Displaying 17,401 To 17,430 Of 19,504 Comments Well said and I am with you on expressing these same sentiments to my good friend, Kalima. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 10:07 pm In truth, I liked George Burns a great deal, he was incredible in The Sunshine Boys and the lesser seen but wonderful film, Going in Style. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 10:03 pm Thanks for this, javaz. I am and have been since my youth a huge fan of Mark Twain. When thoughts and words can travel through generations and be as poignant as they were when they were written, that timelessness itself is a sign of truth and wisdom. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 9:58 pm Thanks so much, escribacat! It does have an element of risk to discuss God and religion but my feeling is that as long as one can express their POV without denigrating the reasonable folks who think differently (the extremists would freak at anything not conforming to their dogma), it’s not only cool but fruitful to have such conversations. A big problem with modern society is that we rarely can have such “big” conversations. We are gagged by political correctness, hair-trigger hostility by the fundamentalists and a corporate campaign to keep us focused on the trivial…which keeps us unfocused on what really matters and is going on…IOW, weak. That was the thrust of my Hole in the Soul piece. We are severely neglecting the awareness of the big picture of life, of our being human and existing for a brief period of time in this physical universe. So much we could do, we could discuss, we could see in each other, we could work together to build, IF…people around the world connected on a level far above the simple and superficial ones we take for granted today. In a way, spirituality could be the only thing that brings promise to our future as a civilization and religion, in the narrow way it is defined by fundamentalists of all kinds (terrorists, Republican Presidents and hopefuls, etc.) could be what dooms it. We share some similar perspectives, I do see a holistic nature to spirituality than a very narrow and linear one that defines God as an external and separate entity from the rest of existence. And as you know from my previous posts, I think the concept of God as a magical genie granting wishes or an emotionally troubled Superman who causes disasters than only rescues those who praise him the right way, deserves a bit of humorous invalidation. People will always have different definitions and beliefs/disbeliefs about God but by discussing and considering these big picture issues in good faith, by recognizing that in this harsh and violent universe, we are here on this fragile planet living fragile, brief lives together, there could be a deeper connection and compassion between those who live on this planet and it could lead to better lives and societies for all of us. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 9:53 pm Loved your comment, Choicelady. We reflect on many of the same concepts. Yep, I’m just as annoyed by the disaster survivors who credit their prayers to God, indirectly saying those who died were less loved or listened to by God. As if God is sitting up on a cloud watching a disaster take place and saying, “Okay, who wants a Golden Ticket? You call that a prayer? I don’t think so! Come on! I can’t h-ea-r you!” And those Christian extremists you mention who would readily condemn the most altruistic, loving, generous and giving Jew/Muslim/Buddhist/Atheist/etc. as going to hell while admitting that child molesters/murderers/racists/etc. all go to heaven if they accept Jesus…may be surprised by their final destination. The early concepts of God were necessarily infused with the emotions and sensibilities of people of the time. So, God was conceived of in the mold of those who led religions and tribes. Back then, people and their religious orthodoxy could be very self-centered and harsh. The concept that a God who transcends our very comprehension would possess the emotional makeup of a high school cheerleader is a bit hard to follow. Insecure, angry and vengeful and wiping out people left and right, challenging good people to do awful things to prove they REALLY are devoted…I mean…anyone have a teenage kid? Here’s my proposition, if something is so beyond anything we can imagine, it is beyond anything we can imagine. Period. That doesn’t mean we stop imagining what it may be, it just means that we have to accept that trying to hang a white beard and white robes on something that transcends beards and robes is not the best investment of time. As is trying to hang basic human emotions, psychology and concepts on it. In religion, people who want power claim to know what is unknowable. How do I know this, I just know. And this is because, as Pat Robertson and all the other charlatans past and present know, knowledge is power. People will follow someone if they believe he or she KNOWS how to keep them out of eternal hell. Kind of like knowing a cheesy but supremely confident travel agent if you’re committed to visiting Idaho. People won’t follow the guy who says, “All of you who follow me will go to heaven! Probably! At least, you have a good shot! Unless I’m mistaken! In which case you might not go to heaven! I mean, who really knows?! Come to think of it, you could all be in a bit of a situation if it turns out the real God is Muslim! In which case, I wouldn’t hesitate to give each of you a personal and sincere apology for leading you directly to Hell! I would indeed be, very, very very sorry! Hallelujah!” So, in the religion arena, one must be as certain about knowing God’s mind as one would be about the Earth being round and revolving around the Sun…which most religious folks a few centuries back, who were very certain about how God thought, got a bit, as they say, wrong. As to God being a compulsive-obsessive control freak who has to do it all, burn my bagel in the toaster and destroy New Orleans, I think such a God would need some serious therapy. I’m envisioning a TV series on this, like The Sopranos. God is seeing a shrink for his need to control everything, his insecurity causing him to need to be constantly praised and make immoral decisions to kill innocent people indiscriminately through natural disasters…oh, and he owns a strip club. