I believe we've seen some of these LTE's before.
Wash my hands
Pilate's sin has been committed again and again. Politicians have hypocritically washed their hands before crowds to win votes and elections. Elected officials have lost the public's trust with this practice to sway elections toward their personal religious/political views.
Isn't it enough that the present Republican majority has voted to starve the poor, keep the children uneducated, and let those with disabilities, young and old, rot untreated in their homes, all in the name of budget cuts?
Now they want to further their discrimination of N.C. citizens by piously saying, "Let the voters decide."
MARY ANNECELLI
Winston-Salem
Tale of two recoveries
How can we best deal with current high unemployment and anemic economic growth? Consider two severe recessions and recoveries: the early 1980s, and the current one.
In the first, Ronald Reagan led Congress to enact a large tax cut, deregulation and spending controls — "supply side economics." That included lowering restraints on business expansion and investment, lowering marginal tax rates, reducing regulations and tightening monetary policy. By September 1983, the Gross Domestic Product had jumped to 5 percent, heading toward 7 percent, soon 8 percent. A possible worry became that the economy could "overheat."
President Obama, by contrast, initiated a $1 trillion spending stimulus, along with mushrooming government and resulting government controls. Today our economy is limping at barely 1 percent GDP growth. There is concern about a "double dip" recession. The national debt has soared.
What should we do now? Continue down the path that brought us here, or consider alternatives (supply side economics)? Realistically, to continue the same path that we've been following while expecting a better outcome would be naïve, at best.
I believe we should choose the path that worked well before. We should identify, recruit and elect leaders with that mindset. We should do that in time for the next national election.
JAMES LASSING
Winston-Salem
Where do we stop?
Can someone explain how same-sex marriage threatens heterosexual relationships, married or not? As a heterosexual man, I have been married to the same woman for 37 years. We have gay and lesbian friends, including committed couples, and our marriage continues to be a strong and satisfying relationship. If our gay friends were to get legally married today, it would not affect our relationship at all.
I understand, according to many fundamentalist doctrines, that homosexuality is an abomination. I get that. And I support the absolute right to preach that doctrine in one's place of worship and to make one's beliefs known in the community at large.
But here's the thing: Where do we stop? Hindu doctrine says eating beef is abomination. Need we all become vegetarian? Buddhists believe all killing is abomination. Do we all stop mashing mosquitoes? For Islam the consumption of alcohol is forbidden. Must we all be teetotalers?
Catholics are proscribed birth-control pills. Shall we all rely on the rhythm method? Or, in the interest of fairness, do we take a poll of all the forbidden things in all belief systems and enact the top 10 taboos nationwide?
The thing all fundamentalists need to remember is that they share this great country, founded on the idea of tolerance for those who believe differently, with people who do believe differently. We are supposed to be free from religious persecution (or prosecution).
MICHAEL MITCHELL
Winston-Salem
On the side of love
Whom I marry is none of the government's business, and none of my neighbor's business. If I am condemned to eternal hell for my love, then at least let me love this life in full. Those who fear gay marriage cannot say how my freedom to marry harms them in any legal sense.
Hundreds of years of history show us a rising tide of liberty and love. In the time of Romeo and Juliet, love shared across clan and class lines was forbidden. Romeo and Juliet is an old-school tragedy because bigotry prevailed.
Marriages across religious lines were once forbidden, but the tide swept that bigotry away. Government no longer denies love just because it is shared across faiths.
Marriages across racial lines were once forbidden, but the tide swept away that bigotry, too. Government no longer denies love because it is shared across a racial divide.
Marriages that don't cross gender lines were once forbidden. The majority of Americans think these restraints on freedom should be swept away, too. Knowing that liberty means one can do anything that does not harm anyone else, courts and legislatures are catching the wave of history and recognizing the right to marry.
History stands on side of love. America stands of the side of love. Come stand with us, Rep. Dale Folwell, and let North Carolina stand on the side of love.
STEVE SCROGGIN
Winston-Salem
Online purchases
I wish North Carolina politicians would quit crying over the spilled milk of tax revenues lost from unreported online purchases. Collection of this tax is almost impossible to enforce short of a police state, which I think no one wants.
The solution is to abandon sales taxes altogether and get the revenues from the income tax, which is more easily enforced by the federal tax code. This would have three benefits:
DAVID TURCK
Clemmons
It appears that Rep. Dale Folwell is galvanizing his voter base by letting the voters further express their discriminatory views of same-sex marriage via a constitutional amendment.
