Looks like you caught me before I pulled it! I felt like I was preaching to the choir and thought that was inappropriate... Again, well said. The only thing I would add about Jesus quoting the Old Testament is that, as a Jew, Jesus Himself was under the law when He walked on the earth.... And I do honor the Sabbath, but more in the sense of taking advantage of a liberty I have been given, rather than a legal requirement. K
First of all, I appreciate your openmindedness. Secondly, you did get it right. But, I would suggest that rather than Jesus supporting a concept of separation of church and state that maybe he was indicating exactly the opposite; that our spiritual lives intersect and permeate everything we do, even our (supposedly) "secular" activities like paying taxes. Lastly, I think paying his taxes to Rome didn't hurt His situation: #1) It ain't over yet and #2) we already know He "wins"! :Brow:
I have posted things like that in the past (in other threads) but thought I'd try a different example this time. Its not just Halloween, many modern Christian traditions are based on pre-Judeo-Christain and/or "pagan" beliefs, though a lot of Christians don't realize this. In the 8th Century the Church moved "All Saints' Day" to November 1, and they even incorporated some of the pagan celebrations into the eve of All Saints' Day. (The Church did this, not the government, and back then there was only one "Church".) * Mike, I didn't realize you were fighting fire with fire (which was what I was doing with your post, :grin: ). No, you didn't strike a nerve. Should I believe I did? Re-read that post from top to bottom, left to right. Name calling: I've not thrown out any epithets in this thread, such as "conservative" or "liberal," nor have I done so using subtext. Yes, I used your post as an example of name calling and generalization, since it did both so efficiently. Compared to the other quotes you suggested, yours was succinct and to the point. I may disagree with the sentiment, but it was a well phrased one. I merely asked why you assumed all liberals assume conservatives are bible thumpers. I never suggested one group could do this and another could not, nor did I suggest your membership to a particular group. One needn't be conservative or liberal to make a generalization about one of those groups. (Though this seems to be a moot point since we both appear to have been doing the same thing.) Not quoting every instance of this could hardly be considered a double-standard. Perhaps I should have included one example of each side, but still, it isn't a double-standard. Double-standards: I did not suggest that someone is trying to take away my religious freedom and in the same breath suggest that freedom is to have my religious beliefs foist upon others via the government. This applies to many posts, and if yours is one, I do not know, as I did not make a point to remember the names of everyone expressing this sentiment. Contradiction: I did not criticize the media for not showing the positive side, then believe that since I've seen no reports about Muslims who are against the terrorists (positive news) that they do not exist. In other words, I did not make an assumption contrary to my own statement about the media, e.g., that the absence of news for a particular behavior means that behavior does not exit. Again, this applies to many posts, and I do not remember if you, specifically, had a post along these lines. It would appear I did. :beer
"Decorah, IA - The debris-strewn streets of this remote Midwestern hamlet remain under a tense 24-hour curfew tonight, following weekend demonstrations by rock- and figurine-throwing Lutheran farm wives that left over 200 people injured and leveled the Whippy Dip dairy freeze. The rioting appeared to be prompted, in part, by a report in Newsweek magazine claiming military guards at Spirit Lakes notorious Okoboji internment center had flushed lutefisk down prison toilets. Newsweeks late announcement of a retraction seems to have done little to quell the inflamed passions of Lutheran insurgents in the region, as outbreaks of violent mailbox bashings and cow tippings have been reported from Bowbells, North Dakota to Pekin, Illinois. Whether the violence was triggered by Newsweeks report of lutefisk desecration or frustration over chronic shortages of Beanie Babies and Old Style, one thing seems certain occupying U.S. troops face a steep road to reestablish trust in this tinderbox of ancient hatreds and delicious dairy products." Iowahawk via www.anti-strib.blogspot.com Mark
That reminds me of a couple college friends I had from Germany. They had visited another European country (forget which one) and ordered "American style" pizza. What made it American? Corn was one of the toppings.
Being from Sweden myself, I'd say that American style pizza is the "thick rust" version. The kind you'd find at pizza hut. The normal "Swedish" pizza you'd find at your local pizza place is thin crust.
Since we seem to be winding down here I should take this opportunity to say that this actually happens with some regularity at my house (that is, items getting flushed down the toilet) but usually involves (a) Hot Wheels or (b) my good neckties.... I have several small children. In all fairness I probably have a higher "flushing tolerance" than most people.
