that is scary that for someone that graduated harvard doesn't know what the job of the Supreme Court is.
Your right, the primary function of the Supreme Court is to preserve the integrity of the constitution. Preserve it in the face of encroachment of the other branches. Who do you think threatens the integrity of the constitution? Obama got it right, I don't think all those years in law school were a waste.
if so and that is his thinking that is very scary. that basically gives total control to the court system which is not what is suppose to happen.
Why are conservative always so afraid of the judiciary? Both Congress and the President have power on a much larger magnitude than any power of the court. Not to mention, the court only ever effectively has power so long as the other branches respect its decisions. It is very easy to simply ignore the court (it's been done.) Thats on top of any number of other means the other branches have to check the court (which are substantial).
In order for organic life forms to exist, it needs air, water, and sun. We can only assume these strangers from other worlds (if they exist) have a similar planet to ours, e.i. An atmosphere, self sustaining ecosystems, lots of water, and plenty of phosphorescent life. With that being the case, how far fetched would it be to conclude, under these similar circumstances, that these organisms may evolve into what appears to be some kind of a humanoid race? Monkeys did it...given a few thousand more years (maybe millions) we may see Monkeys living in similar environments as we do now, and we (human race) may be something entirely different (what we stereotype as the typical gray alienoid). :exhale:
See, thats the funny thing. We evolved together on the same planet and diverged from the same ancestors. If you go back far enough, your likely able to trace every species on earth to a single micro-organism, or even a whole menagerie of organisms. The point being, all those organism evolved together on the same planet. Just look at the incredible diversity of life we have just on this planet though, kinds of life that just don't have anything in common with others beyond the cellular level.
To imagine that an organism on an entirely different planet would evolve into anything like us, and on top of that, visit us, is just hubris and nothing else. That's not to mention your not considering the possibility that life can exist in forms other than we know it on this planet.
Contacting inanimate organics is just not as interesting as a 9 foot gray fella with huge eyes and silky smooth body language.
THIS is what it really boils down to. 9 foot grey fellas make for much better myth making than something thats likely to exist.
My biggest problem with Roswell and other alien visits, is the fact they look like little people. I mean, seriously? The lifeforms indigenous, at least, to another solar system, if not another galaxy, just happens to look vaguely like humans? I mean, the odds of them looking anything like a specific species on this planet is up there already, but why specifically humans? Perhaps because we need this egocentric, masturbatory myth about little grey men to make us feel special. "Look, these advanced species from another planet look like us and are interested in our humble little planet!"
That on top of a medley of other issues...
My guess is when we contact aliens, our demise will shortly follow after...
That, or we contact them. I don't see why they have to be more advanced then us. I'm sure there is a lovely planet out there with some algae blooms* floating around on an ocean and not much else.
*Algae blooms used only for illustrative purposes. I'm not claiming this as fact, just using it as a conceptual device.
Don't get her flowers, get her a flowering plant. Flowers wilt and die, but the plant can live year after year as long as you give it proper care. (This is a relationship metaphor, if you hadn't figured that out yet.) Flowers if you want to bed her, a plant if you want to keep her. Thats my motto. Well, it would be if I had a motto.
As for what kind... I think Geraniums are quite spectacular and have a lovely smell, but you can hardly go wrong as long as it blooms. Just make sure to put it in a nice clay pot. Plastic pots are very tacky. You can probably find something nice at a grocery store, though you may have to go elsewhere for the pot. Should not be very expensive, $8.00 for the plant and $4.00 for the pot, something around there.
How much does this cripple McCain's Foreign Policy?
It doesn't. No one who is going to vote for McCain cares because they disagree with that stance from the beginning. They'll just ignore it and continue talking about "factors on the ground". Ignoring someone who probably knows the "factors on the ground" better than anyone, but they can still say it.
This actually makes me fairly nervous. I hope and prey they didn't alter it too much because it could be one of the most devastating scenes ever put into a movie if they do it the same as the comic.
That certainly would be disappointing. 2:00+ Hours of good movie.... until the last 10 minutes. I am going to try and not get my hopes up, just because the constraints of a film and the constraints of 2-3 hours of run-time mean it can't faithfully depict the book in any great detail. Pretty close, I can live with though.
Cutting the Black Freighter should be enough to at least have some wiggle room. Who knows what else will not make it though?