A North Carolina law already prohibits same-sex marriage; therefore, sadly, his Journal guest column "The people's decision" (Aug. 30) reveals he is but another politician gathering angry crowds for the 2012 elections.
Matthew 27:24 reads, "When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, that uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility.' " The phrase "wash my hands" has become a common expression in our culture for someone not wanting to be held accountable.
Isn't it enough that the present Republican majority has voted to starve the poor, keep the children uneducated, and let those with disabilities, young and old, rot untreated in their homes, all in the name of budget cuts?
Now they want to further their discrimination of N.C. citizens by piously saying, "Let the voters decide."
MARY ANNECELLI
Winston-Salem
Tale of two recoveries
How can we best deal with current high unemployment and anemic economic growth? Consider two severe recessions and recoveries: the early 1980s, and the current one.
In the first, Ronald Reagan led Congress to enact a large tax cut, deregulation and spending controls — "supply side economics." That included lowering restraints on business expansion and investment, lowering marginal tax rates, reducing regulations and tightening monetary policy. By September 1983, the Gross Domestic Product had jumped to 5 percent, heading toward 7 percent, soon 8 percent. A possible worry became that the economy could "overheat."
President Obama, by contrast, initiated a $1 trillion spending stimulus, along with mushrooming government and resulting government controls. Today our economy is limping at barely 1 percent GDP growth. There is concern about a "double dip" recession. The national debt has soared.
What should we do now? Continue down the path that brought us here, or consider alternatives (supply side economics)? Realistically, to continue the same path that we've been following while expecting a better outcome would be naïve, at best.
I believe we should choose the path that worked well before. We should identify, recruit and elect leaders with that mindset. We should do that in time for the next national election.
JAMES LASSING
Winston-Salem
Where do we stop?
Can someone explain how same-sex marriage threatens heterosexual relationships, married or not? As a heterosexual man, I have been married to the same woman for 37 years. We have gay and lesbian friends, including committed couples, and our marriage continues to be a strong and satisfying relationship. If our gay friends were to get legally married today, it would not affect our relationship at all.
I understand, according to many fundamentalist doctrines, that homosexuality is an abomination. I get that. And I support the absolute right to preach that doctrine in one's place of worship and to make one's beliefs known in the community at large.
But here's the thing: Where do we stop? Hindu doctrine says eating beef is abomination. Need we all become vegetarian? Buddhists believe all killing is abomination. Do we all stop mashing mosquitoes? For Islam the consumption of alcohol is forbidden. Must we all be teetotalers?
Catholics are proscribed birth-control pills. Shall we all rely on the rhythm method? Or, in the interest of fairness, do we take a poll of all the forbidden things in all belief systems and enact the top 10 taboos nationwide?
The thing all fundamentalists need to remember is that they share this great country, founded on the idea of tolerance for those who believe differently, with people who do believe differently. We are supposed to be free from religious persecution (or prosecution).
MICHAEL MITCHELL
Winston-Salem
On the side of love
Whom I marry is none of the government's business, and none of my neighbor's business. If I am condemned to eternal hell for my love, then at least let me love this life in full. Those who fear gay marriage cannot say how my freedom to marry harms them in any legal sense.
Hundreds of years of history show us a rising tide of liberty and love. In the time of Romeo and Juliet, love shared across clan and class lines was forbidden. Romeo and Juliet is an old-school tragedy because bigotry prevailed.
Marriages across religious lines were once forbidden, but the tide swept that bigotry away. Government no longer denies love just because it is shared across faiths.
Marriages across racial lines were once forbidden, but the tide swept away that bigotry, too. Government no longer denies love because it is shared across a racial divide.
Marriages that don't cross gender lines were once forbidden. The majority of Americans think these restraints on freedom should be swept away, too. Knowing that liberty means one can do anything that does not harm anyone else, courts and legislatures are catching the wave of history and recognizing the right to marry.
History stands on side of love. America stands of the side of love. Come stand with us, Rep. Dale Folwell, and let North Carolina stand on the side of love.
STEVE SCROGGIN
Winston-Salem
Online purchases
I wish North Carolina politicians would quit crying over the spilled milk of tax revenues lost from unreported online purchases. Collection of this tax is almost impossible to enforce short of a police state, which I think no one wants.
The solution is to abandon sales taxes altogether and get the revenues from the income tax, which is more easily enforced by the federal tax code. This would have three benefits:
- Local merchants would no longer be tax collectors and could devote more time to their own businesses.
