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Kuno's Wife
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Mineral Town
Posts: 1,004
I dun see much beyond a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of GO players who've only experienced the series on mobile plopping down $300 for a Switch and $60(?) for these games. This move seems very misguided. I think Nintendo still doesn't get mobile gamers. They hit big with GO and FE but their other mobile stuffs quietly faded away. An this'll be another failed attempt to get at mobile gamers. However with Nintendo abandoning cheap handheld gaming they gotta try something. Won't be surprised if Gen 8 sales suffer due to pricing even if Switch does drop by then. There's still that huge difference between $40 games an $60 ones.
Sad times are just times that are sad
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 226,261
This is a weird critism to hear because
A) FRLG had held items
B) This game is going to have the new types, the retcon type changes, and alola forms as well.
The Cutest Tsarina
No I get you but it doesn't make the game play itself. Obviously Gen I didn't play itself without hold items.
The rest of your complaints on that point are 100% valid though.
Sad times are just times that are sad
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 226,261
Ahh the playing itself comment was that combined with the exp share (which has been confirmed you can turn off) and forcing you to use certain types to enter gyms. You dont fight in wild battles anymore, they got rid of held items, and they hold your hand in gyms like.. what the heck? I want to be optimistic here but they're not giving me anything to work with. Like what the heck is going to happen when you go to the e4?
Overworld Pokemon still has the potential to be cool depending on how that works but.. overworld Pokemon should be a thing in a real open world Pokemon game, not having them confimed to tiny grass on sealed off routes.
Nebby. Back into the bag.
"I'm the furthest thing from a hardcore gamer as you can get and even I think that if catching Pokemon in the main games is too hard for you, you're simply too stupid to play video games."
So apparently there was a recent Famitsu interview with Junichi Masuda, in which Masuda divulged that he believes the classic catching mechanics might be too difficult for some players -- and that this is partly the reason why LGPE has opted for Go-style capture mechanics over the traditional formula. Apparently "this was a controversial decision even at Game Freak, but Masuda says that as he is the director it's 'his responsibility'."
... Well.
You might imagine the reactions this news is generating online. Serebii Joe's Twitter feed is flooded with criticisms. Reddit is flipping tables. News sites like this one are getting mostly critical replies. Bulbagarden appears to be calmer than most places. And we're a graveyard. But hey, a sample of the responses I've come upon:
"Catching was always part of the challenge... where's the thrill without the hunt? Just going to give every new player a diploma and a pat on the back for figuring out how to open the game?"
"I was about to argue that it's okay to let people struggle a little to figure things out, but then I remembered that this mechanic was perfectly spelled out for you even 20 years ago in the only handholdy part of RBY that everyone skipped anyways so the fuck is even the point of giving this nonsense the time of day"
"I'm speechless."
"Most of us played the original games when we were kids, how is it we played these games just fine as kids and now they have to be dumbed down for today's generation?"
"Oookay... So I usually try to stay on the positive side of the Pokemon fandom... but I think Masuda has lost touch with the core Pokemon players and actually have no idea what they think. Not just this instance, but he keeps calling Pokemon too complex or hard and simplifying it. WhY?!?!?!"
"So how did tens of millions of 90's kids get on with it just fine? I'm lost."
"I have no idea why Game Freak continues to act like kids nowadays dislike games that they'll have difficulty mastering straight away. The biggest games for kids this decade have been Minecraft, Fortnite, and perhaps GTA V (despite the rating). Minecraft offered practically no instruction to help new players and became one of the biggest games of all time, Fortnite has a strong community of skilled players, and GTA is GTA."
"I feel like they assume all kids nowadays will jump ship if they fail anything once."
But there is at least one ray of sunshine, one spot of good news: Shota Kageyama is slated to return as LGPE's lead musician. This is pretty phenomenal news in my opinion -- in fact, if I'm disappointed by this news at all it's because I'm worried it means his being in charge of LGPE's music means he's not in charge of Gen 8's! But oh well. In case you don't remember who Kageyama Shouta is, click here to rediscover his contributions to Pokémon's musical repertoire.
Poison-type Trainer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virbank City
Posts: 4,662
Apparently a better translation of that interview is out, and it comes off a lot less insane.
My Shiny Pokémon (not up for trade, I don't do requests for Shiny banners or recolored Pokken artwork). FB team banners like the one above, however, those I do requests for.
Nebby. Back into the bag.
Thanks for that. I kept looking for a raw to be linked in the discussions I pored over, but nothing ever surfaced. Would be nice to see the interview in its raw, original form so we can see how nuanced or clear the language is, but honestly this is probably good enough.
A good quote from the article MM linked:
"Masuda: It was a daunting task we took upon ourselves, for sure. There was considerable debate within the team concerning the absence of wild Pokemon battles. Up until this point I had been steadfast in defending the mechanic as the series director; this time, though, I felt like we should try to change things up a bit. Personally, I've always felt that the weakening and capturing mechanic is a bit like fishing – there are people that aren't fans of that kind of strategy, though. To that end – as I mentioned before – I wanted to make these games more enjoyable for a wider audience of fans. As such, we simplified the mechanics. Until now, catching Pokemon has been vaguely reminiscent of fishing, whereas I'd liken the new mechanic to catching bugs with a net. I have to wonder if people will enjoy that sort of straightforward mechanic more so than the previous mechanic."
While this version of the quote corroborates the notion that the team is split on whether to preserve the original capture mechanic or try something new, what's different here is that Masuda is clearly enshrined as one of the OG defenders of the tried 'n' true -- until LGPE, whereupon he decided to finally let the other faction have their chance at a new mechanic. At least, that's the narrative presented here.
Kuno's Wife
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Mineral Town
Posts: 1,004
Something I thought of earlier this week~ On a scale of *Nebby not staying in the bag* to "Battle Frontier coming soon" how trolly would it be to exclude all non-Gen 1 pokémon BUT keep in moves exclusive to Gen2+ pokémon via Metronome?
"Clefairy uses Metronome!" *randomly rolls OBLIVION WING*
The Uncultured One
Entirely possible. They're likely to include full movesets anyway so it's likely mostly just a case of animating legendary moves, which'll probably be back-stored in preparation for Gen 8 anyway (which will probably use the same graphics and whatnot as LGPE).
Nebby. Back into the bag.
There are some new short videos showcasing different following Pokémon animations. They include Venusaur, Caterpie, and Golem, as well as previously-seen Onix and Electrode. They look nice; some of them like Golem are 1:1 with the anime and are sure to please everyone, while others like Venusaur provide a somewhat different take on Venusaur's physiology and I imagine may disappoint some while delighting others. Regardless, they all show that the team thoughtfully considered what the Pokémon would look like if they were real beasts with their canon designs and were to walk or run.
I've long felt that Venusaur looks a lot like a toad, body-wise, from like his Generation 3 design onward. So I honestly kinda like how they have him hopping like a toad rather than walking like an elephant (as he was depicted in the anime). I still think of Bulbasaur as part-reptile part-plant, rather than part-amphibian part-plant ... but at the same time, Bulbasaur is by definition an amphibian, a lifeform born of two worlds. Two kingdoms, in Bulbasaur's case! I dunno. Guess I can start thinking of the Venusaur line as proto-reptiles that are halfway between modern amphibians and modern reptiles.
Golem's animation, on the other hand, I see creating no disagreements whatsoever. It's a nod to what we've already seen in the anime -- and it works perfectly to help the lumbering, heavy Rock-type keep up with his fast-running trainer. It looks so very natural -- and that's key. The animations need to look natural, they need to look like they belong to the real world and if Pokémon had a place in it, if they are to both delight us and not shatter the illusion.
