Shila

—> @Shila

You made this one up quick. That DDO burned down. Was there a Shila on DDO too? I am new to forums.

Are you really?

And high school English considering you are French speaking.

My speaking French has not adversely affected my English. (If anything, it's enhanced it.) 

Is that how you coverup your regressive behaviour with Regressive humor?

Whatever bone you have to pick with me, put it back in your pants. I will indulge this no more. Enjoy your day, sir

--> @Shila

Your ignorance and condescension really shows. 

--> @3RU7AL

Polytheist-Witch: You don't want people like that in your neighborhoods or around your kids that's up to you. I like growing up with a variety of people around me it was cool to go to someone's house and their grandmother only speak Italian or to someone else's house and their grandfather only spoke polish. We're going to another house and eating Greek food. If you don't want to expose your kids to that that's up to you. And if they don't want to expose their kids to American kids that's fine but why move to a country and then tell your kids that the people that live there are such assholes you don't want to live with them. Doesn't make much sense to me but what the f*** do I know.

--> @Shila

 stole the land from Native Indians

Source?

They never paid the slaves

Not true. In the Reconstruction, reparations were paid to many former slaves in the form of significantly discounted (and even free land) and other federal assistance. [1]

Moreover, the "War on Poverty" was also a significant redistribution of wealth through tax dollars that sought to directly benefit Black Americans communities. [2] [3] [4] [5] [a]

The definition of reparation:

: the payment of damages : INDEMNIFICATION

specifically : compensation in money or materials payable by a defeated nation for damages to or expenditures sustained by another nation as a result of hostilities with the defeated nation —usually used in plural [6]

The definition of indemnify:

 to make compensation to for incurred hurt, loss, or damage [7]

So these programs definitely qualify as reparations.

The problem was that these policies also included many other policies that were not beneficial to Black Americans. So, while it is completely true that black people did receive reparations, the reparations came with other policies that crippled the economies, family structures, and more of Black Americans, such as the War on Drugs. [8] Ultimately, this led to a negative impact.

Americans cannot give away what is not theirs to begin with.

Unfortunately, this is a lie that just won't die due to academia willfully ignoring history.

For starters, Americans won much of the land from Native Americans in military conquests.

Furthermore, Manhattan was purchased from American Indians. [9] The Native Tribe there believed that no one owned land, so they thought they were getting a fantastic deal. [10] But other tribes did begin to implement the same purchasing idea amongst each other. [9] There is a similar such history through much of the early colonial years, through most of America's colonial history, of colonists purchasing land or winning it through military conquests. [12]

Another valuable point to bring up is that we don't really know for certain whom the first aggressor was in the wars between the Native Americans and the European settlers. Both sides would regularly attack and raid each other and rape each others' women. [12]

Get a history lesson.

I studied this issue a lot in college on my own time and, honestly, my conclusion is that we simply can't state unilaterally that white people stole land from American Indians. The American Indians had extremely diverse ideas among the different tribes. Some were warrior tribes that just conquered land. Others were anarchist tribes that didn't have any formal government. Others did not even believe in land ownership as a concept, but looked at the land like mother nature supplying free land for all. American Indians had their own struggles, economies, and wars and such with each other as well, and oftentimes the colonists would ally themselves with whatever tribe promised to be their ally. This led to other tribes attacking them.

Sometimes American Indian tribes just decided to attack colonists for no perceived reason, even though there were treaties. And the colonists also did the same. So we can't really just claim the white man stole everything. There is A LOT of history to consider. Could it have happened? I am certain there have to be at least one or two instances of it. But, unilaterally, we cannot just claim white people stole all of it. Because that is patently false.

