marjon9

I'm so glad he is getting out before his death in prison. That would have been very sad. He's a courageous guy, indeed. Thanks, Jack!

Where in the world does this hostility come from? Why would you take it on as your mission to deny me satisfaction? I have never done anything on this board other than have fun. Would you want everyone to agree with you all the time? All you people attacking me for joking around on this board are just making yourselves look petty and ridiculous. I really feel sorry for you. Regarding my "kill the Christians" post, as you call it, I had no intention at all of having people "rise" to any "bait." I still cannot believe that anyone even noticed it. musicalmomma made a joke. I responded in passing. If you read more to it than that you are absolutely wrong.

gadgetlady think of what you are saying here. Do you really want to challenge me here about the venomous nature of my postings? I don't notice that you are particularly short of venom yourself. I still don't consider you hateful, by the way. But more than anything, I think if you take a step back and think about it, you will realize that you have had most of your fun on this board debating articulate and intelligent people who disagree with you. I'm one of those people. Take a deep breath and think about what we are doing here. We are having fun on a message board. That's it. I know you sense some sort of mob mentality on this thread directed toward me right now, where you think you can gain some points by joining the chorus. But I think you are just making yourself look petty and silly by doing it. And let me say again, I did nothing the least bit inappropriate, hypocritical, or in bad taste here by matching musicalmomma's sarcastic remark with one of my own. There is absolutely nothing wrong with joking about politics, religion, sex, or any other controversial subject. Anyone who does not like that can take a long walk down a one way street, as far as I am concerned. This is always what you are going to get from me. But do I "hate" anybody? Of course not.

I don't mind if you call me tactless. Just understand that my lack of tact is not a matter of unawareness or a lack of understanding of what I am doing. That is not what is going on here. When I push buttons and say things that tend to challenge people or even offend them on occasion, it is always quite deliberate when it is on the rants and raves discussions. You can argue that that is in bad taste or tactless if you wish. I would disagree with you, I think it makes the board fun. But in any event, get used to it. This would be too boring for me if I were not able, on occasion, to be tactless.

I've said this before, but just to be clear, I have absolutely nothing against any person for their religion. Someone who believes in Christ is totally fine with me. I have no hidden or surface animosity toward any Christian, or any person of any religion. The reason I poke fun at "Christians" quite frequently is because certain groups and individuals hold the point of view that they have the right, if not the duty, to tell other people how to live their lives, and indeed, legislate how other people should live their lives. That's the part that is intolarable to me. But even when talking about this topic I do not have genuine bad feelings toward other people on this board. I enjoy lively debate about serious topics, and I enjoy joking about serious topics. I admit that sometimes I say things in a way that I know will push buttons, and I do it deliberately. But I can take it in return, and it is never done with any genuine ill will toward any other person. Finally, I want to say that I think you are sort of stuck with me as I am. I often like to stir things up. I'm sure I will keep doing it. If I were not able to do that I would not be very interested in participating here, at least not on the rants and raves part of the board. But overall, I feel comfortable with my contribution here, I never intend to hurt anyone, and I know that I do not carry ill will toward any person.

I go away for another couple hours, and come back to this. Amazing. FunnyDuddies, you are so far out of line you are really starting to embarass yourself. If you had a nickle for every time I've expressed "hatred" on this board, you'd have about 4 cents right now. If you want to be angry at someone for sarcasm, why are you skipping musicalmomma? It's not that I think she was out of line here at all, but apparently you do because she engaged in religion-oriented sarcasm. So why attack me? You and I disagree on every issue I have run across yet, but I have never expressed any "hatred" for you or anyone else, certainly not because of religion. Do you really think I should be banned from the board for matching musicalmomma's sarcasm? Can you possibly be serious? If you can't handle a little sarcasm, I recommend you skip that rants and raves area of the board.

