Delving into pseudoscience
It is disappointing that the writer of the Sept. 5 letter "Delving deeper" delved into creationism and pseudoscience rather than real science. He brings an answer desperately looking for questions for which he may passionately rationalize an insertion.
What his creationist friends or writings obviously didn't tell him was that possible solutions as to how the prokaryotic and the more complex eukaryotic cells have evolved have been known for decades. Not to mention how the statement "natural selection would eliminate (design) suboptimalities" just isn't true and demonstrates a woeful misunderstanding of natural selection. Natural selection doesn't eliminate and create new designs with environmental changes but gradually, over time, modifies existing designs and often functions. Evolution predicts the suboptimum designs we observe in nature. In contrast, any "efficient creator" of species from scratch does not.
We know that intelligence is a product of this magnificent universe of which we all are in awe. However, there is simply no empirical evidence of vice versa. Even if there were, however, it wouldn't suffice just to fill in the blank with anyone's particular version of "make believe." It could just as probably have been set in motion by a third-year physics' student in another universe during an experiment ran amok as any other hypothesis.
Moreover, reality is not a choice. One either accepts and deals with it or suffers the consequences. There are no rewards in believing things that make us feel warm and fuzzy beyond the feelings of warmth and fuzziness.
LARRY J. SANDERS
Dobson
Clinton
The day I let Bill Clinton tell me how I should vote on Nov. 6 is the same day Jerry Sandusky is named head football coach at Penn State University.
BOB REAGAN
Winston-Salem
Taking a stand
It was disturbing to read the Sept. 5 letter "A stand on gays." The writer was upset because WXII-TV was not taking a stand, by choosing to air the TV show "The New Normal," when in actuality WXII-TV is taking quite a definitive stand.
Further, "presidents of recent memory" raise the office with the use of inclusionary measures that do not beg apologies, rather demand applause. The "one who sits" in the presidential office (that would be President Obama) has honored all citizens, his staff full with people, all of whom were created by God in His image.
The only "abomination" here is the propagation of those mindless twins, prejudice and discrimination, born of ignorance and intolerance. There is nothing remotely God-like in this poisonous letter. Speaking of God, when in his name will this hate and bigotry end?
A final note: Televisions are equipped with a channel-changing button. If you don't care for what's on, use it.
MARJORIE MISIEWICZ
Kernersville
Correspondent of the Week
I don't believe …
Here are some things I don't believe:
That conservatives spend most of their day watching Fox News. That liberals all believe everything said on MSNBC. That teachers averaging over $70,000 per year in salary should be striking for the reasons cited in the Chicago strike. That American troop withdrawal from the Middle East will lead to peace. That Barack Obama was born in Kenya or on the moon. That any American would be against a tax increase if there was the slimmest chance that the revenue generated would be used to decrease the national debt.
I also don't believe: That all business was built by the government. That the tax code is fair for everyone. That any pledge/promise made by a candidate is worth believing. That term limits would hurt the country. That a president who has been in office for four years has the right to say, "It's not my fault." That if a white, Latino or African-American candidate loses an election it is always because of racial bias. That a country where less than 50 percent of the population is working to support more than 50 percent of the population has a chance of survival.
TOM D. JONES
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
Are you satisfied with President Obama's handling of foreign policy?
Well In the U.S. 30% of the population is under 18 and about 13% of the population is retired, a small percent, like Mitt, are unemployed (at least he says so) and make millions of dollars per year. Sounds to me like you were trying to equate the 53% of the employed who owe taxes support the 47% of people who owed no taxes which is just not true. Many people who owed no taxes have families they support, some people that owed no taxes are retired and have part time jobs. Perhaps people should have fewer children, but that would mean birth control.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Phargo. After many attempts I was finally able to post this online, so I didn't have the opportunity to bring it to anyone's attention. I hope everyone who takes a look at it agrees that it touches the heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks, LaSombra Me alegra el corazon.
DeleteTruly touching photos. Those two "dancing" were quite the pair. I believe I also saw in the background a pretty fair display of the "electric slide"?
DeleteYes you did, ww. That group caught my attention after I started recording, which is why you see a little lens adjustment. I saw them perform at the children's stage later in the day.
DeleteI used to be able to move like that. Now, too many things hurt, won't cooperate etc.
DeleteMe too. These two, however, have put us to shame. Gotta go! Out to look for a Zumba class.
DeleteLTE #2... Clinton
ReplyDeleteI'm positive Ronald and Nancy would not be proud of you at this moment.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAll he has to do is look to the left. That's where the smart people are.
