urietsin

First off, I consider myself to be fairly liberal. I believe that the government should be concerned about the welfare of citizens. I believe in a firm separation of church and state. I believe that the government should either be willing to extend equal marriage rights or that they should get out of the marriage business altogether. I believe that a woman should have the right to choose her life over the life of her unborn child.

However, I also believe in second amendment rights. I believe in the fair tax. I believe that illegal immigration is a problem. And while I believe that the government needs to collect revenue in order to do some the things I think they should do, I believe it should also spend a lot less money than it does and that it would benefit everyone if it was smaller and far more efficient.

But, listening to politicians in Washington and the 24-hour news cycle and the anonymous hatemongers on the internet, everyone in this country is an angry, frothing at the mouth extremist. We're either crazy, left-wing liberals trying to destroy this country with communism and faithlessness, or we're ignorant, right-wing conservatives inciting bigotry, misogyny and homophobia.

I'd like to know that this is hyperbole. I'd like to know that, not only are we not the worst of what the media has distilled us to be, but that we don't think that about each other. I'd like to know that there are people who agree that there is sometimes gray area on some issues. That sometimes you think the other side has some good, valid arguments.

Don't let me down Y!A community!

Say I wanted to do my own double-blind trial on the efficacy of over-the-counter remedies for cold virus prophylaxis and treatment. If I only had a short period of time to conduct this trial, what would be the best way to expose all the test subjects to the virus? I was thinking that I could throw a party with a bunch of card games and video games and other things that involve proximity and contact between party goers, ensuring that there were invitees who were actually infected with the cold. The thing is, it's really hard to find a group of people with a cold to come to a party on short notice. Plus, the test subjects would have to be willing to catch a cold in the first place, which is not something I'm guessing many people would jump at the chance to do.

Hunkered in the darkness, the slimy thing sits as a clear viscous liquid oozes out from under it. A singular muscle, like a flattened grub, lies behind its white prison bars, stretching backward and down into depths unknown. It waits for food... It's master says speak, and it obeys... I strives, even in its pink hideousness, to bring pleasure...

Author's foe

Muse's mute

Pen's furlough

Sheet's to boot

C'mon, guys...super easy.

Stalks its prey ready to stab

Carrying flesh cut with a knife

Back to sustain its master's life

What is it?

Are there some who would claim that the discovery of evidence of life on Mars is the work of the Devil, like dinosaur bones on Earth and such?

When I was a kid, I used to have this recurring dream that my dad would go out to the woods once a year and bring back 'a Medusa' that I would have a fencing duel with. The last time I had that dream, I was sitting up in my bed at night looking down at 'the Medusa' chained resignedly to my door and I said to it, "This time I'm going to let you win." Never had the dream again after that.

I've also had several dreams where I start losing teeth. Those ones always freak me out. I'm a little paranoid about my teeth...

...simply the defensive reply of bitter people in denial?

I'm bracing for impact. Bring it on, people.

I know many of you have likely already formed an answer, but please consider the following.

If god loves us so much that he sent his "only begotten son" to die for our sins, then why wouldn't he forgive us once we've realized the error of our ways after a little punishment?

Let me tell you, if I woke up in hell, I would believe...without question...and not just to save myself. I would believe because being in hell would be a strong piece of objective evidence.

Why, after a lifetime, which is supposedly a blink of god's eye, would he relegate sinners to eternal punishment? This defies every sense of justice that god supposedly instilled us with. If he does not save us once we believe after we're in hell, that means he does't forgive us. And by not forgiving us, doesn't that imply that we've wronged him in some way? How could we? We're insignificant in power compared with a supposedly omnipotent being.

I've read the story of doubting Thomas. It explains nothing. Spell it out for me.

I always say you should never speak in absolutes (er, except for this sentence), and the subject of this question is one of those cases. First off, I am an agnostic. I believe there could be a god, but I don't think it matters whether or not I believe in him/her/it. That said, I often see some atheists shouting that because there is no proof of god's existence, god does not exist. Now, it doesn't make any difference to me whether or not there is a god, but I'm pretty passionate about language. Don't you think it's a bit strong to say that god doesn't exist outright because of the lack of objective evidence? You at least confess you can't prove 'his' inexistence, right?

Now, keep in mind that I agree it is implausible and improbable that a particular god exists, e.g. the god described in the Christian bible. Actually, here's a blog post that summarizes my thoughts. You don't have to read it to answer though.

http://meditativeentropy.blogspot.com/2006/08/more...

If god gave you, oh let's say, a math exam, would he know exactly what answers you would give? The bible suggests that god knows all things from beginning to end. If he is truly omniscient, why did he need to test man with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? He could have made the Garden of Eden without the tree and not interfered with man's free will. Why, then, didn't he? Did he not know that man, completely naïve about the consequences of disobedience, would be so easily duped by a more knowledgeable creature? Under such circumstances, was god's punishment more than a little harsh? The pain of labor visited upon every generation of woman? The laborious work required to survive off the land, etc.? I am truly curious as to the justifications someone who believes Genesis is a literal accounting might use.

This is for people who deny the mechanism of evolution entirely, not necessarily for those who deny that humans and modern apes share a common ancestor. What ethnicity, would you say, were Adam and Eve? Where did Asians, Blacks, Whites, etc. come from? Adam and Eve were only two people. They could not possibly have covered the gamut of human appearance. If there is no such thing as evolution at all, then why is it that people in different areas of the world have common features that seem to be consistent with advantageous adaptations to their environment? I am genuinely curious as to the rationalizations for this.

If so, did you listen to it? Now...did you actually listen, or did you just listen for stuff you could take out of context to bash him with? Be honest...

Oh, and maybe some politics...it didn't go with the alliteration. Check out my blog. Let me know if it's too weird for you.

http://meditativeentropy.blogspot.com/

I didn't think of this question, but I thought it was interesting.

Say you happened to be in a fertility clinic that was on fire. On one end of the clinic, an eight year old child is stuck in a room. On the other end, as you might expect, there is a canister of live human embryos. From the rate the fire is spreading, you realize you only have time to save one of the two. Which do you choose?

Remember, the question is not to solve them, but I'll be impressed if you do. I wrote these for a game, but I can't say that they weren't influenced by others I might have heard.

In a dark shallow well I sleep

My footprints make men laugh or weep

Though my works may stretch to the sky

No poet nor author am I

What am I?

With the sun high, I shrink from the light

With the stars out, I bloom in the night

Guarding depths, my flower surrounds me

Look closely and you'll see what I see

What am I?

Telling truths and lies without talking

I'll take you without even walking

Flesh from a copse in skin from a herd

Heroes have lived and died by my word

What am I?

And finally...

I may be small, but I'm of something great

As my creators often illustrate

When leaving home keep me handy to use

And look to my rose to tell you of NEWS

What am I?

Thanks!