spending time with Jebus

[airdvr 197]

I was at my Tuesday networking lunch yesterday. Somehow we got on the subject of raccoons and the damage they can cause. A female attorney who shows up once in a while was relating her raccoon story. She proceeded to tell us about a time when she heard the raccoons. She said she was in her room "spending time with Jesus".

I cringed. I could see others similar reactions as well. Why do people feel obligated to tell us these religious things? It had no bearing on the story. To my mind it would have been equally cringeworthy had she said she was in her room rubbing one out. I can only assume that somehow she felt it would make her more palatable.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Phil1111 911]

airdvr

I was at my Tuesday networking lunch yesterday. Somehow we got on the subject of raccoons and the damage they can cause. A female attorney who shows up once in a while was relating her raccoon story. She proceeded to tell us about a time when she heard the raccoons. She said she was in her room "spending time with Jesus".

I cringed. I could see others similar reactions as well. Why do people feel obligated to tell us these religious things? It had no bearing on the story. To my mind it would have been equally cringeworthy had she said she was in her room rubbing one out. I can only assume that somehow she felt it would make her more palatable.

She is a lawyer, therefore your assumptions are right. I was reading a periodical for lawyers about 10 years ago. In it was a survey done by the industry as to how to go about improving the public's image of the industry...er...profession.

The survey was an independent one conducted solely for the use of lawyers, not on clients, but instead on the public. It found that public perceptions ranked lawyers below used car salesmen, for integrity. After a 10 page story the conclusion was "no easy solutions" to address this "challenge".

[GeorgiaDon 340]

airdvr

... To my mind it would have been equally cringeworthy had she said she was in her room rubbing one out. ...

Maybe she was! "Oh God, yes, just like that...! Jesus, that feels good!"

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[normiss 622]

I thought that was "talking to god".

[mr2mk1g 10]

If one of my friends said he was "spending time with Jesus" I would assume (almost certainly correctly) that he was indeed simply using it as a euphemism for rubbing one out.

[RonD1120 58]

Speaking of raccoons, I received this humorous anecdote the other day.

>Like many citizens, I've wondered and tried hard to understand why Trump has such a remarkable following. (It's obvious why he probably should not!) Then a friend sent me this raccoon story. It makes no difference about your political leanings, this is just a good explanation of WHY... (or it's as good as any I can come up with).



If you really want to know how the majority of people feel? And this applies to both democrats and republicans, read below, it says it all.



You've been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately. You call the city, 4 different exterminators, but nobody can handle the job. But there is this one guy and he guarantees you to get rid of them, so you hire him. You don't care if the guy smells, you don't care if the guy swears, you don't care if he's an alcoholic, you don't care how many times he's been married, you don't care if he voted for Obama, you don't care if he has a plumber's crack, you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He's the guy. He's the best. Period !


Here's why we want Trump, yes he's a bit of an ass, yes he's an egomaniac, but we don't care. The country is a mess because politicians suck, the Republicans and Democrats can be two-faced & gutless, and illegals are everywhere. We want it all fixed! We don't care that Trump is crude, we don't care that he insults people, we don't care that he once was friendly with Hillary, we don't care that he has changed positions, we don't care that he's been married 3 times, we don't care that he fights with Megyn Kelly and Rosie O'Donnell, we don't care that he doesn't know the name of some Muslim terrorist.



This country is weak, bankrupt, our enemies are making fun of us, we are being invaded by illegals, we are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo, and Hasid is a special group with special rights to a point where we don't even recognize the country we were born and raised in; "AND WE JUST WANT IT FIXED" and Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what the people want.