- Local retailers, instead of losing business to out-of-state online purchases, would see out-of-state buyers come to North Carolina to make their purchases, increasing business for NC.
- North Carolina residents would have a more fair and enforceable tax code.
DAVID TURCK
Clemmons
Lte1...the Bible is being used for and against the issue of same sex marriage. It is truly an interesting and useful book. It's been around a while and may be around a while longer....as long as it is useful I guess.
ReplyDeleteLte2...unless policy makers, businesses and us common folk understand what kind of recession this really is, what caused it and what is keeping it going, this is the new normal for a long time to come. The way out of former recessions is not so much the way out of this one.
Lte3 and 4...see Lte1
Lte5....if state revenue is to be based on just the income tax, then our state budget will be cut back dramatically.
LTE #3 - Got to love Mr. Mitchell's ideas.
ReplyDeleteAfter making vegetarianism the law of the land, no exceptions, I would suggest that we throw out the Constitution and enact the Ten Commandments in its place. It would make life SO much simpler:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Good-bye to TV shows like Entertainment Tonight.)
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Forget being the city of the arts)
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. (ROTFLMGDAO)
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work. (OK, back to the six day work week, but he doesn’t mention golf, so Sundays are for the links.)
5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (This one is gonna cause a lot of whining and moaning. Close all the old folks homes and take care of your parents until they die. Will this increase the murder rate?)
6. Thou shalt not kill. (Note that there are no exceptions listed here.)
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Well, the OT says that adulterers should be stoned, so I will be starting a company to provide stones for stoning. Think of me as the next Bill Gates.)
8. Thou shalt not steal. (This should cause problems for college football and basketball teams…they’ll run out of players.)
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (The OT penalty for this is death, one way or another, so I will also be starting undertaking and cemetery businesses, thus leaving Bill Gates in the dust. The average life expectancy in the US will shrink to well under 17.)
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (The OT never specifies a penalty for this, but in Joshua, Achan - along with his sons, daughters, oxen, asses, sheep, and tent - were stoned and burned because he had "coveted" a garment, some gold and silver, and hid them. Note that they stoned his TENT…extra points for thoroughness. I think that we should have a “free pass” on one commandment, and this should be the one. Otherwise the average life expectancy would soon be under 6.)
I must add that #8 above will make baseball a duller game. Will we have to expunge the names of Ricky Henderson, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton, Ty Cobb and others from the record books?
ReplyDeleteTwo of the most exciting moments in baseball history occurred in the 1955 World Series...one when Jackie Robinson stole home and was called safe but was really out, and one when Billy Martin stole home and was called out but was really safe. Of course, Mr. Martin, keeping in character, expressed some disagreement with the call and was awarded an early shower by the umpire.
"One mystery to be solved is just why newspaper comments sections are the worst places on the internet, if not the world."
ReplyDelete-- Eschaton
That was certainly my experience with the Journal comments section before they went to Facebook...it was a sewer of racism and trollery.
I was called puerile and childish by JH, who also accused me of living with my parents, an "uneducated little rat" by the usually incomprehensible sadlytrue (which is a laugh...I am many things, but uneducated is not one of them), gay several times (FWIW, I'm not, but I don't care about being called gay), and of course, was called "asshole" many times by several different posters.
I must say, it was nice to see someone sum up the comments section so well.
Good AM, WW, OT, and Arthur!
ReplyDeleteArthur, I would not describe you as a rat, regardless of size, either.
Actually, the "Journal's" site was fairly tame compared to some other news sites. And I note that the decorum in the current Readers' Forum is eroding somewhat. Firemage aka stonewall is having little problem with self-expression.
A big, fat, sweaty black woman cut a fit yesterday in New York, and she lost the U.S. Open.
ReplyDelete“Don’t even look at me. I promise you, don’t look at me … Don’t look my way,” “What a loser,” “You’re a hater,” “A code violation because I expressed who I am? Really?” But the kicker – which could potentially be seen as a threat was: “If you ever see me walking down the hall … walk the other way.”
'Hater', African Americans' code word for a racist, who doesn't like black people.
Yes, Serena Williams thinks she's a victim of racism even though she's made millions in the white corporate world.
But what the heck, if you are black, you can always be a victim, right Serena?