SOURCES:

[1] https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/201910/why-land-redistribution-former-slaves-unraveled-after-civil-war

[2] https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/war-poverty/

[3] https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/the-war-poverty-after-50-years

[4] https://nationalcenter.org/project21/2014/01/08/lbjs-war-on-poverty-hurt-black-americans/

[5] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-war-on-poverty-then-and-now/

[6] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reparation

[7] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indemnifying

[8] https://www.addictioncenter.com/news/2021/08/war-on-drugs-impact-on-black-people/

[9] https://historyexplorer.si.edu/resource/manhattan-purchase

[10] https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1543

[11] https://www.history.com/news/native-american-land-british-colonies

[12] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/new-england-colonies-and-native-americans

NOTES:

[a] I cited sources from across the ideological spectrum simply to show that virtually everyone agrees that the war on poverty was a massive investment of American tax dollars toward people, while some sources show how the main recipients were Black Americans. This would count as reparations.

--> @Shila

The end of the age happened in AD 70, just like Jesus told His disciples it would. Read the rest of the chapter. It applies to THE DISCIPLES and THAT GENERATION. Anything else is reading into Scripture something it does NOT say. 

What is the issue you have with these verses? 

Jesus openly confessed he was clueless. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father.”

Speaking in His human capacity, not His godhood. But notice very carefully that Jesus said the day or hour they would not know but when the time is at the door they would. 

Matthew 24:32-39 NASB

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, [b]recognize that [c]He is near, right at the [d]door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For [e]the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [f]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

So, from these verses you can gather lots of information. 

1. Who are the subjects of the passage? Have you a clue? Who does "you" refer to in context??? Can you answer that?

2. What are "all these things" Jesus is referring to?

3. Jesus says that "this generation" will not pass until all these things have taken place. Which generation is He speaking about? (Hint: it can only be one)

4. Just like in the days of Noah speaks of judgment. Judgment on who, in context? 

Now remember the context of Matthew 24:3 (see below). Jesus was speaking to His DISCIPLES about the end of the age. Age of what? What age did His disciples live in? It was the age of temple worship and the OT economy where everything revolved around God's relationship with OT Israel. Show me differently.

Matthew 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father.

Notice, what follows from verse 3 of Matthew 24:

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one [a]misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [b]Christ,’ and they will [c]mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [d]fall away, and they will [e]betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will rise up and [f]mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, [g]most people’s love will become cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole [h]world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Perilous Times
15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—[i]let the [j]reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [k]Whoever is on the [l]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And [m]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that [n]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no [o]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the [p]elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [q]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great [r]signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the [s]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man [t]be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the [u]vultures will gather.
The Glorious Return
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

Show me how these verses can apply to any other generation other than the 1st century one Jesus came to and show me the "you" is generic rather than audience SPECIFIC, from the text (remember, we want to understand who the relevant or primary audience is that Jesus is speaking to, not us the secondary audience). We want to understand the timeline also. What does that imply to you, our generation or a 1st century generation? Pay also to the verb tense, whether past, present, or future. 

--> @TWS1405

I have also thought of this question, and I believe the answer is that liberals or "the left" generally speak out of emotion rather than reason. This could be a result of many things, but it seems to come to an inability to engage with ideas they don't like. As a consequence, they would rather silence people and/or call them silly names. From the liberal, racist may as well mean "anything I don't like." 

For example: "Thomas Sowell is racist" may translate to "I don't like Thomas Sowell, because he is bad."

--> @Shila

Since DDO is no more. There is no way to check member records. It will take time for Athias to make up one.

I suppose I could. How does "Upgraded-Shila" sound? It'd still be better than trolling DDO and DART, and fleeing to DART under some pretense after DDO burned down, right?

So your comfort zone is high school  humour.

Yup.

For most members that would be going too far back.

Regressive humor is the best humor. 

Black privilege in higher level education compared to Asians. Change my mind

--> @Shila

But your humor is certainly High School level. We can all see why it didn’t go beyond that.

My post-graduate humor would only go over everyone's heads.

Subjective of course.  But I'll make my case:

1. Eating at home saves money.  If someone is looking to save up money for traveling, buying a car/house, emergency fund, or whatever it is, eating out less is often the easiest fix.
   
