Posts by Xander

34

The USA and the 'Divine Mandate'

by Abaddon in

jw
friends

having had a bizzare (for a european) preoccupation with american history in the 19th c, i do find that current american foreign policy still has implict in it the religiously inspired rationale that enabled americans to seriously claim that the ethnic cleansing of the west, and the genocidal behaviours that this often entailed, was because god wanted them to do it.. from certain newspaper articles i've read it seems as if some of those in the white house believe that bush getting in despite not having the majority of the popular vote was a sign, and that 9/11 backed up their belief that bush was a man put in a certain place for a certain time and role.

that bible studies are a regular expected activity of white house staffers.. now, this makes me very nervous.

i prefer my religious fanatics to come from developing countries that may have weapons of mass destruction, rather than from the most powerful millitary country in the world with more weapons of mass destruction than the rest of the world put together.. obviously just because it was in a newspaper doesn't mean it's true (yesterday's guardian i think).. but what do you think?.

Xander

Do members of the Bush administration feel that their campaign against the axis of (we)evil is backed by God?

Well, Bush was sure enough to say so several times in the State of the Union address last night, so I'd say, yes, they believe that to be true. At least, they SAY they do to appease the public. Which may well be worse, if that's really what the US public wants (sadly, it is).

But please, please tell us if you uncover this divine mandate and tell us how naughty it is. Bad mandate.....bad mandate.

So sayeth a bible-thumper happy to have a 'christian white house'.

10

Fanaticism

by Wolfgirl in

jw
friends

the common leader and his followers work mainly off of the desire to end isolation but the fanatical leader and his disciples incorporate the second primal fear, the fear of death, into the equation.

and by death i mean annihilation the utter obliteration of any and every bit of a persons earthly existence and legacy.

the leader who promises his people that adherence to his laws and teachings will not only relieve the pain of their isolation but also allow them to defy death, to achieve some kind of spiritual immortality through worthy deeds, that type of leader achieves a supreme control that the first type cant match and creates an entirely different kind of follower in the process.

Xander

What, and JWs were the only group anyone thought of?

Surely, this applies doubly so to Catholics? Protestants? Muslims? Jews? Any organized religion at all, no?

12

Inactive......??..and on this forum?

by ScoobySnax in

jw
friends

without the snapping jaws of the majority here, do any of you "inactive" people on this forum who read or might sometimes post, find this place welcoming or intimadating?

helpful or harmful?

is it a better or bitter place to be?

Xander

once made you think it was the Truth and many others here, I don't know

I only ever thought it was 'the Truth' because I was born and raised in it, and never was exposed to anything else.

As soon as reality was able to punch a whole through the blinders they put on (thank you college), I quickly realized how flawed their teachings were. The strict prohibition on reading non-JW literature, the lack of 'true christian love', and failed prophecies, etc.

They literally have nothing at all going for them if you examine real alternatives.

142

The State of the Union

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

i am an american, and so is my president.

this is an iron no speech can hold.

it can only be experienced.

Xander

Actually, I'd rather the money go to higher education funding. More people should go to college.

8

Just WHO Are These Girls?

by Englishman in

keep seeing 'em on classic fm tv.http://www.bond-music.com/.

i mean, wow!

all that violin stuff whilst they are stood in the sea...... .

Xander

Art is dying?

Where?

Granted, I live near Cleveland, and we have the largest theater district in the world outside NYC, not counting our innumerable museums and galleries, but....

I don't see it dying. Evolving, yes, but it always does. Stuff aimed at the mass market isn't "fine art", and never will be. "Fine art" isn't going anywhere. If nothing else, it has a solid niche market. IE., there will never be many who appreciate it, but those who do will always pay nearly any price, keeping it going as a medium.

It's a damn shame the gov't seems hell-bent on cutting funding down for it, but ehh? What you gonna do?

142

The State of the Union

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

i am an american, and so is my president.

this is an iron no speech can hold.

it can only be experienced.

Xander

I woke harder than you

And f*ck you too.

You do NOT work harder than me. Why am I not rich? Well, at 24 your options for 'rich' include 'inherit from family' or, err, well that's pretty much it. I guess you could inherit some sum of money and get really lucky with the stock market.

I get pissed when I see rich kids sent off to whatever college in the country they want to go to because their parents just funnel money to them. They then graduate and go on to get rich jobs because their parents could afford to go send them to an ivy-league school while I have to work my way through a community college and hope the IT field recovers by the time I'm looking again.

In any case, I feel pretty lucky that I *can* work my way through college. Some of the guys I went to school with can't even afford that, they work two jobs and can barely make monthly payments. I KNOW you don't work as hard as they do.

If you have more money, it's because you got luckier. Plain and simple. Whether it was luck during your life, or in your circumstances you were born into, or the region you were born at, or your genetics, you got lucky.

An elite few trodding down the masses and acting as if they are somehow superior human beings for having money - when it came to them through nothing more than dumb luck in the end - REALLY pisses me off.

8

Possible solution for the tax cuts

by freedom96 in

jw
friends

for those who feel that the new tax cuts that bush proposed are are only going to help the rich:.

consider this to start: you would be suggesting that a family that has a teacher and a cop in the same family are rich.. second, if it is so horrible that the "rich" get more tax cuts than anyone else, here is an idea:.

ready?

Xander

Personally, I still think the best solution is a flat 10% tax. Everyone pays 10% of anything they bring in. Nothing and nobody is exempt.

Further, a flat 10% sales tax. Anything you buy - food, goods, cars, stocks, all flat 10% to gov't.

And that's it for taxes.

8

Possible solution for the tax cuts

by freedom96 in

jw
friends

for those who feel that the new tax cuts that bush proposed are are only going to help the rich:.

consider this to start: you would be suggesting that a family that has a teacher and a cop in the same family are rich.. second, if it is so horrible that the "rich" get more tax cuts than anyone else, here is an idea:.

ready?

Xander

Wow, where do I sign up to have a fabulously wealthy relative die and leave me his fortune?

Or, grow up in a family owning oil companies?

Gosh, I'd sure love to make a bucket of money by selling a ball team, how do I get one donated to me?

142

The State of the Union

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

i am an american, and so is my president.

this is an iron no speech can hold.

it can only be experienced.

Xander

Assisting the elderly with affordable meds is good right?

Yes, of course. Forcing them off of medicare so they can join an HMO is *NOT*

Why the hell shouldnt the rich get richer?

I have no issue at all with hard work = money.

How many really, really RICH people have you known that seemed like they deserved their money? Most get it through family, and are lazy SOBs who contribute nothing to society except meddling with the gov't to preserver their wealth. Perhaps more get rich by taking advantage of the poor or raping the environment (*cough*Bush family*cough*)

142

The State of the Union

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

i am an american, and so is my president.

this is an iron no speech can hold.

it can only be experienced.

Xander

Actually, I'm fairly well versed in stock ownership in this country by income over the past few decades.

I honestly can't think of any '1/3' division?

Whereas 93 percent of households in the top 1 percent of income recipients (those who earned $250,000 or more) owned stock in 1998, only 52 percent of the middle class (those who earned incomes between $25,000 and $50,000), 29 percent of the lower middle class (incomes between $15,000 and $25,000), and only 11 percent of poor households (income under $15,000) reported stock ownership. And 92 percent of the richest 1 percent--versus 27 percent for the middle class, 13 percent for the lower middle class, and 5 percent for the poor--reported large holdings ($10,000 worth or more). Three-quarters of all stocks were owned by households earning $75,000 or more (the top 16 percent of income earners); 88 percent of all stocks were held by the top third of households in terms of income.