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Chuck LeDuc Díaz › Likes
Thoughts from Kansas : Mormon mother of a 9/11 hero works for marriage equality - http://scienceblogs.com/tfk...
Derrick and Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
"Hoagland isn't the same woman she was before Sept. 11. Nor is she the same woman, baptized a Mormon, she was before Mark came out to her as gay in 1991."
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
from Bookmarklet
Good read. Thanks for posting, Richard.
- Derrick
Hey no problem! :)
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
Schwarzenegger tells backers of gay marriage: Don't give up - Los Angeles Times - http://www.latimes.com/news...
Derrick and Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
On Sunday, he urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."
- cecily
Why churches fear gay marriage | Salon News - http://www.salon.com/news...
Derrick and Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
"Nov. 25, 2008 | For author Richard Rodriguez, no one is talking about the real issues behind Proposition 8. While conservative churches are busy trying to whip up another round of culture wars over same-sex marriage, Rodriguez says the real reason for their panic lies elsewhere: the breakdown of the traditional heterosexual family and the shifting role of women in society and the church itself. As the American family fractures and the majority of women choose to live without men, churches are losing their grip on power and scapegoating gays and lesbians for their failures."
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
from Bookmarklet
Wish I'd seen this soon, thanks Richard.
- Derrick
Billing Boss can send your invoices in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, and Italian - you only need English. It's Free
Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
Resort Fail « FAIL Blog: Pictures and Videos of Owned, Pwnd and Fail Moments - http://failblog.org/2008...
Like, Mathew A. Koeneker, William Harryman and 52 other people liked this
BWWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... Minnow Shot...
- MVB (Grinch of FF)
damn
- Cee Bee
I lol
- Will Higgins™
Wow, all I can say is wow. Big Dick's, minnow shots AND a gift shop!? Epic.
- Nicholas Kreidberg
The name says it all.
- Bob Gannon
no way was that an accident...i mean come ON
- Josh Haley
oh, and That's what she said.
- Josh Haley
pffffftt... block out the number why don't ya...
- Johnny Worthington
I hear there's an In-N-Out Burger right next door....
- Jeff P. Henderson
Not to mention the Dick's Sporting Goods Store and Dicks Restaurant down the street.
- FFing Enigma (aka Tina)
*dead*
- Derrick
All sorts of wrong
- Nurse Katie
I wonder if Dick owns a Head shop too?
- Jeff P. Henderson
Is it anywhere near Big Dick Lick Indiana?
- MVB (Grinch of FF)
No I think it is near Stickit India.
- Jeff P. Henderson
Ah... now where is that in relation to Phucket?
- MVB (Grinch of FF)
ROTFL!!
- Far
1.5 innuendo.
- teh Dork Knight aka Kenny
I must disagree. That sounds more like EPIC WIN to me. :D
- Steven Perez
lawlercakes
- DO ANYBODY NO MONIQUE
from fftogo
can't be EPIC WIN if it's only halfway....
- Bora Zivkovic
Now, it's like the glass full/empty thing isn't it? Is it halfway in or indeed halfway out?
- Ian May
Ian: it alternates
- Bora Zivkovic
Profiles: Outside Agitator: Naomi Klein: The New Yorker - http://www.newyorker.com/reporti...
Dinah, R. Ferguson, Beth K and 21 other people liked this
"The past couple of weeks had been a giddy time. Since her book “The Shock Doctrine” was published last year, Klein, now thirty-eight, has become the most visible and influential figure on the American left—what Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky were thirty years ago. She speaks every few days, all over the world, and hundreds of people turn up to hear her. They visit her Web site and subscribe to her newsletter and send her passionate fan mail."
- Sean McBride
from Bookmarklet
"Klein argues that the only circumstance in which a population would accept Friedman-style reforms is when it is in a state of shock, following a crisis of some sort—a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, a war. A person in shock regresses to a childlike state in which he longs for a parental figure to take control; similarly, a population in a state of shock will hand exceptional powers to its leaders, permitting them to destroy the regulatory functions of government."