ReplyDeleteAs I wrote in a post yesterday morning, the "smart people" have driven the developed world to the brink of ruin. Intelligent people will follow them and slowly begin repairs. "Smart" and intelligent are not always the same people.
ReplyDeleteClinton. Sandusky was convicted and has been or will be sentenced. Clinton was impeached, tried but not found guilty. Clinton is just a cad. Sandusky is evil.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we don't just say the obvious-that is: There is there are tons and tons of these homosexual pedophiles, and something needs to be done about it.
Deleteand just what would you suggest we do about the homosexual and heterosexual pedophiles?
Deleteyou are great at repeating problems but weak on solutions.
DeleteTaking a stand. Yep, there is a change channel option.
ReplyDeleteNICE, a giant murmuration just landed and took off, the site and sound was amazing.
ReplyDeleteAre you satisfied with President Obama's handling of foreign policy? Seriously? His foreign policy has turned around and handled him. His 2009 Cairo speech was pseudo intellectual foppery. It is all in the toilet now.
ReplyDeleteThe liberal media never wants to question Obama on many issues like they would a white president. They don't want to get called a bigot by these left-wing nut jobs.
DeleteI say the hell with 'em. Ask him the tough questions.
Liberals apparently believe that Obama doesn't have foreign policies regarding Muslim countries. Reference is made to the screams to define them from the peanut gallery, A/K/A Rush and Phargo.
DeletePathetic...pass me the goat milk.
I don't believe. Not a bad start. However the last sentence might be a bit of thin ice. I and my better half are not "working" but we earn and pay Federal income taxes quarterly. Better to say--the half of the country that pays no Federal income taxes are being poorly served by the half that pays Federal income taxes. That is a system that will only get worse and no, it will not allow us to survive very long.
ReplyDeleteWW: I thought this was a very well written letter, then I read the last sentence. First of all, I'm a very charitable person but I don't work "to support more than 50 percent of the population . . ." I work to support myself. Now, if I had more control of how the taxes I pay are spent, I could then say that I support half the population.
DeleteLaSambra...the last sentence was a bit of a let down by comparison to the main body. We are charitable folk here too. Both of us were raised that way. As you become a better earner you should also be a better giver.
DeleteI was in western N.C. earlier in the week, and there were radio ads slamming 'Walter Dalton' and Obama on immigration.
DeleteThe ads said what I've said all along. That illegals are voting, and they are corrupting the electoral process.
Just what we need, Walter Dalton...., another pathetic rube like Bev. leading the state to ruin.
DeleteGeez!
and of course you believe everything you hear as long as it fits within your narrow tunnel.
DeleteTunnel is perfect. I guess that is how he gets in and out of the basement. He wouldn't like my favorite tunnel, because it has windows that let you see a wider view.
DeleteWe have a friend who works at an Air Force test center near St. George, Utah. Went to visit on one of our cross country drives. No tour…top secret.
But we discovered just a few miles down the road, Zion National Park and its incredible tunnel. The tunnel is about a mile long, quite narrow and no lights. Traffic is one way, so you have to wait until opposing traffic has cleared the tunnel before entering.
Once inside, WOW! There are several windows from which you can see spectacular views of the park. Unfortunately, no stopping, but truly unreal. Built by the WPA and good old American ingenuity during the Depression.
Worth several trips. In fact, we have driven through the tunnel, then turned around, waited a few minutes and driven back. Amazing views and amazing engineering.
Oops...my friend who knows all says that the tunnel was not a WPA project...that is was built just before the Depression began, thus long before WPA. So just good old American ingenuity and a lot of bucks. Still great.
DeleteAt least my tunnel leads to somewhere positive. Yours....well, you know where yours leads to.
DeleteWhich proves just how intelligent he really is. Instead of intelligent people he's out looking for smart people.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I always get a kick out 'smart' people that don't seem to realize that the country is on the brink of ruin.
ReplyDeleteI call those people 'psychotics' instead of smart, and Rush's picture should beside the word in the dictionary.
LTE #1 - Love the idea of a physics student in another universe setting off the "Big Bang". We can imagine his professor dashing into the lab and saying "What the hell was that?" One thing we can be sure of is the answer: "I don't know. It wasn't me."
ReplyDeleteLTE #2 - As pointed out before, powerful men attract women like a watermelon attracts flies. I'm sure that all the folks who babble on about Clinton would have just sent those little hotties away: "Oh no, I could not possibly do that." Yeah, right. Look in the mirror and tell yourself that.
