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Weekend Music Thread – TV Show Theme Songs

Dexter
http://youtu.be/ej8-Rqo-VT4

» Posted By Zeke On December 14, 2014 @ 5:22 pm

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour
http://youtu.be/wqKf7j43i_k

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 4:38 pm

The Muppet Show
http://youtu.be/1M0X6OymIjg

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 4:15 pm

Barney Miller
http://youtu.be/mL3Q8GNSKi4

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 4:11 pm

The Odd Couple
http://youtu.be/Af1h4ibpKJA?t=2s

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 4:09 pm

Monty Python’s Flying Circus
https://youtu.be/-rutX0I6NxU

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 4:07 pm

Hogan’s Heroes
http://youtu.be/CQyUn2mCKtg?t=10s

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:53 pm

Vikings
http://youtu.be/gmyCRJkKeKs

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:50 pm

Californication
http://youtu.be/jVa1RXyUyxw

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:49 pm

Archer
https://youtu.be/QB-CYYHaOa8

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:48 pm

The Venture Bros.
https://youtu.be/66v6q7V26oM

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:47 pm

Star Blazers
https://youtu.be/0H5xz8alVfo

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:46 pm

Buck Rogers
http://youtu.be/v32VypWeF0I

» Posted By Zeke On December 13, 2014 @ 3:44 pm

Morning Blog — 11-20-2014

Thank you kind sir.

» Posted By Zeke On November 21, 2014 @ 4:08 am

My pleasure:)

» Posted By Zeke On November 21, 2014 @ 4:07 am

Congratulations Kalima and thank you for all of your diligent efforts. AS a small token of congrats, I hope this blast from the past brings a smile to your face.:)

https://youtu.be/DINuAWoxy4Q

» Posted By Zeke On November 20, 2014 @ 5:47 am

The Weekend Music Thread-Independence

Schoolhouse Rock!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-9pDZMRCpQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ikO6LMxF4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHp7sMqPL0g

» Posted By Zeke On July 6, 2014 @ 7:39 am

The Story Of A Flagpole

Thank you for this article, Sally. It struck a chord with me as my grandfather emigrated from Germany after the war. He too had a flagpole in his front yard and for decades he was diligent in raising and lowering the flag on a daily basis, providing the weather was nice.

My grandfather was the hardest working man that I have ever known and likely will ever know. I just wish his work ethic had rubbed of on me. We miss him terribly, but life goes on.

You article was a fantastic hat tip to all of our veterans past and present. We all need to ensure that these men and women who serve this nation return home to the care they need and DESERVE.

» Posted By Zeke On July 6, 2014 @ 6:35 am

Religion & The U.S. Constitution: The Official Record

Aw-shucks, Murph, your very kind words are greatly appreciated. Thank You!

» Posted By Zeke On July 8, 2014 @ 1:33 pm

Posted a reply for you at the top of the thread. I included some Jefferson quotes from his letters with links. I recommend that if you only use one of the Jefferson links provided, make it the second last one.

» Posted By Zeke On July 7, 2014 @ 6:28 pm

@MurphTheSurf3

It’s a shame that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were not at the convention. IMHO, they would have contributed greatly and it’s likely that a Bill of Rights would have been included from the get go. If I had to choose one over the other then I would rather Jefferson attend (provided that James Madison wouldn’t get bumped); and Adams would likely agree. For justification, click link to John Adams letter to Timothy Pickering of August 6, 1822. That second paragraph is great.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/john-adams-to-timothy-pickering/

Here are just a few quotes (there are scads more) I’ve compiled from Jefferson’s letters that very clearly spells out his opinion regarding religion (If you have an interest read the letters for greater detail.)

“The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and in-grafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man.”
~~ Letter to Jeremiah Moore, August 14, 1800
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0066

“…a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State; that the purest system of morals ever before preached to man, has been adulterated and sophisticated by artificial constructions, into a mere contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves; that rational men not being able to swallow their impious heresies, in order to force them down their throats, they raise the hue and cry of infidelity, while themselves are the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of Jesus, and do in fact constitute the real Anti-Christ.”
~~Letter to Samuel Kercheval, January 19, 1810
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl199.php

“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.”
~~Letter to Alexander von Humboldt, December 6, 1813
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl224.php

“In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them, and to effect this, they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purposes.”
~~Letter to Horatio G Spafford, March 17, 1814
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-07-02-0167

“Among the sayings & discourses imputed to him by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence: and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being. I separate therefore the gold from the dross; restore to him the former & leave the latter to the stupidity of some, and roguery of others of his disciples. Of this band of dupes and impostors, Paul was the great Coryphaeus, and firm corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus. These palpable interpolations and falsifications of his doctrines led me to try to sift them apart. I found the work obvious and easy, and that his part composed the most beautiful morsel of morality which has been given to us by man.”
~~Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101))