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 9:16 pm Which comes first? The chicken or the egg? I don’t think his attempt at bipartisanship at the outset of the Stimulus battle was seen as weakness by Dems, I think it was his continued compromises to bring the GOP on board the Stimulus then HCR, after the GOP made clear all they wanted to do was sabotage his presidency, that upset a lot of Dems (including me). Once it was clear that bipartisanship would be impossible, it was time for Obama to focus on Progressives and Dems and eschew the GOP. IMO, the better approach would have been to shove the GOP aside then use that as leverage, “If you want to help America, you’ll be welcome back into the process. If all you care about is helping yourselves and your party, you can stay at the kiddie’s table for the next 8 years.” » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 11:46 am Escribacat, thank you for this reality status check! Gallup currently shows Obama at a 49% Approval – 44% Disapproval. Those are not great numbers but with unemployment, a struggling economy and a year of non-stop political grinding on the Stimulus then Health Care, one can only imagine what any other president’s ratings would be. When one compares those numbers with the sampling you did at SnakeoilPost, it certainly seems to confirm that the site in question is a corrupt and tainted reflection of Dems and Progressives. Keeping in mind that Obama beat McCain, 53% – 46%, the current Approve/Disapprove numbers are not hugely different from where people were last November. Yet, at HypePost, the anti-Obama frothing from alleged Dems is all out of proportion. This type of anecdotal evidence would be great to add to our ProjectPOV. » Posted By AdLib On January 17, 2010 @ 9:31 am Vox Populi AfterChat – 1-15-10 I totally understand! As you advise, don’t be shy about taking them to keep that pain down. Rest and heal up, brutha! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 9:12 pm My main discussion point was, in light of Rush, Pat and others turning on Obama even in a basic humanitarian crisis like Haiti, if another 9/11 spectacular terrorist attack occurred on his watch, would they lead the Teabaggers and extremists against Obama as too weak to protect us and in such a case, how could our nation ever pull itself together in the aftermath. And, is it possible that extremists would take a major terrorist attack on the U.S. as a green light to launch their own “take back America” terrorist (“loyalist”) campaign as the anthrax killer did? » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:59 pm You can pop over there and read the whole exchange! I’ve added a quick link on the far right column. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:54 pm Thanks for joining us! Hope Hubby feels better! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:40 pm Hey! That was a great chat folks, thanks to all for participating! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:36 pm Friday Night Music Thread – You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet! VOX POPULI IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! Click here to go there now: https://planetpov.com/live-events/vox-populi/ » Posted By AdLib On February 12, 2010 @ 7:01 pm I LOVE KOYAANISQATSI!!! Thank you Patsy!!! BTW, trivia note. In the not-so-good film The Watchmen, a long segment uses a portion of the soundtrack from Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi. » Posted By AdLib On February 12, 2010 @ 5:26 pm Planet Music Night: The Digital World has Transformed the Way We Listen to Music Well, it may not be music but as long as we’re “praising God”: “Oh Lord, ooh you are so big! So absolutely huge. Gosh, we’re all really impressed down here, I can tell you.”
» Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 9:16 pm Well, of course I can’t speak for God but I’d imagine he’d admit to a sizable ego. I hear he has big feet too. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 9:11 pm I’m there for you, KQ! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:52 pm Not so fast there, my dear FlyingLotus, look again. An after Christmas miracle! So nice to see you here! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:48 pm Hey, missed you on Vox Populi! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 8:41 pm VOX POPULI IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! CLICK HERE TO GO THERE: https://planetpov.com/live-events/vox-populi/ » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 7:03 pm God asked me to pass along this reply: Don’t tell anyone I told you but Pat Robertson is not 100% white. If you count his soul. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:52 pm Have you not read God’s first blog here: https://planetpov.com/2010/01/12/2009/12/21/gods-blog-12-21-09/ » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:48 pm I saw this on God’s Facebook page: What a lot of people don’t know is that Satan came up with the idea of televangelism. It was a multilevel marketing plan for hatred, prejudice, greed, souls and collector’s plates with lead based paints. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:47 pm God sent me this reply to your comment: I’m no good at debating. Do you think I really wanted men’s private parts to look like that? One word of advice, never listen to snakes! » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:33 pm I can’t tell you how pissed off God was when Bush named himself “The Decider”. All I’ll say is that He happily used the phrase, “Decide this!” before Obama was elected. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:29 pm OK is a very religious and conservative state though. Guess they made a deal with Satan too. How else can you explain James Inhofe and Tom Coburn being their Senators? » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:28 pm Sorry to hear you’re ill! I just texted God to ask if he would help you feel better and he replied: tel ab im sorry, will get right on it. been stuck on skype all day with satan. he’s really po’d about me getting all the credit for haiti. and pat robertson for that matter. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:23 pm God asked me to pass along a reply to you: You want to talk about my getting blamed for disasters, I’m still trying to live down George Bush giving me props for his presidency. I swear, I had nothing to do with it. I mean, do you think I look even slightly like Katherine Harris? » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 2:12 pm Thanks Sue! There is such a great thread on Rush here now, God would have been a bit intimidated to compete with that but I have an idea God will be dealing with Rush very soon. » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 1:59 pm That’s why I still have to question the meme that the GOP has such great prospects in November. Are people really saying, “We need those “hate” and “no” guys in Congress, that will make our lives better!” » Posted By AdLib On January 15, 2010 @ 12:13 amComments Posted By AdLib
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