I go away for a couple hours and look what happens. I'm sorry folks, this is absolutely absurd. musicalmomma made a sarcastic remark, all in good fun, that "Betcha wouldn't be opposed to the death penalty if all those peske fundamentalist christian's heads were on the choping block...after tall they ARE the scourge of the earth, right?" And I answered, yes you are right, I'm in favor of the death penalty for fundamentalist christians. And now a day later I'm about to be drawn and quartered, (but done in a Kosher manner, of course) so I can be fed to the Jews. Or something like that. Pleeeeaaassseee!!!!!!!!!!! people. Get a grip. In one way I am for the death penalty for fundamentalist christians. It would get rid of people with NO SENSE OF HUMOR. Oops. There I go again with my inappropriate, hypocritical behavior. You guys are too much. Just to clarify, I oppose the death penalty for all, even fundamentalist christians (although many of them probably deserve it). JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Yes, but only fundamentalist Christians

It may be done "in the name" of the family members, that does not mean the family members agree with it. Some do, but many "family members" do not agree with capital punishment, and the opinion of the family members means nothing in that situation. The state does what it wants to do in this regard. It's only when the families are in favor of capital punishment that the state acts "in the name of" the family members.

Actually, that's a good point. I guess it's probably more accurate for me to say that I'm against the death penalty except in the case of fundamentalist Christians.

Yeah, that's the problem with America, life in prison is practically a vacation.

To me the issue is not about the condemned individual, who probably deserves what he gets most of the time. To me the issue relates to my own human dignity, and what acts I'm willing to commit, or allow others to commit in my name. Capital punishment is simply beneath my dignity, especially when there is no benefit of any kind to the victim or potential future victim. There isn't even a cost savings compared to keeping someone in prison. And if you want to really torture the hell out someone and make them pay, life in prison is far worse than a quick death. So there is simply no reason to justify debasing ourselves to that degree, as the people of most other nations have concluded..

Is she OK?

Did somebody say it was our duty to help people coming from another country? Just trying to follow your argument here.

Ohio lethal injection takes 2 hours, 10 tries - CNN.com I am so proud to stand with the few countries left, like China, North Korea, Syria and Saudi Arabia, that still allow the death penalty. :note2: I'm proud to be an American, :note2:where at least I know we can still execute people :note2: we may be totally incompetent at doing it :note2: but who cares, no one can stop us anyway :note2: because we're American :note2: and our flag has stripes on it :note2: and we let people go to the bathroom if it takes too long :note2: :note2: :note2:

The points green makes are the types of arguments that make sense to me. I do understand frustration about illegals, and I do feel like something needs to be done. We can't just open our borders to the world's poor, for a lot of reasons. BUT -- I also cannot escape the knowledge that the "average" American still leads a life of incredible wealth, comfort and security compared to the rest of the world. We use so much more than our "share" of the earth's resources, and we do by far the greatest damage to the environment. We are not bad people, and we should not feel guilty for our affluence. But on the other hand, I have a very hard time feeling the intense anger that so many people are expressing on this thread. Regardless of any intellectual arguments, my compassion for these people trumps my indignation over the higher taxes I must pay. And most significantly, I also know for sure that I would be doing the exact same thing if I were in their shoes (if they have shoes). My wife and I have some visitors right now from a former soviet bloc country where my wife is originally from. This place is not considered to be Third World, by any means. People are generally well educated. These visitors won the "green card lottery" and they are here trying to see if they should move to the U.S. I've talked to them about their life back home. These people are considered quite average financially in their home country, and they are not starving, but they have a standard of living that is so much lower than ours it is astounding. The government recently discontinued supplying hot Water, so they don't have that anymore. And water itself is shut off completely, and unpredictably, for extended periods of time. The price for natural gas just went up by 30%. The condition of the roads is so bad they are almost impossible to use (One of the first comments they made when they arrived is how impressed they were with our roads). And he also told me that the government is so corrupt that it is as if the mafia runs the country. The only way to get anything at all from a government agency is to pay a bribe. He said that there is really no future at all in his country for his 16 year old daughter (imagine how that feels). And this is not considered a poor country, in particular. I just think that the standard of living experienced by the vast majority of the rest of the world is on a level that most Americans simply cannot imagine, and know nothing about at all. So, as my overstuffed ass sits here in my overstuffed chair typing on one of the several computers I own, I just have a really, really hard time getting "angry" at the people who are trying to find a decent, secure toe hold somewhere on this earth for themselves and their families. Yes, I want to do something to make the borders more secure. But as we lock out all these horrible "illegals," I would hope there is room for something in our hearts besides "anger."

