• When an Army whistleblower tried to protect the media’s right to cover military funerals, she was fired. Gina Gray, the former Public Affairs Director for Arlington National Cemetery, tells her story.
• A new bill in Congress aims to save fuel by imposing a National Speed Limit. Would it solve America’s pain at the pump?
• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!
“How do morals have any meaning without God?”
Most priestly lectures I’ve heard insist that God gives us free will. If that is so, then we are free to accept or reject the existence of God. And we are also free to accept or reject morals. That means we can accept or reject either or both, and therefore you can reject God and accept morals.
flap, why are you equating charismatic with crazy?
very interesting story, E. one of the other things i’d like to research is altruism in animals.
‘mouse~ you are so funny! your satire is truly unique.
are we going to stay here or move over to the FFAF thread?
“By the way, Arianism is heretical…”
LOL, flap. This is exactly my point. do you now WHY it was “proved” heretical?
okay~ this is ruining my buzz. not bc you don’t have great points, as always, but bc it’s the FFAF!
Why are the podcast old?
July 11th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Alan, PLEASE let me know if playboy calls her!!
July 11th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
alan worships the devil. and he’s possessed. apparently.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Frederick of Aurora
July 11th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
frederich is the new della.
where are my people at???
i’m lonely.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Alan, admit you’re a PAGAN:
People Against Goodness And Niceness
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
frederich is the new della.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
hey flapper!
this guy’s had 30 beers, i’m on my first glass of wine.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
“frederich is the new della.”
LOLOL!
“where are my people at???
i’m lonely.”
So what am I Cheryl, chopped liver?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
speaking of wine, i spilled my last glass on my laptop last night. i was without my laptop for most of the day. it was horrible.
i can’t wait for alan to put the live chat up.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
you must have been typing that while i was typing my message. as long as you’re here, i’m good. you and i could chat all night, girl.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
that would probably be possible lol, but I think the chatroom will be a disaster unless it’s moderated. And I’m not always that good in a chatroom
July 11th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
directorpooh hasn’t been showing up lately.
wfg, as we know, is not coming. (btw, i need you to email me epiphany so that i can tell you something in ref to that.)
flap’s here. i like talking to flap.
we’re just missing dave, rc, and fury.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I hate alcohol…tastes like crap to me!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
well, a lot of time when a new program is launched you have to work out the kinks and procedures. i’m sure it’ll be fine.
george noory does live chat with his fans sometimes. i’ve never participated, but i’ve seen the transcripts.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
RC always has good insights…
July 11th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Tonight’s show, thus far! Comedy . . . Cheer up Alan . . .
Conjuror . . B&N . . Amazon.com . . . Borders Books
July 11th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I will do that Cheryl. Alan said in one his posts today I think that he wished WFG would come back.
flap have you ever had a margerita or a pina colada?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
he does, but i can’t remember him ever chatting with us live during the show.
bob the union man is normally here friday nights. i wonder where he’s at.
i love to be surrounded by good people, that’s why i always really want the regulars on to chat live.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Paul STOP pushing your useless book on here.
Take out an ad for God’s sake already!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
paul~ i’ve read a summary for your book. it looks interesting, but i’m not into fantasy.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
unless i’m fantasizing about flap.
LOL, epiphany. i swear girl, we’re 2 peas in a pod.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
That’s alright Cheryl . . It’s all good, eh?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
paul~ i think it’s just that we’ve all taken a look at the book already. epiphany doesn’t really mean that it’s ‘useless’. she just means that most of us do not read fantasy, so it’s useless to us.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
yeah. and the book does have a cool title.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Stop pushing your useless comments Ephindjfjf what ever your name is . . you don’t rule the thread . .
: 0
July 11th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
don’t mess with, E. i’m just warning you, you’ll regret it…
July 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I’ve had wine coolers and crap like that…and don’t say anything against Epiphany or I’ll have to come after you, Paul.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I understand. Boy thought this thread was liberal . .