“No one sees with greater pleasure than myself the progress of reason in its advances towards rational Christianity. When we shall have done away the incomprehensible jargon of the Trinitarian arithmetic, that three are one, and one is three; when we shall have knocked down the artificial scaffolding, reared to mask from view the simple structure of Jesus; when, in short, we shall have unlearned everything which has been taught since His day, and got back to the pure and simple doctrines He inculcated, we shall then be truly and worthily His disciples; and my opinion is that if nothing had ever been added to what flowed purely from His lips, the whole world would at this day have been Christian. I know that the case you cite, of Dr. Drake, has been a common one. The religion-builders have so distorted and deformed the doctrines of Jesus, so muffled them in mysticisms, fancies and falsehoods, have caricatured them into forms so monstrous and inconceivable, as to shock reasonable thinkers, to revolt them against the whole, and drive them rashly to pronounce its Founder an impostor. Had there never been a commentator, there never would have been an infidel.”
~~Letter to Timothy Pickering, February 27, 1821
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-1870

“The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man… But compare with these the demoralizing doctrines of Calvin:
1. That there are three Gods.
2. That good works, or the love of our neighbor, is nothing.
3. That faith is everything, and the more incomprehensible the proposition, the more merit the faith.
4. That reason in religion is of unlawful use.
5. That God from the beginning, elected certain individuals to be saved, and certain others to be damned; and that no crimes of the former can damn them; no virtues of the latter save.”
~~Letter to Benjamin Waterhouse, June 26, 1822
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl268.php
***This letter alone is fairly conclusive***

“The truth is that the greatest enemies to the doctrines of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them for the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in his genuine words. And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors.”
~~Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl271.php

» Posted By Zeke On July 7, 2014 @ 6:19 pm

How can Thomas Paine be one of the 4 when he was never a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention?

No animosity intended, just comedy.

» Posted By Zeke On July 7, 2014 @ 6:19 am

Thank you for your comment, Murph. You can always be counted on to interject relevant and interesting information.

Who are the four non-Protestant, non-Catholic delegates? Is Madison one of the four or is he listed among the Protestants?

Did you give the article a 9 and ruin my Bo Derek? C’mon don’t be the East German judge. Just kidding, Murph, I couldn’t resist. 🙂

» Posted By Zeke On July 6, 2014 @ 6:06 am

@monicaangela
My apologies for the delay, monica, and thank you for your patience. The evils visited upon the Indians and slaves should never be forgotten so that such vile bigotry and persecution will never be repeated. So, I agree with most of what you wrote, but I do have a small issue with the accidental secularism part.

It seems that you don’t want the founders to have any credit at all for creating the first ever secular constitution because it was an accident. There have been many great accidental discoveries that have been a boon to thought, science, etc. that have benefited humanity. Should Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson return their Nobel Prizes for their accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, which helped establish the Big Bang Theory? Should Alexander Fleming be stripped of his Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin because it was accidental?
“When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn’t plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world’s first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, but I suppose that was exactly what I did.” (Everyone’s a comic:)

And I could be wrong because I often am, but you also seem to give no credence to the idea that the delegates may have had their opinions swayed over the course of months of discussions both in and out of convention and at the various inns and taverns of Philly. They may not have shown up expecting to create a secular government, but there were a number of great speeches during the convention pointing to history and calling out religion for its abuses; and Charles Pinckney certainly possessed enough foresight to propose the ‘no religious test’ clause that was unanimously approved. The Committee of Detail, comprised of the first Attorney General, three Supreme Court Justices and… Gorham… drafted no religious language into the preamble as had been the previous custom. I don’t think that happened by accident. Here’s one speech by Madison from the convention that I like that references the potential dangers of religion and also because it touches many other bases as well. This is an excerpt of his “tyranny of the majority” speech from June 6, 1787.

“All civilized Societies would be divided into different Sects, Factions, & interests, as they happened to consist of rich & poor, debtors & creditors, the landed, the manufacturing, the commercial interests, the inhabitants of this district or that district, the followers of this political leader or that political leader, the disciples of this religious Sect or that religious Sect. In all cases where a majority are united by a common interest or passion, the rights of the minority are in danger. What motives are to restrain them? A prudent regard to the maxim that honesty is the best policy is found by experience to be as little regarded by bodies of men as by individuals. Respect for character is always diminished in proportion to the number among whom the blame or praise is to be divided. Conscience, the only remaining tie, is known to be inadequate in individuals: In large numbers, little is to be expected from it. Besides, Religion itself may become a motive to persecution & oppression. -These observations are verified by the Histories of every Country antient & modern. In Greece & Rome the rich & poor, the creditors & debtors, as well as the patricians & plebians alternately oppressed each other with equal unmercifulness. What a source of oppression was the relation between the parent cities of Rome, Athens & Carthage, & their respective provinces: the former possessing the power, & the latter being sufficiently distinguished to be separate objects of it? Why was America so justly apprehensive of Parliamentary injustice? Because G. Britain had a separate interest real or supposed, & if her authority had been admitted, could have pursued that interest at our expence. We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man. What has been the source of those unjust laws complained of among ourselves? Has it not been the real or supposed interest of the major number? Debtors have defrauded their creditors. The landed interest has borne hard on the mercantile interest. The Holders of one species of property have thrown a disproportion of taxes on the holders of another species. The lesson we are to draw from the whole is that where a majority are united by a common sentiment, and have an opportunity, the rights of the minor party become insecure.”
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/debates/0606-2/

(“We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time” I bet Kilgore would get a kick out of that bit.)