But Dan Marino wouldn't lie to us, would he !?!

Sanjaya!!!!

While I am strongly pro-choice, I also do not agree with Peaches on this. I understand her point, and it is true that the world does not "need" more hungry mouths to feed. But I don't believe we help the unfortunate children of the world by increasing abortions in wealthier countries. I believe the best way to honor the lives of those less fortunate is to honor life everywhere. I am still strongly pro-choice, however, because I believe that the woman must have the final choice in her own particular circumstances, and that the moral values of others should not dictate the course of action in this most personal of all circumstances. Abortion is unique in that two entities are inextricably intertwined, and decisions relating to one necessarily affect the other. In that situation the adult, living woman must have the freedom to make the call. To honor life in this situation, to me, means to honor the life of the woman. In the case of an unwanted pregnancy, someone is going to have to pay a high price. I understand the theory of dropping off the unwanted child like dry cleaning, but I just don't agree that it is that simple. Not by a long shot. And regardless of what anyone thinks of the morality of the woman's choice, it must be her choice.

I just want to weigh in here by saying that I agree we should enforce our immigration laws and we need to strengthen them as well. We need to protect ourselves and we can't take care of all the world's poor. We already allow many to enter legally. But, I also have to be honest and say, if I saw my family suffering I would cross the border illegally, and do it over and over again if that's what it took. And I feel confident that everyone on this forum would do the same if they were faced with that situation and had a way. So, I think it is very important here not to lay the blame at the feet of people who are trying to find a decent life. It's fine to call them illegal and all that. But the truth is, every one of us would do the same if our child was hungry. I think it is important to remember that.

I'm a little unclear about what your husband does not understand. Is it that you want the band, or that you want your sister to take you to your surgery?

One long journey ends and another begins. Great news. This may call for the use of an all too overused term: Woo Hoo! :clap2:

I am quite law abiding in general, and I agree that one should generally have a mindset of always obeying the law. BUT - I do believe that there are situations where obeying the law conflicts with a persons values to a degree that is intolerable, and the person needs to be true to their own values before being true to the law. I believe that people who went to Canada to escape the draft were law breakers, but I would have done the same in a second if I had found myself in that position. There have always been examples of what is known as "civil disobedience." Does the "Boston Tea Party" ring a bell? How about the lifetime acts of Mahatma Gandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. So for me, I do believe that there are situations where the law must go out the window. With respect to immigration, I understand everyone's frustration, and I am for tighter immigration laws. But I can also say this without the slightest hesitation: If I saw my family suffering I would have crossed the border illegally in a Nuevo York minute. And I would have done it over and over and over again, no matter what it took. Think what you want of me, but there is no question but that is what I would have done. And to be honest, I think the same is true of every one of you. Which, by the way, is a sign of my respect for you.

Wow, your surgery is tomorrow and you are nervous? That is so weird. I don't think I've heard of that happening before. NOT!!!! Just kidding with you. I think everyone goes through exactly the same thing. If you have time, try running a couple searches on the forum with terms like "second thoughts." You'll see that you are not alone. Just try and remember that you thought about this decision for a long time and considered it very carefully at times when you were "cool, calm, and collected" as the saying goes. If it made sense to you during all those times, then it is probably the right thing to do. There is no magic answer to get through this nervous time. Just try and remember that it will all be over very soon now, and you'll be starting your bandster journey. As for the pain, some people have some pain for a few days, but they give you pain meds and it's not bad for most people. If you have not done so already, you might want to get some Gas-x strips, or something like that. Apparently some people have gas pains for a while (they fill you up with air during surgery, I hear). Beyond that, walk a lot as soon as you can. And be sure to stick with the post op diet. I'm sure you've heard all this before. Good luck tomorrow.

What does F @#!%^%K mean? Is there a possible typo in there?