2. Eating at a restaurant does not necessarily save time.  You save time from prepping and cooking.  But you lose time from the commute there, the commute back, waiting for the food, waiting for the check, and sometimes even waiting for a seat.
   
3. Eating at home allows you to track macros and calories accurately.  While popular chains have info posted, most restaurants in general don't.  With how commonplace the use of butter and oil is in kitchens, it's very easy to underestimate calories when eyeballing.   If your fitness and body composition are priority, dining at a restaurant should be limited.
   
4. Lastly, it depends on what food you order.  Many restaurants have foods that do use uncommon or "high-end" ingredients and/or require a lot of skill to prepare.  But many entrees on menus are also things that are cheap to make, easy to make and use common ingredients.  It doesn't make sense to go to a restaurant just to order things you could make yourself at home.
   
5. At home, you can control the temperature, lighting, music that's playing, what's on television.  And there are no screaming kids.
   

--> @Athias

Out of curiosity, what was your DDO account? Have we spoken on there?

--> @ILikePie5

Also, the GOP national is out of cash two months before the election.  Democrats have outraised Republicans the last four months running.

--> @Shila

RCV is unconstitutional.

The rule is “one person one vote”.

RCV allows choice up to 4 choices for every voter.

each voter only gets one vote

ONE VOTE

if and only if their candidate is the lowest ranked, AND a "run-off" election WOULD BE REQUIRED PER NORMAL PROCEDURE (because nobody received at least 51% of the total votes cast)

then and only then is the second choice vote, and only the second choice vote is counted for people who voted for the LOWEST RANKED CANDIDATE ONLY

functionally this is exactly the same as a "run-off" election

without the inconvenience of physically driving back out to the polls a second or even a third time

-> @Shila

Your profile says you have a high school diploma.

I do have a high school diploma, as well as a number of others. My profile is meant to poke fun at those who treat personal information on these debate sites like BattleCards (not to be confused with Battle Cards.) If you've interacted with me much when I was at DDO, then you'd be hard pressed to not know that my DART  profile is mostly satirical--i.e. my choosing the most ridiculous options available. If one has bothered to have a decent conservation with me, they too would know that my profile is mostly satirical. I admitted as much when I starting posting on DART, amused by the questions and often misfired ad hominems when "my subscription" to notions like "Confucianism" and "Monarchism" were concerned. FYI: the only accurate items on my profile are my (native) country, and my native language. 

As far as the subjects Tejretics and I were discussing, when I was at university I double majored in Mathematics and Economics. Thus my stating: 

Athias Post #23:

I’m currently a college student in the United States studying math and economics, and am from India. 

... ... ...interesting.

And I knew to ask Tejretics about Econometrics given that it's the most logical post-graduate pursuit after undergraduate studies in both Mathematics and Economics. One of my M.S.'s is in Econometrics. So this is my incredibly prolix way of telling you that my "education" isn't limited to High School--only my humor is. 

Polytheist-Witch: Being obsessed with whether or not someone is trans what a woman is all comes down to men being confused about who they want to have sex with. There's nothing worse than finding someone attractive and then finding out they have a dick if you don't like dick. If you can't figure out who you want to have sex with that's really not any woman or trans person's problem.

--> @Shila

Everybody should consider their options what a fucking stupid comment.

 

--> @Ehyeh

I would disagree with you on objective morality being uncertain and also on the idea that god almost certainly doesn't exist. 

I concur.

--> @Shila

You do realize there are more Black immigrants from Africa and other places with POC since 1865 than People with any kind of slave heritage exist today in America...

There are also way more non POC that immigrated to America after 1865 than ever existed before 1865 in America. A lot more.

What you are asking to do is demand a great many non-POC immigrants from 8 generations ago who never had the opportunity to have anything to do with slavery to pay "reparations" to POC immigrants from 8 generations ago that were never a slave and never had the opportunity to be a slave after 1865

--> @Shila

You can claim that it is "no problem"

But the misappropriation of the recent Covid reparations proves that it's absolutely a problem with the current government. In a period of inflation and recession, asking people to do anything other than get back to work  while the government agrees to stop printing money devaluing the standard of living for everyone is asking for the immediate destruction of the nation. Maybe after we get our finances in order, we can play around with reparations like we did with the Covid reparations that helped put us in the current economic condition. At least we can survive the economic destruction better with such a mismanaged reparations scheme.

