|
|
Post by rockysigman on Jun 22, 2006 16:24:20 GMT -5
So how many internet forums have you been banned from, Paul? It's a pretty simple question.
|
|
|
|
Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 22, 2006 16:37:45 GMT -5
Ah-ha! I Gotcha! I got a 37/36...so there. But seriously if the reason you do that cheerileading stuff is to highlight something because you think I missed it or didnt understand it, then let me save you the effort. I miss nothing and understand everything. I think you met to say "I miss everything and understand nothing." That seems to sum up your posting style here on CE. Stick to the music boards, Mr. Wagemann, stick to the music boards. I met to say no such thing...stick to the cloud of semantics Ken, stick to the cloud of semantics... |
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 17:48:54 GMT -5
There are mysteries about life and consicous existence that we just havent evolved enough to understand. So until we do--if we ever do (cuz you never know when that comets gonna hit, do you?) know the mysteries of the universe, by definition conscious existence is a miracle. It's a gift, a blessing. I don't know why you keep saying "by definition" every time you start proclaiming something a miracle, since the etymology of the word "miracle" makes it very clear there is no single definition. It also makes it very clear that whatever odd definition you're working with is completely your own. The modern concept of a "miracle" initially came out of Christian theological doctrine. A miracle was something that demonstrated divine intervention in the ordinary course of events by occurring completely outside the scope of any natural laws. The precise conditions of a "miracle" vary from religion to religion (and across different sects within the same religion) and of course the word has also been secularized in certain colloquial contexts. But if we're going to look for any unifying thread in the definition of a miracle, it is that a miracle must be inexplicable by natural laws - i.e. the only possible explanation of a miracle is supernatural. The mere fact that we don't presently understand some phenomenon does not mean its explanation must be supernatural; indeed, there are many phenomena we don't fully understand that we are nonetheless comfortable categorizing as perfectly natural. So there's no reason to call conscious existence a "miracle" just because we don't fully understand it. It is not "by definition" a miracle, except perhaps under your own idiosyncratic (and as usual completely unexplained) definition of miracle. Finally, even if consciousness were a "miracle", the leap from "miracle" to "gift" and "blessing" is highly dubious. Just because something is miraculous doesn't mean it's a blessing. Pestilence and plagues and catastrophes could appear miraculous (especially when they were interpreted as a manifestation of God's wrath) but no one ever presumed pestilence was a blessing. And for the 1,000,000th time: whether consciousness is a gift, a blessing, a miracle, a curse, or perfectly mundane has no relevance at all to a zygote, which has no consciousness. Carry on... Cheers, M |
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 18:09:45 GMT -5
Anyway, apropos of the actual subject of this board, I'm sure most people already know this, but there is now a temporary moratorium on the enforcement of the South Dakota abortion ban, pending a statewide referendum on the law in November. The results of this vote are going to be watched really closely by everyone with a stake in the abortion debate - for principled pro-lifers who really are opposed to abortion in all circumstances, it might be a very unpleasant wake-up call that even the most conservative self-identified pro-lifers in the country wil not endorse such an extreme ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Which will put them in an awkward spot, especially if Roe is eventually overturned - either standing on principle and continuing to insist upon an across-the-board ban, which could hurt them a great deal politically, and would likely fail as policy, or being more open to compromise, and to more incremental approaches, which look from a truly principled standpoint like a morally heinous devil's bargain. As the New Yorker pointed out, if abortion really is morally akin to slavery, then allowing exceptions to an all-out ban would be like banning slavery except for people who reeeeeeally need slaves. It just seems morally preposterous.
So what's a good pro-life legislator to do, after South Dakota, after Roe, after abortion is no longer just a talking point but a real policy issue? It's gonna be tough. chrisfan and I talked about this earlier on this thread, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that the right has a great deal more to lose from Roe getting overturned than the left. That doesn't mean I welcome its overturning - I really don't think the potential cost is worth paying - but it might be a case where pro-life Republicans discover that the worst gift of all is getting exactly what they wished for.
Cheers,
M
|
|
|
|
Post by Galactus on Jun 22, 2006 18:16:38 GMT -5
this is a pretty desperate tangent you’ve come up with here, PEW. perhaps you’re feeling a bit picked on? so perhaps (doing my best to maintain your ostensible flavor of tact), in a psychological expression of “survival of the fittest” you thought that by redirecting those you perceive to be your “predators” to some new form of prey, you would (however temporarily) evade their verbal fangs and talons? “as a student of human behavior,” i find yours very interesting, albeit a tad bestial. perhaps if you started LISTENING to people, even going so far as to DEMONSTRATE that you are doing so, you could form a mutually symbiotic relationship with the other posters on this thread. didn’t your mother ever read you any of Aesop’s fables? as for the accusation itself, LMAO!!! i see no problem in giving props to those whose posts i enjoy. in “real” life, people respond to one another with laughs and various expressions of approval or disapproval. i am simply seeking to simulate that sort of tacit dialogue as best i can through the cold rigid keys of my laptop. when somebody writes something that i deem especially well put, it’s also nice to highlight/emphasize it, on the off chance that you may not have bothered to read it the first time, or (and this is the most likely scenario) you read it, but did not UNDERSTAND it, as your later posts often betray. out of curiosity, how did you do in the reading comprehension section on the ACT back in high school? just curious. (i got a 36/36, so kiss my ass, asswipe...[just a friendly jab]) Ah-ha! I Gotcha! I got a 37/36...so there. But seriously if the reason you do that cheerileading stuff is to highlight something because you think I missed it or didnt understand it, then let me save you the effort. I miss nothing and understand everything. Just for you're records, if you ever wonder when I offcially decided you were a troll, this is it. |
|
|
|
Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 22, 2006 18:17:53 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 18:19:37 GMT -5
I think I had to watch that in a ninth-grade biology class or something.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 18:20:08 GMT -5
So just out of curiosity pew, are you ever going to respond to the actual content in any of my posts?
|
|
|
|
Post by Kensterberg on Jun 22, 2006 18:20:12 GMT -5
Life is not a miracle by definition. Now go away. |
|
|
|
Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 22, 2006 18:38:10 GMT -5
I think I had to watch that in a ninth-grade biology class or something. You were in the 9th Grade in 2001? |
|
|
|
Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 22, 2006 18:43:29 GMT -5
So just out of curiosity pew, are you ever going to respond to the actual content in any of my posts? I call conscious existence a blessing and a gift. I'm not saying that just becaue it is a miracle that makes it a blessing and a gift. I'm saying it is a blessing and a gift because I have a positive view of life. If you want to call conscious existence a "curse", then go right ahead, but IMO that expresses a very negative outlook on life. |
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 18:44:18 GMT -5
Obviously not. It must be a different video. We watched something in high school from NOVA about "the miracle of life" for sure, though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mary on Jun 22, 2006 18:44:48 GMT -5
I don't think conscious existence is a blessing or a curse.
|
|
|
|
Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 22, 2006 18:47:54 GMT -5
Obviously not. It must be a different video. We watched something in high school from NOVA about "the miracle of life" for sure, though. I'm sorry, there are two movies I linked up. One was a sequal to the other. The 2001 is the one I recommend that you watch. I shows how the womans' body has all these mechanisms to keep the sperm from ever reaching the egg, plus all this other crazy shit--and alot of it is actual photage the got by putting those tiny medical cameras up the ladies vagina and up the goes wang doodle... |
|
|
|
Post by Kensterberg on Jun 22, 2006 18:49:49 GMT -5
What exactly is "actual photage"?
And how is this responding to the substance of M's posts?
|
|