July 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
BLAH BLAH …making trhreats on Alan’s Thread . . wow . . ? Cheryl that’s not very nice . .
July 11th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
LOL you wrote a book and you don’t know the word “Epiphany”???
Paul, it is extremely annoying to hear you pushing your book when you call Alan, and he doesn’t like it either by the way, and it’s equally annoying on here.
So bite me :p
July 11th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Call the Govenor . . tell somebody who cares
July 11th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Conjuror
July 11th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
epiphany and flap, sittin’ in a tree, k-i-ss-i-n-g
July 11th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Bite you where? Ahem?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
in ref to the current interview, my cousin works for arlington cemetery. he said that in the beginning of the job, it was always very sobering. but now it’s very routine.
he’s in the military and is a pall bearer.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Awww you guys are too much, lol Cheryl :)
The thread isn’t liberal by the way Paul. Anyone can join in, but frankly you’re just spamming.
flap do like fruit? I’m not crazy that much about the taste of alcohol either but there are drinks that are fruity tasting like a pina colada and you can hardly taste the alcohol.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
when i go out, i typically start with a margarita or two. then i move on to rum and diet coke.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Tut, tut ,tut . . You’re doing the same thing . . What did you say? Anybody could join? then shut your pie whole
July 11th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
ALAN~ in ref to this funeral thing, where is the previous post you did about the media covering a funeral at arlington? i’m trying to search the archives but am not having any luck.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I’ve had Smirnoff Ice…stuff like that. Never had any fruity alcohol drinks.
I do like a cigar occasionally. I would like to get a humidor and get some nice ones. Gotta be hand-rolled to be any good, supposedly.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
paul~ the point is that we already know about your book, and have performed due diligence in reviewing the web link to see if we’re interested.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Great show Alan . . great thread . . Wow, who knew it was this much fun . . . Gee I’ll have to come here every friday . . . Thanks for inviting me Alan . .
July 11th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
My ex boyfriend liked cigars. He used to get some fancy stuff and had a special box with some kind of fan or thing in it. LOL I don’t remember what it was, but it looked nice. I tried smoking one but I didn’t like it too much,
July 11th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Naner, naner, nanner . .
July 11th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
bear with me folks~ i don’t think the economy is doing great right now, but i also don’t think it’s as bad as some people think it is.
now, i’m NOT defending Gramm. if i knew him, i’d deliver a swift kick to his ass. but things are bad, but they’re not as bad as i fear they could be.
u feel me?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
LOL. the money in my bank account is ‘mentally decreasing’
LOL
i’ll tell that to my bank the next time a check is returned
July 11th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
That box probably was a humidor, and the fan was some sort of humidifier I bet. Cigars aren’t exactly healthy…but I have one maybe twice per year.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
but didn’t the smell of the cigars bother you, e?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
ALAN, TELL US WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS YOUR POINT OF VIEW! DANG IT, I THOUGHT IT WAS MINE!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Lord. Flap, you need a nice little Christian, conservative woman. do you go to church? you’ll prob meet her there.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I read your book Paul. It sucks…
July 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Cool!!! I love you
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
lol, flap.
but with the way Gramm has explained that he does not speak for mccain, and the last time that one of barack’s people had to say that they didn’t speak for him- i would prefer that people working for a campaign precede each of their comments stating whether or not the words about to spew from their mouth are indicative of their candidate’s point of view.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Fury’s here!!! Yeah! you’re late boy.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I will have to disagree with you Cheryl. I think it’s very very bad. There are huge companies on the verge of bankruptcy like GM and lending companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that might need a govt takeover and so forth. There are thousands of people losing their jobs and health care. I’m no expert on the economy but sometimes I watch CNBC and Fox Business News and there’s a lot of bad news on there. Also I know many who are not doing well… including myself.
