Yoda's Duck

I know that there are those who will think the sentiment is very true, those who disagree with it. I also know that the Bible has scriptures supporting both sides of this issue. Nevertheless, I'd like your thoughts as well as your religious affiliation. Oh.. and please be kind-

No name-calling

No non-pertinent answers

No condemning others to hell (since that's God's job, not ours)

Believe and be Saved

(author unknown)

Believe and be saved the minister said,

Believe and be saved and rise from the dead.

Through grace ye are saved from sin and from hell,

So simply believe and all will be well.

The preacher continued and read from the book,

How all can reach heaven, both angel and crook.

When all had been said and the church recessed;

With money collected and everyone blessed;

The preacher retired to his spacious new home,

In his humble Mercedes with everything chrome.

He sat in his study, his thoughts running deep,

He dozed for a moment, and died in his sleep.

He ran to Saint Peter and wearing a grin,

Said "I believe in the Savior, so please let me in"

"Oh no, not another", said Peter with a sigh,

"Satan's sure working, the tolls running high."

The preacher looked puzzled, then saw in a flash,

God's plan for salvation, beginning at last.

Believing is nothing, if nothing is done.

In getting to Heaven you follow the Son.

To follow a leader, you do what is said,

Faith without works is nothing but dead.

Satan knows Jesus, believes in him too.

So what's the difference between Satan and You?

Believe in the Savior, but always recall,

Faith is important, but sure isn't all.

Now, I know that *in general*, after you take out commercials, a 1-hour actually has about 45 minutes of show...

But with ET, given the amount of time they devote to teasers, re-playing old tape, and their snazzy graphics...

How much real content do they actually have??

I've seen tons of people here on Y!A who have (what appears to me) contradictory feelings about my church.

They say that the members are great- really friendly, helpful around the neighborhood, wonderful coworkers, etc... but then you ask these same people about our doctrine- what we teach- and they get all weird about it- "dangerous cult," oppressive to women, polygamous (even though they know full well that their LDS neighbor only has one wife)...

I don't get it. I've always believed, "By their fruits ye shall know them." People's appreciation for who we are as people, as individuals seems to be the "fruit"... but it's like people can't/refuse to see that the way we are is a product of what we believe.

Yes, I'm LDS (aka Mormon), been that way for all 33 years of my life, and I've heard/read a lot of the silliness people say/write... so if all you're going to do is attack doctrine, please don't waste your or my time. I'm asking about your thoughts and perceptions, and the reasons for them. I want to understand why you think the way you do.

Also, if you're LDS and have non-LDS friends/family who have explained this to you, that'd be helpful as well.

Although I'm a conservative, I don't regularly listen to Rush's show. But I've heard that Pres Obama got on his case, and that some liberals have started a pension against Mr Limbaugh.

I've tried a couple online searches to try to find out what he said that was more inflammatory than usual, and I couldn't find anything (no, I don't really want to try to sift through all the stuff on his site).

A link to the transcript would be great!

A friend said that the Roman Catholic church dropped a bunch of their patron saints, stripped their sainthood.

If it's true, I'd like to know when, and which saints lost their status.

If it's not true, I'd like to know that as well.

BTW- please be kind with your answers.

I've looked up the definitions, but I'd like to know people's gut reactions to these words.

I was reading the answers to this question-

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylc=X3oDM...

... and the second answer seems to imply that there is a difference between the two.

In that instance- baptism- what is the difference between the Baptists considering it an ordinance and required for salvation and the Catholics considering it a Sacrament?

We've been married almost 9 years, and I'm turning 33 this week.

We just moved to a new place, so the start-up costs for our various utilities have taken up ALL our financial resources.

Normally, I'm a pretty practical person- if we don't have the money, I don't mind. He's much more of a romantic- his love language is gifts.

My SIL's ringtone is a song-

"Good morning, Baltimore!

Every day is an open door..."

I don't know where it's from, or who sings it, or the context. It sounds like it should be from a musical, but I'm not sure.

My husband and I own a 2-year old female mutt. We are terrible and don't walk her regularly like we should, but since she responds quite well to verbal commands, we've invented a new way to exercise her.

We stand across the parking lot from each other at my husband's work (it's not too big of a parking lot- the width of 8 or 10 parking spaces square), and we have her run back and forth between us.

"Go get Mommy!"... Mommy (me) claps and calls her

"Go get Daddy!"....

... and back and forth about 6 or 8 times. Then she starts running slower, wanders to the grass, etc... so we go back inside.

The two debaters were on opposite sides of the abortion issue.

I asked them what the long-term satisfaction was among women who had gotten an abortion. Neither of the women gave a satisfactory answer, so I'm seeking one here.

So here's the question-

If you have had an abortion, I'd like to know how long ago it was, and are you glad you did it? Do you regret it?

I know there are people who think abortion is murder, as well as those who think that a woman's rights trump those of a "parasite." If all you're going to do is rant, save it for another question.

Address the question or step off.

That little note that comes up on the right-

"Did you leave the caps lock key on? Using all caps can be perceived as shouting."

"Hm... Looks like you have a lot of punctuation."

"Oops, looks like you have one misspelling. Open spell checker."

Or is this just deserts for griping about teenagers' text-spelling, all-caps typing and slang?

I know the US has a pretty wild trade deficite- we import more than we export.

Here's my theory- I think that the US is capable of being completely economically self-sufficient-- no dependance on foreign anything.

1) Is there a valid reason (besides the stuff we hear about wages) that we can't be self-sufficient?

2) Is there anything we import that we truly need that cannot possibly be 100% produced/manufactured here within our borders (including portions of the oceans that we control)?

Feel free to weigh in on either question.

I know the US has a pretty wild trade deficite- we import more than we export.

Here's my theory- I think that the US is capable of being completely economically self-sufficient-- no dependance on foreign anything. Is there a valid reason (besides the stuff we hear about wages) that we can't be self-sufficient?

Is there anything we import that we truly need that cannot possibly be 100% produced/manufactured here within our borders (including portions of the oceans that we control)?

Feel free to weigh in on either question.

I know that there was a time when things were spelled phonetically (as they sound). When did these language rules come into existence?

or is it merely a tool?... as evil or good as the wielder?

Please give reasons, sources, examples, etc. Elaboration is a plus!

A while back, I read an essay written by a self-proclaimed "mean mom."

The essay discusses the author's own mother- how she'd made the author do her homework, eat her vegetables, stick to a curfew, do chores, etc.

The author ends with hoping that she is also a "mean mom"...

Does anyone have a copy of this one-page essay or know where I can find one?

Spring cleaning fever has struck me!

I have a 2-drawer and a 4-drawer filing cabinet full of old bills and other documents. What do I need to keep, and what can I throw away?

These bills include power and phone bills, bills for loans and car insurance, banks statements, pay stubs... all kinds of stuff. I saved it all, cuz I wasn't sure what to save in the first place.

I've tried searching online for a retention schedule for personal documents like this, and I couldn't find anything. It was all business/company schedules.

I know that body-language is about 90% of how dogs communicate....

Well, when I'm in the kitchen, my dog (a mutt) will come to the doorway and stand there. Her tail is neutral, but her head is down. Her ears are out to the sides (they are stiff- not floppy like a Lab), and her hackles are not raised....

I kinda think that is a cross between curiosity (she wants to know what's going on) and fear (she may not like the noise associated with cooking), but I'm not sure...

What does this mean? What is she thinking when she stands like this?

Dunno how I did it, but I'm a top contributor... at least for a while. Maybe it was because I all last week off, and spent WAY too much time online...

If you were top contributor, how would you celebrate?