Comments on: Wealthy developers smear progressive council candidate. Dog bites man.

By: Michael Muller

Michael Muller — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:26:03 +0000

…destined to become a straight, square, old spinster…dateless, drugless, and a bit sweaty!

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By: mortise tortoise

mortise tortoise — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:46:46 +0000

Gross, I suppose.

I’m endangered myself, and anything pork or petroleum contrived makes me puke.

Fast free runners, near fliers, and free swimmers lick my my protein fancy.

Turnip greens too have been known to hop out of the garden.

Good for them all, until I catch’em. And well then……

Yummmmy

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By: Arratik

Arratik — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:46:59 +0000

the reward is a prize hog, fattened on endangered species and roasted over a styrofoam bonfire!!!

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By: mortise tortoise

mortise tortoise — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:39:53 +0000

Shouldn’t there be rewards too for the lowest footprinter in the hood?

At least a new pair of moccasins!

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By: cecil bothwell

cecil bothwell — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:36:45 +0000

Tyler, a verbatim quote taken out of context can easily distort meaning. But here’s a brief review of the flyer.

It claims that I imply a young Graham received inspiration from Hitler. Truth: Graham said so himself in his autobiography Just As I Am.

It claims I assert that contacts with wealth businessmen propelled Graham’s career. Yes. Graham said so himself in Just As I Am (and many other places.)

Direct, accurate quote “Today’s deep religious involvement in politics in the United States is in no small part an outgrowth of Graham’s work.” True. He even got an act of Congress to hold the first religious ceremony ever on the steps of the Capitol in the 1950s, and his White House visits and influence are legendary.

The next quote about my personal belief is verbatim but nicely excises my argument for ethics based on the Golden Rule. They then quote part of a quote from writer Salmun Rushdie, excising the specific part I agreed with, and report it as if I agreed with the part they excerpted.

Actually, I endorsed Rushdie’s suggestion that religion has not done well at answering the two questions it is most often asked to address: origins and ethics. Science keeps pushing back the “beginning” and religionists, including Billy Graham (explicitly in his writings), have continually modified the story and time of origin until saying “God set it in motion billions of years ago” is in no meaningful way different from saying “Universe started billions of years ago.” Meanwhile, ethologists have pretty clearly established that much of what qualifies as basic human ethics is innate in other species. Fairness, sharing, in essence the Golden Rule, is actually a very good survival strategy for individuals and species. Exiles die. Cooperators live.

As a concluding criticism, Cantrell and Peterson entirely misrepresent my suggestion about utility bills, claiming that I want to show your neighbor your electric bill. My suggestion is to follow California’s lead and show bill payers the average of their neighborhood bills. This has been shown to reduce energy use by 2 percent per year as people “Keep down with the Joneses.”

I’m working with others in my church to create exactly that system for our parishioners – a voluntary system in which we compare our bills to the average to encourage everyone to reduce our carbon footprints.

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By: Tyler

Tyler — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:20:14 +0000

I’m confused. How are these quotes taken out of context? Are they verbatim or not?

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By: Michael Muller

Michael Muller — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:37:34 +0000

Risk is cool too.

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By: randallt

randallt — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:16:55 +0000

You guys have been listening to way too much REM.

Let’s play Twister, let’s play Risk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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By: barry

barry — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:13:04 +0000

I see my plan is working to perfection. heh heh heh

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By: Paul -V-

Paul -V- — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:55:25 +0000

I love Stratego! Lemme know if/when you want to play.

- pvh

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By: Michael Muller

Michael Muller — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:37:08 +0000

Shad,

When you’re through playing naked Twister with Esther Manheimer, you should come over…we can drink beer and play Stratego. Be forewarned, however…I cheat

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By: shadmarsh

shadmarsh — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:19:02 +0000

If anyone wants to hire me for a political hit job I’m available and have no moral opposition to it…and I will work for beer.

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By: barry

barry — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:16:16 +0000

Like a giant Saint Ayn statue come to life, wreaking havoc through Manhattan, with erotic laser beams shooting out of her eyes, cutting through the pathetic military of the neo-Liberal nanny-state oppressors of human potential.

Wow, I want to be a priest in THAT theology.

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By: mortise tortoise

mortise tortoise — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:32:44 +0000

Good answer randallt.

Reminds me of Roark destroying his own building in The Fountainhead and events that happened in NYC on the eleventh of September. Remember?

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By: randallt

randallt — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:01:37 +0000

Tim. Libertarian Theology is that line of thought that treats government as an unnecessary evil and does so with religious fervor.

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By: cecil bothwell

cecil bothwell — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:12:04 +0000

Doug, Common Sense in Government — have not seen it but from description I assume it is the same as the mailer that went out.

And I think I’m in the middle ground – I find nothing wrong with campaign information that is accurate and which comes from a legal source. If a group is ducking campaign law, that’s wrong. If they are lying, that’s wrong. But if they take candidates to task for what they have actually said and done, it is not “negative” campaigning, it is a matter of holding people accountable for their actions.

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By: barry

barry — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:04:11 +0000

This is the problem, IMO. People who treat this like it’s a game. It’s not a game when real life issues are at stake. Get a copy of Stratego & sit around a table with friends if you want to play a game.

Truth is, when I hear “it’s just a game”, more often than not, it’s coming from someone who thinks they can win only by cheating.

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By: Michael Muller

Michael Muller — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:03:58 +0000

Oh, enough with all the whining. Someone hits, hit ‘em back harder: every attack is an opportunity for creative revenge.

Maybe I’m old school, but I think all’s fair in love and war and politics…that’s what makes it so much fucking fun. Besides, it’s a grand old tradition in American politics.

If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t play the game.

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By: Doug Gibson

Doug Gibson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:29:42 +0000

Cecil,

Which source – PRG or Common Sense in government?

AO,

Sorry, but while I agree that history doesn’t excuse Elaine Lite and PRG, it does put more responsibility on conservatives to end the vicious cycle. If Chris Peterson were to say, “You know, I don’t think we should do this anymore,” empty the bank account, and file to close his committee, that might mean something. Until then, I think focusing on what progressives are doing and saying that they’re not behaving like “progressives” seems a little disingenuous. Is Chris Peterson acting like a conservative?

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By: Tim Peck

Tim Peck — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:25:02 +0000

What is libertarian theology?

I’m confooosed.

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