
"Anti-vacationists" huh? Luckily they should be completely burnt out in a couple years...
Them and all the people who can't get vaccinated for legitimate reasons (weak or compromised immune system, transplant patient, etc.) You also have to consider the fact that vaccination confers resistance to infection, not immunity; people who are vaccinated can still get sick. Then there's the chance that a mutant strain of one of these illnesses could arise thanks to their precious little disease incubators - one that none of us are resistant to.
This might help explain it. The short version is that the chair of the State Board of Education is an ardent creationist, and put a gag order into effect requiring all employees to treat "controversial issues" neutrally (ie. no pointing out that ID is nothing more than pseudoscience.) The next revision of the state science standards is coming up, and I'm sure he was overjoyed to have an excuse to fire her and install a creationist-friendly replacement.
Its in your bloody constitiution that ID is illegal in schools.
Ah, but this time they won't be trying to "teach ID." If the latest change in direction from the Discovery Institute is any indication, the creationists in TEA will be pushing for "critical analysis" of evolution (where "critical analysis" means "adding long-discredited creationist arguments against evolution to the curriculum as if they constituted legitimate 'weaknesses' of evolutionary theory.") It's a BS tactic and any judge with a brain should be able to see right through it, but with the current composition of the Supreme Court, that means they have a non-zero chance of succeeding.
Many fundamentalists think it's about twice that time period. I've never even met one who thinks it's less than 8,000 years, and the most common estimate for them seems to be 12,000 to 14,000.
Is there really a big difference between thinking that the earth is.0001321% of its actual age and thinking that the earth is.0003083% of its actual age?
Anyone ever seen an AO video game, btw? (outside Japan?)
If Wikipedia is to be believed, there are only 23 titles that have ever been rated AO, and most of them I've never heard of before. I wouldn't exactly call it a huge problem.
I used to make it a point to ask for ID with credit cards, and my experiences with that were decidedly mixed. Some people were thrilled that I asked, even telling me that I was the first person to ever ask them. Typically, however, I got the exasperated "What do you need that for?" or even open hostility.
One of many reasons why I'm glad to no longer be working retail.
I can spot at least three logical fallacies in there: the appeal to tradition ("People have always believed... who are you to question it,") the appeal to belief ("the majority believes $deity exists, therefore $deity exists,") and misplaced burden of proof (theists, being the ones making the positive claim that $diety exists, should be the ones required to prove it.)
No, you're thinking of Intelligent Design. Look at this website. It's pure "the Bible is under attack!"
Same deal, really. Before "intelligent design" came along, creationists had "creation science," which they claimed was a scientific alternative to evolution that just happened to concur with the Book of Genesis. The courts didn't buy it, and tossed them out of science class on their ear. When that happened, there was no need to pretend they weren't religious anymore, so groups like Answers In Genesis can openly proclaim their Young-Earther loyalties. They still like to pretend that they're doing actual science, though.
What do all of you think? Think it will cool the heels of these asshats?
It certainly won't stop Jack Thompson. His comment on Left Behind: Eternal Forces (based on the Left Behind novels):
"We're going to push this game at Christian kids to let them know there's a cool shooter game out there," said attorney Jack Thompson, an author and outspoken critic of video game violence. "Because of the Christian context, somehow it's OK? It's not OK. The context is irrelevant. It's a mass-killing game."
Really. Just a rental as per usual, or an all out purchase?
Can I take it for a test drive?
Tough call... rental is expensive, but they tend to develop unexpected issues after about three to four years or so. Perhaps lease to buy?
And on a serious note, I've been wondering where a certain tracking cookie was showing up from, but never quite got motivated enough to hunt the site down. Well, I just swept my system with Spybot S&D to make sure it was clean, went to Amazon.com, re-ran the search, and... lo and behold, I have an Aornum tracking cookie again.
It's not a big deal to me; I've bought dozens of things from Amazon.com and marked hundreds more in the recommendations service, so it's not like they don't already have a database on me.
Alternatively, you could look at this long-term study on violent video games (Asheron's Call, FWIW) which found no causal connection between game play and increased aggression.
Make sure to look at all the research, and not just what supports Grossman's thesis.
That reminds me of the F.E.A.R. demo. At one point, I lobbed a couple of grenades into an office to take care of the clones that were bunched up inside of it. After the incoming fire stopped, I moved into the office to investigate. One of the clones had actually been thrown up against the wall and was lodged against an off-kilter bulletin board, hanging head-down with arms and legs flat against the wall. I had to take a break until I stopped laughing.