- Sean McBride
Her boldness and clarity of mind astonish me. Thinkers with this much originality and force come along rarely.
- Sean McBride
i enjoyed (although enjoy is probably the wrong term) The Shock Doctrine, and the previous book No Logo. I suspect some of the things in the shock doctrine are a bit exagerated, but enough of it is totally damnably true, and that is scary enough. It does make you paranoid of any kind of "emergency" or "rescue" or "turnaround" concept in politics. I suspect that the current financial...
more...
- Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
Joelle - well, Wall Street, and its agents Paulson and Bernanke, just walked away with hundreds of billions of dollars, with almost no questions asked, and without the permission of the American people. We really don't know where that money went. Paulson threatened the Congress with martial law in confiscating these funds. It's beginning to look like Naomi Klein is a major prophet, as well as a brilliant analyst.
- Sean McBride
V - did you know that she lives in your neck of the woods?
- Sean McBride
V - she clearly had some major advantages over many, but I think her work stands on its own. She's a major voice. "Shock Doctrine" is going to enter the public discourse for all time as a major paradigm and tool of analysis.
- Sean McBride
V - what do you think of her core thesis and arguments? It produced a "bingo" moment for me when I first encountered her ideas. I knew all this in a vague and disorganized way, but she pulled it all together with great clarity.
- Sean McBride
V - I am coming at her work from the angle of knowing almost nothing about her background. Often, the more direct familiarity we have with the personal lives of public figures, the more difficult it is for us to revere them as heroes and heroines. :) I do know this: it's difficult to write a book that produces that perfect click experience -- bang, she nailed it -- in the minds of so many readers. I am impressed.
- Sean McBride
V - good pointer, and new knowledge for me. This is why I like Friendfeed.
- Sean McBride
i've known about corporate predations and american empire since the 60's - shock doctrine ties it all together, particularly the friendman chicago school and the shock thesis - i like that she and her writing is popular, more people then explore the ideas and read other works, etc.
- ernie yacub
Most (maybe all) great writers owe a huge debt to multiple influences. Some notable literary theorists have argued that great writing is the art of brilliant plagiarism. But V is right that it is valuable to understand their influences and roots. That is what the field of intellectual history is all about.
- Sean McBride
What she says makes perfect sense. It''s important to expose the psychological means of control. However, she doesn't connect to the fact the events of Sept 11, 2001 were orchestrated to that shock-value-end not from the ""caves" of the Middle East but from the board rooms of CNN, Fox, MSNBC = the Mass Media instututions. Fact which is staring everybody in the face, but is too horrifying to recognize? Klein is a hang-out artist.
- Marg Uerite
Sean, I asked readers of the 9/11 Friend Feed room to come comment here.. Marg did. I couldn't agree with Marg more, except I'm not as convinced that Klein is fully aware of what she is ignorant of.
- bill giltner
It's really quite simple: there is a line one cannot cross with regard to asking questions about 9/11 without losing access to the mainstream media. Naomi Klein knows the unspoken rules.
- Sean McBride
Photographs of old computers - http://oldcomputers.net/pics...
Mike Reynolds, B. Hatin and Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
I think I've owned a few of these.
- Steven Perez
from Bookmarklet
Thank you for this, I owned several, but I drooled over all of them.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
I always wanted a Timex-Sinclair.
- Mike Reynolds
10 Reasons To Choose Linux in a Bad Economy - http://www.daniweb.com/blogs...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
"Whether the ailing economy is real or imagined, you might be looking for ways to shed some pounds off your bloated IT budget. You should seriously consider Linux and Open Source software to put your 2009 financial appetite on a diet. Here are 10 reasons to choose Linux in a bad economy and none of them have to do with the fact that Linux is free."
- Steven Perez
from Bookmarklet
YouTube - Stephen Hypocrite - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
Video of Stephen Harper clearly advocating the position taken by the coalition with BQ support.
