Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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Maria ... LOL
chemo girls ... the fatigue sticks around for longer than you want it to. Don't try to rush it and don't let anybody else rush you either. Ease back in slowly so you don't crash.
Pastafarian ... no shit, just meatballs
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WOW, I'm all done with rads! Yeah!!!!!! The removal of the catheter went real smooth. I was so surprised! They even gave me the catheter to take home as a souvenir! I think I'll fill it up again (60ml) and use it for my next water balloon fight! Thanks so much for you support and easing my fear. Have a drink on me! Kitty
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Thanks for the drink -- here's looking at you, Kitty!!! (With apologies to Bogart!) And congrats on getting through the rad therapy. Hope you're planning to celebrate this weekend!
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Lol Maria like the list!!
Congratulations on being all done Kitty!!! You must be so relieved! Those cocktails look like they would go down well in a nice hot tub! (still cool here in oz!) unfortunately I still have 25 rads to come so will be whining like a baby for a while yet!
Sunflowers- all the atheist movement pinups will be at the 2012 GAC- I think the only missing that I would like to see is Ricky Gervais. It is great for us Aussies to have such a great opportunity to meet and hear from such distinguished international speakers- I think that it is the first time for Dawkins and Hitchens to appear together too . Tickets will sell out early! I have mine - soooo excited!!
Here is the link - http://www.atheistconvention.org.au/
Cheers Robyn0 -
Hi everyone. I'm glad there is a place where a 'doubting Thomas' like me can visit. I was brought up a Protestant going to Sunday school and church. But I believe we can learn from all religions. Of late I've been mad at organized religion.
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LynMichel,
What about organized religion makes you mad? In my area, which is very devout, small groups are forming all over the place that are made up of people tired of organized religion. Most people in this area leave because the church members are power hungry and judgmental.
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notself , even small groups tend to organize
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True. But, I don't see organization as being the corrupting influence in very small organizations, say under 15 people. There isn't enough distance between a leader and non leader in a very small organization. Once an organization is too big to fit into a private home, hierarchy starts to develop out of the necessity to provide for and financially support a meeting place. It is hierarchy that is the breeding ground for power struggles and dominance. Rules start to increase to facilitate behavior and then enforcement of rules is needed.
Not all organizations are corrupt but organizations can easily be corrupted.
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Notself I'm mad at organized religion because like you mentioned sometimes people a part of it are judgmental. Also it seems of late organized religion in the US doesn't seem very Christian to me. I thought the New Testament was to succeed the Old Testament. But lots of people I noticed are using stuff from the OT to justify what they do. Christianity doesn't seem to be any more the religion I grew up with. People aren't tolerant of another person's view of the Bible. I think whatever you believe is your own private affair. And other people should be tolerant of that and not try and push you to believe like they do. My biggest gripe is most wars seem to be wars over religion. It would be nice if people tried to understand each other.
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Big organizations tend to end up being all about the financial survival of the 'organization' and the original purpose often gets lost IMO.
Welcome LynMichel!
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bumpety-bump
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Hey, flannelett,
Thanks for the bump.
I just finished watching the President's speech on the economy and his plan promises to be hotly debated over the next several weeks. I am so disgusted with the situation of non-governance that I am looking at politics as theater rather than a way to govern.
I watched the Republican debate and though it was like a version of Survivor where the contestants wear suits. Our politics is one long situation comedy mixed with a "reality" show.
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Hi Notself - Wish I could chip in about non-governance but have not checked into the state of the world or the US or Canada in a while. but can report that it is a plentiful black walnut year and they are falling - clunk! and I did pick one up and hold it in the crook of my arm , wondering if the juglone was conferring some kind of chemo.....just an off-beat thought....and now I hope someone else with something intelligent to say jumps in about US politics
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Wouldn't be prudent
That can generate more flame wars than religion Glad to see the thread woke up but I think I'm going to have to give it up and go to bed early tonight. Got a serious case of the yawns already.
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WR - LOL.
WELCOME flannel - how are thiings in your world??? I miss reading your posts. You always seem to find something quotable.
I'll stay away from politics, except to say how much I respect President Obama, how hard he is trying to make a difference, and I hope he gets a littel bit of cooperation to get some of this legislation passed. 14 million unemployed people isn't a situation we can live with.
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I agree we shouldn't get into politics except to enjoy it as public theater, but for those who wish to check the facts, I recommend these two sites.
In the mean time, I am really enjoying the drama of our public discourse.
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Don't get me started about poltics. LOL. If they would only try to talk to each other. And really get sometime done that's beneficial for the country and not just themselves. I'm done with politics now.
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Thanks, LynMichel - you spoke for me too. Not much else to say.
Ex ept we have SUNSHINE today - SUNSHINE - after more rain than I can describe - it is SO, SO wonderful to see SUNSHINE and blue sky.
Hope all are doing well today.
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I want some rain. Arkansas and most of the South is in a drought. Poor Texas. The fires have taken their minds of their drought.
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LinMichel - I would echo that same thought. I think our forefathers are rolling in their graves at the disfunction of the current congress. Sunflowers-I agree with you also about the President and our people who are out of work. Maybe we should put the current congress out of work! Just a thought, not trying to create debate. Hope you all have a great weekend! Kitty
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We have a different way of voting and government structure here in Australia. To save me reading loads of boring political articles, can someone please fill me in on when the next change of politicians/senators/congressmen/president/whatever will happen when the government will have a chance to pass it's legislation unopposed? Assuming there's not another deadlock.
