Politics

[Tanks]

...
And as we look at the results of the Georgia runoff, the conviction that their votes would not count kept over 300,000 Trump voters (mostly rural whites) from returning to the ballot box for the runoff. The two democrat senators squeaked through and republicans lost control of the senate. A conspiracy to keep them home? Probably not a formal one, but the net effect of belief in the election theft tale accomplished the same thing.

That is one of the reasons I will never vote for Trump ever again. A man thinking of the country instead of himself would have encouraged his followers to vote in the runoff election. He told them their votes did not count and encouraged them to stay home.

A lot of what Biden did last 3 years would have been a non-starter in a GOP controlled Senate.

 

[sgt_zim]

Maybe, however New York is third state after CA and TX contributing most to US economy and keeping states like MS, AL, WV, LA afloat.

Fun fact about LA.

There are more wet rigs off the coast of LA than the rest of the country combined. As I understand it, for some odd reason, LA only gets tax revenue off the rigs that are within 3 miles of the coast, USG gets everything else out to 12 miles.

That isn't to say LA isn't a shit show in a lot of ways (most notably politically), but consider that until the last 10 or 12 years, LA has utterly been dominated by democrats since 1870. Baton Rouge has had exactly 3 republican mayors in all that time, and New Orleans has had exactly none.

Dad was a registered democrat his entire tenure at LSU, from 1961 until he retired in 2001 because he had to be if he had any aspirations. He would never have made it to vice chancellor if he hadn't been a democrat. That's how bad things were there. And he's proud of the fact that since the first presidential for which he was eligible, he's voted for Nixon, Goldwater, Nixon, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Reagan, et al.

 

[Hunt anything]

That is one of the reasons I will never vote for Trump ever again. A man thinking of the country instead of himself would have encouraged his followers to vote in the runoff election. He told them their votes did not count and encouraged them to stay home.

A lot of what Biden did last 3 years would have been a non-starter in a GOP controlled Senate.

Except for the many executive orders he issues and if the Supreme Court says it’s unconstitutional he says screw it and does it anyway. As he has done with the student loan forgiveness. So now people that never went to college or worked their way through are paying for other peoples college education. As my wife and I prepare to send another tax check to the government so they can pay illegal immigrants $10,000 a year in NYC.

 

[Tanks]

Except for the many executive orders he issues and if the Supreme Court says it’s unconstitutional he says screw it and does it anyway. As he has done with the student loan forgiveness. So now people that never went to college or worked their way through are paying for other peoples college education. As my wife and I prepare to send another tax check to the government so they can pay illegal immigrants $10,000 a year in NYC.

You live in NYC? The migrants are being paid by NYC local funds. Also, Biden's executive orders paying for student loans etc. are a rounding error compared to the two reconciliation budget bills passed by the Senate.

 

[Tanks]

...

Dad was a registered democrat his entire tenure at LSU, from 1961 until he retired in 2001 because he had to be if he had any aspirations. He would never have made it to vice chancellor if he hadn't been a democrat. That's how bad things were there. And he's proud of the fact that since the first presidential for which he was eligible, he's voted for Nixon, Goldwater, Nixon, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Reagan, et al.

As a white shoe law firm partner in Manhattan, my daughter has to keep her politics very private for professional reasons just like your dad. Heck, even her hunting trophies are at their country home in upstate NY instead of their home.

 

[Hunt anything]

You live in NYC? The migrants are being paid by NYC local funds. Also, Biden's executive orders paying for student loans etc. are a rounding error compared to the two reconciliation budget bills passed by the Senate.

I don’t but I would think that some of my federal taxes get to NYC freeing up some of the money that goes to the immigrants.
As far as a rounding error I dont really care , my wife worked her way through college, I went on a baseball scholarship which was money donated by willing donors. We worked our asses off and did without a lot to send our oldest daughter through nursing school and our youngest daughter through undergrad and a master’s degree in international public health. So I even if it is schematics makes no difference to me.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[Tanks]

I don’t but I would think that some of my federal taxes get to NYC freeing up some of the money that goes to the immigrants.
As far as a rounding error I dont really care , my wife worked her way through college, I went on a baseball scholarship which was money donated by willing donors. We worked our asses off and did without a lot to send our oldest daughter through nursing school and our youngest daughter through undergrad and a master’s degree in international public health. So I even if it is schematics makes no difference to me.