I see it exactly the other way around. American Pizza is characteristically thin crust, not thick. You can't gauge American pizza by pizza hut. They ruin the name of pizza in this country along with all the other fast food chains that make pizza. It's junk, IMHO. I would only eat it as an absolute last resort, in a drunken stupor. :beer I'm talkin about real Jersey style pizza joints. You have 'em around every corner in the northeast. Some better than others, most offering thin or thick (so-called sicilian) crust pizza. Chicago is famous for their deep dish, thick crust pizza. I'll take thin crust any day of the week. If I wanted to eat a loaf of bread I'd buy one. :error:
Greek place down the end of my street- best pizza I've ever had. Simple, no fuss, thin crust. They don't hide their pizza's taste under a pile of toppings unless you ask for it that way when you order the toppings. They just make simple pizza and it's good, there is no comparing Pizza Hut to this place. That would be like comparing one of Rembrandt's doodles, and my attempts at oil painting. Yeah, I used colors and a palette and a brush. Rembrandt's still a master. On the West Coast, wow, I was surpised how hard it was to get a decent slice in San Diego
Don't get me started on pizza, us Chicago folks are mighty proud of our pizza, and we do thin as well as thick here. :laugh: Around these parts, Dominos and Pizza Hut is generally regarded as the "pizza" one gets when you have no other options. In otherwords, it's terrible. :grin: Finally, in my 36 years of life, I have never had a pizza with corn on it for a topping. :error: :laugh:
Mike, last summer I ate pizza at a place in Buffalo Grove, one the best pies I've ever had. Can't remember the name of the place though....... Back to the topic at hand, here's some food for thought. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ed...rticles/2005/05/19/why_islam_is_disrespected/ and http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/opinion/19brooks.html Mark
We've known for years in the US that "Everyone is a victim". As long as anyone can justify their motives, all's fair. Plus, the US seems to be repsonisble for everything now. Has anyone read about the Russian Lake that dried up (actually, probably drained into a subterannean chamber) overnight? One of the locals was quoted as saying "I thought the US had finally gotten us". Seems everyone in the world believes anything they hear- unless it's a question of talking the US's word for it. Unless of course, it's in some "newspaper" and happens to cast a poor light on the US
Here's a couple great articles on the hypocracy and double standards of people in the Middles East. 1st article from Wall Street Journal Op Ed section. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006712 It requires login so here's the gist of it below. It is written by a Saudi who is now an American citizen. How come the Christians and Jews aren't rioting in the streets and killing people over this?? Why is it OK for the Muslims to desecrate the Bible, yet if the Koran is even mentioned those people go insane? Remember when Palistinian gunman barricaded themselves into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem about 3 years ago. They ransacked one of the most holy of places in the Christian faith. They tore pages out of bibles to wipe there asses with and basically looted and destroyed many artifacts. Yet, where is the outrage for that attrocity? Here's a delightful article from a Muslim protest in the UK today where the peace loving Muslims chanted "bomb bomb New York" and "Kill, kill USA, kill, kill George Bush". http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/18759971?source=PA# Finally, Tom Friedman from the New York Times said it best in todays edition. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20friedman.html registration is again required so here is the quote: I agree completely with this. Time for them to be held to the same accountability that they seem so hell bent on holding us to. :rant:
Don't know what you mean, Cody. It seems you're saying that it's the case for the US ito be shown in a bad light because we do the wrong things too much? I don't know if that's what you meant, but it's not wrong for the US government to look out for the country's best interests. That's what governments are for, and why we are a prosperous nation. I can't say I'd rather the US be a third world power who offends no-one. I don't want the US to hurt anyone, but also, I don't want anyone to just walk all over us. I mentioned several things in the post you replied to. But if you mean that we're doing some bad things, we could be. Black and White, cut and dried...very rare. But "bad" is always modified by where you sleep. Here's how I would respond to that standpoint, if that's what you meant: We have a tradition of standing up for ourselves that goes back to 1778, when the first foreign power recognised the United States as an entity. The Barbary Pirates (not a baseball team :laugh: ) wasn't allowed to do whatever they wanted to US concerns and US citizens. Haiti wasn't either, Mexico wasn't allowed to do the same, and neither were the enemies of the US in two world wars. Afterwards, we fought a war which no-one had seem before to preserve our freedoms against the threats we perceived, and ultimately won it Looking out for US assets, citizens, and concerns is perfectly OK. Other countries demand this same freedom to act in a similar fashion but always complain when we do it. Double standard Our military is always cast in a bad light, too. A more professional and competent military than the one the US maintains is hard to imagine (I work in the defence biz, roughly) On top of it, our Evil Military has the capability to do things like send aircraft carriers to sites of National Disasters. Ever seen Afghanistan or Iran or Iraq or Cuba or Mexico or Egypt or Saudi Arabia do something like that? If they had the means would they? I highly doubt it What's so great about the US sending some ships like a Carrier to help a natural disaster? Oh, nothing...except for the millions of gallons of fresh water, damage control personel, labor, medical facilities, communications, air mobility.... Does that sound like the act of an Evil or even Wrong group to you, sending releif aid of a kind that is impossible to duplicate, by any other nation on the planet, right when it's needed, and then being ready to do it again at a moment's notice even through World criticism? We do a LOT for the world without asking for reward. But nobody ever remembers the good stuff. What do they see? They see some dumb a$$ girl holding a dog's leash. Nice news doesn't sell Even in the realm of help in terms of money, we are snubbed remember a few months back, the stir about charitable donations and aid sent to foreign countries? The US didn't place highly. I beleive Sweden was "first" on the list. The list excluded private donations, of course. Sweden couldn't have competed in that arena, though. The criteria was skewed, in my opinion on purpose, to cast a bad light on the US Utter rubbish, all of it. And is the precious "truth" served? No.
Hmm, looks like I almost (and accidentally) hijacked the thread with talk of pizza, lol. My great grandmother was from Bari, Italy - so I know what real pizza is supposed to be like. Now I'm hungry.
They had visited another European country (forget which one) and ordered "American style" pizza. What made it American? Corn was one of the toppings. my first night in Nairobi my cousin and i were wandering around after checking in at the youth hostel and we saw a sign for 'Indiana Pizza'. now, being from Indiana we were naturally quite curious as to how such an establishment could come to be in a run down section (about 90% of Nairobi would be considered such in the states) of a major 3rd world city. and what better solution to your hunger problem after a long international flight? so, we tried it ... it seems that it's not unusual for foreign nationals to have problems speeling in english ... the sign was meant to read Indian pizza and was one of the most bizarre experiences i've ever had (as much because i was somewhat expecting something familiar and it wasn't). there was no cheese, none of the normal toppings (how much of this is due to muslim edicts against pork i don't know, muslims have a much higher percentage of the population along the coast of the Indian ocean due to their extensive involvement in slaving and other forms of trade than they do inland) such as pepperoni, or sausage or beef(?) and almost all of the vegetables offered were unfamiliar too me. so we wound up getting this thin, unleavened bread like crust with lamb(?) topping and a couple of vegetables. very strange. The Carnivore was a far more satisfying experience.
