realmzmaster

I do most of my buying from Amazon and Ebay.

Why is it that people will say stuff on Facebook and in their profiles that they would never say in person? Anything put on the Internet is there almost forever. What you say and write can come back to haunt you.

Death is a reality of life. Death is also news. Whether it is a celebrity or someone dying in the gutter. Hearing about death in the news reminds us of our mortality even if we do not wish to hear it. Knowing that this life will end should make us appreciate the time we have here and the people we share life with. Is death sad? Depends on how you use the time allotted to you. If you look back at your life with regret, it might be sad. Sometimes we can take courage with how someone faced death even if we never met the person and knew them only from news reports. Some deaths motivate others to change the course of their life. If it is news we will hear it. Death is always news.

Religion does not cause wars. People cause wars and use religion as a guise for it. The problem is that people want to shove their particular beliefs upon other people who have their own beliefs. Sometimes the people resort to force to impose their beliefs instead of letting natural discussion and discourse occur. Science at its core is also based on faith and belief. We believe that the scientists who conducted the experiments that lead to the theories and laws of science did not fabricate the results. We believe that other scientists have verfied the results by repeating the experiments and coming to the same conclusions. Theories are plausible explanations for phenomena. A theory is not a law. A law is a generalization based on consistent experience or results: The law of gravity or the laws of thermodynamics. The law of gravity is irrefutable. What goes up must come down unless the object can achieve escape velocity and overcome gravity. The Big Bang is a theory because at its core it cannot yet be proven. The mistake that many Christians and others make is trying to prove the existence of God. It is a matter of belief. I choose to believe there is a God. Therefore to me God is real. I lose nothing in my belief. If God exists I reap the rewards. If God does not exist then I am dust. I choose to live my life in a Christ-like manner. I am happy to discuss my outlook with anyone. I will not argue with you. I prefer a civil discussion. Everyone has the right to believe what they want, but if you ask me what I believe I will tell you.

There have been nautral disasters thoughout recorded and unrecorded history. It use to take weeks or months for news of diasters to reach around the globe. Now we get the news instanteously. The earth has taken a great deal of punishment from man. Natural diasters are one way of the earth cleansing and healing itself. The earth may be trying to repair the damages man has wrought.

I have to agreed with Dueler. The ultimate responsibility lies with the parent and how well they raise their children. There is also the problem of one parent families. Not all children that come from one parent families have trouble, but the majority do. Another problem is inattentive parents. Parents that set no ground rules may be setting their children up for failure and trouble. If you do not start training your child from birth it is impossible to correct them when they get older. If the parents are not setting a good example how can you expect the child to do any better. Children learn from example. You cannot use that old Do as I say and not as I do line. The song Cat's in the Cradle by Harry Chapin illustrates my point. The son became just like the dad. If a parent does not take time to be with and interact with their children they are nothing more than strangers living in the same house. It is not a home.

It makes sense as long as you are not in that 10%.

The problem lies in that governments (local, sate and federal) spend far more than they take in. Which is a recipe for disaster. We do it ourselves on a smaller scale. The average person has more debt than they can manage. The expenses out strip the revenues. When that happens government finds something to tax. They will pick on luxury items, items that are unhealthy and addictive (like alcohol and cigarettes) or something every car needs to run (gasoline) Why, because it is easier to raise taxes than cut out pet projects (that may generate jobs) or tamper with programs like Social Security, or Medicare (seniors vote in significant numbers). The average person has to find more revenue (like getting a second, third? job). When expenses outstrip revenue we borrow and so do governments. This is why we have a large deficit. Everyone says we have to cut expenses. The question becomes what do you cut? Far easier to raise money by taxing the working populace. Some states resorted to cutting help for the mental ill. Now we have people walking the streets that have no business being there. Other states are cutting education. Which simply means that are children will be stuck on stupid and dip in dumb.

This situation shows what happens when one person is in power for far too long and is out of touch with the people he/she is suppose to serve. The ones in power are suppose to be serving the populace. Far too often they become "entitled" and feel the populace should serve them.

There are several passages in the bible that refer to homosexuality and bestiality. Leviticus 18:22-23 Leviticus 20:13 Judges 19:22-26 Romans 1:26-27 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 The bible does not bind anyone who does not believe in its teachings. If you claim to be a Christian then Homosexuality is seen as a sin. The requirement is that one hates the sin not the sinner. As far as contracting HIV/AIDS just because a person is straight does not mean that their partners are. There are lots of down low men and women. There are also individuals that swing both ways. AIDS/HIV could have been around for a long time, but the first breakouts that garnered attention were in the homosexual community. It therefore became known as the gay disease and every religious idiot started proclaiming it was God's wrath on the gay community.

I vote for Jiraiya (aka The pervy sage!)

Both parties are guilty of the action you describe. The majority party shuts out the minority party.The Republicans gained power in the House and voted to repeal the Heathcare Law without discussion. The repeal vote went down party lines. Also when Obama came into office the Republicans were already formulating how to stop his "agenda". Promises are made and most elected officials try to keep them, but then reality hits. Senators and representatives are elected to represent their states and bring jobs, economic growth to those states. A Senator or representative that does not deliver to his/her state will soon be an ex -senator or representative. The nation as a whole becomes a secondary consideration. It should not be that way, but it is. Deals are made and promises broken that is the reality of politics.

What you are basically saying is get rid of capitalism and substitute it with socialism or communism ? In a capitalistic society what you are suggesting is not feasible. If I have talents that other individuals do not have should I not be paid what those talents are worth? If I am a skilled heart surgeon with a 90% success rate I should get the same amount of money as a surgeon with a 50% success rate? If I am Michael Jordan, (who owns quite a few enterprises) I should get no more than 20X what may lowest employee gets? Jordan's endorsement of a product can generate more money than just some company employee. How do you decide which workers from Mexico are allowed to work in the USA? How do you identify the jobs that Americans will not work?

By fanatically twisted religion do you mean Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Pick a religion. Zealots of all of them have tried to force by physical and psychological means to convert the heathens. Native American Indians and African-American slaves were all forced to accept Christianity to save their immortal souls. In fact pick an ideology and you will find zealots who resort to terrorism to further its cause. Also there are at last count 100 different definitions of terrorism. The common denominator in all of them is the ability to instill fear. The fact that no deaths are involved does not lessen the fear. The threat is stronger than the execution (quote attributed to Aron Nimzowitsch) because the execution eliminates the fear. Also the actions of the Boston Tea Party helped lead the country to the Revolutionary War. There is no doubt that terrorism was used on both sides in that war.

Terrorism comes in all shapes, colors, and religions. Terrorists can be anyone from the Unabomber to Timothy McVeigh to Osma Bin Laden. But I remember the phrase one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. I do believe that the British referred to the Boston Tea Party participants as terrorists. The British also designated the Jewish group Lehi in 1946-1949 as a terrorist group. (The state of Israel (formed in 1948) saw them as freedom fighters.) Radicals and extremists cause the fear but it stains the entire group (wrongly or rightly).