- Chris Luckhardt
from Bookmarklet
Yes, well, that was when he was in the opposition. Now everything is much, much different, and if you disagree you are a traitor.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
globeandmail.com: GG made Harper work for prorogue - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
In her historic meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean discussed Canada's economic situation, the viability of an alternative coalition government and the mood of Parliament.
- Chris Luckhardt
from Bookmarklet
Climate change, drought to strain Colorado River - http://news.yahoo.com/s...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz, Santa CW™, Jason Wehmhoener and liked this
"Without fundamental shifts in water management, the result will be shortages and difficult decisions about who in the seven states the river serves will get water and who will go without, said Dave Wegner, science director for the Glen Canyon Institute, which organized the one-day conference at the University of Utah. "To me, it's not going to be a pretty debate," Wegner said. The changes are already being seen in reduced water flows, higher air temperatures and an unrelenting demand on the Colorado, which snakes across more than 1,400 miles and provides water for farms, businesses, cities and homes. The river serves Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah, an area where 30 million people live."
- MikeAmundsen
from Bookmarklet
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy - http://www.amazon.com/dp...
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Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
Poll: Calif. gay marriage ban driven by religion - http://news.yahoo.com/s...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz, tinypants - Hagitha of FF, Rochelle and 4 other people liked this
Voters' economic status and religious convictions played a greater role than race and age in determining whether they supported the Nov. 4 ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California, a new poll shows. The ban drew its strongest support from both evangelical Christians and voters who didn't attend college, according to results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.
- Derrick
from Bookmarklet
Thanks for posting this.
- Jack (a.k.a. Jeber)
Sure thing, Jack. As a gay Californian, I feel it's something to pay very close attention to, for my livelihood and others.
- Derrick
So what happens when a constitutional amendment is at odds with the state and/or federal constitution?
- Michael W. May
Good question, MWM, and one for which I don't have the answer. I find it really interesting, at least in California, what has happened as a result of Prop 8 passing here. Where was all this bravado and fire BEFORE the election?
- Derrick
I think too many people felt that there was no way California would really make this a constitutional amendment, and rested on their laurels. I think if we'd been a more vocal presence statewide and beyond, we would have swung that 6-8% needed to make this right. But anyway, that's the past and what's done is done, and now we fight harder than ever before. I still have a bunch of...
more...
- tinypants - Hagitha of FF
NDP, Liberals reach deal to topple minority Tory government - http://www.cbc.ca/canada...
Louis Simoneau, Chuck LeDuc Díaz, Andrew Smith and 2 other people liked this
I know I'm in the minority here. But this is nothing but power hungry politics. I am left wondering how a government can be in power that WAS NOT elected by the people -- how is that democracy?
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
from Bookmarklet
Welcome to parliamentary democracy: we elect ministers, not governments.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
This is a consequence of a minority government that can't cooperate with the opposition. I think it's a symptom of poor capacity for governance, which is unsurprising for a party which dogmatically states that government is intrinsically evil.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
It's b/c it's a multi-party system, not solely dominated by two parties who transfer power back and forth, therefore the vote split is much larger. It's called "first past the post", or somewhat likened to proportional representation and is considered more democratic as it offers more choice for voters.
- sofarsoShawn
I think proportional representation would be much more likely to result in a coalition government than the current system. And I think that's a good thing.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Exactly as compromises have to be reached cross parties.
- sofarsoShawn
To govern, a party needs to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. The Conservatives attempt to govern without negotiating with the opposition parties, despite the fact that they don't hold a majority in the House. Considering that the three opposition parties have a majority of the seats, and received >60% of the vote, if they manage to make it work, the result will be MORE representative of the results of the election than a minority party trying to act on their own.
- Scott of Two Countries
@V You may have voted for them -- but the people of Canada as a whole didn't elect them.
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
Ignoring the NDP for a minute (which is very easy to do) - the Liberal party didn't just lose the election - they were shown the door. Now, I'm not beholden to any one party - at some point I've voted for them all, so I can say this with a good deal of unbiased candor... The Liberal party is a dysfunctional gang of dopes who believe in one thing and one thing only: ENTITLEMENT.