They also say it’s going to get worse and that makes me very nervous. It’s also very hard on the working poor, the unemployed, disabled and senior citizens.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Heck yeah, Cheryl…I gotta have a right-winger. I couldn’t take being hitched to a liberal. I go to church, but not as often as I should.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I actually like the odor of cigars as long as there’s ventilation. Cigars are sexy. Well it depends who’s smoking them too lol.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
BTW, I saw your website bicurious, it SUXXX like you
July 11th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
e~ i’m currently unemployed, and things are bad for me. i guess i don’t see them as that bad YET bc i can still buy food for my family- i just can’t buy all the things i’d like to buy. shoot, as you guys saw from the pics of my son, that little fatty is still well fed. LOL
flap~ i KNOW you need a right-winger. a nice little conservative woman. i’m going to stop fantasizing about you know. i’m moving on to Mr. Bad Ass FuryUs
July 11th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
maybe i haven’t had the chance to smell a ‘good’ cigar. i’ve really only smelt them when a few brave men broke them out at starbucks- they pissed everyone off.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
ALAN~ i found the article i was looking for. titled “What the Pentagon Doesn’t Want You To See”
http://liberalland.com/2008/04/24/what-the-pentagon-doesnt-want-you-to-see/#comments
July 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I know the right woman for flap. Monica Crowley. Then flap would be Alan’s brother-in-law.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
that woman irks me. (no offense, Big A. it’s just her professional tone is really, really… conservative)
July 11th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I won’t comment about Monica. lol. It’s not good.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Monica Crowley seems to be really sweet and perfect politically! She’s probably what…10 years older than me though?
Alan as a brother-in-law would be the bomb!
Cheryl, if it makes you feel better, I am buried in educational debt. Luckily I don’t have any children to worry about, but I’m relatively poor.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
monica filled in for laura ingraham for about 2 weeks. it killed me. i couldn’t even listen to her. she’d get all giggly about how much barack sucked… oh, it irritated the hell out of me.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
paying off school loans is not something i consider “debt”, at least not a bad debt. that’s an OUTSTANDING investment in not just your professional life, but your personal life as well.
what do you do?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Actually, I think I heard her filling in for Laura strangely enough…I like her better on TV than on radio. I’ll agree with you there.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I almost can’t afford food anymore. It’s IMPOSSIBLE! And everything is more expensive in Manhattan.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I teach.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
about the New Testament Scholar Bart Ehrman~ his most recent book deals with the ’suffering’ issue, which is an issue that apologists have had to wrestle with for centuries. his prior books deal with the origins of christianity and the new testament canon. i would encourage you to look at your spirituality from an intellectual perspective, in addition to the “faith” perspective.
i started my journey to uncovering the truth about God bc i used to feel that i had a very close and passionate relationship with him. i wanted to know the ‘real’ God, not what i was told was real. it’s been an interesting journey, and i’m still not done. it’s taken me over 5 years.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
it’s just her attitude about Barack, it PISSES ME OFF. honestly, she’d start giggling bc she thought she “had” him, and that her perspective on how much of a dishonest rat he supposedly is is 100% reality. i don’t dislike her, i just can’t listen to her.
teaching is cool. i want a rich husband so that i can afford to teach in an inner city area.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Monica is really nice on tv. But she has her own radio show which I hear on Sat. afternoons at 1-4PM. Damn is she nasty! Very very different on radio. She once did an entire show on how Hillary’s a lesbian according to rumors in England and she gets very hissy and bitchy when it comes to liberals and Democrats. It’s just very unpleasant.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Sorry Alan. Enough about Monica.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
i know. i kept my comments about her civil for alan’s sake. my brother pisses me off constantly, but he’s family, and i’ll be damned if i let anyone talk about him. that’s MY job, lol
July 11th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
we got our SHOUT OUT!
thanks, Big A!!! :-)
July 11th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Why is it when people get a radio show, they feel compelled to become so incredibly nasty and venomous? I guess it’s good for ratings. Turns me off.