Jerry Falwell once said that he had never been alone in a room with a woman that he was not married to. One would think that a man of the lord would have a little more self confidence than that. Almost certainly a lie.
Clinton was just the first to get caught redhanded. Presidents have been boffing whoever they could get their hands on since day one.
By now, virtually everyone knows about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, but only real history buffs know that George Washington was also accused of having a child with a slave. There is no DNA proof as with Jefferson, because the slave is unknown. Certainly, Washington had an eye for the women, and since he was away from home much of his life, there were probably other moments. Fortunately for him, the round-the-clock news cycle and the internet had not yet happened.
Andrew Jackson's wife was still legally married to another man when she wed "Old Hickory". As soon as they discovered the mistake, they corrected it. But 20 years later, Jackson was attacked for his wife's "bigamy" by the moral minority while running for the Presidency.
Grover Cleveland had a child out of wedlock, admitted it and was twice elected President. Warren Harding had trainloads of New York showgirls imported to Washington for his sexual pleasure. FDR had affairs with his secretary and his wife's social secretary, Lucy Rutherford. It was Rutherford, not Eleanor, who was at his bedside when he died.
Dwight Eisenhower's and JFK's peccadilloes are well documented. Less so, LBJ's and GHW Bush's. And of course, there are others that we just don't know about. Even Jimmy Carter admitted that he had "lusted in his heart". Any man that hasn't must be a saint, or a liar.
In the end, who gives a damn? As hard as it is to find a decent President, what really matters is how they perform in office.
Of those named above, Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, FDR, Kennedy and Clinton performed well above average as President. GHW Bush was a considerably better President than he is given credit for.
Cleveland and Eisenhower were about average. Harding was one of the worst President's ever, but he was only at it for about 3 years. Wonder what he was up to when he died in San Francisco. It wasn't having tea with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
LTE #3 - There will always be ignorance, so there will always be bigots.
Correspondent of the Week - More FoxLies® bullshit. President Obama did not say that government built any business. He was merely pointing out that no one man can take full responsibility for any business success, because there are many factors at work, including government, that make business success possible.
As Piedmont Airline founder Tom Davis said more than once "I was in the right place at the right time and I had a host of outstanding employees to carry me along."
The last sentence is laughable. The success of the US has long been attributable to a far smaller percentage of citizens than 50%. The majority of citizens are merely drones, being borne forward by the tide.
Sum It Up: He's sure as hell doing a lot better job than the last guy.
"In the end, who gives a damn? As hard as it is to find a decent President, what really matters is how they perform in office."
DeleteRush
________
I knew if you kept jabbering on, long enough, you'd eventually get one right. Now let's get rid of Obama, and get somebody that knows what the hell they are doing on the economy, like Romney, and get the country back monetarily perking again.
You're still a NW, Rush.
This week, anti-gun Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) did her part to thwart passage of national Right-to-Carry laws by putting a "hold" on the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012, and the Respecting States' Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with her anti-gun record, Feinstein took action in an effort to oppose the quick passage of the bills. The "hold" does not prevent passage of the bills; it just prevents the legislation from passing by an already unlikely "unanimous consent" vote.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) Feinstein called the bills "dangerous" and said that they would "create potentially life threatening situations for law enforcement officers." She also cited the controversial Trayvon Martin shooting as one of her reasons for trying to sabotage the bills.
___________
Sen. Feinstein (D) doing what liberal idiots do best, being an idiot.
"We will never have the elite, smart people on our side..."
ReplyDeleteRick Santorum
He's right about that...only the dumb ones like Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, ad infintum...
I'd put Sarah Palin up against Nancy Pelosi or Bev. Perdue in a game of scrabble. I'll even let Susan Rice have a go at Palin. And I'd bet, all would lose to Palin.
DeleteDemocrats are clearly not as smart as they 'think' they are. Hee Hee...you gotta love 'em though. They're always doing something stupid, even though they are SO smart. Hee Hee......Anthony...put that camera down, you're not putting your package on the internet again!
Chicago 'union' teachers set to continue strike on Monday. Keep it up.....hee hee.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love these unions. They're SO good for America, and especially the 'middle class'.
Chicago mayor seeks injunction to end teachers strike
Delete_______
Hee hee...eeeeeuuuuuuweeeeeeee! Too funny!
"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union," Emanuel said.
DeleteWhooooooooa, whoooooa, whoooooa! I thought you liked union Mr. Mayor? At least you do when it's election time.
What's the word? That's right-Pathetic!