The Good Post Gallery

[Napoleon]

To justify having the less positive post dumps, we ought to have one where we can show off solid, well reasoned posts that are worth having everyone read. I will start us off with a thoughtful post from a hot topic. Informative posts that forumites shouldn't miss go here.

 

One thing I find somewhat frustrating about Eastern Orthodoxy is that it does not fall into some of the same stupid 'natural law' traps as Catholic theology, yet retains many of the same conclusions on other, often oddly fideistic, bases; whereas there are groups like the Old Catholics and some of the Malabar churches that come to a different stance on the basis of much the same general theological practice as Rome. This to me indicates that these debates are cultural because there doesn't seem to be a whole hell of a lot of correlation between general attitude towards or way of doing theology and specific beliefs developed on a lot of these subjects.


(It is worth noting that dissent appears to exist in Orthodoxy, at somewhat higher levels than in Catholicism and carrying with it rather less danger of being sh**tcanned and reassigned to Partenia, but there's still not all that much of it.)

The method that mainline Protestants tend to practice in the tradition of Richard Hooker and John Wesley is that we as Christians believe most of what we believe because tradition tells us that scripture says to believe it. If experience or reason contradict what tradition tells us scripture says, then it's time to modify or reject parts of that tradition and approach scripture independently again, taking the experience and reason into account, to start a new tradition. I'm sure we can all think of examples where this process failed and the traditional interpretation was reaffirmed, and I'm sure we can also all think of examples where it succeeded and the received interpretation changed; or where it only dubiously failed or succeeded and resulted in ideological division within the Body of the Church.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

No. If there's any bias at all, it's a pro-corporate elitist bisas, as seen with the lack of coverage of issues such as socio-economic inequality and the education crisis in this country, and the "liberal" New York Times's fascination of the issue of whether or not a few wealthy, elite women could play in a golf tournament.

If they weren't liberal, they wouldn't care about this sort of symbolic gender equality.

Which could be material pitched for a targeted audience already reading the New York Times. I am under the impression that (a.) folks with high incomes are generally more liberal on normative than economic issues, and (b.) journalists themselves tend to lean more to the left and are oftentimes cut a lot of slack provided they do not run any stories that seriously undercut the company's goals. Most major media outlets in the States are businesses first and foremost.

[Yelnoc]

Alabama seems on pace to lose a house seat in the next decade or two.

Yeah, I think its barely holding onto 7 districts. The upper part of the state around Huntsville is starting to grow pretty decently though.

Really?

I find that kind of surprising as I thought that the growth and regentrification seen in other Southern states like VA, NC, SC, and GA was starting to go into full force effect in Alabama?

Virginia has the benefit of DC-oriented companies doing business there because of the favorable tax/regulatory environment relative to DC and Maryland.

North Carolina has the Research Triangle, an indigenous banking industry (Wachovia, etc) that benefited from the growth of the financial sector from the 1980s to the present, an indigenous airline industry that has benefited from various mergers (Piedmont Airlines growing into US Airways), and excellent universities (UNC, Duke, Wake Forest).

South Carolina has coastal areas excellent for tourism and retirees and growth of Charlotte suburbs on their side of the state line.

Georgia has Atlanta and all that Atlanta entails. They were smart enough in the '70s to put all their "history/heritage/tradition" foolishness behind them after they realized no one invests in a state perceived to be racist and backwards.

Alabama doesn't have any major native industries, its public universities are nothing to write home about, tourism is confined to the Gulf Shores area where the beaches give you a great view of a bunch of offshore oil platforms in murky water, and their recent "Let's get rid of all the Mex'kins" legislation has only reinforced every negative perception the rest of the country has about them. The only good thing that ever came out of Alabama was the band Alabama. 

[they don't love you like i love you]

This is an oldie, but it deserves recognition as the best advice anyone has ever given anyone else ever on the forum:

No, no, no.  If you are a poor, and you have a job at the Electric Company, you stay there, and say 'yes sir' and 'no sir, and just batten down the hatches and wait.  It will all be over soon enough.  No need to rush it by getting conned up the a**s by some Kiwi b******s and ending up living under a bridge.

Seriously, I know poors who work at the Power Company (true they're from the previous unionized generations so they made $70,000/year, but still), and they survived.  Every one of them - and they will get to die in hospitals with medical treatments.  Yes, Public Utilities are not government jobs, but they're the next best thing.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Is this really necessary?  We're gonna end up having all these perma-threads taking up the first page.

(And before anybody goes all pissy on me, no I'm not going to lock it - I'm just asking if it's worth it.)

But we already have the comedy goldmine, post a picture, sulfur mine, deluge, signature thread.

[RI]

This better not become a "BRTD posts opebo quotes all day" thread.

[Napoleon]

Is this really necessary?  We're gonna end up having all these perma-threads taking up the first page.

(And before anybody goes all pissy on me, no I'm not going to lock it - I'm just asking if it's worth it.)

But we already have the comedy goldmine, post a picture, sulfur mine, deluge, signature thread.

I think a positive thread for informative posts might be more valuable than some of those you listed. I don't care to see pictures of anyone, for example.

[opebo]

This better not become a "BRTD posts opebo quotes all day" thread.

Anyway BRTD isn't the biggest fan of my posts, just of me.  If you calculate the person who has placed the most of my posts in the Comedic Goldmine Institute, I'll wager it is not BRTD.

So, go calculate that and we can continue this disscussion.