Edit:
To add to the jinxing, the song in the trailer is Smashing Pumpkin's "The End is the Beginning is the End", which was in the movie "Batman & Robin".
I remember reading in an interview that they actually made Ozymandias costume to parody the "nipple-plates" in "Batman & Robin".
Mageknight is not half bad, if you don't mind poorly painted/produced miniatures. I have fond memories of when I played (years ago now). As a plus, if you do take it up, you can get Mage Knight figures incredibly cheap on EBay.
Well they can't screw it up worse than From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or V for Vendetta...
Oh dang. I just jinxed it, haven't I?
Quiet! If they screw this up I am holding YOU personally responsible.
I quite liked that trailer. If nothing else, it will at least look good. I don't know about Nite Owl trying to pose as Batman, and the Comedian (albeit in the one scene you see him from behind a flamethrower) did not look quite like I expected. All in all not bad, but what's up with Sally's Laurie's costume? I don't seem to remember THAT much skin in the novel. I suppose every movie has to get its sex appeal from somewhere...
Anyone reading this thread, and thinking that's a pretty cool trailer, DO run, not walk, to your nearest book store to pick up the novel. It really is as good as everyone says.
Edit: Watched it again. Sally is actually wearing quite a bit of clothing, just couldn't tell from the lighting.
Edit2: Excellent choice of music for a trailer. Rather, this trailer.
There's no reason it would come to be through evolutionary mutation, since it's not beneficial to mans main goal - to reproduce. Therefore, it wouldn't be passed down as a mutation that would become ingrained in a portion of the population. This means that it has to be a brain defect. Brain defects are, by definition, usually something that's "bad", just like autism.
I don't know about that. Imagine a hypothetical population of animals who were reproducing with low infant mortality, virtually no natural predators, and abundant food, shelter, and other necessities of life. Like, say, humans? Maybe homosexuality would be a natural evolutionary response to curb a population's uninhibited growth? Not likely, but it's something to consider.
That said, you say "usually something that's bad...". A mental defect is not bad because its a mental defect, its bad because it adversely affects the survival (in the wild) and general quality of life. Homosexuality does neither (aside from societal persecution, which is hardly the fault of the "defect").
Edit: Remember too that society really throws a monkey wrench into a discussion of what evolutionary happenings "should" occur.
actually they allow marriage, and all the benefits of that. now they just voted down a law that allows anyone anywhere to get married in MA whether you live there or not.
A couple states (New Mexico and Rhode Island amongst them) don't have any legal definition of marriage in their laws, so are still able to be married in Massachusetts I do believe.
as single parent is better than gay parents as this could raise up unorthodox raising methods that could mess up the kid.
I would really appreciate a specific example of how being homosexual inherently makes you unable to function as a parent.
As for gay parents, that is still a problematic issue as a lack of father/mother figure is still harmful.
So if I have two parents who do everything to support me and nurture me, they act like the best parents in the world, I will still end up with irreparable harm because "daddy" had ovaries? Explain please.
It's dishonoring McCain because he never claimed that that was his qualification for being President, and because it belittles his ordeal by the implication.
As far as I am aware, no, he hasn't claimed thats his qualification for president. He has, however, claimed that he has the military experience and experience with national security that Obama lacks. To be fair, the question that prompted this whole debacle did strongly hint, if not outright stating, that that was qualification for president. That's not to mention that I am sure you have, along with myself, heard this from several McCain supporters.
Again, can someone point me to the exact phrase or collection of sentences of Clarks that belittles his ordeal? I don't seem to recall him saying "McCain is crybaby, get over it!" I seem to recall him saying that it has no or little bearing on the presidential election. Call me crazy.
The heroism generally cited is that when is captors offered to release him, he refused until all his fellow prisoners were also set free. He didn't just get tortured, he took it upon himself to endure it.
Very true. I'll rescind my heroism comments, since I completely forgot about this part of the story. My comments on Clark still stand though, independent of anything McCain every did.
You seem to be under the impression that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were representative of the entire Republican Party. Please rid yourself of it at once.
I apologize, I was trying to imply that the hypocrisy of Republicans was not denouncing the slanderous attacks on Kerry, when it helps them, but getting up in arms about this, rather than actively attacking Kerry (though I think one would have to tow the party line pretty hard not to have at least a shred of doubt as to the innocence of Rove and friends.)