Arthur:
ReplyDelete. . . it STILL is a "sewer of racism and trollery". Some just can't help themselves. For a while I thought that it helped those whose true identity was shrouded in a moniker, but it is indeed not the case. And at least one of those posters really didn't CARE what moniker was used (actually, several) and has shown up here as well.
--La Sombra
"That was certainly my experience with the Journal comments section before they went to Facebook...it was a sewer of racism and trollery." -----Arthur
ReplyDeleteMaybe, you should stay off of internet websites if you can't handle the rhetoric.
Isn't it funny how liberals can condemn others for calling names, and in their very own condemnations, call other people names at the same time? Pathetic.......
Good morning LaSombra and Bucky.
ReplyDeleteBucky, Williams' words reflect upon her just as yours do upon you.
While off-topic posts are fine here, I'm not sure how Williams' juvenile petulance is worth noting, but it now is.
Bucky, I don't think I ever saw Arthur describe anyone in terms as severe as the ones he described, or even close.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I called sadly a nutjob after he made the rat comment. And since NohoHouse always called me some variation of asshole, I tried to think of ways to insult him back, "Ho Bag" being the most frequent.
ReplyDeleteI tried to leave people alone unless they insulted me. But eventually you get kind of sick of it...it isn't fun anymore.
Arthur:
ReplyDeleteMethinks NoHoHouse IS Buckman (et al).
---LaSombra
Sombra, I wouldn't be surprised.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1,3,4: 3 more who take issue with Rep. Folwell's column. There was an op. ed. article that brought up a very good point that Rep. Folwell's assertion that the gay marriage issue "is too important for legislatures and must be decided by the people" is a cop-out by the politicians which goes against what the FF's had intended. If these politicians consider themselves inadequate to pass laws of any magnitude, then why are they in office? If these bills are too important for the current officeholders to decide, sounds to me like we need new officeholders.
LTE 2: Ahh..the ol' if-it-worked-for-this-scenario-then-it-will-work-for-all-scenarios. The early 1980's recession was a fed induced killing of the economy designed to rid the nation of the inflation that had hampered the US throughout the 1970's. The tax decreases and lessening of the regulations complimented the attack on inflation by increasing the supply of available goods/services in order to meet the demand. Once inflation subsided, the fed reduced interest rates sharply from the 20% range to restart the economy. The latest recession was caused by the near collapse of the financial market due to the markdown of toxic loans. With debt now considered a dirty word, people are concentrating on paying it down instead of spending. Thus, today's scenario is the opposite of the early 1980's: too little demand for goods/services vs. too much demand. There has actually been too much supply, which is why so many workers were laid off: they weren't needed for the level of demand. Today's situation calls for demand side economics.
LTE 5: I've always thought of on-line purchasing as the same as catalogue purchasing. It seems to me the sales tax rule for on-line purchases should mimic catalogue sales which is the case if I'm not mistaken. I can well understand on-line companies not wanting to deal with 50 different sales tax payments. I have doubts about the viability of Mr. Turck's suggestion, because it will require a significant increase in the state income tax rate to make up for the loss of sales tax revenues. My guess is that we will eventually see some form of state sales tax on all on-line purchases.
Anyone who has read the comments accompanying articles about Latinos or illegal immigrants will see that decorum has not improved.
ReplyDeleteNoHo's writing syle was totally different from Bucky's and wasn't obsessive over certain male's anatomical parts. NoHo's shtick was mocking posters' sign-ons. It's possible they are the same, but I would sincerely hope that a person would have more to do in life instead of spending all day posting on a web site under multiple aliases. I do find it quite amusing that Bucky thinks OT is former poster Kit, when he clearly is not.
Just for the record, I've never said I was the model of decorum. I'm just giving back what the liberal Democrats give out in their rhetoric on various political issues.
ReplyDeleteI still find it pathetic that Arthur has the audacity to condemn name calling, while calling people 'trolls' and 'racists'.
What a joke!
And what's up with this 'TB' code. Is that short for 'Tea Bagger'? What a grossly offensive term, but liberal Democrats don't care, so why should the other side care about their rhetoric?
ReplyDeleteBucky, it stands for True Believer, aka fanatic.
ReplyDeletehello
ReplyDeletei disbelieve that nohohouse and bucky are the same guys
noho was more playful in his trolling
Oh no....Stab...I know better than that. I've seen 'TB' in context, and it doesn't just stand for 'true believer'.
ReplyDeleteIf the left side of this website gets to call people 'trolls', then I think I should be able to call liberal Democrats in here 'idiots' without a bunch of whining.