We're sick of politicians, sick of the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and sick of illegals. We just want this thing fixed. Trump may not be a saint, but he doesn't have lobbyist money holding him, he doesn't have political correctness restraining him, all you know is that he has been very successful, a good negotiator, he has built a lot of things, and he's also not a politician, he's not a cowardly politician. And he says he'll fix it. And, we believe him because he is too much of an egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar. Also, we don't care if the guy has bad hair. We just want those raccoons gone, out of our house, NOW.<

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[jakee 1,255]

Quote

But there is this one guy and he guarantees you to get rid of them, so you hire him. You don't care if the guy smells, you don't care if the guy swears, you don't care if he's an alcoholic, you don't care how many times he's been married, you don't care if he voted for Obama, you don't care if he has a plumber's crack, you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He's the guy. He's the best. Period !

I notice this whole analogy does not at any point involve finding out whether this guy has any history of successfully clearing out raccoons. So what happens? You give him the key to your house, go to work, and when you come back he's raided your booze cupbard, passed out drunk on your couch and the raccoons are still everywhere.

Quote

Here's why we want Trump, yes he's a bit of an ass, yes he's an egomaniac, but we don't care. The country is a mess because politicians suck, the Republicans and Democrats can be two-faced & gutless, and illegals are everywhere. We want it all fixed! We don't care that Trump is crude, we don't care that he insults people, we don't care that he once was friendly with Hillary, we don't care that he has changed positions, we don't care that he's been married 3 times, we don't care that he fights with Megyn Kelly and Rosie O'Donnell, we don't care that he doesn't know the name of some Muslim terrorist.

What is it about Trump that you do care about that makes you think he can fix it? Shouldn't the best expression of yur support for someone be pointing out the good stuff about him, not listing (and listing, and listing) all the bad stuff about him that you're willing to ignore?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[wmw999 2,123]

How do you see a successful America? Does it include opportunity for women and minorities who aren’t properly respectful? Does it include opportunity for people trying to get jobs where they’re not wanted?

I’ve been reading James Madison’s notes on the Constitutional Convention. They’re awesome. One of the big fights there was the possibility that the more populous states would run roughshod over the smaller ones (ergo the Senate). But right now, a majority of Americans who voted didn’t get the government of their choice.

What do you see as an ideal America?

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Bob_Church 7]

wmw999

How do you see a successful America? Does it include opportunity for women and minorities who aren’t properly respectful? Does it include opportunity for people trying to get jobs where they’re not wanted?

I’ve been reading James Madison’s notes on the Constitutional Convention. They’re awesome. One of the big fights there was the possibility that the more populous states would run roughshod over the smaller ones (ergo the Senate). But right now, a majority of Americans who voted didn’t get the government of their choice.

What do you see as an ideal America?

Wendy P.

I'll throw mine out there if you don't mind. It would combine the ideas of equality that you talk about, including, no especially, having equal access to good jobs with fixing current importation laws so that those jobs would be available. Equal access to nothing just doesn't help.
In the mid 20th century Americans realized that manufacturing with absolutely no pollution control was bad. We're killing the planet. So, despite the fact that it will make each product cost more we require them to be made in certain ways. I open a factory to build televisions in Ohio but a heavy metal waste product is produced. I'm forced to safely dispose of that despite the fact that it will make my TVs more expensive than if I didn't. Ok, it's worth it. Except the guy who build his tv factory in China has no such restriction and dumps this poison into the ocean. And, and here's the part that makes absolutely no sense to me, there is no law preventing him from bringing those TVs here and selling them. And since producing them while poisoning the planet is much much cheaper US TVs can't even compete and now this is all you can buy. So we destroy our environment by pumping out more pollution than ever and kill off our middle class at the same time.
And who is this middle class? More and more it was becoming the black urban citizen. The factory where he or she would have gone to work and made a decent life for themselves is gone, shipped off to China. So sure, urban blacks have a tendency to get pissed off and burn things down, but what else do they have to do? In the meantime a tiny percentage of already rich Americans get even richer while handing a cut to the politicians who enable them.
Imagine the difference to this country if we passed one, simple and very reasonable law. If you could not have legally produced that product the way you did in the US, then you can't sell it here.

