Azalin

as far as I'm concerned, UFOs and alien visitors are two completely different things. most of us have seen something in the sky we didn't recognize and have wondered what it could be, but not all of us attibute such things to the presence of otherworldly life forms. there are too many barriers, physics being the biggest, that would prevent life from another world from getting here from wherever it is that they would come from. I absolutely agree with Reagan's statements regarding humanity bonding as never before if the presence of an alien race was shown to exist. I can't honestly say if it would have any impact on my personal politics or values though, except to feel a stronger kinship with people and cultures that differ from ours. I definitely believe that covering up any such knowledge would be more beneficial than harmful, because I think most people would panic if the truth of alien visitation became public knowledge. as far as my losing trust in the government, that already happened years ago. learning that they had covered up contact with extraterrestrial beings would probably restore a little bit of respect I used to have for them. at this specific point in time, there is no greater proof of any other life anywhere in the universe than there is proof of the existance of god. to believe in either one requires faith.

considering what so frequently comes out of her mouth, I would think she'd need to clean her foot with toilet paper.

it sounds as if the antiquities act of 1906 is in violation of the property clause. I'm not trying to nitpick or argue.....I'm just curious as to how they're not in contradiction with eachother.

the title of this thread sounds like a new product you soak your feet in after you've finished walking all over the constitution.

from the article: " Cliven Bundy, far from being a patriot, is also clearly a straight-up communist." yeah, that makes sense.

pretty sure it's Greenpeace's newsletter.

and don't forget that the rich will be getting richer off the backs of the poor.

I thought that I had seen someone else mention this earler in the thread, but I can't find it now. anyway, I was watching comedy centrall the night where Colbert came back from some time away due to the passing of his mother. I can't find the entire segment anywhere in youtube, but it was a very sweet, very sensitive, and very loving tribute he gave her. this is it in part: http://youtu.be/qPJfpvw9Ubo the whole segment ran at least five minutes, and it was extremely touching. I don't know for certain what his personal politics are, but I've always been able to set such things aside when it comes to good comedy. I have no doubt that he'll do just fine in his new surroundings. if I want comedy that more closely reflects my own philosophy, there's always South Park.

from your original post: 'it's also interesting that the seemingly more secular american political party seems to take this idea to heart with actions promoting it as a core tenet.' you seem to believe that when the left poromtes policy that supports assitance to the needy by way taking money away from others, it is somehow morally superior to the right's tendency to do the same thing voluntarily, and with their own money. the left's biggest problem is that they think with their hearts, not with their heads.

I said that democrats' methods of giving are by way of government and other people's money. that's exactly what the first linked article says. did YOU actually read the article?

actually the seemingly more secular american political party appears to only take the idea to heart with regard to doing so via government and other people's money. http://www.occasionalplanet.org/2013/12/26/republicans-are-more-charitable-than-democrats-and-europeans/ http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018414674

in my opinion, if this is true, it tips things in Bundy's favor, at least in principle. it sounds like the feds changed the rules in the middle of the game, so to speak.

my sentiments exactly.

my honest answer would be that they ease regulations on industry and lower the corporate tax rate to a more competitive level with the rest of the world, lowering the cost of doing business here. it would be a good start, anyway.

you may be right. it's as good an explanation as anything I can come up with. either way, attempts at discussion are pointless. it's just embarrassing that it took me so long to finally realize it.

no worries! it's just like 3rd said - with KTF it's parody drenched in sarcasm. if it had been Gator on the other hand, then he would have meant every word of it with the utmost sincerity.

do you mean my post, or the one to which I replied?

it's just his way of getting laughs by posting nonsense and drawing amusement from the subsequent incredulity. the more we respond, the more he enjoys it.

who could possibly argue with logic like that?

I resemble that remark.

I've had a few union encounters in my life (in fact I'm currently a member of the CWA - communication workers of america), and some of them were just so ridiculous that all I could do was laugh. several years ago, I was approached to provide the music for a commercial that was going to run on television in the Austin market during the X games. I wrote the music, performed all the instruments, and engineered & produced the recording. after the commercial aired, I was out having a few beers with a friend who plays the trumpet professionally, and I happened to mention the commercial to him (I was frankly proud of my accomplishment since I had never done anything like that before), and the guy just went off, literally screaming at me that 'it's people like me who are taking money out of the pockets of real musicians, blah, blah, etc'). had I been unionized, I would have been required to charge for the composition, musician's fees for each instrument played (4 guitars, a bass, and drums), and engineering fees. in other words, I'd have never gotten the job in the first place. what really set the guy off was that I did all the work for free, just to see if I was capable of handling all the requisite production elements on my own. my trumpet-playing pal just didn't understand my desire to see if I could accomplish something difficult and settle for satisfaction as payment.

an apt analogy.

oh, no....it's contagious.

that's right. this war on women is an outrage!

I'm surprised that this hasn't already been posted here. from the article: "Now, Social Security claims it overpaid someone in the Grice family — it’s not sure who — in 1977. After 37 years of silence, four years after Sadie Grice died, the government is coming after her daughter. Why the feds chose to take Mary’s money, rather than her surviving siblings’, is a mystery." read more http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/social-security-treasury-target-hundreds-of-thousands-of-taxpayers-for-parents-old-debts/2014/04/10/74ac8eae-bf4d-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html