[Torie]

I think the "best of" thread is a splendid idea. Really. I suspect a majority of the Atlasian clan never run across the gems. This thread is needed. Sure, what is a "gem" is in the eye of the beholder, but hey, if someone thinks something is a diamond, which is really silicon/sircon zircomian/something involving a "z"  (what is that word for the ersatz diamond material - yes I know I have it wrong in a senior moment?), that is just some more good grist for the Atlasian mill, without much potential for collateral damage. And whomever started/came up with this idea (oh it is the guy whose screen name is that short little strutting pugalistic general who crowned himself emperor and gave the world a taste of what a nasty world war was really like until he finally had to be put down with poison), should get 10 negative death points, so that they have a free pass to be "bad" for 10 points, and yet still be thereafter  as much of an infraction virgin as I. 

Yes!

[Napoleon]

Zirconium!

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Zirconium!

Cubic?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Zirconium!

Cubic?

Even better.  Tesseractic!

[Napoleon]

Zirconium!

Cubic?

Yes, but it is usually found present with silicon, and I was filling in the z-word for Torie.

[Paul Kemp]

Only the bigots.  Just like the "obama is a muslim" guys.

Romney actually is a Mormon.  a key distinction.

[Napoleon]

I understand your point (and agree with it), but who would own them if not corporations?  A hippy commune?

(and there are at least 2 TV news sources, the only 2 I ever watch, that are owned by governments....so I suppose that's an option as well)

Something like the BBC, if properly implemented, would be great, but I really don't trust the US government to manage something like that appropriately (on a related note, though, I do love some NPR).

The problem I have with the ownership of the news channels isn't that they're corporate entities, it's that they're all, in some form or another, just subsidiaries of various giant media/entertainment/electronics conglomerates. I wouldn't have an issue if they were managed by independent companies or whatever, like they used to be. CNN being the cable news component of Turner Broadcasting, for example, was completely fine. But when they're owned by a company that also owns amusement parks, sports teams, record labels, video game developers, internet service providers, movie studios, publishing companies, etc etc etc... things start carrying a bit of a burden of suspicion.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The lack of outspoken support I've witnessed from Democrats in recent years for transitioning from a liberal to social democratic welfare regime, or at least overhauling the current arrangement, has contributed significantly to my slow drift away from the party. The basic needs of people to pursue healthy, fulfilling lives ought to be the birthright of all - not an entitlement reserved only for people fortunate enough to already possess an abundance of capital, or who can eek by on meager state benefits secured by abiding to a variety of time limits and prerequisites attached. It's a real shame.

[Antonio the Sixth]

This is one of the good posts in the "simple truth" category.

ass-backwards society needs a study to figure this out?  it's pure truism

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Every day of my life. You give your meaning to these words that cut such a wide swath that resonate for you, and I will give mine, which do the same for me.

[courts]

Nobody agrees with me that jacking up the tax rate on capital gains, is just about the worst place to raise revenue? (The Buffet Rule doesn't raise jack sh*t in revenue in any event; 6 billion a year is next to nothing, and that may assume a static rather than dynamic analysis, while portending an increase economic inefficiency.)  Cut the deductions first, and then  ...  well I am repeating myself. I mean I dump on Romney when he is wrong. Do you guys just think all of Obama's ideas are the cat's meow? And I am one Pub who agrees that we need to raise more revenue, and we still can't agree on much, including trying to raise revenue in a way that will minimize economic distortions, and increase economic inefficiency.

It is going to be a long campaign.  

You'll get no disagreement from me, but you keep presuming that the vast majority of Americans have any understanding of taxes or tax rates or economics, especially involving taxes they don't pay.  I also don't see why you think this site will be any different, being populated by liberal arts major types who couldn't balance a checkbook if their life depended on it.  I've lived too long with those types, and now I deal with lawyers, who are just the same, except that they can argue consistently.

One thing is almost certain - Buffett will end up making more money through this plan.  His involvement with government on anything is always towards this end.  I think I know how, but will not say that much at this time.

[Napoleon]

Any post ending in "I think I know how, but will not say that much at this time," belongs in the Deluge, not the Gallery.

[courts]

Any post ending in "I think I know how, but will not say that much at this time," belongs in the Deluge, not the Gallery.

It is vintage spade.

[Antonio the Sixth]

This thread is not used as much as it should. Here's another excellent one.

Too bad Norway doesn't have the death penalty.

No, good that Norway, even when confronted by pure evil, is able to act rationally and not allow emotions to be abused in order to satisfy shortsighted, reactionary desires.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Every day of my life. You give your meaning to these words that cut such a wide swath that resonate for you, and I will give mine, which do the same for me.

I thought you were a rational type?  Or did I misunderstand you?

I find the words sufficiently vague and ambiguous, that I chose to give them a metaphorically meaning. Every morning that I wake up for yet one more to savor another day is like being "bathed in prayer." The fewer days you have left, the more precious each one becomes.  Is this parlance common currency among evangelicals or something?

[Napoleon]

This is one of those great perspective questions. I comment here not on your situation with your professor, or on angus's assertion, but in general, because this is an assertion that libertarians make a lot, isn't it? I can see why a libertarian might ignore the entire weight of historical evidence to posit a relationship. The libertarian sees everything from the lens of the singular variable that libertarian-ism deems important. The orange and the pear may be different fruits, but they are both un-banana-like, and in that sense very similar to one another. They are similar in their un-banana-ism. After all, the stars in the constellations look close to each other.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Remembering that it's apparently not okay for people who abstain from smoking pot to make a point of their personal or moral objections, but is okay for people who do smoke pot to make fun of everyone who doesn't.