As you would probably know if you weren't too busy dismissing everyone with an "R" next to his name to learn about him. Honestly, Sobek, what's gotten into you lately?
Not true. I take the time to learn if they are a talking head for the Republican party or if they have a shred of free will left. Lately? I have been attacking McCain since he got the nomination!
To be fair, since I get the distinct impression you all think I am some Democratic attack dog, I present to you - Sobek's list of things that Obama did to royally cheese him off this week: 1.) Faith-Based Initiatives: This is some bad joke, right? Really, what sort of evil spirit has to possess you to make this look like a good idea? Not only that, he doesn't just want to maintain them, he actually wants to expand these programs! At this rate, I fully expect to see Obama out in a marsh somewhere hunting ducks by next week.
2.) The flag lapel: Seriously, your just pandering to the lowest common denominator now, people with a frankly idiotic conception of patriotism. You may get their vote by waving a flag around, but your sure not making it easy for me.
3.) The aforementioned denunciation of Clark's comment. Politically expedient, but still disappointing.
...to try and dishonor the mans service to his country, by trying to downplay it as something not note-worthy.
I don't understand this Clark thing. Saying that getting shot down in a fighter plane isn't qualification for president =/= dishonoring his service. How in the hell are so many people equating the two? Clark is right; being a prisoner of war, however horrible it is (which it is) doesn't automatically qualify you as a person with national security experience, mention nothing of whether its heroic or not (which I really don't see. The idea that being tortured is heroic is rather unusual. Tragic? Sure. Heroic? I don't see any act of heroism in that.)
Edit: Forgot to mention that the hypocrisy of Republicans complaining about the discrediting of a war hero during a presidential election after the 2004 election is just utterly delicious. Remember kids: only Republicans are war heroes.
Either you go in and assert the control you know they need with total authoritarianism, or you leave them be as a 'sovereign' nation (not my word; I'd prefer "group of persons in self-assembly mired in their own problems").
Hold on, I thought the thread title was "Intervention in Zimbabwe." *checks* Sure is, but for a second I could have sworn you were trying to post in the Iraq War thread. However, I still heartily endorse this service/product. Learn from our past mistakes, pick one evil or another, not the greater evil.
I'm glad someone started a thread for this. I downloaded the free creature creator the other day and had some fun with it, but there is only so much you can make with only a quarter of the parts before you start seeing recurring patterns in your critters.
For those with the full creature creator; do you think its worth the $10? I definitely plan on buying Spore when it comes out, its the only game I have been looking forward to all year, but the part limitation on the trial version is very frustrating.
Your right, the primary function of the Supreme Court is to preserve the integrity of the constitution. Preserve it in the face of encroachment of the other branches. Who do you think threatens the integrity of the constitution? Obama got it right, I don't think all those years in law school were a waste.
Why are conservative always so afraid of the judiciary? Both Congress and the President have power on a much larger magnitude than any power of the court. Not to mention, the court only ever effectively has power so long as the other branches respect its decisions. It is very easy to simply ignore the court (it's been done.) Thats on top of any number of other means the other branches have to check the court (which are substantial).
See, thats the funny thing. We evolved together on the same planet and diverged from the same ancestors. If you go back far enough, your likely able to trace every species on earth to a single micro-organism, or even a whole menagerie of organisms. The point being, all those organism evolved together on the same planet. Just look at the incredible diversity of life we have just on this planet though, kinds of life that just don't have anything in common with others beyond the cellular level.
To imagine that an organism on an entirely different planet would evolve into anything like us, and on top of that, visit us, is just hubris and nothing else. That's not to mention your not considering the possibility that life can exist in forms other than we know it on this planet.
THIS is what it really boils down to. 9 foot grey fellas make for much better myth making than something thats likely to exist.
That on top of a medley of other issues...
That, or we contact them. I don't see why they have to be more advanced then us. I'm sure there is a lovely planet out there with some algae blooms* floating around on an ocean and not much else.
*Algae blooms used only for illustrative purposes. I'm not claiming this as fact, just using it as a conceptual device.
As for what kind... I think Geraniums are quite spectacular and have a lovely smell, but you can hardly go wrong as long as it blooms. Just make sure to put it in a nice clay pot. Plastic pots are very tacky. You can probably find something nice at a grocery store, though you may have to go elsewhere for the pot. Should not be very expensive, $8.00 for the plant and $4.00 for the pot, something around there.