Hahhahaha! HI ALAN!!!!!!!!!!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I try not to overanalyze my faith. Apologists will continue to wrestle with these issues…and there will always be atheists, agnostics, and skeptics who say “PROVE GOD! WHERE IS HE? WHY IS THERE EVIL?” I still say that without God, what makes evil so evil?
I trust and have *faith* in the canon, Martin Luther’s protestations, etc.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
okay, folks. i just ordered a pizza. extra pepperoni, extra sauce, extra cheese.
SCORE!
i’m ready to tackle the next 2 hours of the show.
what do yo uguys do while you’re listening to the show?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Websurf!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I Cheryl I’m getting the impression you want the Monica Lewinsky treatment with that cigar.
Naughty
July 11th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
The speed limit shouldn’t be touched…a national speed limit? Too much government intervention.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Whew…finally…another right-winger to keep me company! :-P
July 11th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
hey Vince!
what’s the monica lewinsky cigar treatment? i am unfamiliar with this sex act, but i’d like to know more about it.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Bringing back the 55mph speed limit would save fuel. Slowing from 75mph to 55 will boost most vehicle’s fuel economy by 20%.
Have you noticed many truck drivers are finally beginning to slow down. A trucker who drives 125000 miles/year and gets 6mpg spends $104000/year at $5/gal. If he slows down to 55 and boosts his fuel economy to 7.2mpg, he’s now spending $86800/year on diesel to cover the same 125000 miles. Trucker Ed has just put an extra $17200 in his pocket for spending an extra 600 hrs/year on the road, paying himself $30/hr. Or, he can stick with his former hours in the seat but slow down. Then, he’s realizing the same annual pay for driving less miles.
Autos are no different in anything but scale.
The last time I browsed the NMA’s website (they lobbied for years to kill the 55mph speed limit and are quoted in the link), they were not only pushing to remove speed restrictions but they wanted to loosen up drunk driving laws. Their companion positions were that no one can prove 55 saves fuel or is safer than higher speeds and you also can’t prove that some drivers aren’t better drivers drunk than others are sober. Drunk driving laws infringe on the rights of drunks to drive drunk. Which is, of course, nonsense.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I’m in bed with my laptop when I listen to Alan. I have the tv on mute which is at the foot of my bed and almost always on. Usually on CNN.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
epiphany~ i visited new york city with my church youth group my senior in high school. it was really cool. i remember when we finally pulled into the city, near 5th avenue. i got out of the church van, and looked up at the building- and was struck by the fact that i had to keep LOOKING UP! the buildings are so tall there!
i really enjoyed partaking of a “slice”, and an authentic deli sandwich. yummmm
July 11th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
we also went to a deli, and they had weird looking things there. i think i tasted one eclair type thing that someone had, but i was like- dude, whatev- just give me apple pie and peach cobbler!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
‘mouse is here! yeah!!!!!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
hwo you doin’ tonight, mouse?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Yeah, I know Manhattan is a real trip on your senses if you’ve never been here. I live across the street from what was the very first skyscraper in nyc. I love that building.
The food here is one of the best things about ny.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Not all of us have access or the ability to take public transportation.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
yeah. the gay men in NYC suck, though.
i remember walking down that fancy 5th avenue, and i spotted two men that were REALLY cute. i had my eye on one of them. we were walking behind them, and i noticed that they seemed to be kind of switching their hips while they walked… then they started holding hands! man, i was so pissed! i was really wanting to talk to the one dude. :-)
the deli that we went to was in or near Greenwich Village. on the way there, the Youth Pastor was telling us that we needed to be prepared for what we might see. LOL
July 11th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
right on, flap. the public transportation system here in Fredericksburg isn’t vast enough for me to forgo driving my car.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
e~ it wasn’t the deli, but the bakery that was in Greenwich.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Yes…English in the workplace!!!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Cheryl: I’m quoting from an official US Federal Govt report:
“On one occasion, the President inserted a cigar into her [Monica Lewinsky] vagina.”
July 11th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Alan is siding with the NMA and apparently arguing to remove drunk driving laws.
