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San Diego Coalition of Reason
Josh, you are correct that devotees of the Flying Spaghetti Monster seem to be mostly male. That's why I've recently converted to worshiping the Invisible Pink Unicorn. "Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them."— November 24, 2009 8:09 p.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Josh, I've never understood what people see in Bob Dylan. A few songs are kinda okay, but people lionize the guy. Have any of them noticed that (ahem) he can't sing? As for a Jewish man putting out an Christmas album, well it's in the spirit of the holiday, which is all about using a pretense of religiousity to make money. At my home we celebrate the original Christmas, better known as Saturnalia, by donning our festive Pelei and enjoying the traditional drinking, gambling, and orgies. I'll be wishing a festive "Io Saturnalia" to one and all. Our musical program will include such classics as: "Rudolf the Red Gunned Cowboy" "I Shot Santa Claus" "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" "Silent Fart, Holy S***!" Josh, I'd invite you to crash the party, but I know you'd never leave... As to you being argumentative...Dude! You're ARGUING with me about whether or not you're ARGUMENTATIVE. Hilarious. Thank you. You've made my day!— November 24, 2009 8:01 p.m.
Reader writers tackle the family Thanksgiving dinner
Don Bauder is funny...but the kind of funny that makes you grit your teeth. Gringo's idea is interesting. Though it sounds like a lot of work for the editor. Altus, only if you believe in rain dances would you think growing grain in San Diego is a good idea...oh wait, you're a Creationist so you probably do believe in divine intervention upon request to change the weather. Silly me. Never mind...— November 24, 2009 7:46 p.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Altus the Creationist, please go back to whatever hole you've crawled out of. 1. You're ignorant, but a good speller. 2. You cherry pick your scientists and then claim that ALL of them are the same. Shall I reciprocate and equate you with Al Queda? After all, you're both religious idiots... 3. "Intellectually honest"? You're a Creationist, dude. Need I say more? Go play with your imaginary friends. Leave the discussion to the adults who know better than to believe in myths made up by nomadic goat herders while rejecting the evidence all around them for both climate change and evolution. It's people like yourself who force me to conclude the religous are all mental defects, and really oughtn't vote or be allowed access to computers.— November 24, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Rate of Home Price Declines Continues Dropping
So, putting it all together, it looks like current government policies aleviate some pain in the short term, but makes the overall market worse for longer to the benefit of banks and the detriment of buyers and sellers... Have I got it right?— November 24, 2009 7:15 p.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Oh, all the rest of you are DEEP trouble now. Ha, ha, ha...me and Refried gonna have us some language fun, že jo kamo? y tambien hablas espanol, senor gringosrefritos...ay caramba das ist nicht moglich... Nebydliš v Punta Banda? Trebe mi jsme znamy. Mluvil se jaky moravak tam, ale před decet let...je to zajimavy. Malý svět.— November 24, 2009 3:33 a.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Maš pravda pán Gringo, život tady je docela krasna, a ženy jsou upravda pěkne taky. Jak to je že umiš psat matka měst? Cau vole. Jdu na obědu...mam hlad. Jsem napsal už dost dnes.— November 24, 2009 3:11 a.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
On your links Refried: 1. Yes, as noted, it's a perjorative term. But I guarantee your your priest is more militant for his mythical beliefs than any atheist you'll find. 2. Thanks. I really like the one that says, "Jesus Loves Me. But I make him use a condom." 3. Having lived and worked in formerly communist and currently communist places in the world, I can assure you that communism has all the hallmarks of religion in that it required blind faith in historical cycles and the progression described in its holy books. It built personality cults of Lenin and Stalin. It used atheism as a lure to engage the university professor's support, sure. But by using theories like Lykoshenko's eugenics...well, they weren't what I think you're trying to assert. We can go into details if you like, I've got a background in this too. Bolsheviks killed plenty of priests, but also coopted plenty to serve the new soviet approved churches. Claiming that atheism leads to genocide, a frequent attack of the theists, misunderstands and misplaces the evolution of human morality. Religion takes on the garb of morals, but morals pre-existed religion and will survive religions demise.— November 24, 2009 2:14 a.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Rhetorical cowardice only, Josh my friend. Unwillingness to face up to and own the conclusion. Instead, you back away from the crucial step. But I'm sorry for going overboard. When you visit me in Prague, a city that has not only an unbelievable number of church buildings but also one of the world's highest rates of outright proud atheism, I'll buy you a coffee to make up for it. Same for you Gringo. If you like Mexico, well you'd probably love it here...though it doesn't sound like you travel much nowadays. Josh, it comes as no surprise that you like taking contrarian positions, switching views depending on your conversational partner. I do this myself. Why? Because we're argumentative. So it's with great regret that I agree with you. Grandfather in the historic monuments, just don't build new ones on public property. That's exactly how they do it in here. School children learn that the plethora of Catholic churches were built in reaction to the Bohemian revolts fueled by the hussites...a sort of Habsburg era propaganda machine. Christmas lights? Fine. Except for the waste of electricity (yeah, you're a climate change skeptic, but we'll save that for another debate, okay?) I don't mind them. Annoying Christmas music. Those ubiquitous shopping mall seasonal songs...well, they make my ears bleed. Wouldn't have any problem with that if they'd occassionally play some Frank Zappa at the mall too. I'd love to see people's faces if they'd dare play XTC's Dear God... As long as I'm not asked to pay for it, well fine. Unfortunately, we do spend public money on this stuff. Just wish they'd sing something new: Did you make disease And the diamond blue? Did you make mankind After we made you? And the devil too?— November 24, 2009 2:02 a.m.
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Gringo, I don't buy it about the "secret Vatican library"...it doesn't seem at all secret: "In 1881, thanks to the generosity of Leo XIII, scholars were allowed free access to the Vatican Secret Archives, thus becoming one of the most important historical research centres in the world." Maybe this is all a cover up, but here's the Vatican's own explanation which seems reasonable to me: http://asv.vatican.va/en/arch/1_past.htm Seems like since 2000 the access has been further liberalized. Send me a few hundred bucks for a plane ticket and hotel, I'll pop over to Rome and have a look personally. :-)— November 24, 2009 1:12 a.m.