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Author Topic:   The Awesome Republican Primary Thread
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


(1)
Message 858 of 1485 (707925)
10-02-2013 9:46 AM
Reply to: Message 856 by 1.61803
10-01-2013 12:16 PM


Re: Congress is broken
I think we see this to a greater or lesser degree in all modern democracies. The politicians have become so detached from a reasonably sensible, but totally disinterested and alienated majority, that all the politicians hear are the voices of the rich and powerful; the people who themselves enjoy political power; and the out and out bat crap crazies. The average citizen, who just wants things to work alright, and not get leaned on too much, just gets forgotten.
Add to that the fact that every senior politician I have met (there's been a handful) makes a weasel look like an angel, and Machiavelli look like Mother Theresa, then this sort of s**t is inevitable :-/

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 856 by 1.61803, posted 10-01-2013 12:16 PM 1.61803 has not replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


Message 860 of 1485 (707928)
10-02-2013 10:33 AM
Reply to: Message 859 by NoNukes
10-02-2013 10:29 AM


Re: Congress FUBAR
Yep.
And all the little Neros shall fiddle in manic glee whilst Rome burns.

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 859 by NoNukes, posted 10-02-2013 10:29 AM NoNukes has not replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


(2)
Message 1177 of 1485 (710507)
11-06-2013 7:00 AM
Reply to: Message 1176 by frako
11-06-2013 6:35 AM


I kind of admire the optimism of any elected official who says "yeah, looks like I did crack, but in my defence, I was so shit faced at the time, I didn't know what I was doing. But hey, back to the day job now folks !"

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1176 by frako, posted 11-06-2013 6:35 AM frako has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1179 by Stile, posted 11-06-2013 8:47 AM vimesey has replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


Message 1180 of 1485 (710521)
11-06-2013 10:13 AM
Reply to: Message 1179 by Stile
11-06-2013 8:47 AM


Re: Toronto's Mayor
Meh, kinda sorta.
I take your point, and everyone should be entitled to a little leeway.
But if your salary (I'm guessing a reasonably large one) comes out of every resident's pocket; and you are in a position of leadership and authority; then I think that part of your job spec is to behave fairly well - you're representing these people. Same principle as when Clinton got impeached for inappropriate use of his staff.
It's a nuanced question as to what standards are expected of our public officers, but I personally think they should be held to higher account than Joe Businessman, who can do all of the crack he wants as far as I'm concerned. (Unless he owes some responsibility to me of course).

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1179 by Stile, posted 11-06-2013 8:47 AM Stile has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1181 by Coyote, posted 11-06-2013 10:47 AM vimesey has not replied
 Message 1182 by Stile, posted 11-06-2013 12:18 PM vimesey has not replied
 Message 1183 by ringo, posted 11-06-2013 12:20 PM vimesey has not replied
 Message 1205 by RAZD, posted 11-08-2013 9:35 AM vimesey has not replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


(2)
Message 1446 of 1485 (754365)
03-26-2015 5:34 AM


Back atcha
Faith, here's a question for you - would you be happy for the burden of (non) proof which you apply to Obama's birth, to be applied to something in your own life.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that someone mischievously got onto your computer whilst your back was turned, and accessed a site advising people how to convert to Catholicism. You and your friend have a good natured laugh and joke about it, and move on. Some time later, an enterprising investigator finds out you accessed the site, releases the information publicly, and suddenly you stand accused by many of being Catholic.
Your denials are strenuous - you produce attendance records at every one of your protestant church's services - your friend publicly admits the prank - your own church and congregation (the people who would know best) endorse your lack of the remotest Catholic credential.
And yet nothing convinces the people who are convinced you're secretly in the Pope's pocket. They repeat the claims endlessly on radio shows and TV interviews. The expression "there's no smoke without fire" is spoken a thousand times as a mantra. Conspiracy theorists and those who are easily led continually brand you a Catholic and not worthy of the status of Protestant.
And despite the fact that they have no conclusive evidence - despite the fact that all they have is a single question and conjecture - despite the fact that absolutely no amount of evidence you can conclusively adduce can convince them otherwise - you are utterly powerless to stop their fantasy.
On the basis of that level of burden of (non)proof, you and other birthers would have Obama removed from office. If that were to be the burden of proof applied to you, in the circumstances described above, you would be drummed out of your church, in all genuine innocence of the alleged transgression.
This is what you have to accept as being capable of applying to you, if it's what you want to throw at others.

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

Replies to this message:
 Message 1448 by Omnivorous, posted 03-26-2015 9:29 AM vimesey has replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


(1)
Message 1449 of 1485 (754375)
03-26-2015 9:37 AM
Reply to: Message 1448 by Omnivorous
03-26-2015 9:29 AM


Re: Back atcha
She wasn't born in Kenya.
For all we know....

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1448 by Omnivorous, posted 03-26-2015 9:29 AM Omnivorous has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1450 by jar, posted 03-26-2015 9:52 AM vimesey has replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


Message 1451 of 1485 (754378)
03-26-2015 10:04 AM
Reply to: Message 1450 by jar
03-26-2015 9:52 AM


Re: Back atcha
They can be incorrect on occasion, I'm sure. It's a tad of a stretch, though, to think that the Hawaiian register office would incorrectly record Hawaii, when they meant (without jurisdiction) to put "Kenya". Or that they fraudulently recorded it around the date of his birth, several decades before he got invested as the big cheese.

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1450 by jar, posted 03-26-2015 9:52 AM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 1452 by jar, posted 03-26-2015 10:23 AM vimesey has replied

  
vimesey
Member
Posts: 1398
From: Birmingham, England
Joined: 09-21-2011


Message 1453 of 1485 (754386)
03-26-2015 10:53 AM
Reply to: Message 1452 by jar
03-26-2015 10:23 AM


Re: Back atcha
And they are both famous for their coffee.

Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1452 by jar, posted 03-26-2015 10:23 AM jar has not replied

  
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