My point was that compared to money that could have been saved with a GOP controlled Senate anything Biden could do with executive orders would pale in comparison.

I can relate to college costs for the kids. I paid for 4 years of Yale College and 3 years of Harvard law for my daughter and 4 years of Rice University for my son.

I don't know how spellcheck could turn "semantics" to "schematics".

 

[mdwest]

No argument there in regard to morals. It becomes murky on deciding whose Christian morals as it is not absolute, otherwise there would not be a huge divide in the country regarding reproductive care.

the position of the church is extremely well defined on most things...

the issue is two fold when it comes to abortion..

no one "church" represents all of Christianity (no different than there are multiple sects in Islam.. several sects of Judiasm.. multiple sects of Hinduism, etc..).. different Christian churches may have different positions on different things... although abortion isnt going to be dramatically "different" in most cases.. only fringe element churches will have a different stance.. core protestant doctrines, Catholics, Episcopalians, etc.. will all be very similar)..

and then you have the "people" factor..

I think you'd find that a significant number of people (perhaps the majority) that proclaim a Christian faith, are not actual practitioners of that proclaimed faith.. they may show up for Mass/Church/etc on Christmas, Easter, and Mothers Day.. and occasionally when things get squirrely in their lives, pray.. but they dont live by the standard of the church or even make an attempt to follow the basic tenants presented in the bible (I'd guess many dont even know what those tenants are, much less attempt to practice them).. religion and faith are for a large number of people a matter of convenience rather than a matter of actual core beliefs and values.. they willfully do whatever it is they want to do.. whether it is commit adultery, act dishonestly, lie, manipulate, or even abort babies.. knowing full well that these are not representative of the ethics (rules) or morals (understanding of right v wrong) established by the church.. with no repentance.. or desire to correct a sin/mistake once it has occurred.. their stated "faith" is not real..

this doesnt necessarily make all of them "bad" people per se (some obviously are)... but followers of "Christ" they clearly are not..

Which really isnt much different than Islam, or most of the worlds other major religions...

Its amazing the number of muslims I know that are "devout" whenever in the presence of other muslims.. but will order a bacon sandwich, drink a fifth of scotch and chase hookers the moment they are no longer in plain view of other muslims..

my hindu neighbor tells me very straight up "Im a terrible Indian, and even worse Hindu... " (I wont get into the details of how he claims a specific faith, but very intentionally doesnt follow core requirements of that faith.. which really doesnt have a lot of requirements compared to others.. because he simply doesnt want to.. he just picks and choses what he wants to do... and acknowledges he is "bad" but wont do the other things.... I will say we have had a few funny, spirited, and very deep thought and focused conversations about it though.. hes actually a really great neighbor and a "good" guy... just clearly not a faithful Hindu.. even though he will tell you he is..)...


thats not to discount the faithful in any religion.. they certainly exist..

they almost are never the majority however..

 

[Happy Myles]

My point was that compared to money that could have been saved with a GOP controlled Senate anything Biden could do with executive orders would pale in comparison.

I can relate to college costs for the kids. I paid for 4 years of Yale College and 3 years of Harvard law for my daughter and 4 years of Rice University for my son.

I don't know how spellcheck could turn "semantics" to "schematics".

Congratulation on those kids Tank. You should be very proud of them. And yourself

 

[Hunt anything]

My point was that compared to money that could have been saved with a GOP controlled Senate anything Biden could do with executive orders would pale in comparison.

I can relate to college costs for the kids. I paid for 4 years of Yale College and 3 years of Harvard law for my daughter and 4 years of Rice University for my son.

I don't know how spellcheck could turn "semantics" to "schematics".

It’s a blue print on how to make all of my hair fall out trying to figure out the bills!