Hopefully what we're seeing here will be carried over to the Gen 8 games. These animations are so much more detailed than the ones in HGSS, and the total number of creatures has nearly doubled since back then. If it was a lot of work to generate these animations, then surely they would intend to carry over that hard work into the future, as they did with the Gen 6->7 battle animations, rather than leaving it behind in LGPE once we move on to Gen 8.
Poison-type Trainer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virbank City
Posts: 4,662
Yeah, the Venusaur one surprised me somewhat, but once the initial shock passed, I found I liked it. Also, it's kinda cute how you gotta stop every so often if you want Caterpie to keep up with you.
I honestly can't wait for these games. Yellow was my very first game, so there's a major nostalgia factor for me here. I've pretty much decided on my team for Let's Go Pikachu- I'll be using Pikachu, Weezing, Victreebel, Nidoking, Kingler, and Alolan Persian (I know the Bellsprout line is exclusive to Let's Go Eevee- I've already arranged to trade an Oddish to a friend of mine for her Bellsprout- she'll be getting Let's Go Eevee and plans to use a Vileplume, so it all works out).
My Shiny Pokémon (not up for trade, I don't do requests for Shiny banners or recolored Pokken artwork). FB team banners like the one above, however, those I do requests for.
Volcano Badge
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,336
I've always seen Venusaur as a toad, I actually had an ASB sig that had a Venusaur hopping and bouncing lol. The big thing for me from the videos was Caterpie though. I love how it can't keep up, lags behind then races in when you slow down/stop. Following Pokemon in HG/SS was awesome, I loved it and I've been wanting them to bring it back. This is a whole other level though, not only can we ride our Pokemon (you can bet I'll be riding an Onix everywhere) but just the detail in that they aren't stuck in the spot right behind you.
Also, I like that the cut tree actually looks like something you would have to cut through.
Venusaur doesn't necessarily retcon previous methods of locomotion, since frogs can walk like lizards when they want to. I've always thought of Bulbasaur as taking cues from both lizards and plants, so I welcome the change.
It's much more forgivable than, say, Blastoise in Smash who got non-reptilian limbs to allow him to perform the moves.
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
About Time
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: The West Side (of the world)
Posts: 1,260
I mean, bulbasaur and ivysaur do seem reptilian- it was always just venusaur that seemed remotely toadlike to me. So yeah, count me on the camp for "not surprised by venusaur at all".
On the flipside, of course, there's my brother asking a pretty distinct question: how does golem know where and when to turn, and do so with such accuracy. I'm chokking it up to simple tremorsense, but that's a bit lacking of an explanation at the moment, no?
As much as caterpie lagging behind makes all sorts of sense, I did notice that it just teleported back behind the trainer when the distance became too great between them. I guess that gives players two different styles to interact with it- be nice and let it catch up on its own, or run on ahead without a care as to how disoriented your little caterpillar friend gets as you go. At least you don't have to worry about hungry pidgeotto attacks quite as much?
Yeah, blastoise' model in Pokken (it's like Smash, but Pokemon-only and a good number of totally different mechanics) was... something else. Why is it so lean, and who decided that a tortoise should look kinda rubbery and then succeeded in convincing the rest of the model staff of that? Surely someone would've gone like "hey, uh, tortoises are more scaly" or something! It does get points for the localized Rain Dance+ Rain Dish combo it pulls if Dual Phase, though- nice to see Abilities actually playing a role for once, no? ...But this is a bit off-topic.
Tangled Feet- "Only I have the right to hit me!"
Gonna chock that one up to magnets. How can Geodude fly? Probably magnets as well...
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
Volcano Badge
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,336
Actually I don't think it was due to distance, it was due to the route changing. It seemed to happen as the trainer went from the route into the city.
Yeah magnets is the best option for explaining Golem.
Nebby. Back into the bag.
New Japanese and English trailers for LGPE are out. They showcase what the recent CoroCoro issue does: Vermilion City, Lt. Surge, the S.S. Anne, and Jessie and James.
Notice how in the Japanese trailer, the player appears to have their choice of whether to evolve Charizard into Mega X or Mega Y. Does this mean they combined the two Charizardites into one stone?
I really dislike the art direction for the overworld in this game. It breaks my heart, as someone who has wanted an HD-ification of Kanto for a long time. I was really hoping to see them expand and flesh out the map, and instead it's so ... faithful to the point of oversimplicity. It feels like a huge step backward from the cities of Alola and the landscapes of both Kalos and Alola.
However ...!
I really love the art direction inside the gyms. Brock's is necessarily(?) simple, but Misty's and now Surge's have really pleased me. I don't like how tiny they look, again, but man oh man do I love Surge's "box" once your battle with him actually begins. As if out of an episode of Dr. Who, it grows to an impossibly large area ... but boy oh boy is it detailed (compared with what we're used to)! The posters, the freight containers, the brick walls ... THIS is what an HD-ification of older games was meant to be like! Lending visual character to settings that were previously limited by the limitations of older hardware.
Lot of Blastoise fans upset that Blastoise's torrential water appears to be coming out of his ... forehead? instead of his two (and, as the mega, three!) cannons. Can't say I blame 'em. This is the sort of expectation we hold for the HD era of Pokémon games. No more lazy Stadium-esque "one size fits all" animations. You should be able to customize animations to suit the model. Maybe not all 300+ attack animations, sure, but there probably ought to be character-unique subsets -- projectile water, in Blastoise's case -- that fit the mould.
THEY RETCONNED SURGE'S NICKNAME! He's gone from the "Lightning American" to the "Lightning Lieutenant" (USA/EUR) or the "Lightning Tough Guy" (JPN). WHAT THE HELL, GAME FREAK!? This doesn't bode well for them preserving references to his Americanness in the game text, but we'll see ... (If you insisted on doing this, Game Freak, why not at least let him become the "Lightning Unovan" now that Unova is a thing?)
The Female Rocket Grunt with the Zubat is beautiful. The dude, meanwhile, is just some generic-looking baddie. ^^; Sorry, ladies!
The Cutest Tsarina
>Sorry ladies
Me, a lesbian: *sweats*
I'm actually real talk, loving the remixes of the older themes. The music that plays in the Rocket Hideout and Sylph Co in RBY was a favorite of mine and mmmm this is good.
>yfw this is the world Rainbow Rocket Giovanni came from
A bit of a tangent...but the Sun/Moon anime doesn't really look like it's ending any time soon. M22 also is going to be a remake of Mewtwo Strikes Back. So, I'm skeptical as heck that Gen 8 will start any sooner than next Fall, fitting with my prior predictions.
Edit: Also, while Surge is supposed to be in the US Army, his uniform is much more strongly reminiscent of the Marines. His HG/SS uniform is 100% Marines except for the boots, which are taken from the Navy. If he was a fighter pilot, he could NOT have been in the US Army, as the Army doesn't fly jets at all.
Rolled sleeves is a Marine-only thing, it was actually banned by the Army for many years. The Navy may also roll sleeves when stationed with Marines.
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
Last edited by Doppleganger; 08-10-2018 at 01:18 AM.
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Gwen Harwood
Gwen Harwood Poems
- In The Park She sits in the park. Her clothes are out of ...
- Barn Owl Daybreak: the household slept. I rose, blessed by ...
- The Glass Jar A child one summer's evening soaked a glass ...
- Anniversary So the light falls, and so it fell on branched ...
- Last Meeting Shadows grazing eastward melt from their vast ...
- The Wound The tenth day, and they give my mirror back. Who ...
- Daybreak The snails brush silver. Critic crow points his ...
Gwen Harwood AO, née Gwendoline Nessie Foster, was an Australian poet and librettist. Gwen Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos. She won numerous poetry awards and prizes. Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.
Gwen Harwood is the mother of the author John Harwood.
