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Pick any color at random; you could probably describe it in a single word, regardless of what the object is. It's red or green, yellow, purple... you get it. But let that object be skin, and, all of a sudden, we get society twisted in knots trying to give it a demographic, count it, subdivide it, classify it, discriminate it, and either love it or hate it. When are we going to figure out that absolutely none of us, not one in 7 billion, is either truly black or white, or any other "color" we've devised for skin? So, why do we try to make that distinction? It says nothing of what or who we are, and not one of us determined it in the first place. So, so what?
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800,000 years ago, about when humans made their debut bow on stage Earth, and when we obviously began the plot to destroy it, other mammals, with whom we happen to share virtually identical respiratory systems, [not to mention others] were already in full form, and had been since the dinosaurs took their final bow 65M years ago. Since that time, the Earth has seen higher concentrations of both CO2 and CH4 [methane], and both were being exhausted into the atmosphere as a natural consequence of life on earth, including farting cows [rice paddies do too, by the way]. And, more adaptable to the conditions than we were with one another; that condition exists today. Humans are an adaptable species. But, suddenly, because 99 climatologists in lockstep have convinced an entire cast and crew of flaming progs that the Earth is doomed because it appears, once again, CO2 and CH4 are rising above "historic" levels [less than 200 years that we can measure accurately], we must have lost that adaptability. What's lost is the resistance to breathe bozone, and that has far more consequences of damage than CO2 or CH4.
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According to Anthropology, Paleontology, Biology, Morphology, and anatomic and genetic data, [which accounts for tens of thousands of scientists, not just a holy 99] and due to what is known of similar anatomical and physiological known systems, the timeline of human evolution begins with the advent of mammals giving live-birth to offspring 160M years ago, placental mammals 125M years ago, and primates 100M ago. Homo sapiens 0.8M years ago.
From the point of placenta mammals forward, organ physiology and subsequent adaptability are virtually identical to us, meaning those ancestors were able to deal with widely variable climate changes without extinction.
With human intellect, our adaptability increases; it does not shrink. Political science did not teach the Green New Deal these facts,. nor, apparently, the rest of you climate change fanatics. And you're worried about a 2 degree C rise in global temperature? Really? Did we defrock St. Darwin and his adaptability psalm?
You want to be extinct, be my guest. The line forms over there on the left. Where else?
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God will not compel us to do either righteousness or wickedness, and the devil cannot do it. We each have our agency. With very little exception, our blame, or our glory for doing anything belongs to the face in the mirror, and very frequently not to any other cause and effect. Cause and effect do exist, and we are, individually, part and parcel of its existence and its drive.
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@Bones
P1 I have never smoked anything [cigarette, cigar, weed, or any other flammable substance rolled in a paper tube, set on fire at one end, and sucked from the other end. Thus, I have no past event on which to make a choice to never do so.
P2 With no past event on which to make a choice of change, I am not compelled to have control of any change.
C I therefore maintain the free will to never change, or to change. That is the nature of free will, and it need not be based on any past event.
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@thett3
Politics, to me, is society's answer to the need to make continuous improvement toward the goal as stated in the US Constitution's preamble: "In order to form a more perfect union... [to] secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity..."
That we do it badly is not an indictment on the need for it; we just do not embrace the right formula for its accomplishment.
As such, my politics are not Democrat, or Republican, not Green, nor any other color, not even by the essentially non-party labels of "conservative" or "liberal," neither of which make much sense anymore. I've decided I'm a sermonist, that is, a devotee of the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5 - 7], which most would view as a religion construct, but it occurs to me that by practice of its entire content, every problem that troubles society today [and always have, and ever will] are entirely solved by living by its principles. Those principles are a party's platform planks, pure and simple. It could be void of any religious implication, and it would still be the ideal society, effectively void of crime and social misery.
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@secularmerlin
I agree the bible is in no way evidence of any god(s).
You agree with whom? Not with me, for I have the evidence of God, and that he is not alone in that stature. It is not a name, but a title, and one that many share. And the evidence is derived from many examples of Holy Writ, not only the Bible. Seems limitations are familiars to you.
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@triangle.128k
Is that some kind of slur? At some point in the future, my friend, you, too, will be accused of being old. And you will be. The point is, have you left a mark that will be remembered, just as I am aware of my family ties going back in excess of a thousand years? That mark is not monetary wealth, by the way, that's merely a by-product of a very enjoyable, satisfying and memorable life. Throw all your slurs you can; that may be your mark, and it leaves in it's wake a misery you cannot now imagine, but more to the point, a rut in the future
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@secularmerlin
Just as in the Bible, I find truth and error mixed in all of them, exactly as anticipated. It only makes sense, all being the works of men. There is no evidence that God, by whatever name be known, wrote a bloody thing.
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@secularmerlin
Because we mostly create our own limitations, and then blame society. Human nature. However, that nature can be overcome by the free will to do so. But, since you do not accept free will, that is your own self-imposed limitation.