 

[Tanks]

It’s a blue print on how to make all of my hair fall out trying to figure out the bills!

I must admit it was tough in the beginning as my daughter's first year at Yale coincided with my son's senior year at Rice. I tease them saying they owe me a brand new Mercedes per year of school.

Most important, especially for my daughter I did not want her standard of living to be determined by the kind of marriage she made. As it is, other than helping for the down payment of their first homes some years ago I won't have to worry about them financially.

 

[Hunt anything]

I must admit it was tough in the beginning as my daughter's first year at Yale coincided with my son's senior year at Rice. I tease them saying they owe me a brand new Mercedes per year of school.

luckily mine were far enough apart that they didn’t overlap. They both went to undergrad at “affordable“ state schools but the youngest just “had” to go to Emory that was a tough one for sure. Congratulations on raising kids that seem to have their heads on straight!

 

[Doubleplay]

the position of the church is extremely well defined on most things...

the issue is two fold when it comes to abortion..

no one "church" represents all of Christianity (no different than there are multiple sects in Islam.. several sects of Judiasm.. multiple sects of Hinduism, etc..).. different Christian churches may have different positions on different things... although abortion isnt going to be dramatically "different" in most cases.. only fringe element churches will have a different stance.. core protestant doctrines, Catholics, Episcopalians, etc.. will all be very similar)..

and then you have the "people" factor..

I think you'd find that a significant number of people (perhaps the majority) that proclaim a Christian faith, are not actual practitioners of that proclaimed faith.. they may show up for Mass/Church/etc on Christmas, Easter, and Mothers Day.. and occasionally when things get squirrely in their lives, pray.. but they dont live by the standard of the church or even make an attempt to follow the basic tenants presented in the bible (I'd guess many dont even know what those tenants are, much less attempt to practice them).. religion and faith are for a large number of people a matter of convenience rather than a matter of actual core beliefs and values.. they willfully do whatever it is they want to do.. whether it is commit adultery, act dishonestly, lie, manipulate, or even abort babies.. knowing full well that these are not representative of the ethics (rules) or morals (understanding of right v wrong) established by the church.. with no repentance.. or desire to correct a sin/mistake once it has occurred.. their stated "faith" is not real..

this doesnt necessarily make all of them "bad" people per se (some obviously are)... but followers of "Christ" they clearly are not..

Which really isnt much different than Islam, or most of the worlds other major religions...

Its amazing the number of muslims I know that are "devout" whenever in the presence of other muslims.. but will order a bacon sandwich, drink a fifth of scotch and chase hookers the moment they are no longer in plain view of other muslims..

my hindu neighbor tells me very straight up "Im a terrible Indian, and even worse Hindu... " (I wont get into the details of how he claims a specific faith, but very intentionally doesnt follow core requirements of that faith.. which really doesnt have a lot of requirements compared to others.. because he simply doesnt want to.. he just picks and choses what he wants to do... and acknowledges he is "bad" but wont do the other things.... I will say we have had a few funny, spirited, and very deep thought and focused conversations about it though.. hes actually a really great neighbor and a "good" guy... just clearly not a faithful Hindu.. even though he will tell you he is..)...


thats not to discount the faithful in any religion.. they certainly exist..

they almost are never the majority however..

%100.

 

[Doubleplay]

I must admit it was tough in the beginning as my daughter's first year at Yale coincided with my son's senior year at Rice. I tease them saying they owe me a brand new Mercedes per year of school.

Most important, especially for my daughter I did not want her standard of living to be determined by the kind of marriage she made. As it is, other than helping for the down payment of their first homes some years ago I won't have to worry about them financially.

You should be proud of her and with that kind of education she'll always stand on her foot.

 

[Happy Myles]

When i was a young married man my Doctor told me the biggest raise i would have was when my last child was through college. Today i would edit that to grandchildren

 

[Doubleplay]

Oh, and separation of church and state does not mean that Christian values and beliefs do not influence government. Any cursory investigation will prove this completely false. What it speaks to is the prevention of the state from involving itself in the church. Our founding fathers had just been in this dust up with England where the crown had weaponized the church against them. The statement is a prohibition on the US government from doing just that.