She was born in Taringa, Queensland and brought up in Brisbane. She attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School and was an organist at All Saints Church when she was young. She completed a music teacher's diploma, and also worked as a typist at the War Damage Commission from 1942. Early in ... more »
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Nick Compton
Thise pooet bee Litty but mi collar allways stai poppin!
Englande wil always bee mi citi
Minecraft Mike
ohman pls to help I hav no idea how 2 use computre OOOOOOoooooAAAAAA ... www.minecraft.net
I dont like it, please explain
mia is my name
QUEEN of tearing down the patriarchy
In The Park
She sits in the park. Her clothes are out of date.
Two children whine and bicker, tug her skirt.
A third draws aimless patterns in the dirt
Someone she loved once passed by – too late
to feign indifference to that casual nod.
"How nice" et cetera. "Time holds great surprises."
From his neat head unquestionably rises
a small balloon…"but for the grace of God…"
They stand a while in flickering light, rehearsing
the children's names and birthdays. "It's so sweet
to hear their chatter, watch them grow and thrive, "
she says to his departing smile. Then, ...

subset: commoncrawl


text: Legal services in the West Midlands The legal & affiliated services co-ordinator for the West Midlands region is Jennifer Clews who is based in the West Bromwich regional office and can be contacted by phone on 0121 553 6051 or by e-mail. At Unite the union we recognise that one of the key reasons members join Unite is to benefit from the legal services we provide. We believe that the range and quality of the services we provide with the help of our solicitors is the best available to trade union members in the UK. We aim to provide a full range of legal services; from seeking compensation for a personal injury or industrial wrong, to employment related advice and representation, to helping plan for the future by providing a Will writing service, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills, to assisting with the day to day issues that life throws up such as moving house. We even offer a free 24 hour legal help line where members can receive a free half hour advice on any non-work related matter. The services we offer are second to none, and we believe are better than you would find on the high street because we use the best lawyers and we don't take a cut of any damages or compensation awarded to you. Some of the services are free, some are provided at heavily discounted rates and others, such as our road traffic service, actually save you money. All our legal services are provided by expert solicitors in their field. What makes Unite Legal Services different? Services are provided by a panel of solicitors who have over 100 years' experience working with unions 100% of the compensation awarded is paid to you We use solicitors who understand your workplace We use solicitors who have a close relationship with Unite and its activists Personal injury claims are conducted at no cost to you We can offer additional influence in your workplace in respect of health and safety matters Click the links below for more details of our legal services. Services offered Personal injury You & your immediate family are covered for any accidents you may have...... Find out more » Extended personal in... Extended personal injury service for members' immediate families Find out more » Standing up for you Unite members are protected from legal changes Find out more » Employment issues Employment issues - legal help Find out more » Expert legal help Unite members & their families shouldn't settle for less Find out more » Free Will writing se... Free will writing service Find out more » Probate & Estate adm... Probate & estate administration Find out more » Financial mis-sellin... Financial mis-selling, conveyancing & other services Find out more » News & Updates Keeping you up to date with employment law reform Find out more » Join now! There has never been a better time to join Unite Find out more » Legal Success Storie... Legal action taken by Unite's legal services in the region. Find out more » Conditions of eligibility for Unite Legal Services 1. Members are entitled to legal assistance in accordance with Rule 4.6 of the union Rule Book in force at the time. 2. Eligibility for legal services in respect of personal injury claims is immediate upon joining the union; for all other legal services, 4 weeks' full paying membership is required. 3.Unite legal assistance is granted at the sole discretion of the Executive Council of the union and can be withdrawn or varied at any time.


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Help need design creative brochuretrabajos
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I have a lot of WHOLESALE Graphic Design work - I am a freelancer and need an artist that is willing to do work at wholesale pricing (I have to resell your work to someone else - so I can't pay RETAIL). I need someone that is both CREATIVE and who has excellent TECHNICAL SKILLS to layout jobs for offset printing and maybe even work with my printer
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text: Parisian-born Delphine Diallo transcends traditional portraiture through interpretations of her world as diverse in media as they are in inspiration. During a pilgrimage to Africa to discover her heritage, Diallo produced a series of portraits inspired by African photographer Malick Sidibé's black-and-white images from the 1960s. Like Sidibé, who decorated his portraits' frames with paint, Diallo enhanced her images with drawings, collage, and patterns derived from surrounding plants and textiles and aided by her background in design. Based on a mutual appreciation for this type of mixed media, Diallo formed a friendship with photographer Peter Beard that inspired such collaborations as their Pirelli calendar photo shoot in Botswana and her series on African heroic figures. Diallo continues to draw inspiration from exploring new environments, most recently a journey to Montana to …Read more


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ABOUT CHICKRx
We're the co-founders of ChickRx, and we've been close friends for years. One day we realized that we and our girlfriends always seemed to have health and wellness-related questions, whether about birth control, losing weight, skincare, how to handle a douchey guy...the list goes on. But often when we'd go to each other for advice, we'd leave just as confused as ever.
Why wasn't there a quick, easy and anonymous way to get expert advice and info that was actually relevant to our situation? Why was there no engaging health site for us, where we could also have frank conversations with other young women going through similar things?
So we and our incredible team built the health and wellness community that we always needed. Ask questions, get answers from top experts and peers, discuss products, swap tips, and browse entertaining, informative content. Use ChickRx to get happier, healthier and hotter--and help some other chicks do so too!
Stacey and Meghan
ChickRx is a high quality health and wellness community for women. This is a place for you to be informed and entertained by juicy conversations, get answers to your own questions, swap tips or discover products that experts and peers love.
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"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." –Blaise Pascal.
It seems almost daily that I read another comment or another statement steeped in fear and hatred uttered from the lips of Rick Santorum, self-proclaimed Christian and American moralist. I do, thankfully, realize that Santorum does not represent all of Christianity and its followers, but he does represent a portion of them. Keep in mind, though he is currently at the bottom of the heap, he is still, as of this writing, a GOP presidential candidate in a playing field whittled down to four contenders. This means there is a large enough portion of Americans who share his views, his intolerances, his fears, misunderstandings and judgements of things that, well, any good Christian would normally leave up to God and not assume upon themselves.
Sadly, as Mr. Pascal once pointed out in the above quote, religion has spurned some of the most vile hatred and suffering known to man. And I think it's rather easy to assess by the goings-on in the world today, that some things have not changed. Unfortunately for any forward-thinking individuals, men like Rick Santorum represent a part of society terrified of change. And, one could easily come to such a conclusion, of themselves.
Part of me feels sorry for men and women such as these since their lives appear to be made up largely of running away and holding on to the past with such desperation as to exhaust themselves of all humanity. Ironic, given that they claim to represent the most compassionate and forgiving of all beings. But this is in words only. Actions tell a very different story. The pain and suffering brought on by men like Rick Santorum is immeasurable, and it is considerable. Make no mistake, lives will be lost while others trampled. All in the name of one who is no longer here to protect his good name and teachings.
The bright side to all of this is that at least Santorum's particular brand of bigotry is now out there for all to see. And those easily swayed toward his proclaimed "solutions" are no longer hidden from public view to boil and swell beneath the surface. They are out there where we can confront them, and ourselves, in the bright light of day. Good things will come from this in the bigger picture. It's a step forward. Like a detoxing of the American psyche. We may feel a bit ill while we're going through it, but hopefully we will come out the other side healthier and happier. If we choose to tackle it.
As for how we got where we are in the first place, well, history is full of men like Santorum. Perhaps the recent study published in the latest issue of Psychological Science explains part of it.
"Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups. In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (N = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (g) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models."
