"We are better than Saudi Arabia" is literally the weakest possible defense of a country available. That weird dude down the road from you who insists he is a sovereign citizen and that his run-down shack and pack of five mangy dogs is independent territory has a better country than Saudi Arabia.
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They were arrested today btw. Incompetent officers, but arrests were made.Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
I'm sure they post cute cartoons of Muhammad.
Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:
Top Gun: Maverick - 8
Top Gun - 7
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
Crimes of the Future - 8
Videodrome - 9
Valley Girl - 8
Summer of '42 - 7
In the Line of Fire - 8
Passenger 57 - 7
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6
[X] Spies on its own citizens
[X] Arbitrarily curbs certain rights for certain citizens
[X] Has a federal level death penalty
[X] Tortures people
[X] Murders foreign nationals in other sovereign nations
[X] Murders its own citizens (occasionally in public)
Which country am I talking about? The United States or Saudi Arabia?
The U.S. might not be an out-and-out theocracy, but there are other ways of influencing behavior. The current favorite trick is to make something financially untenable for the average citizen. Eg: You don't have to make abortion illegal when you can just make it incredibly expensive. Different method, almost the same result.
@Duke: Well, yeah... otoh, the NYSE is closed on Christian holidays like Good Friday and the banks are closed on Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur. Not oppressive, I guess, but a curious artifact in a culture meant to be secular.
I too find this somewhat antiquated. But some holidays have both religious and secular aspects, like Easter (and therefore maybe Good Friday? Maybe?) or Christmas for that matter. Also, this is an optimistic read, but could it be one way to celebrate religious freedom... showing “solidarity” by closing NYSE rather than “banning” closing on religious holidays. Like, I don’t observe Ramadan, but I also don’t invite those who do to meet me for lunch.
"Better than Saudi Arabia" = "the greatest country on the planet"
We just created the greatest democracy on earth, you lowlife commoner!
*spits on some essential workers*
That separation is an interpretation of the Constitution. It's not built-in. Hence the arguments over "in God we trust," etc.
Maybe Fat Tuesday and Halloween. Definitely not Easter, Christmas, or Good Friday (really?).
Christianity is pervasive in the culture. It's sorta the default setting. So the Easter Bunny might appear to be a secular aspect of a religious holiday, but he's really not.
I see that as a sign of respect more than anything.
That's a relatively new phrase with relatively new controversy. I'm not sure what you mean by interpretation. It's article six and part of the reasoning for the declaration of independence.
Only after the video came out, unfortunately. My rant in this case wasn't really an American thing, as this kind of fuckery happens in many countries worldwide. It's just, well, it was in the news and it is mind boggling to me. There are some people trying to defend it by saying that we don't know that he wasn't burglarizing some house under construction, but I would argue that it shouldn't matter. It is not a citizen's job to arrest people on suspicion and then kill them when the altercation goes south.
I always assumed self-defence rested on the fact that you were unable to defuse or flee the situation and you feared for your life. Thus, if an alleged thief is running away, chasing after him and instigating an altercation before killing him is not exactly self-defense in my eyes.
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Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
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I always thought a good chunk of Americans were devoutly Christian, but then a good chunk of that good chunk worship Trump, who is a complete phony when it comes to religion (Q:"I'm wondering what one or two of your most favorite Bible verses are and why."Trump: "I wouldn't want to get into it because to me that's very personal. You know, when I talk about the Bible it's very personal so I don't want to get into verses. The Bible means a lot to me but I don't want to get into specifics." Q: "Are you an Old Testament guy or a New Testament guy?" Trump: "Probably equal. I think it's just incredible, the whole Bible is incredible.") so I guess they are just as self-serving and craven as anyone else.
Last edited by transmogrifier; 05-08-2020 at 02:28 PM.
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Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
"Relatively new" in this case is nearly a third of the country's history....
But anyway: It's an interpretation because the separation of church and state isn't described in the Constitution. This is similar to the idea of a "right to privacy," which isn't stated either but implied in the Bill of Rights.
Odds are good Trump is nearly illiterate.
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
That's just as hilarious when Obama was asked who his favorite White Sox player was and he couldn't name one. It's all posturing to get votes. The Bible?? We all know Trump has never read the fucking Bible.
Q: "Who was one of your favorite White Sox players growing up?"
Obama: "You know *pause*; uh *pause*; I thought that *pause*; you know *pause*; the truth is, that a lot of the Cubs I liked too."
My parents were not impressed when I told them I don't believe you can call yourself a Christian and be a Trump supporter. That was an awkward couple of weeks.
otoh ... Christmas is a federal holiday.
I mean the country was founded on Christianity. If 99% of your population celebrates the holiday who's going to work??
I know, i know that number is probably more around 70% TODAY. But not 200 years ago.
I'm trying to push back on the idea that you "don't want [religion] pushed" on you by arguing that it is pushed on you. You just don't take much notice because of how "normal" it is.
Chik-Fil-A is closed on Sundays, so...
On the other hand, I don't think Chik-Fil-A is in any other country... Maybe Canada? So...
That's a terrible rebuttal but otoh at least you didn't mention Hitler this time
Imagine if Hitler could've had Chik-Fil-A.That's a terrible rebuttal but otoh at least you didn't mention Hitler this time
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
"Truly only a superior race could have come up with this sauce."
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
I never said the US was Saudi Arabia. We are in danger of becoming a lot like them, though. Too many people in this country want to turn the US into a theocracy, and a lot of them may get their wish. I didn't quote anyone btw because I don't remember how to do multi-quote or if we have that.
Last edited by MadMan; 05-08-2020 at 05:00 PM.
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The Chik-Fil-A sauce would have changed his life.
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