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That's what I was thinking. I can't think of a single instance where this has been done in the U.S.. What has been done though and what is constitutional is the passing of laws which favor all religions. The tax code for instance. So why is prayer in school for all religions not constitutional...

Mercutio, Can you give us an example of a "rule" which was made by the federal government which favored a religion?

I wasn't talking about the ad hominem when I said "well said". The man wrote so much more than just that. Why not just ignore the ad hominem and respond to the points he made if you disagree? You're more than capable of putting together a good argument to support your opinions from what I've...

Well that's a neat way to avoid having to respond to his points I guess.... but that's about all it is. Stereodude - Well said.

Wow! That should rock. I imagine it may compete in sales with the GT but I don't anything in a Corvette body will ever compete with the GT on a road course. Why not an updated Chaparral for the street?

I want a new Ford GT. Will GM come out with anything to compete?

The ultimate intent of all rights whether inherent or otherwise is survival of the species. Hence it would seem to me that the right of self-defense would be on the same level as that of the right to pursue food, clothing, and shelter. Therefore any group of people attempting to establish the...

The Government is a creation of the Constitution. The government represents the people. While I respect your right and that of sechs to disagree with the idea of there being any inalienable rights which we are all born with, the Constiution is founded upon this principle. Therefore that is the...

No we are not saying that "somebody" gave us our rights. What we are saying is that we are born with them. And this is recognized by the Constiution.

sechs, Well a reasonable argument can be made that militias are no longer needed. However I would point out that the Second Amendment ( A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed ) does indeed...

Well that raises an interesting point. Does the second amendment give us the right to bare arms? Or does it merely recognize our God given right to defend ourselves and attempt to protect us from government infringement upon that right? As with of all of the first ten amendments (the Bill of...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&u=/latimests/20040514/ts_latimes/abughraibguardpaintsharrowingportraitofabuse&printer=1

Yes I do.

Whoa there I think you misunderstood me. My comment was addressed to "you folks", not to any one individual in particular. It was not a reference to any sort of "sheep". What I meant was that many of those demanding Rumsfeld's resignation are motivated at least in part by politics.

Of course there are others who could do the job. And it is possible to win the war sans Rumsfeld. But it's the appointment and confirmation process along with the transtition which would be disruptive to the DOD and I don't think that an unessesary disruption such as that would be helpful in...

Perspective people! Which do you want more? Rumsfelds resignation ot to win the war on terror? Not necessarily an either or situation but it is a relevant and important question. Would his resignation hurt or help the war on terror? Isn't that what we should be asking ourselves? The abuse is...

I don't doubt that he was following instructions. Needless to say that is no excuse as he is not required to carry out immoral orders. Indeed he his forbiden from carrying out such orders. At 24 years of age he most certainly knows right from wrong. And if his "gut" didn't tell him that doing...

Yes these incidents are a "big deal". Such things are a measure of an Army's level of professionalism and this is the first indication I've had that the level of professionalism in our armed services was in any way wanting. I cannot imagine what these "soldiers" were thinking! Nor can I think...

Rumsfeld has done a good job prosecuting this war and I anticipate that he will continue to do so. Our priority right now should be finishing the job successfully in Iraq with a minimum loss of life on all sides. I don't see how Rumsfeld's resigning would do anything other than delay that. Of...

I do a lot of MPEG2 encoding from captured DV. I use Main Concepts MPEG encoder which produces excellent quality fast (2.0 hr movie in about 1.5 hours with dual 2.2 xeons & HT). It's editing features are very limited however. Avid now has a free version of Xpress DV available for download from...

Move there? David - Got an extra room for a few weeks?

Congratulations David - Hope you become the first millionaire at SF!

Not at all. I just happened to read something on the Puritans the other day and thought I would add my two cents worth to this thread.

In your argument above you seem to assume that Al-Qaeda's hostility is justified - even if their attack on the WTC was not. Was Al-Qaeda's hositility towards the U.S. prior to 9-11 justified then in your mind? If so why? The WTC attack was a consequence of what past action by the U.S.?

The Puritans were English not Dutch. They were persecuted in England and emigrated to Holland to escape that persecution. For economic and cultural reasons (they feared being assimilated in to Dutch society) in addition to the fear that England was going to go to war with Holland they emigrated...