As one who does not believe in God in a traditional sense (therefore a heathen and going to hell in the minds of many), I have always assumed that it took a level of non-thinking to allow oneself to so completely abandon reason and take the words and teachings of the bible and, not only accept them as literal, but to allow oneself to become swayed by the interpretations of such texts by those with ulterior motives. However, I do not believe all who believe in God to be less educated or less intelligent than those who do not. But there is a certain ilk that have always been ready to take to the streets to express their intolerance of others; those who would kill, maim and damage their fellow man in the name of their God. A God of love? A God of vengeance? Which is it, then?
What are we supposed to think when Rick Santorum tells you that contraception is "not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."?
How things are supposed to be. If Mr. Santorum believes this, then he is free to refrain from the use of such tools and activities. But when he believes his beliefs should be law… This should be of great concern. Santorum warns of fascism and socialism and why you should be afraid… But nothing endangers freedom more than men and women who think like Rick Santorum. His beliefs suggest the ultimate form of fascism.
When Rick Santorum tells you what marriage is, he presents it as fact, as indisputable evidence.
"Marriage is what marriage is. Marriage was around before government said what it was. It's like going out and saying, 'That tree is a car.' Well, the tree's not a car. A tree's a tree. Marriage is marriage."
"It's like handing up this and saying this glass of water is a glass of beer. Well you can call it a glass of beer, it's not a glass of beer, it's a glass of water. And water is what water is. Marriage is what marriage is."
"I can call this napkin a paper towel, but it is a napkin. Why? Because it is, what it is."
But what Santorum is really saying is that this is what marriage is for Rick Santorum. And therefore it should be for all others. By law. Like it or not, there are those who do not share and were not raised with Mr. Santorum's limited definition. And we are Americans, no more or less so than he is. Just as Santorum's God is not everybody's God, Rick Satorum's definitions and interpretations are not everyone's. Nor should they be. That would be similar to asking a nation to publicly mourn the death of their beloved leader, Kim Jong Il, even if they did not, in fact, love him or mourn his loss. And then imprison those who did not either mourn publicly or mourn sincerely. Is that the America Santorum's followers envision? Because if it's not, then they best rethink their stance and support of such an individual. Or is that low IQ getting in the way of reasoned thought again?
"[Marriage] is an intrinsic good … we extend certain privileges to people who do that because we want to encourage that behavior. Two people who may like each other or may love each other who are same-sex, is that a special relationship? Yes it is, but it is not the same relationship that benefits society like a marriage between a man and a woman."
What he means is that such a relationship does not benefit Rick Santorum. I'll tell you right now that he does not speak for me. Same sex marriages have benefitted me in my life and my world, the kind of society I want to live in. And it damn well benefits same-sex couples who are (guess what?) members of this society. Again, what doesn't benefit Rick should not benefit anyone in Santorum's world view.
"Whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, whether it's sodomy, all of those things, are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family."
Once again, these may be things that Rick Santorum chooses not to engage in, but he is not in a position (no pun intended) –and it is the point of this write-up that he should not be– to tell others what sexual activities they should or should not be doing where two consenting adults are concerned. But Santorum's answer to that would be:
"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."
The truth is that consensual sex in the home does NOT make polygamy or bigamy or incest legal. It DOES, however, allow one (or two or three or four…) to engage in certain sexual activities that some other folks may find startling, offensive and even a little off-putting. It seems, however, that even a healthy and imaginative sex life is off-putting to Mr. Santorum. When you allow a man like this to tell you what you can and can't do in bed… But Mr. Santorum disagrees:
"The idea is that the state doesn't have rights to limit individuals' wants and passions — I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. And we're seeing it in our society."
The world Rick Santorum envisions has more in common with the Crusades than it does with the teachings of Christ. And like many other religious zealots before him, Santorum will fight to ensure HIS way of life at the exclusion of all others:
"The battle we're engaged in right now on same-sex marriage, ultimately that is the very foundation of our country, the family, what the family structure is going to look like. I'll die on that hill fighting."
Rick Santorum is too mired in his own fears, fear of change, fear of reality, fear of difference, fear of things he wasn't taught, fear of things he doesn't understand, fear of the dark and the unknown. And it has turned him into a man mired in hatred and intolerance.
"You can say I'm a hater. But I would argue I'm a lover. I'm a lover of traditional families and of the right of children to have a mother and father. … Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"
Marriage, he fails to point out, as Rick Santorum sees it. And Santorum's "logic" is no better than claiming the KKK doesn't hate blacks, they simply love white supremacy. No, even science, the ground beneath his own two feet, the air he breathes, and the very planet he lives on is not enough to convince Mr. Santorum that the world may not always be the way he wants it to be. The way he so clearly needs it to be.
"I've never supported even the hoax of global warming."
In Rick Santorum's world, there are no other valid points of view, no other opinions of note, no other interpretations than his own. Rick Santorum would fight to make his beliefs your beliefs. All the while pointing out the dangers of others. And if he gets his way, when the time comes and he has passed from this world, you will mourn his death. Whether you want to or not.
The Ugly Americans: Reverend Jones & Friends
I'll start out by saying that I'm thrilled to see so many people standing up to oppose Reverend Terry Jones' intention to hold a "Burn A Quran Day" event on September 11th. In the face of the overwhelming ignorance, hatred and blatant religious and ethnic bigotry opposing the proposed building of an Islamic Community Center near Ground Zero, Rev. Jones' disgusting intent just adds fuel to an already out of control fire raging through America. Add the lunatic-gathering at Glenn Beck's "Take Back America" rally and Sarah Palin's daily tweets of extreme ignorance and vile attacks, and we have a picture of a dangerous country succumbing to its own panicked state of fearfulness.
What would the American picture of Islam be if some nut-job over in Afghanistan gathered people together to start burning copies of the Christian Bible? Or the Jewish Bible? Would we easily be able to separate an extremist like this–that one in a million religious kook–from the rest of the population? Hell, we already know we can't separate a group of terrorists from an entire nation and/or religious belief.
And even when Gen. David Petraeus claims that Jones' actions, if carried out, will almost certainly endanger American soldiers overseas as well as place Americans everywhere (including right here at home) in even more peril, and the Reverend still insists that "Burn A Quran Day" is enacting God's will… Well, one has to question whether Jones' God cares all that much about this little country of ours or whether he's just a vengeful entity who likes to "stir the pot" and see what happens.
Sadly, it's people like Reverend Jones who are, in my opinion, no better than the terrorists who attacked this country. He is putting his personal beliefs over the lives of lord knows how many people and claims to be on a mission from God. "We actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth," claims Jones. "And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down."
Irony of ironies.
"Maybe it's time to stand up. Maybe it's time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior," added Jones.
Hmmm… What if we changed the words radical Islam and replaced it with America and placed that same sentence into the mouths of the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.
"Maybe it's to time to stand up. Maybe it's time to send a message to America that we will not tolerate their behavior."
As a result of his actions and some of the negative attention it has drawn, Rev. Jones has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip. Now there's a good picture. A man of God insisting on endangering human lives (American lives, for those that separate) and carrying a pistol in case someone tries to stop him from going through with his "religious obligation…"
And so the lines blur even more…
"Islam is of the Devil," read the signs Rev. Jones has posted in front of his church.
Wasn't America the incarnation of the devil in the eyes and words of the Al Qaeda?
The Quran, according to the all-knowing Rev. Jones is "evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims."
Is that what it does? Cause I'm guessing the same could be said about the Torah. It certainly espouses some different biblical truths than Rev. Jones' preferred version of the holy book. And if you're Palestinian, you might well believe that it also incites radical, violent behavior in Jews.
Why, it seems to me that Rev. Jones' bible is inciting radical behavior in him and his followers. Behavior that may well lead to violence and killing as a direct result. Violence and killing Rev. Jones is well aware of. If he wasn't, do you think he'd still be armed with that .40-caliber pistol strapped lovingly to his hip?