I believe the parent was referring to people holding off on a new system because XP will eventually be EOL'ed, hence the "soon to be obsolete" description.
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Well, no subhumans except for the Amelekites - "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling [ed. note: a suckling is what you refer to as a "just-born child"], ox and sheep, camel and ass." (I Samuel 15:2-3.) The Ammonites are likewise done to death in II Samuel 12:31, the people of Jericho in Joshua 6:19, the whole population of Ai in Joshua 8:25, and of course all the firstborn of Egypt (again including the cattle) in Exodus 12:29-30.
Last, but not least, there's the Biblical authorization of slavery in Leviticus 25:44 - "As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may aquire male and female slaves."
Come to think of it, the set of "subhumans" would appear to be "everyone who isn't in the tribe," so there's quite a few of them around.
That's the whole point; all he wants to look at is the wording of the amendment, while ignoring how the courts have interpreted it.
I beg to differ about ID being illegal in schools by the constitution.
First amendment case law counts too, genius. The courts have consistently ruled against the teaching of creationism in science class.
This might help explain it. The short version is that the chair of the State Board of Education is an ardent creationist, and put a gag order into effect requiring all employees to treat "controversial issues" neutrally (ie. no pointing out that ID is nothing more than pseudoscience.) The next revision of the state science standards is coming up, and I'm sure he was overjoyed to have an excuse to fire her and install a creationist-friendly replacement.
Its in your bloody constitiution that ID is illegal in schools.
Ah, but this time they won't be trying to "teach ID." If the latest change in direction from the Discovery Institute is any indication, the creationists in TEA will be pushing for "critical analysis" of evolution (where "critical analysis" means "adding long-discredited creationist arguments against evolution to the curriculum as if they constituted legitimate 'weaknesses' of evolutionary theory.") It's a BS tactic and any judge with a brain should be able to see right through it, but with the current composition of the Supreme Court, that means they have a non-zero chance of succeeding.
Many fundamentalists think it's about twice that time period. I've never even met one who thinks it's less than 8,000 years, and the most common estimate for them seems to be 12,000 to 14,000.
Is there really a big difference between thinking that the earth is .0001321% of its actual age and thinking that the earth is .0003083% of its actual age?
"They want to stop kids from seeing it, not adults."
What stops a kid from staying up past 9 pm to watch a violent show, or setting the VCR or DVR to record it so they can watch it later?
The proposal is a non-solution, even granting the assumption that there's a problem in the first place.
I was thinking along the same lines. "Wow, the FCC found another way to drive people away from the networks."
One of many reasons why I'm glad to no longer be working retail.
I can spot at least three logical fallacies in there: the appeal to tradition ("People have always believed... who are you to question it,") the appeal to belief ("the majority believes $deity exists, therefore $deity exists,") and misplaced burden of proof (theists, being the ones making the positive claim that $diety exists, should be the ones required to prove it.)
In related news, the RIAA has announced the purchase of several F-22A raptors to pursue downloaders.
Try going to "improve your recommendations," find the book in the listing of your purchases, and uncheck "use this product to make recommendations."
And on a serious note, I've been wondering where a certain tracking cookie was showing up from, but never quite got motivated enough to hunt the site down. Well, I just swept my system with Spybot S&D to make sure it was clean, went to Amazon.com, re-ran the search, and... lo and behold, I have an Aornum tracking cookie again.
It's not a big deal to me; I've bought dozens of things from Amazon.com and marked hundreds more in the recommendations service, so it's not like they don't already have a database on me.
This article from the BBC was a little more in-depth.
The article also notes that it's the first long-term study to be done on violent games and aggression.
Alternatively, you could look at this long-term study on violent video games (Asheron's Call, FWIW) which found no causal connection between game play and increased aggression.
Make sure to look at all the research, and not just what supports Grossman's thesis.
That reminds me of the F.E.A.R. demo. At one point, I lobbed a couple of grenades into an office to take care of the clones that were bunched up inside of it. After the incoming fire stopped, I moved into the office to investigate. One of the clones had actually been thrown up against the wall and was lodged against an off-kilter bulletin board, hanging head-down with arms and legs flat against the wall. I had to take a break until I stopped laughing.
I believe the parent was referring to people holding off on a new system because XP will eventually be EOL'ed, hence the "soon to be obsolete" description.
Right, and the next thing you tell me is that pigs can actually fly and hell has already become frozen.
Not all of hell, just Cocytus.
As for flying pigs, what else do you think all those farm subsidies are for?
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