What did 'noho' do? Skip along while he posting on the site? Jeez...
ReplyDeleteWe're now hearing that 'Weiner's' congressional district may be won by a Republican after 90 years.
ReplyDeleteIt ain't looking too good for Obama in 2012.
Bucky, not that matters, but the only usage of TB I have seen is in reference to True Believers. The people making reference to tea baggers spelled the words. "TB" is generally used just by dotnet and me. I don't use the tea bag term, and I've never seen dotnet use it.
ReplyDeleteWeiner's former district is heavily Orthodox Jewish, and R candidate Turner is focusing on those folks' concern about terrorism and Israel's security. He is also encouraging a vote for him in this largely Dem district as a way of sendng a message to President Obama. That theme appears to be resonating with the voters, to some extent.
OTOH, the NYC teachers' unions say there are 11K of their members in the district, and the teachers will be encouraged to vote for the Dem. There is a strong Dem organization in NYC, and a tendency to look the other way re questionable voting practices, so Turner's election is not a shoo-in. We can hope, especially since he is probably a moderate R.
I even had to ask was TB meant, so that should settle it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnlPX2_b4GA&feature=player_embedded
I thought TB stood for "terrible bother".
ReplyDeleteIf one were fabulous, TB would be Tammy Bakkar.
ReplyDelete"a little bit of soap, will wash away her lipstick..."
ReplyDeleteHey Bob, did you hear about the guy that was found dead in an empty hot tub with a dog collar around his neck? That must have been a wild night out?
ReplyDeleteThey say drugs were involved. Do you think?
Obama wants to 'pay' for his second 'stimulus', although we can't call it that because Pelosi doesn't like that word:
ReplyDeleteHe wants to give a 'temporary' tax cuts for 1 1/2 years to businesses. But, surprise surprise...they all come back, with increases, right after the presidential election in 2013.
Also, taxes would go up for people making over $200,000.00. If you've ever lived in NYC, if you make $200k, you don't a pot to pee in.
No, Obama just can't seem to give up gimmicks and taxes. It's just not in him.
Is it 2012, yet?
"Stimulus" is indeed forbidden. "Arousable encore" is probably better now.
ReplyDeleteWell, TB used to stand for tuberculosis, but it certainly also stands for "true believer", so in a way it also stands for "tea bagger", since Tea Party folks are well described in the book "True Believers".
ReplyDelete“True Believers” was published in 1951 by Eric Hoffer. It is required reading in the quest to understand mass movements.
Hoffer argued that fanaticism and self-righteousness are rooted in self-hatred, self-doubt, and insecurity. A passionate obsession with the outside world or with the private lives of other people is merely a craven attempt to compensate for a lack of meaning in one's own life.
A core principle is that mass movements are interchangeable; Hoffer notes fanatical Nazis later becoming fanatical Communists, fanatical Communists later becoming fanatical anti-Communists, and Saul, persecutor of Christians, becoming Paul, a fanatical Christian.
For the "true believer", as defined by Hoffer, the substance of the mass movement isn't so important as that they are part of that movement. He furthermore suggested that it is possible to head off the rise of an undesirable mass movement by substituting a benign mass movement, which will give those prone to joining movements an outlet for their insecurities.
Hoffer did not have a formal higher education, but was self taught through voracious reading. When he was turned down by the military in 1942 for having a hernia, he spent the war working as a longshoreman in San Francisco.
OT, excellent commentary on the 10 Commandments, frequently regarded as the 10 Suggestions.
ReplyDeleteAnd OT, again: IIRC, Hoffer wrote a syndicated column and appeared in either the "Journal" or the "Sentinel" back in the days of my youth.
ReplyDeleteA mass movent of today, like the TEA Party, is also a movement that is a product of a re awakening among the populace. It is on par with the 1960s mass movements. Basically bringing that era to a full close with some of the same people a lot older. The degree of villainy assigned to the movement is determined by whom and what is threatened. Official Washington, Labor and the CBC are obvious so far. The TP will continue to grow because it is non violent and its detractors look bad on film always.
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Party is the best thing to come along in American politics in a long time. We've had enough of irresponsible governmental spending on both sides.
ReplyDeleteNot for the Democrats though, if you were peeing in your last pot, they'd try to come and take it from you.
They would at least permit one last shake....?
ReplyDeleteProbably not..the SOBs(to use a term a famous Democrat used).
ReplyDeletewhitewall....AROUSABLE ENCORE? What the heck.....I'm starting to like you better everyday.