There's that fine line again. I just can't keep it all straight…
Who exactly are the good guys?
Is America Worth Saving?
It's a question I've asked myself many a time. In fact, I find myself asking it about the entire human race from time to time. And the answer's always the same: I sure as hell hope so.
I'd like to believe that we can grow and mature, learn from our mistakes. But like children who never believe the lessons of their parents and have to find out for themselves, the hard way, we continue to shoot ourselves in the head and then complain that no one told us the gun was loaded.
Two days ago, Massachusetts voters shat on the memory of the late Ted Kennedy by not only choosing a Republican to take his still-warm seat, but possibly killing an already watered-down Health Care Bill that was Mr. Kennedy's life mission and dying wish. Did this really happen? How quickly we forget the atrocities committed by the Bush Administration. The party and ideology that destroyed our economy by redistributing wealth from the middle-class to the wealthiest Americans and corporations while simultaneously throwing us into a trillion dollar war that we had no moral or social right engaging in. Every American soldier who lost their life in Iraq lost it for a lie. And there are over 3,000 of them. Not to mention the over 100,000 Iraqis killed in that same ongoing war. The American people were twice victimized. First by the 9/11 attacks, then by a president who took advantage of our fear and shock. And now we're voting these people back into power? Really?
Apparently, it is quite a task for the average American to measure the effectiveness of a president like Obama who saved us from falling into the abyss of an economic depression. Perhaps it would have been better if we had fallen into that abyss so that Americans would then have some understanding of what Obama accomplished by pulling us out. But too many Americans don't seem to be able to weigh what a massive accomplishment avoiding that depression was and is. Or how close we were to it and what that reality would have looked like. We are an undereducated, incurious lot. And we are easily led. Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, Glenn Beck… They are all modern-day Joe McCarthys and legions of Americans are following them all over again.
All this said, Obama can certainly take a more definitive stand. Playing nice, it seems, gets little-to-nothing done. On the other hand, and I believe this is Obama's logic, if we keep pushing our differing agendas in opposition to the other party, then we may find America in a damaging game of back and forth wherein one party is elected into office, disregards the other party's beliefs and desires and forces its agenda no matter how severe (as the Bush Administration did from day one), and then the other party takes over again and reverses course until the first party takes control (again) and makes another u-turn. It's a deadly circle that we could spin in for centuries without accomplishing a damn thing of consequence. Problem is, Americans only seem to respond to extremes. Subtlety is not taught in school and seems to float above the heads of many who miss the boat entirely and are lost and confused when someone points out what has been going on. They simply don't believe it because they don't have the tools to see it. We have societal and historical ADD. One year into the Obama Administration and hoards of Americans are already growing impatient and have forgotten the treacherous 8 years of lies, deaths and economic imbalance. Not to mention that we had a president on a religious Jihad all his own. From attempting to amend the constitution to conform to his Christian definition of marriage, to preemptively attacking Iraq in order to "erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins."
So as sad as it may be, it seems the only way forward is to either try and meet Republicans halfway, or make the firm decision to move forward regardless of their wishes while we still can; to get as much done now and hope some of it sticks through later administrations. The biggest problem with meeting Republicans halfway, it seems, is that they don't appear to be interested. So far as I can tell, the game that's being played is "oppose Obama at every turn." The notion being that if Obama is truly successful at fixing our national health care disaster, then he will most certainly get re-elected. And perhaps another Democrat will come after him! And God forbid he should bring any of these wars to an end or actually strengthen the economy. Then the corporations and the high-powered bigwigs who live off the blood of the less fortunate won't get what they so desperately want (and have grown used to). And those very powerful organizations and the people whose pockets they regularly line will suffer greatly. And they are not willing to let that happen. Even if that means denying the American people their basic rights or fulfilling their basic needs. Like health care.
So, these men and women and the corporations behind them scream foul and create illusions of collapse and spoil that strike at the hearts of our most frightened and ignorant until they take to the streets en masse spouting misconceptions and incredulous at the mere notion that someone might actually be attempting to better their lives. And the Independents who don't believe in anyone but knew that they were tired of Bush start to tire of Obama as well until they're voting us right back into the abyss we just barely managed to crawl out of. And then there's the lazy Democrats who just don't get themselves out there to vote or campaign with enough vigor or resilience. Or the Blue Dog Democrats who just seem to be Republicans under a different name.
Meanwhile, Obama is in danger of being neutered by asking us to rise to an occasion we simply may not be ready for. His attempt to bring the parties and American people together ends up looking to Democrats like he's not willing to go the extra mile and really take on the forces at hand –essentially "just another politician"— and Republicans see it as a sign of weakness and an opportunity to pounce.
All the while, the world watches and prays that we, currently the most powerful nation in the world (with China fast on our heels), find ourselves in the midst of a growth spurt that finally moves us out of our infancy and propels us into the world of the mature and self-aware. In the meantime, we're a nation that essentially still believes in Santa Clause, hopes he'll show up, and then shoots anything that comes down the chimney.
Exporting Hate & Terror In The Name Of God
Sounds like something one might accuse Al Qaeda of. But what if it were suggested the United States of America were on a religious crusade all its own? Last year, former French President Jacques Chirac told the world that, while the White House was assembling its "coalition of the willing" to invade Iraq, then president George W. Bush appealed to their common faith in Christianity during a private chat. According to Chirac, Bush stated:
"Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…. This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins."
While this is old news by now and a quote I've referenced before, it seems to have been one-upped by a recent report that weapons maker Trijicon has been supplying high-powered rifle sights to the U.S. Army and Marines with coded references to specific Bible passages. One such reference on the gun sights is 2COR4:6, also known as Second Corinthian 4:6 of the New testament:
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
These "Jesus-encoded" sights are being used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. Oddly enough, U.S. Military rule prohibits proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan. The whole notion behind this rule was to prevent any country or individual from claiming the United States was on a religious "Crusade." Well… it seems some, including but obviously not restricted to the president who led us into those very wars, were, indeed, on a religious crusade. So where does that leave us now?
The American people were lied to about WMDs, our own CIA directly misled Congress, we defied the United Nations, we angered and alienated much of the world with that defiance, we resorted to torture tactics we swore we would never use, we engaged in a preemptive strike against another country for the first time in our nation's history, and over 100,000 human lives have been lost that would not have been otherwise… At what point do Americans realize that the Bush Administration turned the United States of America into a rogue nation and desecrated almost everything we have claimed to stand for? And still I see people finding reasons to support that same administration, all the while professing that President Obama is attempting to destroy our nation, trying to make us a socialist country, a totalitarian country, even a fascist country.
So while the largest corporations in the States get fat on the blood of Iraq, including Trijicon who have a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corp and even more to the U.S. Army, America's own citizens have been tossed into a deep recession. And the president who has managed to prevent that recession from becoming a full-on depression, all the while trying to repair a deeply damaged health care system that doesn't care for its own, has come under attack as a man who is trying to destroy this country and everything it stands for.
At what point do we heed the lessons and shame of Joseph McCarthy and the fear that drove that man and his many, many followers? At what point do we face up to the fact that our country and its citizens were lied to, led astray? At what point do we, as a nation, choose to enter into adulthood and face our own demons? When do we, as Dick Cheney would call it, "Man-up"?
A recent hearing in the U.K. on that country's involvement in the war in Iraq revealed that the U.S. was already discussing plans to invade Iraq less than a month after George W. Bush took office. This was, if you haven't already figured it out, long before the 9/11 attacks. These plans are well-documented in the Downing Street Memo transcribing the minutes of a meeting between Tony Blair's senior ministers on July 23, 2002.
That same recent U.K. hearing also reportedly revealed that Blair lied to the public when he claimed that Britain's objective in the invasion of Iraq was 'disarmament' and not 'regime change.'
