Phantom Stranger

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Posts by Phantom Stranger

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  41

  Constitutional Amendment : Slippery Slope

  by patio34 in

  1. social
  2. current

  this was too good to leave on the bush/gay marriage thread so i'm starting a new topic on it: .

  the following was sent to me recently: .

  as certain politicians work diligently to prevent marriage between two people of the same sex, others of us have been busy drafting a constitutional amendment codifying all marriages entirely on biblical principles.. after all, god wouldn't want us to "pick and choose" which of the scriptures we elevate to civil law and which we choose to ignore:.

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  Phantom Stranger

  My name's not frank.
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  41

  Constitutional Amendment : Slippery Slope

  by patio34 in

  1. social
  2. current

  this was too good to leave on the bush/gay marriage thread so i'm starting a new topic on it: .

  the following was sent to me recently: .

  as certain politicians work diligently to prevent marriage between two people of the same sex, others of us have been busy drafting a constitutional amendment codifying all marriages entirely on biblical principles.. after all, god wouldn't want us to "pick and choose" which of the scriptures we elevate to civil law and which we choose to ignore:.

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  Phantom Stranger

  I am not having a debate on whether science has been enabled by religion. The Arabs, the Chinese, and others made plenty of scientific progress too... it's in human nature... but I cede the field to others, as I have dinner company and I have to get cooking.

  Talking to a conservative is like talking to a refrigerator. The light goes on, the light goes off...it's not going to do anything that's not programmed into it. Utah Phillips.
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  41

  Constitutional Amendment : Slippery Slope

  by patio34 in

  1. social
  2. current

  this was too good to leave on the bush/gay marriage thread so i'm starting a new topic on it: .

  the following was sent to me recently: .

  as certain politicians work diligently to prevent marriage between two people of the same sex, others of us have been busy drafting a constitutional amendment codifying all marriages entirely on biblical principles.. after all, god wouldn't want us to "pick and choose" which of the scriptures we elevate to civil law and which we choose to ignore:.

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  Phantom Stranger

  I stated an alternate reason for your varied post appearances, and I accept your explanation, pissy as it may be. I asked you a question - a reasonable question in light of other posts here lately - and I supplied a potential explanation with it to show that I was not set on a particular answer.
  

  So is this your web site? http://members.aol.com/EndTheWall/organic_law.htm . Your text appears there verbatim, so that must be you.

  Your citation of Brewer's dictum is refuted here. http://ahpa.azpolitics.net/columns/sam1-23-00.htm

  Justice Brewer's statements are no more precedent than Justice Blackmun's similarly-lengthy recitation of baseball legends in [ital] Flood v. Kuhn [unital], 407 U.S. 258 (1972), the baseball antitrust case. All subsequent courts (with one possible exception) have cited [ital] Holy Trinity [unital] for its actual holding, that courts must read statutes sensibly to avoid absurd results from a blindly literal interpretation...

  Second, a more accurate reading of Justice Brewer's dictum is that we Americans are a "religious people." The opinion does not grant Christianity legal privilege or establish it to the exclusion of other religions or of non-belief. The opinion's historical discussion of religion makes the point that the immigration law should not be interpreted in a way that infringes on the free exercise of religion. Justice Brewer, in his later writings, made this point absolutely clear. He noted that the United States is "Christian" only in that many of its people so believe, but that the religion should not receive legal status nor should non-Christians be compelled in any way to support Christianity.

  I believe that the Founding Fathers, all of whom were either believers or did not wish to appear otherwise, went out of their way to create a government with no official religion and with no ties to one. They wanted to create a secular nation where citizens had the freedom to worship as they pleased, if they pleased. They created a nation with slavery, with narrowly-limited right of franchise on economic, racial, and gender lines, and with a similar lack of protection to ethnic, gender, and economic minorities. And yet, using the principles they handed down to us, we have managed to create a society freer and more just than any Founding Father could have envisioned through the spectacles of 18th-century acculturation.

  They managed to create a government that has since risen above their individual faults and prejudices. I have no desire to return to them. Rather, I want to continue such struggle with our own.
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  41

  Constitutional Amendment : Slippery Slope

  by patio34 in

  1. social
  2. current

  this was too good to leave on the bush/gay marriage thread so i'm starting a new topic on it: .

  the following was sent to me recently: .

  as certain politicians work diligently to prevent marriage between two people of the same sex, others of us have been busy drafting a constitutional amendment codifying all marriages entirely on biblical principles.. after all, god wouldn't want us to "pick and choose" which of the scriptures we elevate to civil law and which we choose to ignore:.