Polytheist-Witch: Being obsessed with whether or not someone is trans what a woman is all comes down to men being confused about who they want to have sex with. There's nothing worse than finding someone attractive and then finding out they have a dick if you don't like dick. If you can't figure out who you want to have sex with that's really not any woman or trans person's problem. 

--> @Avery

It is necessary to live in the shoes of the average citizen of any country before one can give an educated opinion of that country.  You will find you may not like that country at all. I lived in Sweden for a short period, hated it.

Polytheist-Witch: It amazes me that the people here at the site think that a blind person wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a nonflame heat source and a flame heat source. Like somehow being blind dropped your IQ points.

Buy the major coins (i.e. bitcoin).  Alt-coins are high-risk.

Buy low, sell high.  Buy down, sell up.  Buy after corrections.  Never FOMO.  

Don't put the majority of your investing into cryptocurrency.  Maybe 10-20% if that, but diversify the rest into other things (i.e. index funds, business, real estate, collectors items, etc).  This way, if crypto booms, you profit, but if it crashes, you don't lose most of your life savings.

-> @Lair77

That is true, but we also have non polling metrics like Consumer confidence and GDP growth along with inflation rates and the average wealth of a person adjusted for the low or high cost of living.

Obama scored much higher in all areas.

--> @Shila

Also, Obama was lucky. 

He studied in college 30-40 years ago when tuitions were much cheaper and law schools were not oversaturated like they are today.

Now, if you want the same degree Obama got, you easily pay 10x as much for it.  And you have far more competition in the job market because law schools willingly admit more students than there are positions for law jobs.

So would you borrow $250,000 to get a law degree, if there was a potential risk you might not even get a job in that field.  Or if you do, maybe you make $50-60k a year.  

You're also not factoring in the interest.  When you borrow 250k, you don't actually pay 250k.  You might actually end up paying 350k with all of the interest, since interest always gets paid off first

--> @Tejretics

I’m considering the MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics at the LSE, yeah! 

I wish you the best. I got a lot out of the experience when I did it--though not at the London School of Economics. As long as you like the math, you'll be fine. 

For a PhD, I’d just do an econ PhD, preferably in the US (if I did end up doing one). Econ PhD admissions generally expect that undergraduate students do a lot of math.

Are you considering teaching Economics?

Yeah, it seems like college degrees can benefit in the long-run.  But in the short to mid-term, like the first 10 years, someone could be working a basic job to pay off lots of debt while they work their way up the career ladder.

--> @Shila

You do realize there are more Black immigrants from Africa and other places with POC since 1865 than People with any kind of slave heritage exist today in America...

There are also way more non POC that immigrated to America after 1865 than ever existed before 1865 in America. A lot more.

What you are asking to do is demand a great many non-POC immigrants from 8 generations ago who never had the opportunity to have anything to do with slavery to pay "reparations" to POC immigrants from 8 generations ago that were never a slave and never had the opportunity to be a slave after 1865

-> @Shila

share the country

America isn't a white country. It is for all people who choose willingly to emigrate here, and all people who are born here.

Additionally, maybe if they didn't buy millions of Africans and force them to work in the fields for about 150 years and then breed them like dogs to they could sell the offspring for a profit then there wouldn't be so many black people to "share" with.

Now that they live here, and were born here, and (at the time) legally emigrated here, even if it was against their will, this country is just as much for every black citizen as a white citizen. This has nothing to do with "sharing." It is the birthright of every Black American to be a citizen of this country. It is their right.

But the slave trade and slavery and everything that came from it honestly is white peoples' fault. They (old southerners specifically, and their children) are mad that they had to actually be good human beings and agree with science and stop oppressing a whole ethnic group because they wanted free labor. 