It doesn't. No one who is going to vote for McCain cares because they disagree with that stance from the beginning. They'll just ignore it and continue talking about "factors on the ground". Ignoring someone who probably knows the "factors on the ground" better than anyone, but they can still say it.
This.
Also, Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, while not necessarily good as a piece of literature is extremely entertaining.
If your in the mood for a series of fantasy novels, you can't go wrong with the Earthsea novels, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Best fiction series to date.
Cutting the Black Freighter should be enough to at least have some wiggle room. Who knows what else will not make it though?
Edit: I remember reading in an interview that they actually made Ozymandias costume to parody the "nipple-plates" in "Batman & Robin".
Edit2: Alright, hopefully the last edit for some while. As far as the ending goes, I found this:
http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/071608-watchmen-movie-ending-patrick-wilson.php
Basically, we don't know and probably won't until we see it. A lot of good articles on that site.
I quite liked that trailer. If nothing else, it will at least look good. I don't know about Nite Owl trying to pose as Batman, and the Comedian (albeit in the one scene you see him from behind a flamethrower) did not look quite like I expected. All in all not bad, but what's up with
Sally'sLaurie'sAnyone reading this thread, and thinking that's a pretty cool trailer, DO run, not walk, to your nearest book store to pick up the novel. It really is as good as everyone says.
Edit: Watched it again. Sally is actually wearing quite a bit of clothing, just couldn't tell from the lighting.
Edit2: Excellent choice of music for a trailer. Rather, this trailer.
That said, you say "usually something that's bad...". A mental defect is not bad because its a mental defect, its bad because it adversely affects the survival (in the wild) and general quality of life. Homosexuality does neither (aside from societal persecution, which is hardly the fault of the "defect").
Edit: Remember too that society really throws a monkey wrench into a discussion of what evolutionary happenings "should" occur.
I would really appreciate a specific example of how being homosexual inherently makes you unable to function as a parent.
So if I have two parents who do everything to support me and nurture me, they act like the best parents in the world, I will still end up with irreparable harm because "daddy" had ovaries? Explain please.
Again, can someone point me to the exact phrase or collection of sentences of Clarks that belittles his ordeal? I don't seem to recall him saying "McCain is crybaby, get over it!" I seem to recall him saying that it has no or little bearing on the presidential election. Call me crazy.
Very true. I'll rescind my heroism comments, since I completely forgot about this part of the story. My comments on Clark still stand though, independent of anything McCain every did.
I apologize, I was trying to imply that the hypocrisy of Republicans was not denouncing the slanderous attacks on Kerry, when it helps them, but getting up in arms about this, rather than actively attacking Kerry (though I think one would have to tow the party line pretty hard not to have at least a shred of doubt as to the innocence of Rove and friends.)
Not true. I take the time to learn if they are a talking head for the Republican party or if they have a shred of free will left. Lately? I have been attacking McCain since he got the nomination!
To be fair, since I get the distinct impression you all think I am some Democratic attack dog, I present to you - Sobek's list of things that Obama did to royally cheese him off this week:
1.) Faith-Based Initiatives: This is some bad joke, right? Really, what sort of evil spirit has to possess you to make this look like a good idea? Not only that, he doesn't just want to maintain them, he actually wants to expand these programs! At this rate, I fully expect to see Obama out in a marsh somewhere hunting ducks by next week.
2.) The flag lapel: Seriously, your just pandering to the lowest common denominator now, people with a frankly idiotic conception of patriotism. You may get their vote by waving a flag around, but your sure not making it easy for me.
3.) The aforementioned denunciation of Clark's comment. Politically expedient, but still disappointing.
Edit: Forgot to mention that the hypocrisy of Republicans complaining about the discrediting of a war hero during a presidential election after the 2004 election is just utterly delicious. Remember kids: only Republicans are war heroes.
Hold on, I thought the thread title was "Intervention in Zimbabwe." *checks* Sure is, but for a second I could have sworn you were trying to post in the Iraq War thread. However, I still heartily endorse this service/product. Learn from our past mistakes, pick one evil or another, not the greater evil.
For those with the full creature creator; do you think its worth the $10? I definitely plan on buying Spore when it comes out, its the only game I have been looking forward to all year, but the part limitation on the trial version is very frustrating.