ReplyDelete"Polite was both humane and wise in not aiming at the intruders."---Stab on intruders in a southside break-in.
ReplyDeletePolite was lucky the intruders didnt' grab his gun and put one up his buttocks. Never pull a gun on someone unless you are prepared to use it. --Bucky
I wonder where in the world people get some of this stuff? Too much TV I would surmise.
The Civil Rights and Anti-War movements of the 1960s in no way fit Hoffer's definition of a mass movement because both had a sharp focus on goals and both achieved most of their goals.
ReplyDeleteThere have been only three true mass movements fitting Hoffer's defintion in US history. A fourth may be in progress at the moment, but the Tea Party is, at best, a tiny offshoot of it. Both the greater movement and the Tea Party wing of it are reminiscent of the much smaller Luddite movement of the early 19th century in that they involve an appeal to ignorance and anti-science in hopes of returning to a "good old days" that never existed.
All four, from the mid 18th century "Great Awakening", to another from about 1800-1830, to another from about 1890-1910, and the current one, were emotion based religious movements and none achieved much of anything, except, perhaps, for the 1890-1910 one which may have led to Prohibition, one of our greatest disasters.
During that movement Billy Sunday, one of the beneficiaries of the movement, preached to large crowds on several occasions. At one point, he spent a week here, preaching in Brown's Tobacco Warehouse, and his sermons were printed in full in the local newspapers, but the actual effect on the city was near zero, because people were focused on making the city the largest in population in the state, which they achieved.
It's fair game to bash Christians, but you can't tell the truth about the aberrant and criminal behavior of gay and lesbians?
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense to hypocritical liberal Democrats. It just keep going and going, like the Energizer Bunny Rabbit.
To correct OT concerning his post with the 10 Commandments. He has written #6(Thou shalt not kill) wrongly. The original text in Hebrew says, Thou shalt not murder. There is a difference between murder and killing. The protection of ones self as well as the protection of others is allowed...that is why the correct interpertation is "Thou shalt not murder" not thou shalt not kill.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous...I always get a kick out non-Christians and atheists telling other people what the Bible says and means by the written scripture.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, liberal Democrats know everything. Just ask them. Hee Hee.....you gotta love it.
Bucky, "Thou shalt not commit murder" is frequently cited as the more accurate Commandment by all sorts of people, including centrists like me.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Polite, you will note he picked up his firearm and did indeed use it. Assuming it was a handgun, it can be reasonably assumed that he had rounds remaining in the event the troublemakers had made a grab for the gun. However, I consider that an unlikely scenario, as folks don't normally reach out to an actively working firearm.
In my coming and going, I thrice found that simply displaying a firearm was sufficient to ward off peril. Interestingly, in one instance, my would-be aggressors and I ended up drinking beer together over the hood of my car on a Spartanburg street, until a cop told us to take our beer bust elsewhere. Who says youth is wasted on the young?
Consider me "corrected". It is always entertaining to watch the christians twist and turn to try to justify whatever nonsense they are up to at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI am well aware of the "controversy" over the so-called 6th commandment. In the early 17th century, the best scholars in the western world wrestled with the appropriate translation and decided to render it "kill", not "murder". When you correct me, you correct people who knew way more than you ever will about the language of the bible and the subtleties of the English language. I have not seen any convincing argument to change that.
Of course, the OT is one of the bloodiest books in history. "God" is always commanding the "Chosen People" to wipe out whoever he is pissed off at, often to the point of genocide. Note that Achan's innocent children, livestock and even his TENT, for christsake, were both stoned and burned. No sane person can go along with that, but because most "christians" are totally ignorant of that passage, it gets a pass.
And then there are the endless lists of who should be stoned for what reason. A bit schizophrenic, perhaps. If your children sass you, you should stone them. My wife and I tried that, but they just rallied their pals and stoned back. We were lucky to survive and decided to try more civilized methods in the future. Our children, BTW, turned out very well indeed, and would never fall for the BS that some apparently do.
And, laughably, in the end, all this fuss over a piece of fiction written for political purposes in 8-7 BCE. As someone, almost certainly NOT P.T. Barnum, once said "There's a sucker born every minute."
OK, Bucky, I'll give you one: that was a funny line about the Dems and the pot.
ReplyDeleteWW, only two shakes. Anything more constitutes pleasure, and a privilege tax applies. Do not ask for an extension.
Stab...that's why I tend to be anti-tax.