Too bad we haven't yet had hearings of our own on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe it would open some of those tightly shut eyes still mourning the loss of the good Christian president who so valiantly protected our nation through what is known as the Bush Doctrine which includes a policy of "preventive" war which held that:
The security environment confronting the United States today is radically different from what we have faced before. Yet the first duty of the United States Government remains what it always has been: to protect the American people and American interests. It is an enduring American principle that this duty obligates the government to anticipate and counter threats, using all elements of national power, before the threats can do grave damage. The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction – and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. There are few greater threats than a terrorist attack with WMD.
To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively in exercising our inherent right of self-defense. The United States will not resort to force in all cases to preempt emerging threats. Our preference is that nonmilitary actions succeed. And no country should ever use preemption as a pretext for aggression.
But what is it we've actually done? According to the above-mentioned U.K. hearing:
In the public record, there is a large amount of evidence that vividly illustrates Bush's long-standing intent to invade Iraq, Bush's willingness to provoke Saddam Hussein into providing a pretext for war, the fact that the Iraq war began with an air campaign almost a year before the March 2003 invasion and months before Congress approved the war, Bush's widespread attempt to crush dissent and manipulate information to justify the lies he used to start the Iraq war and the lack of planning for the aftermath of the Iraq war as well as the lack of a fundamental understanding of the Iraqi society.
To further illustrate then President Bush's "mission" as he saw it, I quote a passage from his 2003 State of the Union address:
"Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity."
Unfortunately, men like George W. Bush never seem to understand that what they see as the "right" way for America is not the only way. I'm not saying all nations shouldn't be free, I'm saying that we, America, do not have all the answers and it is beyond arrogant to assume we do. It is downright criminal to take that misguided belief and stake human lives on it. Especially when that belief is weighed down by religious conviction; by a man and an administration with little understanding of the culture, people and religions of the countries they are invading. Many great nations before ours have fallen in pursuit of the very same fallacious ideologies that drove Mr. Bush and his followers.
But how do you get a country and its people to follow along on such a path? Author Naomi Klein wrote in her book The Shock Doctrine that the Bush Administration exploited a "window of opportunity that opens in a state of shock, subsequently followed with a comforting rationale for the public, as a form of social control."
For any country to grow, it must take a cold, hard look at itself. It must ask the difficult questions. We have an opportunity now to start fixing the deep damage that was incurred during the Bush Administration and the 9/11 attacks on our country. Both victimized the American people. Neither wound is anywhere close to being healed. But in taking that deep look, we might find that we–as abhorrent a notion as it is–may have temporarily become our own worst enemy and the exporters of the very thing we claim to be fighting against.
Lively Doesn't Want Gays Killed, Just Eliminated
Scott Lively, the president of one of the most hateful organizations in America –Abiding Truth Ministries– has spoken out against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill. A bill he, in essence, helped create.
"I suggested they liberalize the law, not to make it more [harsh]. What's the gay agenda in Uganda? It's the attempt to homosexualize the country like they did in so many other countries. … To change the moral foundation of the society, away from a marriage-based culture, to one of sexual anarchy."
Well, it seems Mr. Lively's outspoken opinion of homosexuals has rubbed off on Uganda's lawmakers –who were already severely homophobic– to the point where they are proposing a bill that would, if passed, make Homosexuality punishable by a lengthy prison sentence or, in many cases, death.
So what was Lively doing in Uganda in the first place?
He was invited.
According to Lively himself:
"They were concerned about the attempts… by American and European gays, mostly men, who were coming into their country, messing with the young men in the country, and trying to influence their political and cultural policies."
Lively visited Uganda to give a series of talks along with Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge, two American evangelical Christians who are well known for their teaching that homosexuality can be "cured."
According to Stephen Langa, who organized the Ugandan event, the purpose of these talks was "the gay agenda — that whole hidden and dark agenda."
I guess they succeeded. And many lives may be lost as a result. Certainly many lives will be destroyed. And many will be directly linked to Mr. Lively's "teachings," despite his insistence that he does "not believe in incarceration for homosexuality." Unfortunately, Lively's assessment of his talks in Uganda is that "Our campaign was like a nuclear bomb against the 'gay' agenda in Uganda."
According to Wikipedia:
For three days, according to participants and audio recordings, thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how "the gay movement is an evil institution" whose goal is "to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity."
These talks are widely considered to have been instrumental in the development of the Uganda Anti-Homosexual Bill which would:
"broaden the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda, including introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, who are HIV-positive, or who engage in sexual acts with those under 18,introducing extradition for those engaging in same-sex sexual relations outside Uganda, and penalising individuals, companies, media organizations, or NGOs who support LGBT rights."
So let's take a look at Mr. Lively's credits to see who else he's been influencing lo these many years. In addition to heading the Abiding Truth Ministries –which it should be stated is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center— Lively was also the co-author of a book titled THE PINK SWASTIKA which suggested direct links between homosexuals and the Nazi Party. He is also the former state director for California's branch of the American Family Association, which is an organization that promotes so-called conservative Christian values. Those values basically boil down to being anti-pornography, anti-gay, pro-life, and in favor of "traditional" marriage only. They also support deregulation of the oil industry and oppose the Employee Free Choice Act which, if passed, would "amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes."
The American Family Association defines itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media"
Lively also formed the anti-homosexual group Watchmen on the Walls based in Riga, Latvia, which supports conversion therapy and describes itself as "the international Christian movement that unites Christian leaders, Christian and social organizations and aims to protect Christian morals and values in society."
Those Christian morals and values include anti-gay rallies wherein gays and lesbians are pelted with bags of excrement. A practice I'm sure Jesus would have approved of.
So why waste time writing about such lunatics as Lively and his associates? Because it's people like Lively who help spread hatred, fear and gross misunderstanding. And in doing so, they have a direct negative impact on the lives of many human beings. This is the same reason I write about Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Glenn Beck, etc. Because, while they may only represent a fringe, folks should at least be aware of what is being said and how it is being heard.
And while I don't know where Mr. Lively and friends claim to get their information about the "gay agenda" from, you can read about Mr. Lively's agenda right here, in his own words and in crystal clear black and white.
From Lively's DECIPHERING 'GAY' WORD-SPEAK AND LANGUAGE OF CONFUSION:
"If homosexuality is not innate, it must be acquired. And if it can be acquired, we dare not allow homosexuality to be legitimized to our children. If there remains any shadow of doubt as to the cause of homosexuality, we must err on the side of protecting our children. Indeed we must actively discourage them from viewing homosexuality as safe and normal, when in fact it is demonstrably neither safe nor normal. It bears noting here that normalcy is functioning according to nature or design. Normalcy is not based on popular opinion.
"…The truth about homosexuality is self-evident. Self-evident truths are not taught, they are revealed. Helping people overcome "gay" sophistry does not require teaching them new facts and figures or raising their level of intellectual sophistication. On the contrary, it requires a clearing away of the misinformation that obscures the simple reality of things."
In God We Trust. Or Else. You Listening, Tiger?
Wasn't it George Orwell who said, "As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents"?
While folks like Sarah Palin and the staff of Fox News spend much of their time screaming threats of Socialism at their more left-leaning fellow Americans, it seems the hardcore religious right are becoming a more visible entity in this country. I don't remember there being TV news channels back in the day that were grossly committed to espousing and dignifying the misguided efforts and beliefs of this very odd faction of human beings.
As Obama and his supporters (and many of his critics) try and make changes to benefit the daily lives of Americans, offer them choices, enhance equality and freedom, we still hear the loud, frightened cries of those who have not even yet managed to bring themselves to embrace the notion of evolution. They're still working on the "universe was created in a week" plan. No wonder the Bush Administration and many of its political predecessors had so much trouble planning ahead and projecting into the future. Everything worth accomplishing should and could be done in a week! Mission accomplished anyone?
