For a long time, many used religion as the basis for discriminating against blacks, and courts and judges for a while upheld such discriumination. So from what some of you are saying using religion to descriminate based on race is now un-acceptable but it is still acceptable to use relgion to discriminate based on sexual persuasion??? Or do you believe using relgion to discriminate against blacks, for example, is also still acceptable?
Posts by DJS
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112Supreme Court ruling- refusing to photo gay wedding is discrimination
by SadElder inaccording to bloomberg news:.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-07/wedding-photographer-rebuffed-by-top-court-on-same-sex-ceremony.
"the u.s. supreme court turned away an appeal from a new mexico wedding photographer found to have violated a state anti-discrimination law when she refused to take pictures of a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple.. the photographer, elaine huguenin, argued unsuccessfully that she was being unconstitutionally forced to convey a message conflicting with her religious beliefs.
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
From the 'Net this weekend. Zakaria is saying the same thing I'm saying. Incompetence (and maybe a coverup) isn't the same as a conspiracy.
April 5th, 2014 11:37 AM ET
Why we believe conspiracy theories
By Fareed Zakaria
For those of you tired of the coverage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, I want you to try an experiment. When you're with a group of friends – whose eyes might roll over when you even bring up the issue – ask them what they think happened to the plane. Very quickly you will find yourselves in the midst of a lively discussion – with many, different, competing theories, each plausible, each with holes. The plane was hijacked, someone will say. But then why were there no demands? It was an accident, someone else will say. But then why were there no distress signals? This mystery of what actually happened is at the heart of the fascination with this story. And the mystery has now morphed into an ever increasing number of conspiracy theories about what actually happened that fateful day last month when the aircraft disappeared.
There are YouTube clips suggesting that aliens are involved, blog posts accusing the Iranians of hijacking the plane, and many who believe that the passengers and crew are still alive, perhaps on an island somewhere – like in the television show "Lost”. I was thinking about some of these theories the other day as I was looking at a new book by Harvard law professor and former Obama official, Cass Sunstein. It's titled, Conspiracy Theories – and Other Dangerous Ideas. The lead essay in the book explains why conspiracy theories spread – and Flight 370 is a perfect example of his logic. Sunstein treats conspiracy theories seriously, by which I mean he doesn't assume that people are crazy to believe them.
In fact, he argues that so many people in so many countries believe such theories that we need to understand why and how. A key condition that helps fuel conspiracy theories is a lack of information. When information is scarce, conspiracies abound. And we don't actually know a lot of things about what happened to that plane. Now, the trend is heightened where there is distrust of politics, politicians, and people in authority. One can see that in somewhat opaque political systems like Malaysia and China. But one can also see that in the United States, a country famously distrustful of its government.
Sunstein points out that when a triggering event produces intense feelings and emotions, people – in a state of fear or rage – find it easier to believe in far-fetched ideas. An assassination like that of John F. Kennedy, a terrorist attack like 9/11, or an airline crash all tend to produce high emotions and a search for something or someone on which to put the blame. Group-think also takes over. When the people who are affected or interested tend to gather, talk to one and other, and communicate in isolation, their convictions tend to get hardened. So, if everyone you talk to – and listen to and watch – believes that President Obama is hiding his birth certificate, you get even more sure about this secret plot over time.
But the most important, overriding reason, suggests Sunstein, is that we human beings don't like to believe that things happen for arbitrary reasons. We search for a pattern and, if we see one, no matter how implausible, we prefer that to the idea of randomness. Sunstein points out that the philosopher Karl Popper said that human beings like to believe in intention – that an event is caused by specific human intention and action. So we exaggerate the competence of people or governments or big banks because someone must have directed things. Now, sometimes there are conspiracies. But my own sense of the world is that things often happen because of mistakes, bad information and unintended consequences. Or as Hanlon's Law puts it: never attribute to malice what can be better explained by incompetence. Perhaps the biggest driver of events is something truly mysterious – chance. Things go well or badly because of luck – sometimes good luck, sometimes bad luck – much more than we would like to admit. And the combination of chance, ignorance, and incompetence often produces something that looks like a mystery and feels like a conspiracy.