- Kevin Cearns
In the parliamentary system we cast votes for individuals, not for parties. The parties are imaginary: affiliations and alliances change. It's called politics, and some are better at it than others. I personally think the Conservatives are much better at opposition than they are at governing, and they should be relieved they won't be responsible for governing over the next two years (which promise to be disastrous).
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
The conservatives won 37% of the popular vote. If you combine the votes received by the NDP, Liberals, Greens, and Bloc (who agree on a lot more issues than they disagree on), they received 61% of the popular vote. So the population of Canada massively voted in favour of swift action on climate change and left-wing social policies, but because of the uneven concentration of votes, the 37% that voted Conservative get to dictate terms for the rest of us? I say bring on the coalition.
- Louis Simoneau
@Louis That rationalization is flawed. The people voted for a specific party and their policies. There is still a large philosophical gap between the Liberals and NDP. If there were to be an election today, the coalition wouldn't just simply have a combined policy of the two parties, this is a totally different platform.
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
Remember the huge "anybody but Harper" campaign? I do. I remember newspapers with voting guides on how to vote strategically to prevent a Conservative majority.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
If the shoe was on the other foot you would hear constant cries and complaints about elections being stolen and democracy's death to tyranny and on and on. I know this.
- Mike Lewis
No Shey you're wrong Harper tried to subvert good governance & no amount of back peddling puts it right. He is duty bound to resign as head of conservatives.... perhaps another leader would be able to gain the confidence of the majority of members. 60% of the population voted for other parties. Our constitution is quite clear on the proper checks and balances in our governance and Harper ignored them at his own peril - I don't think the government should fall, his party should have turfed him last week
- David HC Soul
Gee thanks David. My opinion is wrong because your opinion says so. Anyways, I'm not tied to any leader or party. If Harper must go so be it, I won't miss him. But this is whole coalition thing is just a pathetic (yet legal and effective) attempt at a power grab. Listening to Dion's speech today, he's being totally hypocritical by not following his own advice of working with the other side and accepting defeat.
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
Even if Harper manages to convince the Liberal-appointed Governor General to suspend parliament and provides a sound budget, they'll still go through with the coalition. Why? Because politicians are politicians, doesn't matter if you are left, right, or center. It's just too bad our system gives them so much power. Harper was arrogant to think he wasn't going to piss people off with partisan politics. And the Liberal-NDP are now trumping that with the ultimate partisan move.
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
Harper blew it and should go( I mean he should go as leader). He blew it and put parliament in a terrible state. But, what he didn't do was wreck the country. Nobody lost a job this week because of him. No bank failed because of it. Nobody lost their home because of it. The GDP didn't go down and cats and dogs didn't suddenly start getting married. I would rather jump off a cliff than let dionlaytonduceppe have a chance to blow it because imho they'll set a new standard for wrecking things.
- Capn' One Eye - adrift
Shey: Sorry, I should have been more specific in my statement. I should have said I believe you are wrong in saying it "is nothing but power hungry politics" in Canada the principle of Parliament confidence in the government is a foundation of the system. This is not a matter of opinion - It is the duty of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition to call for a confidence vote if they feel the government has lost the support confidence of the majority of members - and the throne speech did just that.
- David HC Soul
The vote of confidence is our primary tool in our system's "Checks and Balance" where the leader of the party with the largest number of members (whether majority or not) is nominally the chief executive of the country as well as the head of parliament. It's an essential part of good governance, and I think too important a principle to be tossed aside when government has tried to abuse its powers (btw I think the public at large will thrash the liberals for this next election, but it is their duty).
- David HC Soul
I want another election. 300 mil is a small price to pay compared to the billions this coalition will send down the toilet.