[nolhtairt 0]

Bob_Church

***
Imagine the difference to this country if we passed one, simple and very reasonable law. If you could not have legally produced that product the way you did in the US, then you can't sell it here.

I'd like that law.

[jakee 1,255]

Bob_Church

Imagine the difference to this country if we passed one, simple and very reasonable law. If you could not have legally produced that product the way you did in the US, then you can't sell it here.

While that's a great idea, the enforcement of it is the exact opposite of simple.

How many different mines and how many different factories in how many different countries are involved in the supply chain of componentry for that one TV? How much is the US government willing to spend to make sure this one product is legit?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[billvon 2,400]

>If you could not have legally produced that product the way you did in the US, then you
>can't sell it here.

Can you give a few examples of how this would work?

[Bob_Church 7]

billvon

>If you could not have legally produced that product the way you did in the US, then you
>can't sell it here.

Can you give a few examples of how this would work?

It would be a big job but I don't think it would be as complex as it sounds. When you buy a package that says kosher or organic or buy beef with at least some level of confidence that it's not horse it's because there are agencies that inspect this stuff and try to keep it within compliance. If you buy a tv and sit it in your living room you assume that someone made sure it probably wouldn't burst into flames during the night.There are agencies that attempt to assure these things. There would need to be another agency who's job agency who's job was to do spot inspections of facilities and check that they followed certain guidelines. We do it here, and this would just mean that it gets done there too. A manufacturer who wants to get that all important "approved for US import" sticker on his products would subscribe to this agency, get the guidelines and follow them. The agency would do inspections. It would be paid for by the subscriptions of companies that wanted to export to the US.
And if this sounds difficult or complex I don't think it is when you look at other import/export rules. There are lots of them, you could probably fill a library with their guidelines. I just want to add one more.
Think about this. A couple of years ago a shipment of toys arrived from China and were found to have too much lead in the paint. Everyone was horrified. So they sent them back. If the Chinese factory then just scrapped the lead off, dumped it in the ocean and sent the toys back it would have been legal.
Personally, I think it should apply to how workers are treated too. If some kids from Vietnam are kidnapped and chained to the work bench in China to make USB cables then I'd rather that product didn't get sold here. But I know that's reaching kind of high for now.

[billvon 2,400]

>There would need to be another agency who's job agency who's job was to do
>spot inspections of facilities and check that they followed certain guidelines.

OK. What guidelines? Human rights? (i.e. worker hours, minimum pay etc) Safety standards? (i.e. does it meet US NEC requirements, can it pass UL testing) Those are pretty easy to police, and I'd agree you can do that. And it would be a good standard to have. It would be hard to set the guidelines, of course - making US$7.25 an hour in China isn't a realistic minimum wage, but you could probably come up with some conversion that takes relative cost of living into account (i.e. make sure their wage represents what someone makes who can afford to live like 50% of the population or something.)

But are you thinking along the lines of "making sure they're not making it too cheap?" That would be very hard to do.

[wmw999 2,123]

A lot of countries have tried that. I know of two personally (Brazil and Argentina). It really didn’t work in the long run.

We place too much value on the accumulation of money; it, the stuff it buys, and the notoriety we can buy with it these days seem to be major goals.

It’s partly a result of the capitalist system, but then so is the extremely high level and rate of innovation in the US. People are naturally self-interested.

If cachet can be attached to stuff at least assembled in the USA, and we start FB or whatever campaigns to highlight what we’re doing, it’d be a drop in the bucket, but at least we’d have a bucket.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[wmw999 2,123]

Right now there is a sort of certification for “meets first world standards” in many things. It’s called Fair Trade. It makes the items more expensive. Folks who like bargains tend to shy away from it

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Bob_Church 7]

billvon

>There would need to be another agency who's job agency who's job was to do
>spot inspections of facilities and check that they followed certain guidelines.