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@n8nrgmi
Such is why morality and law walk differing paths. The law requires that all disclosures be made public. They are. That people choose to ignore the fine print is entirely at their discretion, morality not withstanding. Where is their moral obligation to understand their legal position? Is it excused. due to their intent to remain ignorant? Ignorance of the law is not an excuse that stands in court, and certainly there is a certain basic morality to that. It's called personal responsibility.
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@secularmerlin
Thank you for assuming you know what I believe. You don't and cannot claim otherwise. Keep your accusations to yourself; they're yours, along with limitations.
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@n8nrgmi
What? Does my moral compass insist I offer my services as translator to the ignorant who will not read the fine print? How, exactly, do I instruct a mind that refuses to read? I'd appreciate a dissertation on my moral obligation in that absurdity.
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@secularmerlin
we agree are fictional
Which religious texts do we agree are fictional? I've never mentioned any.
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@Theweakeredge
AND you cannot accurately describe the actual meaning of the text,
I disagree with this statement as being merely an assumption. In my list in #2, did I ever mention the lack of ability to understand biblical text? No, I did not, simply because I know it can be understood in its correct meaning. Don't ask how as I already know you do not want to understand how it is done. And I have already described it, though not in this string. Until your are ready to know, and you will know when that is, the question is premature.
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@secularmerlin
David Hume does not move in my circle. Sorry.
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@triangle.128k
Stfu.
I wasn't playing my music for you, little pocket mouse, so I don't wonder you don't care for it. I don't happen to have a 40k, anyway. Small time investment.
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@zedvictor4
But as you previously stated, your recent financial failures and successes were dependant upon how your society was governed.
I agree, to a point. As I've also stated, with the monetary advantage I've developed, that if that society completely collapses, I can live entirely off the grid, without another living soul outside my immediately family. I like having the advantages of a collaborative society, but I do not depend upon it. I am prepared to exist in a pre-industrial age environment, and perhaps earlier than that. In a situation like that, if I need heart surgery, or I die, I will die. I'm prepared to face that, as well. I have lived my entire life from childhood with the assurance that death is not oblivion, but merely a door. So I walk through it sooner than expected, I am prepared. What more can I do?
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@ILikePie5
Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way, but yeah; I know where my next mean is coming from, and where I'll rest my head.
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@Bones
When you are dealing with texts that are nowhere and nowhen close to original manuscripts...
When no original manuscripts exist to draw any translation from...
When you are dealing with a variety of original authors [though no direct examples of same], and some books clearly of differing styles, meaning different authors even in the same books...
When you have a series of ecumenical attempts to standardize a canon, and still end up with variable canons...
When you should know that dictionary-to-dictionary translation is fraught with potential corruption, even innocently, because culture drives language, and dictionaries do a piss-poor job of teaching culture, particularly when trying to define another language's culture...
When you have no assurance of scholarship of the translators in multiple languages...
When you are dealing with the potential of intentional corruption in agenda-driven translation...
When you are dealing with generational repeat of translations, even to the current era...
You expect crystal accuracy and a total lack of contradiction? Nice wish balloon. Keep blowing; it needs more hot air.
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iPhone, for complete compatibility with my iPad and iMac. Besides, having had stock since 1982...
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Membership: what's my runaway count again? I must be running a lot. Glad I'm in shape.
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why do you make it so easy
Does this really want a response?
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Personal attack; the last desperate act of defiance when argument fails.
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@secularmerlin
Logical necessity? What logic? So far, it has been missing in action. Another syllogism coming? I do have an umbrella.
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This must be number 50-something. keep counting. You need more pocket mice toes... not to mention more hot air for the wish balloon.
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@BrotherDThomas
'Wee' who? You and the pocket mouse?
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@BrotherDThomas
you are a disgrace to Jesus and this forum.
according to you and your pocket mouse. Not exactly the crowd I worry about.
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@n8nrgmi
That's about it. I also believe in caveat lector. Buying is one thing, but reading ought to precede a nickel spent in ignorance.
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@Double_R
Of course free will and choice are not the same thing. Free will is like a menu that is even sometimes posted on a restaurant window, even while the restaurant is closed. Choice is making a selection when the kitchen is still open. The hunger is sated by the eating. The choice includes the responsibility of accepting consequence; paying for the meal. The end game is the nutrition value gained from the meal. None of those items in the sequence are the same thing, and they all function for different purposes, but there are objectives to be planned and executed all the same. What is the range of choices. In Singapore, a 9 x 12 mile island, there are sufficient international restaurants that I once spent a ten-week sojourn in Singapore, and never ate at the same restaurant twice.
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@n8nrgmi
moral standards do not replace caveat emptor. Fine print is not an invitation to ignore what is printed. Fools will ignore. The morality, if any, is on them. One cannot make the legal claim they were not warned. Some standards don't need flashing lights and blaring horns. Fools may need them, but...
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@secularmerlin
Given that we do not have freewill
Says who? You and your sock puppet?
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@Double_R
Choice and free will are not the same thing.
Why have free will if you're going to just sit on the fence, anyway? There are three kinds of people:
1. Make things happen
2. Watch what happens
3. Wonder what happened.
The first kind have free will, and choose to make things happen.