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
MyName,
Of course the gov. isnt always honest with us. Selling guns to Mexico was a lamebrain decision by a mid level manager who thought it an effective strategy.. The NSA was playing fast and loose with the Patriot Act as predicted. They included lots of people in their game, such as goggle, yahoo, the president (Bush and Obama and the Congressional leaderes) etc., so as a conspiracy, which is supposed to operate in secret for nefarious reasons, it doesn't exactly meet the critera. I think Snowden to this point is a hero, but what the NSA did has been deemed illegal by some courts and not illegal by others.
There is a big difference between stupid lamebrain decisions made by government officials at various levels and pre-planned criminal or illegal conspiracies such as those swirling around Sandy Hook and 9/11. If every lamebrain, stupid bad management decision made by gov. is deemed a conspiracy then the definition means nothing. The lack of response at the Libyan embassy, IMHO, in one of the worst failures of our government, at so many levels, in our country's history. It is a travesty. But it is gross mismanagement. Now the cover-up? That's different. Did you read the 3 examples I posted?
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
I wasn't looking for this; it's on CNN right now. Get a grip people.
Drugs for the dying: Compassionate use
By Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent updated 10:47 PM EDT, Sat April 5, 2014 (CNN) --
At first, Sandy Barker decided to behave nicely and sit silently in the audience as an official from the Food and Drug Administration extolled the virtues of a program to get experimental drugs to desperately ill patients. Then she couldn't take it anymore. Barker's hand shot up.
"I've been sitting here for the past hour trying to be quiet, but I want to tell you what happened to my son," she said. Barker looked down at a picture of Christian on her lap. She started to cry, but regained enough composure to describe how her son was diagnosed eight years ago with a rare form of leukemia when he was 13. A bone marrow transplant was supposed to help, but instead the donor's cells attacked Christian's body.
Christian's graft-versus-host disease was quickly getting worse. His life was on the line. Nothing was working. The Barkers searched for studies he could join but found none. Christian's doctors desperately wanted to try an experimental drug, but first the FDA had to give its blessing.
The Barkers and their doctors begged the agency to allow Christian to use the medicine. By the time permission was given, more than three weeks had passed, and the graft-versus-host disease had moved to stage 4, the most severe stage. Christian died two months later.
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Remember!! THE SLAVE says , " GO DEEP!! EVEN WHEN IT HURTS!! IT'S GOOD FOR US TO LET THE SLAVE GO DEEP..."
by suavojr indatadog just mentioned this on his thread about the special ass day.
so just don't forget that for this year's rc they are going deep inside........ they are going to tell us how we all are just a long and same generation and therefore we cannot determine how close the end is by observing the lifespan of humans.. but do not worry, we have the signs!!
the signs of the end.... .
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
BOTR,
It aint easy being green. Or bringing a vaccine into the market. From the FDA's website:
Following FDA's review of a license application for a new indication, the sponsor and the FDA may present their findings to FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). This non-FDA expert committee (scientists, physicians, biostatisticians, and a consumer representative) provides advice to the Agency regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine for the proposed indication.
Again, it strains credibility to think all of these professionals are stupid, incompetent and on the take. From what little I know, this is a time consuming process. Makers of vaccines can expect years to pass before their vaccine is accepted for wide use. Snare?????
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
EOM,
I'm not an expert on health issues and won't play like I am. But a few years ago my daughter, who was expecting twins, discussed her concerns about vaccines (based on the comments made by Jenny McCarthy, another conspiracy theorist who has done more harm than can be imagined) and other news reports. I proceeded to conduct a lot of academic level research for her. This was a serious matter. I was surprised to learn that at least for the types of vaccines my daughter was concerned about there had been more very good research by several different countries than any other issue ever.