- Capn' One Eye - adrift
New tape confirms: Obama Not Born in the U.S. - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
How will the Governor-General make her decision? - Posted - http://network.nationalpost.com/np...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz and Chris Luckhardt liked this
"Traditionally, the G-G's role has been a largely ceremonial one. How bound is the G-G by protocol, and how flexible can she be in her decision? These conventions are unwritten. They are the unwritten parts of our Constitution. We rarely face the kind of situations we face now, to say the least. So there is always a bit of debate about what these prerogatives are, or the nature of her authority in these situations. So, she is bound, in a way, by precedents, but you have to apply these precedents and the unwritten rules to the specific facts of the case. So, in that sense, a big part of it is judgment — you can't just apply a formula."
- cecily
from Bookmarklet
For some random reason I'm talking like Miss Cleo right now. lol
Chuck LeDuc Díaz and Morton Fox liked this
Seemsic, please?
- Derrick
errrrm I think it just sounded good in my mind ... lol
- Brandon
"It felt so real."
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Jim Prentice Tries To Defend The Canadian DMCA Bill C-61 - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
Wow. I really like GIT (i went with github)
Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
Git is great, Github is awesome. There's nothing better AFAIK.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Brave New World: Its All About Content and Rights - http://bookseller-association....
Chuck LeDuc Díaz liked this
It is a strange blog-post. It says something like "Ah, so we see that the lobbyist pushed moneygrab that is copyright extension benefits almost exclusively businesses with failed business models." So what are we supposed to conclude from the blog post. The copyright extension proposal is sold on lies about benefiting small artists and it tramples on consumers. But it is good because we want *consistency* in the abuse of consumers...?
- Anders Norgaard
This is written about the book publishing industry, by someone with a bookseller's perspective. I am not sure if it translates to the scientific publishing world?
- Maxine
No, I am quite sure I will not apply to scientific publishing. It is only about audio and audio/visual material. And it is a truely mindblowing moneygrab from a narrow range of business interests. Even the association of danish newspaper publishers (who are no strangers to copyright extremism and maximalism) condem the proposal. They reject the notion that the proposal will not harm...
more...
- Anders Norgaard
The concern I had regarding stories like this (and related lobbying efforts) is that often the legislation written is often not specific to the industry lobbying for protection. For example, the DMCA was passed in response to lobbying from the A/V industries, however, it has been pointed out that it also regulates certain types of scientific research.
- Hilary
Openly gay marchers debut at Haiti AIDS rally - http://www.google.com/hostedn...
Dee S., Tyson Key, Nurse Katie and 7 other people liked this
A dozen men in T-shirts declaring "I am gay" and "I am living with HIV/AIDS" marched with hundreds of other demonstrators through a Haitian city on Sunday in what organizers called the Caribbean nation's first openly gay march.
- Derrick
from Bookmarklet
In Haiti. Wow.
- Admiral Anika
Which is awesome, Anika. If Haiti can organize a successful and visible gay march, then how long will it be before gays are getting married not just in in California, but in the states, other countries, etc. Little step, by little step.
- Derrick
I know. I thought I had died when India and some Eastern European nation last year had theirs. The pics I saw from the one in Russia were amazing too. Too bad, the gov't allowed people to assault the marchers.
- Admiral Anika
'Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty' - http://www.wired.com/science...
Chuck LeDuc Díaz, tinypants - Hagitha of FF, Yolanda and 4 other people liked this
define "beauty"...
- Live4Emma (L4S)
hey now. interestingly enough, he does really resemble a more "mature" woman. the wig is all dame edna edmunds-like
- Cee Bee
Maybe she is not photogenic. =P
- Shevonne
The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking With Balls - http://www.geekologie.com/2008...
Dieter Schwarz, i palindrome i, Chuck LeDuc Díaz and 9 other people liked this
Bon Appetit!
- Live4Emma (L4S)
from Bookmarklet
Man, Im surprised it isn't the dude from Bizarre Foods
- Shevonne
no effing way... don't the boys just cringe at the thought of this?
- Trish Haley
*cringe*
- Scott of Two Countries
lol!
- DO ANYBODY NO MONIQUE
*cringe*
- ha3rvey (just a friend)
Nope.
- Derrick
@Sheryl - that comment alone, got me to subscribe to you....HA!