ReplyDeleteOops, just saw OT's response to "Thou shall not commit murder." I'm back on the hook for the skeeters I've slapped. Then there was that strawberry blonde I mentioned in the Leopard's Limb, for whom I lusted in my heart. I'll have some 'splainin' to do.
ReplyDeleteWW, yes that privilege tax comes at a stiff price.
ReplyDeleteStab, love your Spartanburg story! How many times has that happened, once the basics of hubris get settled out? Got involved once in a bloody punch-up at the beach between my mates and our sworn enemies. Since we all ended up in the same jail, we came out of jail fast friends and comrades.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend in teen years who did not need a firearm. He carried two hawksbill knives in the back pockets of his pants. The blades were propped slightly open by broken matchsticks, so that he could reach back and whip them out, catching them on the corners of his pockets so that they popped open like switchblades.
Once word got around that this was his thing, nobody ever messed with him, until he tried that trick on someone out in Montana or Wyoming or something like that, who pulled a gun and shot him dead.
As always, violence begets violence.
O.T...moral of the story, never bring a knife to a gun fight?
ReplyDeleteYep, live by the sword, die by the sword.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't show up at a gunfight armed with just a pair of hawks.
WW, in a gunfight you would obviously be faster on the draw :)
ReplyDelete"Here lies a man named Zeke.
ReplyDeleteSecond fastest draw in Cripple Creek."
Cripple Creek, Colorado epitaph
When it comes to drawing...and we're not talking art here...second best just isn't quite enough.
ReplyDeleteThere were gunfighters who were not the fastest, but because their opponents drew first but shot wildly, always won.
As our beloved Marine sergeant at Pendleton liked to say "Son, don't never draw down on somebody unless you already know what is going to happen."
"We're only #2" worked well for Avis, not so well for Zeke.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, fast is fine but aim is final.
ReplyDelete"O.T...moral of the story, never bring a knife to a gun fight?"
ReplyDeleteWW - I think that is right!
I had another friend, a Children's Home boy, who was a great brawler. One time it took 5 Myrtle Beach policemen to pin him down on the beach.
But a couple of years later, he got whipped right into the emergency room at Moses Cone by one guy at a music club in Greensboro.
I asked him if he had learned anything from that experience. "Yeah," he said. "Stay out of Moses Cone."
Kinda like the guy being walked toward the electric chair for execution, who asks his lawyer, "Got any last advice?"
ReplyDelete"Yeah: don't sit down."
Speaking of Children's Home, I was friends with a resident when I attended Reynolds HS. He went on to be a policeman for a few years. Some years back, I was watching the "true crime" show "Forensic Files," and to my surprise my former acquaintance had bumped off two people, was convicted, and became the subject of the long-running TV series.
ReplyDeleteHey pretty baby,
ReplyDelete(You can't sit down.)
A-don't you hear the drummer thumpin'?
(You can't sit down.)
You gotta shake it like a crazy,
(You can't sit down.)
'Cause the band is sayin' something.
(You can't sit down.)
Everybody is a-jumpin',
(You can't sit down.)
You gotta slop, bop, flip- flop,
Hip-hop, all around.
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down.)
You gotta move, move, move, around and 'round.
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down.)
You gotta fly, fly, fly, way off the ground.
They're puttin' down, a crazy sound.
No, no, you can't sit down,
No, no, you can't sit down.
When you're on South Street,
(You can't sit down.)
And the band is really bootin',
(You can't sit down.)
You hear the hippy with the back beat,
(You can't sit down.)
And you see the gang a-groovin',
(You can't sit down.)
Gotta get your bottom movin',
(You can't sit down.)
You gotta make it, break it,
Shake it all around.
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down.)
You gotta move, move, move, around and 'round.
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down.)
You gotta fly, fly, fly, way off the ground.
They're puttin' down, a crazy sound.
No, no, you can't sit down,
No, no, you can't sit down.
Dovells, 1963
Golly, I haven't thought about that one since it went off the AM stations' Top 40 playlist. Ah yes, WTOB with Lee Bryant, Bobaloo, et al.
ReplyDeleteIf you can survive Moses Cone for any reason, you are quite tough. That place was more dangerous way back when than what ever it was that put you in there.
ReplyDeleteWW, I assume you are not referring to just the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteYou never know what is going to become of anybody.
ReplyDeleteI went all the way through school from 1st grade to HS graduation with a guy who was in trouble every minute of the way. He had a police record, very unusual in our days, by the time he was 12.