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The next election is slightly over one year away. On November 2012 we will elect the President along with the entire House of Representatives (lower chamber) and 1/3 of the Senate (upper chamber). Unless one party can win control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency (a rare occurrence) legislation is usually debated, fought over, compromised before it is passed.
As it stand now very conservative Republicans control the House and moderate to liberal Democrats control the Senate. This make compromise extremely difficult.
I hope I haven't confused you.
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Thanks, so there's a year to go before people get to vote, and maybe they will be so fed up with this situation that they'll reject those who are holding back progress.
In Australia we also have a House of Representatives, aka the lower house, and a senate, aka the upper house. But the Prime Minister is chosen by the governing party, not the people. I have no idea what congress is in the States. We have ministers and senators here. We also have a preferential voting system where we get to state our preferences by voting for our first and second choice etc.
Our conservative, right wing party are called Liberals! Such a misnomer. And the left wing party are Labour who are in power but only by one precarious member. As soon as one Labour MP gets thrown out, retires, resigns or dies, Labour will be out and the Liberals will have the power along with their leader who would be the new Prime Minister.
From what I have seen, Obama should be a great leader if only he had support. It would be such a waste if this great man was looked at from a historical viewpoint as the president who had his hands tied and couldn't achieve his vision through no fault other than the system. But maybe it will be the catalyst to make changes to the constitution to prevent such a large stalemate in the future.
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Joy Lies Within - about Obama -so aptly said. I do believe that most of Canada would hire him to be our prime minister on the spot, had we the chance. a great man - compassionate, intelligent, and deeply moral. I am so sorry he has to deal with this mess.
Ok - I'll risk it and hope I don't cause a furor - and the joke that is Sarah Palin.
mouth zipped now!
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Our structure has worked well for us since our founding with only a few but important changes. What is holding us back is the divisions caused by talk radio based on the lies and false outrage of just a few people holding too much influence over those who don't have the time or inclination to actually check the facts. We have been through divisive times before and we will get through this one.
I happen to like Sarah Palin. I don't agree with her on very much but I think she is fun to listen to and occasionally brings out some interesting points. Recently she gave a talk on how our capitalist society has been twisted from a society of small business and short term office holders to a political oligarchy made up of professional politicians who are owned by international corporations. She was spot on.
I recommend that our long drawn out election process be observed as a form or theater of the absurd. It is pretty funny.
PS. Obama is far from a saint. America still does rendition. The worst parts of the Patriot Act are still in effect. Guantanamo Bay is still a prison. He tends to sit back when he should push forward. He is overly fond of "private meetings" with corporations and other political leaders when promised an open government. We are now involved in at least 4 wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Yemen. This from a guy who won the Nobel Peace Prize!
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No of course Obama is no saint, but then, (apart from this being an atheist/agnostic thread where saints rarely put in an appearance!!!) saints and politicians make strange bedfellows... Not being American I wouldn't wish to step on anybody's toes, but I do feel that Obama was unlucky in being elected president at a very difficult and unfortunate time.. his presidency was virtually inaugurated with the arrival of the credit crunch, a state of affairs which was the result of decisions taken by previous administrations; he inherited a disastrous situation in Iraq, which from a European perspective (excluding the UK), was caused by an illegal war instigated by a US president from the opposing political camp, and domestically it looks as though he is seriously hampered by the Republican/Democrat balance, or mis-balance.
However, certainly, politicians the world over seem to me to be void of ideas right now, and political hypocrisy is there for all to see. After all the raving against Gaddafi by most heads of state, it transpired that the CIA, Britain's MI6, as well as their French equivalent, had had secret relations with Gaddafi before the Libyan uprising. Principles in foreign policy seem to be non-existent.....
And on that cheery note I'll leave you all...have a good weekend!
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So true what you wrote Maria. I too feel Obama was elected at a very difficult time. I think he could accomplish some things if only our congress would be cooperative. IMHO too much money is involved in elections. Everyone is bought and paid for by different groups. The games our politicians play with people's lives.
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I imagine even the most ardent pacifist would have difficulty as the head of any government, trying to stop ongoing conflict. Our society has such a long history of war, and there's so much tied up in the war industry, aka defence. Peer pressure from defence leaders, other heads of state, even religious leaders to continue fighting must be overwhelming. This is what I tell myself when new leaders look so promising yet don't move quickly to withdraw troops. I also assume they have some strategy they can't reveal to get around the intense pressure to maintain the status quo. I can't bring myself to believe they can sleep at night knowing they're ultimately responsible for all the pain and misery caused by wars and internal problems such as unemployment, without having some strategy to fix things.
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One death is a tragedy, a 100,000 dead is a statistic that can always be justified as being for the greater good. What strange beings we human are.
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Speaking of deaths - I've just watched part of the unveiling of the 911 memorial. to me, there is something so moving about the waterfalls and water going down, down, down, as opposed to the towers that once went up, up up. Something about fluid as opposed to concrete. perhaps the exact opposite, in form and function, of what existed there before?
did anyone see the amazing documentary about the twin towers - the one where the French man (forget his name) got emplyed by the world trade centre, and after maybe 3 or 6 months, he and a friend got to the very top, and threw a tightrope from one tower to the other, and he spent hours on the tightrope - no-one could get him down. He lay down and napped. In his interview, he said, it was exquisite - perfection, heaven. Stunningly beautiful, watching him. and then, apparently, the towers, which had been slow to fill, became alive.
just random thoughts on this special, and beautiful,and sad morning.
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