- Live4Emma (L4S)
No thank you
- Valley
yum?
- Cee Bee
HUH ??
- johnpiercy
Ewwwwww.
- heather ♥s fauns on mars.
Gross!
- Mona Nomura
Yikes!
- kbourke
F. Mc Lintocks steakhouse in San Luis Obispo has Turkey Nuts on their menu. Breaded and deep fried turkey nuts. They taste like chicken.
- Jeremy Brooks
Turkey and/or chicken I could get into. Beef or pork is just too much for me. Makes my head go boom.
- Derrick
This book isn't put out by the Soylent company by chance is it?
- Joe Pierce
nooooooooooooooooo!
- Morgan Haley
Awesome moment in the Castro. Streets packed with moviegoers for Milk. A real sense of gay solidarity amongst complete strangers.
Michelle Martinez, Michael W. May, Chuck LeDuc Díaz and 2 other people liked this
I wish I was there.
- Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Indians See Mobile Phones as a Necessity in Economic Crisis - http://www.pcworld.com/article...
winckel, Chuck LeDuc Díaz, Atul Arora and Steve Spalding liked this
"India's mobile services market continues to be buoyant, despite the global economic slowdown that has hit the Indian economy. Indian users see mobile communications as a necessity, and that is the reason why sales of connections to new subscribers are not slowing down despite the economic crisis, said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner, on Wednesday."
- FFing Enigma (aka Tina)
from Bookmarklet
World's First Web Server and Web Site (1990): a NeXT computer at CERN - http://www.oddee.com/item_96...
Jason, Chuck LeDuc Díaz, mikepk and Ladybug Heather liked this
"Info.cern.ch was the address of the world's first-ever web site and web server, running on a NeXT computer at CERN. The first web page address was http://info.cern.ch/hyperte..., made by Tim Berners-Lee."
- LogEx
from Bookmarklet
Sign Win « FAIL Blog: Pictures and Videos of Owned, Pwnd and Fail Moments - http://failblog.org/2008...
Andy Bakun, John Morrissey, John Lam and 9 other people liked this
Damn. They should've stapled the response to the board out of principle. I would've.
- ::Kristen::
That would definitely have brought it full circle...
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
@::Kristen:: lol
- j1m
Science : When people feel helpless, superstition flourishes - http://groups.yahoo.com/group...
Donna Mugavero, Steven Cains, Chuck LeDuc Díaz and 7 other people liked this
Perhaps this also accounts for why so many neoconservatives earnestly believe that Muslims are on the verge of overthrowing American democracy and installing an Islamic dictatorship.
- Sean McBride
Al - democracy is great. Let's hope we can keep ours.
- Sean McBride
For democracy to function, a majority of the parts have to be working properly. The last 8 years, we've seen what happens when even one of them gets lazy.
- Rick Powell
Rick: under the Bush administration, we have witnessed the collapse of the Congress and the Fourth Estate (the journalistic establishment, the mainstream media). No democracy can survive this state of affairs for very long without lapsing into a fascist dictatorship.
- Sean McBride
And let me add that Obama may well make things worse and continue the policies and practices of the Bush administration. Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton played key roles in gutting the Democratic Party and blocking congressional opposition to Bush 43 and the neoconservatives. Their political faction seems to be seizing control of Obama.
- Sean McBride
that is how allegedly first religions were born...humans had no knowledge whatsoever and felt helpless..that is how pre-civilization had Great Goddesses and Bulls worshiped and all other gods associated with natural phenomena..
- Hayk H.
Ancient religions are in some respects mostly bad science -- attempts to explain causal relations in the world that are grounded in pure ignorance. But they are also useful windows into fundamental human psychology and mental processes. (I'm a big fan of Joseph Campbell.)
- Sean McBride
Well said, Sean. We are a pattern-seeking species.
- Donna Mugavero
Gregory- I would say that it's not an innate knowing, but rather an innate longing to be part of something larger, as is the desire for community. Then again, I only subscribe to the rational.