None of the very good studies showed any correlation between the type of vaccines my daughter was concerned about (i.e, the Jenny McCarthy vaccines) and the issues of concern (such as autism, etc.). None of them. I shared those studies with her (I think they were done by the Brits, U.S. and Dutch, but that's been about 5 years ago and my memory isn't perfect).
Governments have a compelling reason to get it right with vaccines. The U.S. has been critiized for delaying the implementation of vaccines and other meds for decades because of their requirements (can you say thalidomide?). They don't always get it right, but to think that there is some nefarious dark force behind such decisions is ridiculous. I hurt for Jenney; I really do. But once again a knee jerk, reactionary, emotional and irrational response to such events is not the answer. Vaccines, and their effects of peoples, are one of the most studied topics around the globe, for a good reason. The data is there.
Snare, weigh in. You are an expert in this area.
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
BOTR,
Yes, I have experienced much the same, but the individuals I work with there are typically bright, caring and competent. But trying to accomplish a lot within that structure, as you state, is a challenge. But the people I'm talking about worked in field offices before going into 'management.' The people I work with who respond to such incidents (both in the government and private secotors) typically have advanced degrees in stuff like blast engineering, forensics, nuclear engineering, etc., or they have degrees in emergency response and advanced training in Incident Command. They are not without flaws, but the bad ones are few compared to the good ones.
The typical consipracy theorist has a high school diploma and an Internet account.
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
I wouldn't say they are all fake, but I've seen no rational factual evidence based support for any of them. When I do I will change my mind about the one with actual facts. I feel the same way about god; if she ever shows up with the other super heroes in Times Square and does something cool I will become a believer. Conspiracy theorists don't seem to understand that EVERYONE associated with their pet has to be stupid, incompetent, kept in the dark, corrupt and/or bought. That strains credibility.
I have friends who have conducted hundreds of investigations, one was a former FBI agent, then a high ranking gov. offiicial (now retired). The other was a former DOE investigator turned director who is now my co-worker. They were both impeccably trained and both have the highest ethical standards. My friend is working on his second Master's degree (this one I think is in the Psychology of Abnormal Human Behavior or something like that). These are men you want on that wall. Neither have ever been asked to conspire and neither would have if asked. They are very very good at what they do and are guided, unlike theorists and so many on this site, by facts. And they have investigated some of the more high profile incidents in this country over the past few decades.
These are the types of individuals responsible for investigating the Sandy Hook and 9/11 type incidents. They are often supported by other country's intel agencies who concur or agree with assessments (they all share data). They are not stand alone operating in a vacuum people. To extrapolate that all of those responsible for these types of incidents are all stupid, incompetent and corrupt defies rationality and is simply untrue. And that is what would have to occur for most of the conspiracy theories to be true.
How would the typical theorist feel if he/she was criticized, condemend and accused from others who were not familiar with their profession and how they responded to an issue. Whether teacher, banker, window washer or candle stick maker, it is extremely likely that the theorists take pride in what they do and would consider themselves experts at doing it. Yet they quckly arrive at their arrogant narcissistic judgments over events and incidents not of their knowledge and out of their scope of understanding and condemn all of those involved as being incompetent and corrupt.
I have a healthy degree of cynicism and skepticism, but I have been trained to rely on facts and evidence, something which theorists find distasteful. I see that on this site routinely, a knee-jerk, reactonary, emotional and immature immediate response to events, casting judgment at those responding or investigating.
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38
Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?
by metatron inhttp://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.
it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.
i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .
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DJS
Number 3 and my personal all-time favorite. I don't think I need to add anything to this - or even post anything other than the heading - except to note that Ms. O'Donnel is an actress and NOT a PhD in blast engineering or a structural engineer (I work with several).
May 16, 2007 - 9/11 conspiracy theorists rally around Rosie O'Donnell.
OK I"m through. For now.