So while the shouts of "Socialism!" and "Totalitarianism!" persist, we move slowly away from an administration that restricted human freedoms by passing a law that would allow individuals to be placed under arrest with no charges officially filed or rights allowed. And those arrests and subsequent imprisonments were proclaimed "indefinite." That same administration led us into a preemptive attack on another country for the first time in American history. But unlike Kubrick's DR. STRANGELOVE, our leaders did so with full knowledge and intent, disregarding the recommendations of the United Nations, who, it turns out, were correct in their assessment of the situation in Iraq. And through all of this, the Bush Administration found every possible way to overturn any criticism that their particular brand of torture was inhuman. They insisted it was not only legal, but necessary. And when faced with legal implications, they actually tried to redefine torture itself so that they could legally continue in their God-mandated actions.
I wonder what Jesus would think about all of this?
It seems odd to me that so many of these Bush supporters and Palin supporters are actually running around in fear of totalitarianism, fascism and big government under the Obama Administration. Especially considering that the Bush Administration and many Republican administrations before (though Clinton can be lumped in here to an extent, as well) catered grotesquely to the massive corporations that have, in essence, become the government of the United States (and, perhaps, the rest of the world). The very fears these people are now espousing and their accompanying accusations were actually flourishing as a reality under their own God-approved world leaders.
There has been few things in my lifetime that seemed more moralistically damaged than the Bush Administration. They not only diminished our hundreds-year struggle to make and keep America "The Land Of The Free," but they did it under the name of God and Christianity. There is nothing more offensive to my understanding of Jesus and God–any God–than the actions of the Bush Administration and the current portion of Americans still engaged in these beliefs.
Understand, this is not a Democrat versus Republican issue. Nor is it an anti-religion issue. This is an argument between a group of people who believe in true freedom and equality –regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation– and a group of people who believe in those things with a set of parenthesis attached. It seems that simply claiming to be a good Christian is enough to justify almost any act of brutality or injustice so long as you can connect it to your religious beliefs and convince yourself that you are on the side of "right." That you are "chosen" or "saved." What a terrifying notion. This faith-based bit of simple-mindedness has brought us such God-approved events as the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials. It seems that only in retrospect can the public at large recognize the atrocities committed in the name of the Lord.
But what is one to expect from a belief system that suggests believers will go to heaven, while the rest of humanity will spend an eternity in hell? Is this what the universe has been boiled down to in the glorious and creative minds of the human race?
A few weeks back, I wrote a short piece on Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration's torture policies and I held them up against some of the insightful and thoughtful teachings of Gandhi. One very angry woman wrote to me proclaiming "You're obviously NOT a Christian man!" I wondered what gave me away? My quoting Gandhi or my not endorsing torture?
Today, Fox News' Brit Hume commented on golfer Tiger Woods' one chance to save himself, not only from his current public scandal, but from the very fiery depths of hell itself:
"The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."
Tiger has spoken openly in the past about his religious beliefs:
"I practice meditation. That is something that I do, that my mum taught me over the years. We also have a thing we do every year, where we go to temple together. In the Buddhist religion you have to work for it yourself, internally, in order to achieve anything in life and set up the next life. It is all about what you do and you get out of it what you put into it."
Clearly the words of a blasphemer.
I wonder how many Americans are out there right now commenting not so much on Mr. Woods' all-too human difficulties and challenges, but on the indisputable "fact" that he may well rot in hell. He doesn't need a therapist. He needs to have faith. Not in himself, but in another. And if he does so, he can finally realize that he is not only above the law, but the rest of humanity.


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The foray into the intersection between autism and immunology has borne many interesting results throughout the years, the latest of which is the discovery of maternal antibodies to fetal brain proteins. Three research articles published in 2008 from two groups of researchers from University of California-Davis/MIND Institute and Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University, reported the presence of "autoantibodies"
(antibodies developed against self) in the blood of mothers who had previously given birth to children with autism.
In the on-going search for biological risk-markers of autism, the two groups independently reported that abnormal antibody proteins were present more often in the blood of mothers who had given birth to children diagnosed with autism than those who had not. Both teams found that mothers whose children have specifically presented with a regressive form of autism have antibodies that bind to as-yet unidentified proteins present in fetal brains. In a third study, also from the MIND Institute, researchers found that exposing pregnant rhesus monkeys to purified antibodies isolated from the sera of mothers of children with autism resulted in offspring that developed extremely unusual stereotypic behaviors.
Maternal antibodies have been previously implicated in other conditions such as the movement disorder Myasthenia Gravis and Grave's disorder, the most common form of hyperthyroidism. In these diseases, an autoimmune condition in the mother can affect the child because antibodies directed against self proteins can cross the placenta to affect the developing fetus, likely by binding and disrupting the action of the proteins recognized by the antibody. However, the specific meaning and mechanism of action of the autoantibodies found in the mothers of children with autism is still a mystery.
Given the overarching need to find biomarkers that can help parents diagnose their risk of having a child with autism, many follow-up studies are underway to determine the significance of these maternal antibodies. Foremost among them is the identification of the actual proteins targeted by the antibodies, which would provide critical knowledge about the mechanism by which fetal brain development is disrupted. Meanwhile, these findings represent important knowledge that can be used for risk assessment in the future, particularly by women planning pregnancies. And although the correlations found apply only to a subpopulation of autism spectrum disorders, they represent a group for which an intervention can be devised when the pathological role of these antibodies is understood. A role for the immune system during brain development, and in particular, in disorders such autism, is an area of investigation that has remained far less explored than others. However, the year 2008 showed that it is an area rapidly gaining momentum and that should provide many more insights in the upcoming year
Braunschweig D, et al. Autism: maternally derived antibodies specific for fetal brain proteins. Neurotoxicology. 2008 Mar;29(2):226-31. Epub 2007 Nov 6.
Martin LA, et al. Stereotypies and hyperactivity in rhesus monkeys exposed to IgG from mothers of children with autism. Brain Behav Immun. 2008 Aug;22(6):806-16. Epub 2008 Feb 8.
Singer HS, et al. Antibodies against fetal brain in sera of mothers with autistic children. J Neuroimmunol. 2008 Feb;194(1-2):165-72. Epub 2008 Feb 21.


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The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society will present a full day of genealogy lectures and hands-on assistance in a workshop set for Saturday April 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bolton Free Library.
Genealogical experts will present sessions on vital records, finding family members in census and probate records, and tips on research organization and genealogical software. Contact the library for session times. The suggested donation is $20, which will include lunch, to be provided by the Lakeside Lodge & Grille and served at the library.
Space is limited, and all attendees must register. Contact Lauren Maehrlein at firstname.lastname@example.com or call (212 ) 755-8532, ext. 211 to register. Attendees may also register with Megan Baker at firstname.lastname@example.com, or call 644-2233.


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Calvin rallies past Oneonta State
Vegter nets two goals, Knights advance to the title game
SAN ANTONIO -- Calvin will face Ohio Wesleyan in the national championship final Saturday night.
Calvin punched its second berth to the national championship in the last three years with a 4-2 semifinal win against Oneonta State on Friday night.
Earlier in the evening, Ohio Wesleyan blanked Montclair State 4-0.
In its win against Oneonta State, Calvin conceded the first goal of the match in just the seventh minute of play but then scored three unanswered goals in the first half to take a 3-1 halftime lead. First half Calvin goals came from senior Brad Heethuis, freshman Travis Vegter and senior Brad Wassink. In the second half, Travis Vegter ripped in his second goal of the game to give Calvin a 4-1 lead.