I know of no nation or region of the world where governance is lacking. "Effective" governence may be lacking in certain areas but not legal governance itself. Even the high seas are governed by maritime and international law. Therefore I attempted to answer your question as to what...

Mercutio, Come on now I think you know me well enough to realize that you do not make me feel uncomfortable.

1) As you say I am concerned that other members are being driven away as apparently you were from SR - though not as a result of anything which was said in this forum. 2) I don't recall the particular incident you mention at SR. Nor am I inclined to respond to it when it is taken wholly out of...

"Groups" and "Persons" have no recognized right to conduct foreign policy seperate from that of their government. Therefore it is not possible for them to act in any way on behalf of their nation legitimately. What Al-Qaeda attacks could possibly result in collateral damage when their intent...

Mercutio, I have no problem with you "hating" whoever you please. But you haven't the right to take a dump on those who you hate in this forum. None of us have any rights here - only priviliges granted through membership provided that we follow the rules. And the rules should be followed by...

You are correct when you say that I do not mind disagreement. In fact I thrive on it which is why participate in these discussions to the extent which I do. As for the question of whether non-mature posters should be regulated to the kiddie-corner or not, let me answer that by asking if you...

What I am speaking about are those things which I listed in my opening post. That is that all members be treated with respect as is required by the rules. Mocking, insulting or deriding the opinions of others is not "respectful". "Attacking" others verbally is not respectful either, whether or...

I'm not "railing" against anyone in this thread. In fact I've been a perfect Gentleman about the entire thing. I think "time" has hit the nail right on the head. What is needed is effective moderation which is in my opinion lacking. How to bring that about however is beyond me. The emotional...

I understand clearly what it is you are saying. However the absurdity of holding the U.S. foreign policy responsible for terrorism comes from the fact that "terrorism" is a crime. Even if one believes that U.S. foreign policy is "criminal" in nature, or even "terrorism", one crime or one act of...

LOL Oh well...

Tannin, You haven't the slightest idea of the environment in which I grew up. And you obviously have missed the entire point I was trying to make with this thread. It is not disagreement which drives people away. It is ugliness in tone and word directed at those one disagrees with. I will not...

Greetings. I have received PMs from a few members who hold opinions similar to my own who for all intents and purposes have either left the forum or who have given up expressing their opinions because of the pasting they take when they do so. I wondered if anyone who was still here, who was...

David, When I am posting in "sincere mode" my reaction to being "attacked" by someone is usually that of disappointment rather than anger as it generally means the end of that particular discussion. For me personally there is very little challenge in being an asshole :) so I loose interest fast...

mubs, My opinions haven't changed a great deal as a result of the hundreds of discussions I've had on line but I've certainly learned a great deal about all kinds of subjects - and all kinds of people. I find most discussions, even those that don't go anywhere, to be interesting and...

It's too bad really. It should be otherwise. I belong to an English only Arab / Muslim forum in the Middle East where, as you can imagine, we have some fairly intense debates about religion and politics. But even there those on the "other side of the aisle" are far better behaved than many here...

Do you feel free to post your opinions here at SF without being insulted, mocked or derided for having done so? I don't. How about you?

Tea, Take a lesson from what happened to the last ape who attacked Americans - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,114606,00.html :(

From - http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4591197 The comments about not wanting Kerry elected remind me of Brer Rabbit and the briar patch. I seriously doubt that they really want Bush reelected. Imagine Al-Qaeda of all people calling anyone else foolish for...

On the question of Terrorism read this - http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/abu.htm And this - http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2002/html/19988.htm On the question of WMD - No one knew, including the U.N. whether Iraq had them or not. Even Hans Blix who opposed the intervention has...

I have no idea what you are talking about. None. Can someone else help me to see where I have attacked anyone? Because for the life of me I can't see it.

Your sarcasm belittles your argument. If you worked half as hard on basing your argument on facts - rather than on sarcasm - you would have much more powerful argument to present. WMD was only one of the reasons given right from the beginning. All of the reasons were given over and over again...

David, Tell that to the Clinton Administration. At any rate that is not what we are doing in Iraq or Afghanistan. There are many things which "provoke" extremism. Misguided religious education (try negotiating with the Qur'an some time and see how far you get) is the key culprit followed by...

Congratulations Mercutio! Bill

Excellent timwit - you'll make a fine officer. Thanks for being willing to serve our nation. Bill

Hey its.fubar! Do us a favor and take the aluminum foil off your head before you post.