OK. What guidelines? Human rights? (i.e. worker hours, minimum pay etc) Safety standards? (i.e. does it meet US NEC requirements, can it pass UL testing) Those are pretty easy to police, and I'd agree you can do that. And it would be a good standard to have. It would be hard to set the guidelines, of course - making US$7.25 an hour in China isn't a realistic minimum wage, but you could probably come up with some conversion that takes relative cost of living into account (i.e. make sure their wage represents what someone makes who can afford to live like 50% of the population or something.)

But are you thinking along the lines of "making sure they're not making it too cheap?" That would be very hard to do.

No, like I said, I'd like to include those but I know it doesn't work. The main problem with trying to change those things is that we're then telling them what they have to do in their country. They don't send their dead workers to us, but their pollutants go everywhere. We can't force them to treat their people like humans. But we can, and in many many cases do, tell them what they can bring into our country. So if we say "you follow the same EPA guidelines that a manufacturer in the US does or don't bring it here." It's like saying to some non-specified country "if you want to sell narcotics over the counter to your people that's up to you, but if you try to bring it across our border the DEA will be talking to you." It's their business until they make it our business.
But think about this. If we're willing to let products made that way be sold in the US then why not just make them here? Sure, it would be a mess and all, but at least we'd cut out the shipping. This country has a serious case of "out of sight, out of mind." and it's going to be the death of us.

[Phil1111 911]

China Cleans up Its Act on Environmental Enforcement
https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/china-cleans-up-its-act-on-environmental-enforcement/

China Poised for Leadership on Climate Change After U.S. Reversal
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/china-takes-leadership-climate-change-trump-clean-power-plan-paris-agreement/

By 2020, every Chinese coal plant will be more efficient than every US coal plant
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/5/15/15634538/china-coal-cleaner

Manufacturers bringing the most jobs back to America
However, the same market forces that have pushed American jobs overseas are now bringing some of those jobs back. Recently, labor costs in places such as China have been rising, and when paired with high international shipping costs, offshore production presents less of a discount than it once did. Recently, General Electric shifted production of a water heater from China to a plant in Louisville, Kentucky. The move brought hundreds of manufacturing and engineering jobs back to the U.S.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/04/23/24-7-wallst-economy-manufacturers-jobs-outsourcing/83406518/

[billvon 2,400]

>If we're willing to let products made that way be sold in the US then why not just
>make them here?

Well, mainly because no one will buy them.

>This country has a serious case of "out of sight, out of mind."

Definitely.

[jakee 1,255]

Quote

There are agencies that attempt to assure these things. There would need to be another agency who's job agency who's job was to do spot inspections of facilities and check that they followed certain guidelines. We do it here, and this would just mean that it gets done there too.

This is going to sound patronising, and I don't mean it to be, but I don't think you quite realise how big the entire world is.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Bob_Church 7]

billvon

>If we're willing to let products made that way be sold in the US then why not just
>make them here?

Well, mainly because no one will buy them.

>This country has a serious case of "out of sight, out of mind."

Definitely.

Why wouldn't they buy them? By skipping the environmental laws, which we're ok with, they'd be cheap.

[billvon 2,400]

>Why wouldn't they buy them?

Because labor costs more here.

[Bob_Church 7]

billvon

>Why wouldn't they buy them?

Because labor costs more here.

True. There's always a snag. I wonder how much of the difference is environmental and how much salary. If you look at some of those factories they aren't all that efficient, just cheap to run.

[gowlerk 1,914]

Oh Ron. I do so appreciate the sincerity of your post. But that is not how the majority feel, just a sizable minority. Your allusion to vermin makes it so clear how you despise and fear 'coons.

The USA that you see in decline is the same nation that I see as being at the peak of it's powers so far. And in ascendancy overall despite the set back of the current situation. America is richer, more powerful and culturally the most advanced nation the world has ever seen.

And yet you live in fear of your neighbours and hide in the hills away from the richness of the American experience.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[RonD1120 58]

I found the OP somewhat offensive so I countered with humor.

Americans need to understand.

2 Corinthians 3:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.