I'll add a little to your statement:
Although orthodox Christians participated at every stage of the new republic, Deism influenced a majority of the Founders. The movement opposed barriers to moral improvement and to social justice. It stood for rational inquiry, for skepticism about dogma and mystery, and for religious toleration. Many of its adherents advocated universal education, freedom of the press, and separation of church and state. If the nation owes much to the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is also indebted to Deism, a movement of reason and equality that influenced the Founding Fathers to embrace liberal political ideals remarkable for their time.

 

[WAB]

the position of the church is extremely well defined on most things...

the issue is two fold when it comes to abortion..

no one "church" represents all of Christianity (no different than there are multiple sects in Islam.. several sects of Judiasm.. multiple sects of Hinduism, etc..).. different Christian churches may have different positions on different things... although abortion isnt going to be dramatically "different" in most cases.. only fringe element churches will have a different stance.. core protestant doctrines, Catholics, Episcopalians, etc.. will all be very similar)..

and then you have the "people" factor..

I think you'd find that a significant number of people (perhaps the majority) that proclaim a Christian faith, are not actual practitioners of that proclaimed faith.. they may show up for Mass/Church/etc on Christmas, Easter, and Mothers Day.. and occasionally when things get squirrely in their lives, pray.. but they dont live by the standard of the church or even make an attempt to follow the basic tenants presented in the bible (I'd guess many dont even know what those tenants are, much less attempt to practice them).. religion and faith are for a large number of people a matter of convenience rather than a matter of actual core beliefs and values.. they willfully do whatever it is they want to do.. whether it is commit adultery, act dishonestly, lie, manipulate, or even abort babies.. knowing full well that these are not representative of the ethics (rules) or morals (understanding of right v wrong) established by the church.. with no repentance.. or desire to correct a sin/mistake once it has occurred.. their stated "faith" is not real..

this doesnt necessarily make all of them "bad" people per se (some obviously are)... but followers of "Christ" they clearly are not..

Which really isnt much different than Islam, or most of the worlds other major religions...

Its amazing the number of muslims I know that are "devout" whenever in the presence of other muslims.. but will order a bacon sandwich, drink a fifth of scotch and chase hookers the moment they are no longer in plain view of other muslims..

my hindu neighbor tells me very straight up "Im a terrible Indian, and even worse Hindu... " (I wont get into the details of how he claims a specific faith, but very intentionally doesnt follow core requirements of that faith.. which really doesnt have a lot of requirements compared to others.. because he simply doesnt want to.. he just picks and choses what he wants to do... and acknowledges he is "bad" but wont do the other things.... I will say we have had a few funny, spirited, and very deep thought and focused conversations about it though.. hes actually a really great neighbor and a "good" guy... just clearly not a faithful Hindu.. even though he will tell you he is..)...


thats not to discount the faithful in any religion.. they certainly exist..

they almost are never the majority however..[/

It is unfortunate, but I do agree with you.

 

[Red Leg]

I'll add a little to your statement:
Although orthodox Christians participated at every stage of the new republic, Deism influenced a majority of the Founders. The movement opposed barriers to moral improvement and to social justice. It stood for rational inquiry, for skepticism about dogma and mystery, and for religious toleration. Many of its adherents advocated universal education, freedom of the press, and separation of church and state. If the nation owes much to the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is also indebted to Deism, a movement of reason and equality that influenced the Founding Fathers to embrace liberal political ideals remarkable for their time.

That is correct. Deism was an effective way of reconciling religion, or more correctly a belief in divine power, with the revolution in thought that was the Enlightenment. Most of the founders, certainly the most influential, embraced it.

 

[WAB]

That is correct. Deism was an effective way of reconciling religion, or more correctly a belief in divine power, with the revolution in thought that was the Enlightenment. Most of the founders, certainly the most influential, embraced it.

You guys have me doing more research on the topic. Thank you, I always appreciate learning something new.