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  Phantom Stranger

  The Ten Commandments are for lame brains. The first five are solely for the benefit of the priests and the powers that be; the second five are half truths, neither complete nor adequate. Robert Heinlein.

  Anyone attempting to "prove" that secular government is impossible, using the USSR as the evidence, is obviously in a deep state of denial regarding the damage done by ostensibly religious governments. One secular government, or one religious government, does not proof make.

  Your interpretation of Franklin's letter is amusing - it can also easily be interpreted to be the words of a man who sees religion primarily as a means of keeping the masses governable, rather than as a path to truth. Franklin was cynical. Point: No one has accused the Founding Fathers of being atheists... but you fight that battle often, since you know you can make the point. Other points you avoid, it seems.

  Where does a "religious view" end? The mark of an advanced culture could very well be progressing from justice occasionally imposed by religious fiat to justice more regularly imposed by rule of law. The significance of the Magna Carta was not its religious influence - no document at the time could have avoided it - but that the rule of written law became levated above the whims of rulers.

  Just out of curiousity, where did the non-blue text come from? If one were to look through your recent posts, one would notice that your writing style and spelling seems to vary widely... as does the font, size, and spacing of your text. Either you are composing in word and formatting there and then pasting, or you are copying-and-pasting from other sources. Just wondering...

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/67274/1051912/post.ashx#1051912

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/67274/1051891/post.ashx#1051891

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/67541/1052986/post.ashx#1052986
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  36

  I told my mother to stop contacting me

  by kyria in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after two months of terribly abusive emails from my mother telling me that i "am not capable of appreciating true love" and her weird delusions that i have no friends and my life is a mess, i finally cut her off.

  i blocked her email address, and i told her to stop contacting me.

  yes, the jehovah?s witnesses.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Oh, you had a choice. Congratulations on making the choice you made.

  Regards,

  PS
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  36

  I told my mother to stop contacting me

  by kyria in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after two months of terribly abusive emails from my mother telling me that i "am not capable of appreciating true love" and her weird delusions that i have no friends and my life is a mess, i finally cut her off.

  i blocked her email address, and i told her to stop contacting me.

  yes, the jehovah?s witnesses.

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  Phantom Stranger

  My condolences.

  For what it's worth, I went through a similar period with my mom about 12-15 years ago. Eventually softened up and worked - mostly after she figured out (on her own, without me rubbing her nose in it) that I was doing pretty well in life and didn't need her to save me.

  Part of why it worked is that I had to let go of my delusion that my mom would ever act like a mom for me, once I became an adult. She got me fed, she got me clothed - any expectations I had after that were my own, and letting go of them was and is painful, but needed.

  My mom's still nuts and more nuts every day... but we have a detente, and my willingness to do something like what you've done is a big part of the reason why.

  Best wishes,

  PS
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  27

  The Qualifications For Being An Elder

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  describe what you think being a "good elder" entails.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Who peed in your corn flakes?
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  27

  The Qualifications For Being An Elder

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  describe what you think being a "good elder" entails.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Well, it's frivolous and harmless - both are contained in the meaning of silly.
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  18

  Memorial Question I Never Have Had Answered ???

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having been in the borg my entire life (now over 40), i never got a good answer to why the memorial could not be "celebrated" in the afternoon.

  remember, the jewish "day" runs from sunset to sunset.

  and 2 out of every 7 years, nisan 14 falls on a friday or saturday.

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  Phantom Stranger

  For any group commemorating a significant event with emotionally evocative value for the rank-and-file, it makes sense to focus on one night and one set of preparations.

  The operational efficiency gained by your suggestion would be offset by the diluted effect of the fractured shindig on the publishers.
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  27

  The Qualifications For Being An Elder

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  describe what you think being a "good elder" entails.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Your topic does not match your post, min. Of course what it takes to be a good elder has nothing to do with the qualifications.

  Some elders suck, some don't - just like people everywhere. Positions of authority tend to attract jerks with issues - just like the real world. Bagging on elders as a class is silly.