But America is a nation of freedom, liberty, and justice for all. This country isn't owned by any one person. It is a free land where anyone has an equal opportunity and equal rights. To think of it as "sharing" is appallingly elitist and ethnicist. This country, by the nature of the document we wrote in 1776 that founded it, and the subsequent one that was written in 1789, with amendments, is for everyone who is born here and anyone who checks the boxes to move here, and it is not "sharing" at all. It is giving people what is rightfully theirs.

Like I just did in the Politics forum, here are some of my controversial philosophical views. Would love to chat about any of them! Also check out my AMA.

• Epistemic nihilism is false. I’m not sure its truth can actually be evaluated, but at minimum, it’s useless and unproductive. 
  
• God almost certainly doesn’t exist. 
  
• Highly uncertain about this, but free will probably exists. 
  
• Moral realism is probably true, though highly uncertain. 
  
• Common sense morality is, all things considered, a pretty good metric. 
  
• The best approximation of a good moral theory that I can think of is preference utilitarianism, albeit somewhat skittish, accounting for moral uncertainty with either expected choice-worthiness or a parliamentary model, and incorporating some unusually strong common sense intuitions. 
  
• Creating new happy lives is a good thing, though not as good as making existing people happy. Creating new bad lives is a bad thing (though not as bad, other things equal, as inflicting suffering on existing people). 
  
• Countries don’t have very large special obligations to their own citizens. They should prioritize their citizens a bit more than non-citizens, for pragmatic reasons, but policy should, in general, focus a lot more on the rest of the world. 
  
• Individuals have a moral obligation to assist those in need. 
  
• We should care, morally, as much about future generations as the current one. Of course, for practical reasons, it often makes sense to prioritize the interests of people alive today, but the moral worth of someone 300 or 3000 years from now is no different than the moral worth of someone alive today.
  

Just because you get wet if you get water on you does that mean that water itself is wet? 

Fact.  Because, in many instances, decades ago, African Americans were denied opportunities to get a mortgage for a house.  Even if they had the money and income to do so....

The fact that they can buy houses now is irrelevant now.  Because they missed out on the best time in all of human history to buy a house.  Anyone who bought a house in the 70's or 80's, they'd easily see the house go up 10x value by now.

So, yes, they can buy a house now that prices are over-inflated but missed one of the biggest opportunities in American history to accrue wealth.

There are many black people who are renting now that would actually be owning property and passing property onto their children if racism didn't exist.

-->

@TWS1405

--> @Shila

The same high standards apply to transgender persons. "These policies are based on the conclusion that open service by transgender persons who are subject to the same high standards and procedures as other Service members with regard to medical fitness for duty, physical fitness, uniform and grooming standards, deployability, and retention is consistent with military service and readiness," the Department of Defense instructions state.

Still a non-sequitur argument.

Transgenders cannot, by medical definition, be medically fit for duty let alone meet the physical fitness requirements and uniform and grooming standards. Nor are they deployable. They make a mockery of the Armed Forces

It is official.

From January 26, 2021, onwards, there are no restrictions on military service by transgender individuals. Medical care for transitioning servicemembers is provided by the military and procedures for handling the transition in official records established.

--> @Shila

America has the largest African diaspora of 47 million outside of Africa. That is why racism is highest in America which has 235 million reported whites that has to share the country with  such a high number of blacks.

Of the roughly 11 million Africans that survived the Atlantic journey, only approximately 334,000 were brought to America. The remaining 10.7 million were taken to the Caribbean and South America.

Because of the American dream and the freedoms America offered, blacks chose to stay in America post slavery and make a life for themselves. While some did, for centuries, by the mid 1900s a small percentage of blacks wallowed in their black culture that left them in an endless circle of despair and a social, cultural and financial (class) victimhood mentality. A mentality that made them feel entitled to do as they please without consequence, leading to the out of wedlock birth rates jumping from 22% to over 70%, higher illiteracy, higher dropout rates from school, higher crime rates, and higher unemployment rates. That was their fault, their problem, not the boogey white man. This mentality also leads to blacks being more racist towards whites, Asians and Hispanics than vice versa. So sure, there is a lot of racism in America, directed at whites, namely white males. 