- Donna Mugavero
Gregory, that sounds very poetic, but I'm not exactly sure where you're going with that. I don't consider my skepticism a tragic state of being and it certainly doesn't limit my experience of the world.
- Donna Mugavero
Religion is a way of attempting to gain control of the vastness and confusion of existence. And love is largely the result of DNA, chemistry and circumstance.
- Donna Mugavero
Religion is an expression of the deepest fears, anxieties, needs, wants, desires and hopes of the human race. That is one way to look at it. In the hands of power-mad despots, it is a manipulative instrument of social control. In the Abrahamic tradition, religion often serves as a pretext and excuse to commit genocide, to exterminate entire peoples and nations and steal their land and resources. For Christian Zionists, religion is an inspiration to try to destroy the entire world as soon as possible.
- Sean McBride
True, Sean. Also, show me a terrorist who has no self-professed religious affiliation. Seriously, I can't think of any.
- Donna Mugavero
Gregory - submerging one's ego in cult groupthink is also a characteristic of every violent and aggressive religious movement that has afflicted the human race. The problem is, "religion" means many things to many different people. What religions and religious sects are you referring to?
- Sean McBride
Gregory -- doesn't the religious impulse at its root originate in the human need to explain what is going on the world? And to use those world models, which are usually the product of magical thinking and bad science, to try to control the world? To fend off bad things (destructive forces in nature, social enemies, etc.)? Try reading the Bible, especially the earliest (and most ancient) books, with an eye on that psychological tendency. What do you think?
- Sean McBride
V+ In some ways, Buddhism seems to be the most enlightened, the most advanced and the most futuristic religion, and the one most compatible with science and reason.
- Sean McBride
Donna -- we are a pattern-seeking species, and we are a pattern-imposing and pattern-projecting species. Often our world models are projections of our innate mental structures, about which we are often blithely unconscious. Science and empiricism are an effort to break out of the prison of our unconscious mental projections.
- Sean McBride
"blithely unconscious" is an oxymoron, as "blithely" denotes consciousness. And, as for patterns, the multiverse is itself a pattern, just as Einstein intuited.
- eggsy
Gregory -- I understand where you are coming from. When you mean "ancient," you mean really ancient. :) At its most primal level, religion is grounded in an overpowering sense of the mystery and majesty of the universe. From that fundamental intuition, one can move in both good and bad directions. You are focusing on the positive side; some of us here tend to notice more the negative side of modern religious organizations and movements.
- Sean McBride
Have a bit of fun: "blithely unconscious" http://www.google.com/search... D.H. Lawrence used the expression in The Rainbow, which I read quite a long time ago. Perhaps I lifted the phrase from him. :)
- Sean McBride
So Lawrence made the same error in phraseology. What does that mean?
- eggsy
Gregory -- the most primal intuitions at the heart of religion have produced much of the great art in the world. That's the positive side. But great art transcends the ideological and doctrinal impulses which often disfigure organized religions.
- Sean McBride
That is not an error -- that is a literary device, and an excellent one, like "darkness visible" (from John Milton). "blithely unconscious" = happily ignorant
- Sean McBride
Perhaps eggsy can instruct Lawrence in the art of literature. :)
- Sean McBride
Unconscious and ignorant are essentially distinct from each other. One, indeed, can be blithely ignorant, but not blithely unconscious. Incidentally, "darkness" is not contrary with "visible" in any way.
- eggsy
I could indeed.
- eggsy
From the Free Dictionary: [blithely: 1. Carefree and lighthearted. 2. Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: "spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation."] "blithe ignorance" -- part of the core definition here -- is quite close to "blithely unconscious." Synonyms for "blithely": gayly, happily, jubilantly, merrily, mirthfully. Joining "blithely" with "ignorant" or "unconscious" creates a somewhat comic mental image.
- Sean McBride
Eggsy -- the main point of an oxymoron is to create an ostensibly illogical or self-contradictory juxtaposition which jars the mind into seeing a deeper truth.
- Sean McBride
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