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Yes, birds can fly, and I'm sure they're happy about that. But the reason they sing... is because they don't have to pack!

Democrats, Independents, anyone who would honestly undermine any democratic institution or process in the furtherance of Christian values. To be clear, I am not saying it makes them any worse than the hypocritical rest of us; we all have our agendas. I am not saying that Christians are inherently evil or even bad, not at all. What I am claiming is that if democracy falters or fails in America Christianity will be a cause. What I am saying is that complete belief in a supreme being whose apocalyptic return is nigh and hoped, and is considered to be the highest authority in the cosmos, is at direct odds with the fundamental precepts of democracy.

I have a sister-in-law who is a pretty extreme fundamentalist Catholic. She is determined to "save" us (my wife and I) so she constantly sends us "literature" or gets us subscriptions to some very extreme magazines (although we have told her over and over to stop). A few years ago one of these magazines had a long article about how the whole concept of democracy is un-Christian, as the Bible only talks about kings. Elections, and political representation, is nowhere to be found. So (the reasoning goes) God would give us a king, and participating in elections (or even worse running for office) is actively resisting God's plan. According to the author, voting is a serious sin verging on blasphemy. I don't think most Christians actually think in those terms. However it is true that the biblical world view is very authoritarian, with God (or her representative monarch) setting all the important parameters of society. I do think that overall strong Christian (or other religious) belief predisposes people to being comfortable with authoritarian social structures, and leads them away from being tolerant of people with different priorities or values. Also many religious customs or edicts, although they are presented as commandments from on high, really serve to make it easy to distinguish between believers and non-believers, or to mark people as belonging to a specific tribe. Circumcision for example made it impossible for Jewish males to "pass" as Romans in any conflict, as Romans abhorred the practice. In some circles today supporting the "wrong" candidate for office is seen the same way. The discussion is not about ideas or policies, it is about tribes.

Well damn, it appears that Simmons wasn't telling a fib on In Search Of after all

So true... that's why the skygod invented packers.

That was then, this is now.

A person must realize their situation and apply the right action. There is evaluating and responding going on. Many will see that as synonymous with a decision. Decades worth of evidence supports the ambiguity of the terms. An outsider would conclude new terms would likely work better than a new effort to train better.

Of course! It takes power out of the hands of the political parties, and puts in in the hands of the citizens. Can't have that!

Kallend can’t eat breakfast without snark Wendy P.

"Skydivers Know Why Birds Sing... because they can Fly" is a new book by Ricki T Thues. Rick and Paula have been on a skydiving adventure for 35 years. They each have made more than 5000 jumps. They entered the sport during its transition from a thing done by risk taking dare devils to a hobby/vocation which can be enjoyed for a lifetime. The stories of their adventures put the reader into the point of view of the skydiver. More than jumping out of airplanes these stories are tales of Adventure, Awe, Danger, Achievement, Fear and Fun. But beyond the excitement is a story of Love, a love of skydiving and of each other. This is a rollercoaster ride which brought a couple full circle from an item on a bucket list to “an adventure of a lifetime.” Paula and Rick’s more than three decades of skydiving have been the glue of their marriage, relationship and life. The events of the following stories reveal why “Skydivers Know Why Birds Sing”… “because they can Fly.” Here is the Amazon link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKYH8V8X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Have you ever noticed how many hours birds devote to cleaning and oiling their feathers?

I was looking at it from the perspective of the other cases, all of which everyone wanted solved sooner. Had those cases had more information about suspects, I think those would have been solved or solved sooner. Zodiac and Delphi for instance have very little to go on in term of witness descriptions. All the case were extremely violent too. I would hope that if Delphi or Zodiac had 13 witnesses then there might have been a better break in those cases. DB Cooper would be fun to solve, but to solve those cases would make a huge impact on a lot of families. The lived/died is a whole other conversation. As far as I'm concerned, the people who argue that he died are typically ones who just like to argue.

There are so many cases that might have been solved or solved sooner had those cases had as many witnesses as the DB Cooper case, or witnesses like Tina who saw him for hours. Zodiac, Unabomber, Golden State Killer, Delphi Murders, BTK. The list goes on.

Morning, Phil. I am of Sicilian heritage and was raised in NYC, in the Roman Catholic church. It's a rule. As I began to get older, I began to question. Eventually, I fell into a Pantheistic perspective of the universe. Yet, I still have questions. RE: Pro Democratic. Thank you. I "think" that comes from my time as a soldier, many foreign countries with varying forms of government. While some would chastise the US and it's form of government; there's a reason millions of immigrants flock to the US every year. As to the influence of Christianity in America - if we look at the trendline of Christianity in the US, it has gone from ~84% thirty years ago to less than half today. Some see that as an erosion and a threat on democracy; others a blessing. Those who see it as a threat and use it as a political tool aren't doing the US any favors and so in that; I agree with Joe. But, it really doesn't matter which party you're in - it should not be a part of the political platform. My belief is the divide began with Reagan. I'm not a fan of those who feel like they need to profess their Christianity from Mount High in the Republican party. Big believer in separation of church and state. I had a Sicilian aunt who was old-school Democrat and Roman Catholic her whole life. She had an amazing capacity to wear each hat separately. Church was church and politics wasn't.

I'm just curious. Does this tirade include Democrats that are Christians or just the R's?

Q: how do you stop canadian bacon from curling in the frying pan? A: you take away their little brooms

Yes, I agree it's a good idea. I may come up with something on it. Almstad claims to have interacted with Cooper and Tina when he standing in line for the bathroom, making a joke about Thanksgiving dinner being late because they had been in the air so long. You're also correct on the Michael Cooper story. The only other passenger that I'm aware of who claimed to have seen Cooper is Richard Simmons. He told his story on the In Search Of episode. I've timestamped it below. I'm dubious of these claims though. The FBI only ever showed photographs and got sketch suggestions from the "canonical five" passengers, Mitchell, House, Lab, Gregory, and Spreckel. It's my understanding that every passenger was interviewed by the FBI because we have a few 302's of passengers who are like "yeah I didn't see anything. I slept the whole time." I think if Almstad, Simmons, or Mike Cooper had actually seen Cooper then they'd have mentioned it and they probably would have been more involved in the investigation.

A local charity had never received a donation from the town's banker, so the director made a phone call. "Our records show you make $500,000 a year, yet you haven't given a penny to charity," the director began. "Wouldn't you like to help the community?" The banker replied, "Did your research show that my mother is ill, with extremely expensive medical bills?" "Um, no," mumbled the director. "Or that my brother is blind and unemployed? Or that my sister's husband died, leaving her broke with four kids?" "I … I … I had no idea." "So," said the banker, "if I don't give them any money, why would I give any to you?"

Perhaps my sarcasm wasn't dripping enough. 100 Round magazine goes waaaay outside the personal defense argument.

Things not learned by Slim during his vacation: - How to spell the word 'Look' - That rumble.com is a far-right clickbait site that nobody with critical thinking skills will ever take seriously