I also have a problem accepting that secularism was an accident because just two years earlier in Virginia, James Madison penned “A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments” in opposition to Patrick Henry’s “Bill establishing a provision for the teachers of the Christian religion.” Madison’s written objection was only one of about eighty different petitions that garnered almost 11,000 signatures that opposed the “teachers of the Christian religion” bill. After Henry’s bill was defeated Madison struck while the iron was still hot and pushed thru Jefferson’s “Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom” that had been sitting before the Virginia General Assembly since 1779 and finally enacted January 16, 1786. Here’s my favorite part of Jefferson’s VSRF.

“That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time”

So, except for the accidental part, I think we are of like mind.

» Posted By Zeke On July 6, 2014 @ 5:47 am

Please don’t think I have taken any offense from your comments, because I haven’t. I’m still considering your comment and contemplating my response. I have some family plans today and I will respond tomorrow. It might be a longer post and since we’re getting into skinny thread territory, keep an eye out for a comment from me at the top, beginning @you. I hope that this doesn’t come off as sounding short, as that is not my intention, I’m just in a bit of a hurry. TTYL, Cheers.

» Posted By Zeke On July 4, 2014 @ 12:11 pm

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it, NWGuy.
If our current crop of politicians were our politicians back then…

[img]http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/48/48178d7c60e7afbbd1ee966782688f589862daa3bc2585a463d1cd74aba75a85.jpg[/img]

» Posted By Zeke On July 4, 2014 @ 12:09 pm

Thank you very much for your kind words, kesmarn.
It’s true, I’m not a historian. I guess I’m just a bit of a history nerd, and the pearls are definitely worth the glazed eyes. It was, however, near infuriating misrepresentations and out and out lies about the founders by online theocratic trolls that inspired me to do this research. Maybe they are good for something. Wait, I take that back, no they’re not.:)

Compromise… seems to be a lost art form these days, don’t it?

» Posted By Zeke On July 4, 2014 @ 12:08 pm

As the esteemed Kilgore has recently observed, the founders were products of The Enlightenment. These men were advocates of utilizing reason, logic, and common sense. Therefore, it’s relatively easy for me to conclude that most of the founders would approve of common sense legislation regarding background checks and such, just as most of Americans, as well as the majority of gun owners. Even the way off the deep end gun nuts don’t mind infringing the gun rights of people convicted of a felony, or diagnosed schizophrenics… or Obama (because most [all?] of the off the deep end gun nuts are Republican, right?:) Or am I stereotyping?

I would like to relay an anecdote from the 1787 Constitutional Convention regarding the “well regulated militia.” This doesn’t really pertain to your comment, it’s just a humorous anecdote that I think you will enjoy. Unfortunately, the following does not appear in Madison’s notes and is relayed to us through oral tradition, so have the asterisk cued. Elbridge Gerry was an advocate of a well regulated militia and a strident opponent of a standing army. Mr. Gerry had quipped, “a standing army is like a standing member: an excellent assurance of domestic tranquility; but a dangerous temptation to foreign adventure.” He would go on to propose that the army should not exceed 3000 troops, and George Washington said in a stage whisper, “then the Constitution should include a rule that invading forces must be limited to the same number.” And that would have been the first words Mr. Washington spoke while in session since he had been elected president of the convention more than two months previous.

There is no evidence that this exchange occurred, but I REALLY hope it did, solely for its comedic value.

» Posted By Zeke On July 4, 2014 @ 12:04 pm

You’re very welcome, Kalima
…and MMMM sausage.:)

» Posted By Zeke On July 3, 2014 @ 6:49 am

Hello and thanks, monicaangela, I know that this is the first we’ve talked, but I’m glad that you took the time to comment. Having read a number of your posts in the past, I knew that you would bring a wealth of history to the discussion, as you usually do. I am well aware of the sordid and checkered history of the US, and I give no sanction to it. But, I do think that the delegates deserve some credit for creating the first secular constitution in human history. It certainly doesn’t excuse the evils of past atrocities but, in my humble opinion, the Constitution has ultimately been beneficial to human rights, at least in the modern times anyway.

…but yes, it does suck having those atrocities in American history as well as human history. Hopefully the future will be much, much, brighter.

» Posted By Zeke On July 3, 2014 @ 6:42 am

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