Oneonta State then scored a goal in the final 10 minutes of the match to close out the scoring. Calvin (19-5-2) will be facing Ohio Wesleyan for the sixth time in NCAA tournament play. Ohio Wesleyan has won three of the prior five NCAA tournament matchups but Calvin won the last meeting in NCAA tournament play, winning 2-1 in a second round match in 2005.


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ARTIST: Glaukom Synod
Perhaps responding to previous reviews that overstated his affinity for random noise, Glaukom Synod creator Gabriel S. has intentionally given his newest release a more structured sound. Noise and extreme music fans have little to worry about, however. If this album is a less disjointed effort than previous releases, it's certainly no less abrasive. Things began with the brutal industrial march of "Passive Retro," drenched in feedback and scattered with glitches, before moving into the grinding guitar loops of "Translute Jugulate Iniquit (XXVII)" and the multi-layered rhythmic aggression of "Trephination and Ruminance (The Iron Tongue Part 2, Swallowing Infinite)." Power electronics and extreme metal remain major sources of inspiration, as evidenced by "Intragenitose," a relentless industrial death march mated by force to low-fi death metal brutality, and "Sci-Fix It," a frantic assault of speedy synth wavering and guitar manipulations. "Totalitarian Nuclear Warlust" is more purely electronic, all finely chopped samples and tinny strings, while "Vulvotronic Dominator" hints at death metal with its gurgled vocals while retaining a more rhythmic focus with rapid staccato beats. While this material is less purely random than Glaukom Synod releases past, it retains a similar nervous energy. The difference is that this time that energy is expressed not through disjointed track changes but through a more intricate approach to rhythm; the best tracks here, like "Multiplex of Affliction," recall such acts as Hecate with their combinations of gory vocals and high-BPM breakbeats. More structured, maybe, but certainly not softer, this album sees Glaukom Synod achieving new heights in sonic aggression. Be careful with this ogre; it isn't friendly.
For more information about Glaukom Synod, visit http://glaukomsynod.site.voila.fr/.
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Han Ye Seul shares lovey-dovey couple's photos with her boyfriend Teddy
Han Ye Seul has been dating Teddy for over a year, and she just posted the first-ever couple's photos of the pair with some sweet captions on her Instagram.
The photos, which were posted to the Birth of a Beauty actress's personal Instagram account on March 20, show her and her rapper/producer boyfriend together. The two photos have the captions "When I saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew" and "We were together.. I forget the rest.."
Awww! Teddy and Han Ye Seul met through a mutual acquaintance in 2013 and made their relationship official in November of the same year, but the pair hasn't published any photos together until now. That hasn't stopped Han Ye Seul from expressing her affection, however. While accepting an award at the SBS Drama Awards in December, she closed out her speech with the following message for Teddy: "Lastly, I want to send my love to my boyfriend, whom I love very much. We loved this year and let's continue our love next year."
You can see the cute video below:
What do you think of this couple? I appreciate that they share glimpses of their cute relationship, but that they also don't feel obligated to tell nosy netizens every last detail. Let's hope they share much love in the future as well!
To see Han Ye Seul's award-winning performance, check out Birth of a Beauty:


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Christian's Corner
Florida Swing 2010
Florida was great as many of you know recently we auctioned off the best golfer the Golden Bear (Jack Nicklaus) at the Honda Classic and it was great. Then we headed to Doral in Miami which was our recruitment week for caddyforacure. We got a lot of good guys to sign up to help later on in the year there in Doral. Also I met some very interesting and kind people in Doral like Jenny Larson from Chick Fil A at the Dadeland Mall, and some new friends from Lockheed Martin and met some military service men and women. They were very kind and we need to thank them for their service to our country because we live free because of the brave. We met our service men and women at the Birdies for the Brave military outpost tent where we had Chick Fil A for lunch (Chick Fil A is my favorite). My pal Flash really hooked us up at Doral! Then we were off to Tampa for another tournament for a day (The Transistions). Then we headed to Pirate City for spring training and dinner with Russ Holden and Pirate pitcher Brandon Holden. We had a blast then we headed home to Russ's house to spend my last few days in Florida where I also met Zig Ziglar at a motivational speaker thing in the Florida Panthers hockey arena then later that night we came back for a Newsboys Christian band rock concert. Oops I almost forgot we met up with The Golf Channels Tim Rosaforte who is now my new buddy we met at Doral and he was as nice as can be. Ok that's it for this time until next time thanks for reading and tune back in next time.
Portland Again
Wow getting to fly with a marine who protected President Clinton's helicopter and my friend Gary Myers down to Florida to watch Brandon Holden in a long drive competiton with another Pittsburgh Pirate (Bobby Bradley) was cool, then me and Russ went to Oregon to the LPGA Tournament up there where I met Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis for the first time, we also saw our friends Brittany Lincicome, Nichole Hage and Christina Kim, many thanks to our wonderful "caddies" for the day, then it was off to Wisconsin for Scott Sanders annual tournament to benefit Caddy For A Cure where I had a blast, my brother Calen, the National Diplomat along with my parents came up and had a great time at the outing, where he and my parents met Scott's family and I met his daughter Meghan and we all got fat on Kopp's frozen custard then it was home to Georgia again…
Happy New Year 2012
Happy New Year… I am back with more exciting news starting with some events that were towards the end of last year, we will start with the exciting news that a caddy that 'caddied' for a cure in Oregon for Stacey Lewis runs a construction company and has now joined the CFAC team of sponsors he will now be our shirt sponsor with his company Emerick Construction and we have recently become good friends with another great guy that makes golf shirts for kids like mine and Calens size and his company is called The Littlest Golfer. Then later on down into the fall season we had fun at the Blue angels Homecoming show where it was announced that Captain Boss McWherter was going to be the leader of the 'Blues' for two more season making him the longest serving leader of the Navys Flight Demonstration Team so far and they have also announced through their events coordinator 'Focker' that the 'Blues' would be coming to do a show this year in Warner Robins which is about 30 minutes from Macon Ga where I live, but rewind a bit on my way down to Florida we made a stop and let a friend of mine who lives in GA as well get off and me and the pilot went inside and we were greeted by a warm smile and the words hold on I gotta get the cookies out of the oven the lady at the airport where we had stopped had made us fresh cookies including pumpkin spice and chocolate chip cookies so we got the cookies to go and we finished our flight to my destination of South Florida for the annual Caddy For A Cure golf outing that we have down there then me and the Holdens drove to Pensacola Florida and y'all know what happened after that…
Til The Next event,


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One of the most important components of Nintendo's Wii U is its embedded DRAM chip, that is considered the "heart" or the "life stone" of the console. That chip is manufactured at the state-of-the-art Renesas Electronics plant of Tsuruoka, in the Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
Back in August we reported Renesas' plans to close the factory due to the sluggish sales of the console, that caused a decline in production of the chip, that was responsible for more than half of the manufacturing load of the plant, but things may yet go differently.
Today several Japanese sources, starting with the morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper and followed by several reputable business sources like Toyo Keizai, Nikkei, Reuters, Sankei Digital, Mainichi and Asahi Digital, reported that Sony is currently in talks with Renesas for the acquisition of the Tsuruoka plant.
The process for the acquisition may start as early as next week, as Sony is said to plan using the well known expertise of the staff at the plant at Tsuruoka to bolster its production of CMOS sensors for smartphones, for which the company is already market leader worldwide.
A successful acquisition would bring hope for the 900 workers at the factory, that until today thought they were destined to lose their jobs in 2-3 years.
On the other hand, the effect of such an operation on the production of the embedded DRAM for the Wii U is unknown, even if Nintendo is said to have considerable stocks of the component, so the console shouldn't suffer in the short term even if production of the chip at Tsuruoka were to be completely halted.