--> @Shila

--> @Shila

Guns are not the problem, human beings and their attitude towards their fellow man is the problem

Guns are the problem in America. Read the study.

Roughly 33,000 Americans every year are killed with firearms (homicides, suicides, and accidents).

In the abstract, it's hard to appreciate just how catastrophic this death toll is. So we made a chart to make things more concrete. It compares the number of Americans killed by guns between 2001 and 2013 to the number of Americans killed by war, AIDS, illegal drug overdoses, and terrorism combined during the same time period. It turns out that guns killed more Americans than all of those horrors put together:

If the 2nd Amendment was to arm Americans to kill Americans. It is working. The American civil war killed over 750,000 Americans.

The tool (e.g., guns) is not the problem, human beings and their attitude towards their fellow man is the problem. Their behavior. Their mental state. Their belief system. Their self-esteem (and confidence) or lack thereof. Their fear or lack of fear of punishment or how they hurt others (i.e., suicide). 

An inanimate object cannot harm anyone or anything until it is wielded; and when wielded, it is the behavior, mental state, attitude, belief system, self-esteem or lack thereof, and whether or not they fear punishment or the consequences of utilizing that tool that determines how that tool is wielded and utilized that's the problem. Not the tool in and of itself that cannot do anything without the wielder. 

The military uses guns to kill people. 

And?

More Americans die from guns than hands, feet, fists.

Which guns? Not shotguns. Not rifles of any kind. You need to be more specific. 

NRA even admitted the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun was a good guy with a gun. 

They're not wrong. 

Either way guns are more efficient.

Other countries have mentally ill people too. But America sets the record in people killed by guns.

Yes, as a tool a weapon like a gun is more efficient to take out another armed assailant, or for those bent on suicide. 

Again, it's not the weapon (i.e., tool), it's human behavior, attitude, self-esteem or lack thereof, and a lack of fear of the consequences of their actions in using a weapon for nefarious means. 

--> @Shila

-> @Shila

God did not give animals or birds control of their environment. They are totally dependent of nature. Bu5 humans have dominance over their environment. 

Nope.  Just one recent 21st century example; Two thirds of Pakistan was flooded just weeks ago; many people lost their lives and properties were totally destroyed and lost for ever.  So, it is not just animals that have no control over their environment, we humans just like them, are at its mercy. Stop talking bullshite.

God has sent great floods before. But here he saved the majority of Pakistanis unlike Noah’s  flood where he destroyed the Jews.

No. The flood was another natural disaster that the superstitious of the time believed it was sent from god because the priests of the time told them so. And they were Hebrews, not Jews. But again, those that drown in the deluge were unable to survive under all that water. so much for your man having "domination of the seas".

God saying "have dominion over all the animals" simply makes us an apex predator.  Tell me; how does a human in his natural state go about having dominion over a frenzy of great white sharks in their own domain? Or just one great white shark?

Shark hunting by humans is actually driving the sharks extinct. Shows humans are masters of the sea. 

Stop it ffs. So, you can stay under water without coming up for air longer than a whale or a dolphin, can you? 

Scuba divers out manoeuvre sharks.

No, they can't. Stop being so fkn ridiculous. And I asked you "can stay under water without coming up for air longer than a whale or a dolphin, can you"? 

And that would be scuba divers using artificial breathing apparatus.  You are terrible at answering without thinking, aren't you.

And you didn't answer my question>> Tell me, if we humans are so adapted to the NATURAL world, why is it we lost our natural fur coats only to have to hunt down and kill other animals for their coats?

God made Adam and Eve bare naked so he could ogle at their nakedness.

So, are you saying that humans didn't evolve from apes and that humans in their natural state have always been naked?