Ended up being one of the top cops ever in this town, and deservedly so. Maybe he learned a lot from his many transgressions.
After all, the first professional policemen in the western world were recruited from the ranks of criminals.
OT, that wasn't Clarence McFadden, was it? I understand that when he pulled up in front of the rough bars downtown and blew his horn, years ago, the drunks would dutifully file out. They didn't want Clarence to have to bestir himself to come in for them.
ReplyDelete"You Can't Sit Down" was actually a hit as an instrumental piece a couple of years before the Dovell's version. I remember trying to dance to it at Sonny's at Cherry Grove. And a few years later it was recorded by the Shangi-Las (Leader of the Pack).
ReplyDeleteNot Clarence, lol. Won't reveal the name because now a respected citizen. No one should have their 6th grade records brought up.
ReplyDeleteI should mention that your pal William Jefferson Clinton was known to favor "You Can't Sit Down" (it was originally a sax piece) and that there are rumors that he played it at one of his inauguration parties. Unconfirmed.
Stab...no, mostly the ER.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the Shangri-La cover, but certainly remember "The Leader of the Pack," complete with motorcycle exhaust.
ReplyDeleteI am a poor dancer, very poor, would not have done well trying to dance to "You Can't Sit Down."
Yes OT it does seem clear that more than a few of those stones hit you on your head but since your head is harder than the stones they broke and fell on the ground. It is true that on first blush God does make contridictions in the OT but on deeper study we find that all of God's commands are just and right. When He commanded whole towns and people killed it was not a rash spur of the moment decision but came after a long time of God's long suffering of immoral behavior, which they were warned of.
ReplyDeleteWW, got it: "You stab 'em, we slab 'em."
ReplyDeleteOT, I'm sure WJC is the life of a party, probably a lot more fun to drink beer with than President Obama. If he played "You Can't Sit Down" at an inaugural party, good for him. Can't blame a guy who won a Presidential election for celebrating, nevermind my opinions of him otherwise.
yep,speaking of slab, I'm going to hit mine. this is late for me.
ReplyDeleteHello, Anonymous, and welcome. I apologize for not greeting you earlier. I was cooking dinner for Mrs. Stab and Miss Stepstab, then later watching the NFL games, and enjoying a couple of Stellas (beers). Work looms, so I will sign off, and look forward to seeing whatever exchanges occur. Please feel welcome here, regardless of rough-housing.
ReplyDeleteNighty night, all.
Yep, WW, crawling into my coffin, a reformed vampire, I.
ReplyDeleteThanks folks, I've enjoyed the evening.
I shouldn't be making ugly comments about Moses Cone. I am told that it is a quite respectable place these days, and I'm hearing rumbles of yet another med school at UNC-G which would include the Cone.
ReplyDeleteWhile UNC-Charlotte aspires to football, at least UNC-G is following its historic mission as a real institute of learning.
Well, MY coffin has an air mattress, the most comfortable I have ever experienced. Just have to be careful not to roll over so that the fangs do not penetrate. Pssssst.
ReplyDelete"History stands on side of love. America stands of the side of love. Come stand with us, Rep. Dale Folwell, and let North Carolina stand on the side of love."
ReplyDeleteWhat a nitwitted statement Mr. Scroggin. That statement alone would be enough for me to make me vote for the amendment if I were in the N.C. General Assembly. Jeez....it just never stops.
We seem to have a newcomer, "Anonymous", who lacks either the guts or the know-how to adopt even a screen name.
ReplyDeleteBut obviously one who holds dear god's right to practice blood lust, horror and genocide.
Just keep in mind, Anony, that when god got really fed up and opted to start all over, he chose Noah to lead the revival. The same Noah who turned out to be a drunken pervert.
If the manager of your neighborhood "convenience" store had as poor a judgment, she would have been fired long ago.
You just keep on "studying" all that nonsense. If you are lucky and live a long time and can come up with the brainpower, someday you might know as much as my friends and I do about the "bible".
Meanwhile, work on your spelling and punctuation.
OT:
ReplyDeleteI just want to know when to observe the Hebrew version of Commandment #6 and when to observe the KJV version. I gotta schedule taco night and if I serve veggie tacos my family will kill me.
Hey nitwit, and you know who you are. While you're lecturing other people on spelling and punctuation. Try looking up capitalization rules. Bible is usually capitalized because it refers to the title of a book.
ReplyDeleteIt just never stops.