The second & third sit on the fence, willingly abdicating both free will and choice, and accomplish nothing. The second kind may actually benefit from wha the first kind do, but do not contribute to making. The third kind are a lost cause altogether.
You clearly support 2 & 3. Congratulations.
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@Theweakeredge
correlation does not imply causation
Oh, back to that. Well, I can point to specific policy changes Trump applied immediately upon taking office to relax Obama-era restricting regulations that strangled the ability of private industry to flourish, depending entirely on Q.E. by government infusion of cash into the market to stimulate it. This never works, and did not for Oba'a. His policy strangled the market, disallowing its own generated growth. Trump released the hounds of private industry to stimulate themselves, and they did. It's how we gained energy independence, which Biden is strangling again. Why should we not be energy independent? Green New Deal? That is neither green, nor new, nor a deal. It's a money and power grab.
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@BrotherDThomas
Shhhh, FAUXLAW doesn't know he stepped in the proverbial poo again
Thanks for identifying your shill. Glad you know it for what it is.
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@zedvictor4
I am not a society. I am an individual. I make my comparisons on the basis of my individuality. I cannot speak for society. They will do what they will do. I make my own choices and act on them. Tell me that's a crime.
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@secularmerlin
Do you know what it makes when one insists he has no choices?
A prisoner.
Enjoy your self-imposed limitations; they're yours.
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@Theweakeredge
However, to offer a more personal view to your criticism of Trump:
I look at Presidents relative to how their policies affect me, personally. Is there a better personal measure? President Obama, after eight years, left me barely above [about 1%, considering my virtual lack of growth above my baseline] where my wealth stood after his inauguration. By contrast, my wealth, by the end of Trump's four years, grew by a factor of 53% increase. Everybody points to Obama's effect of a 10,000 point increase, but that 10,000 was tempered by a 6,000 point loss. He should have gained a full 16,000 points, but did not. To me, Trump was a wildly successful President.
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@Theweakeredge
Words mean things. They ought to be used with careful precision. Seriously. You want to be a philosopher; you'd best be explicit. Ideas are difficult enough to quantity in language and expect not just understanding, but agreement.
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@Greyparrot
race isn't genetic
This is not a fair representation of your referenced article's conclusion. Rather, it says:
geneticists haven’t devised a test that can conclusively determine a person’s race.
That demonstrates a lack of ability, and not that race is not genetic at all. The problem is, the gene pool of the world's population is so blended, "race" as a means of identification ought to be completely shelved. I see no purpose in our U.S. decennial census inisistance on race as a quantifiable demographic. I say, "Race? So what? I am a nose. Count it."
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@Theweakeredge
President Trump's famous laws
President Trump did not make law, and no President does or can. That's the role of Congress, alone. EO's are policy, which can be changed by any succeeding President.
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@oromagi
Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out.
When people are encouraged to donate money, at least this people, a thorough read of the fine print is a must minimum of precaution. The disclaimer having been given, even in fine print, meets the letter of the law in terms of description of how some account agreements are set up. CAVEAT EMPTOR is not just a casual suggestion. If I'm doing anymore than buying Girl Scout Cookies, I read the fine print of what I am agreeing to do with my money. And I do not and have not ever contribute to political campaigns. Do I look like I'm wearing a clown suit? That's a frog, not a clown's red nose.
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It isn't easy to be a TRUE Christian like myself in the 21st Century of understandings. :(
Too bad that 21st century "understanding" is merely dictionary-to-dictionary translation of biblical text, when dictionaries do a frankly piss-poor job of teaching culture unless one believes one can have access to something Stephen and Thomas, along with much of Christendom, have already dismissed as irrelevant: modern revelation.
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@janesix
none of these are in the chakra system
Sorry, obviously, my knowledge of chakra is limited, but at least that can be rectified. So, let's compare the ratio of sun/earth to sun saturn, the which is 9.9:1, which is still not approx 4:1, the chakra ratio of crown : heart.
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@secularmerlin
You do not choose what you do and do not enjoy no matter how hard you try.
I refer you to my post #51. We simply choose to disagree. Sorry, I prefer my choice.
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@Polytheist-Witch
If you don't understand that actions cause things
My post #23 does not say exactly that; that actions cause things? Such as eating from trees whose fruit has consequence? And, just as Neo learned in Matrix that bending spoons with one's mind is no great shake, but to realize there is no spoon is the earth-shaker of consequence, so was Eve's realization that death, the consequence of her action of eating a particular fruit, and her convincing of Adam, that ultimately, death is the last enemy, and of such there will be nothing. It all started with a choice, and the choices just increase by generation.
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@Polytheist-Witch
cause and effect applies in situations where there's cause and effect.
does that mean effect can cause cause?
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@janesix
This would place the Earth/moon system at the level of the heart chakra.
By full-scale ratio of sun to earth and sun to pluto, with relation to the chakras, [the sun being the crown chakra] our position is well within the first chakra. We're dealing with a ration of position of nearly 400:1 The heart chakra is just shy of half the distance to the 7th chakra. Come on, either the math prevails or it does not.
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