That is why God noticed their naked bodies and grew obsessive.

Try answering they question. Are you saying that humans didn't evolve from apes and that humans in their natural state have always been naked?

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The verse 3:21 of Genesis says different. 

"King James Bible

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and clothed them.

But either way, according to the contradictory bible, it was either God or themselves that made artificial covering for these two earthlings. Which is not their natural state by any means. 

After banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden they were no longer protected. God then tried to protect humans from the prying eyes of angels. But even here god was unsuccessful.

So, then they were not in their natural state, were they, you clown.

--> @Shila

It was an monochromatic echo chamber (i.e. age 15-30, male, libertarian).  But I liked it.

But do you have to disqualify senior citizens. Their opinions maybe less relevant but they want to be liked too.

statistically, retired people are more likely to vote

--> @Lair77

Even though trillions of dollars of covid relief bills were signed during both Trump and Biden's terms.

Okay, I'm anti-Trump and pro-Biden, but this is unfair -- Trump signed those bills when the economy was significantly depressed and inflation was well below 2%, Biden signed that bill against the warnings of some economists (like Summers) and when the economy was clearly in an expansionary period. There was bipartisan support for Trump's bills, but only the Democrats supported Biden's. 

To be clear, I'm not claiming current inflation is primarily due to excessive government spending. But certainly some of 2021’s inflation was.

Are you Mesmer? 

-> @Shila

Being better educated is beneficial to society. You can contribute and participate more in public discussions.

Collectively, yes.  But on an individual level, there still needs to be an incentive to make a decision.   If someone perceives something as beneficial to society but harmful to the individual, they may not do it.  

You raise children that will probably go to college too. 

This is basically the American dream.  To become part of the top 40% of earners, and then raise kids to become in that top 40%.  And the main goal is to preserve the existence of the middle and uppermiddle class.   

  If this is the lifestyle a person prefers, they should pursue it.  It's not necessarily wrong.  However, this is essentially an argument  that people have a moral duty to meet society's expectations and serve other people.

https://www.thetrafalgargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/COSA-Biden-Speech-Full-Report-0905.pdf

57% of voters polled say Biden's speech was DESIGNED to incite conflict among Americans vs 35% that said it was just a fine and dandy speech.

Good luck in November Bidentards.

--> @Deb-8-a-bull

I didn't say remain a atheist. 

I dont have to not not believe in god. 

You dont go from christian to atheist.

Being a atheist fells like nothing until you are asked and or realize you are what they consider a atheist.  

Im a atheist now. 

And now i am a Muslim.  

Buttttttt  watch me become a Christian.  

And I'm a Christian. 

10

And a 9.

And a 8.

And a 7

6

5

4,3,2,and a 1. 

' Catches breath '   

See that shlt.    I too like to live dangerously.  

Inter denominational. 

Multi denomination at once. 

I crouch down , place my head between my kness. 

Then i simply tilt foward. 

Well thats how i roll.  

phenomenal

Even though trillions of dollars of covid relief bills were signed during both Trump and Biden's terms.

Yes, true, but that's changing the topic.

--> @Shila

I hope the economy doesn’t slip into a recession. 

It will.  Recessions always happen every decade or so.  It's an inevitability of the business cycle.

  I just hope it does quickly.  If the recession can start in 2023 and recover during 2024 that would be perfect for Biden.  

But if the recession starts in 2024 and ends in 2025, we might get President DeSantis.

The democrats will be blamed for overstimulating the economy with all those handouts.

Even though trillions of dollars of covid relief bills were signed during both Trump and Biden's terms.

--> @Shila

RationalMadman: Damage as in not supporting bloodline supremacy?

-> @Shila

That's really reductionist.  Overall, yes, people with degree, on average, earn more.  

But there are millions of people with degrees yet still have basic jobs.  Earning the same, or only slightly more than people with degrees, but they have 20-60k in debt to pay off.  

I'm not against college, but it needs to be done correctly - not just going for the sake of going