A local highway worker was creamed by a semi near here a few weeks ago. Not far away is a roadside memorial to a trooper who was creamed in a similar fashion. A local doctor stopped at an accident scene near here and was creamed by cars approaching from the rear as he stepped out to help. 80mph leaves no time to react. People die. 80mph boosts fuel demand and pushes us into affairs like Iraq and Iran. People die.
Oh. Pardon me for interrupting, girls.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
holy shit! that’s crazy kinky stuff. nah, i don’t think i’m into that.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
LOL Cheryl! Yeah I know exactly what you mean. Alot of the gay men here are GORGEOUS! Including one of my friends who has this drop dead charming English accent. Ugh! I’ve always had a crush on him and it’s almost torture when he’s affectionate with me. lol. He knows how I feel and it’s ok. He is so sweet and such a good hearted and compassionate person.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
‘Mouse~ you’re not interrupting! i asked how you were doing tonight, bc i’m excited to see you here. didn’t you see that?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
yeah. the gay men in NYC suck, though.
Isn’t that redundent?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Hi flap. I was distracted by a cigar didnt see your message
July 11th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
what’s that movie with Jennifer Anniston when she’s in love with the gay guy? that’s what it’s like, and that’s the only anti-gay sentiment that i have!
well, that and i’m honestly not sure about gays raising children. i’ve discussed this with my gay and lesbian friends. i’m a single mom. if it weren’t for my dad’s influence, i feel that my son would be lacking a necessary role model. so it’s not bc they’re gay bc i hate gays, but bc i think that it puts the children at a loss.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
it’s not redundant, it was inadvertently suggestive.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
i don’t think that alan wants to remove drunk driving laws.
i’m against a national speed limit, unless it applies to truckers.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Oh, we’re doin’ fine. Thank you, I hope you’re all the same.
I heard someone “here” on the radio the other night. Very cool!!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I think McCain came out with that challenge??!! $300,000,000 for a workable battery? Helloooooo
July 11th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I’m kind of against gays raising children BUT on the other hand there are a lot of orphans out there that would likely do much better in a stable home, homosexual or otherwise. I don’t think there’s any evidence that gay people raising children creates issues when those children grow up.
So I’m ambivalent. Obviously from a Christian perspective I think it’s wrong but pragmatically…a lot of children out there who need homes.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I don’t have any problem with gays raising kids. I don’t see that heterosexuals as parents have always done such a great job even with a mom and a dad and gays have lot’s of people of different sexes involved with the kids. Gays can reproduce anyway and many have kids and do a great job. I just believe in loving, stable and good people raising kids but it doesn’t always work out that way.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
“I don’t think there’s any evidence that gay people raising children creates issues when those children grow up.”
I meant to say that it’s probably unclear if it creates any issues…a male with no male role model as Cheryl said might create a problem.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
flap~ i really, really, REALLY think that you should take some time to research the origins of your faith.
are you aware of the fact that the Catholic, Protestant, Egyptian Orthodox (and a few others) have different Bibles? different sects have decided which books are truly inspired of God and worth inclusion in the Canon.
this is a decision that PEOPLE made, not God. which is one of the primary reasons i decided to pursue the truth of God (his existence, his desire for humanity, etc)
July 11th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
if you’re going to base your life and actions on a book, you’d better make damned sure that that book is an accurate reflection of God’s heart.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Bottom line…if a gay couple will love the child and the child otherwise would be in a temporary foster situation or orphanage, it’s SOOOO hard for me to say that it shouldn’t be done, with so many children in need out there.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Cheryl, I am fully aware of the differences in canon.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Christ was also a PERSON, right? PEOPLE who were inspired wrote the Bible. It comes down to faith. Truly!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Cheryl: please enlighten us. What version of the Bible does a Protestant living in Yemen use?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I’ve met gay couples with kids and they were so totally cool and well grounded. Hell they were more stable than I am. But that might not be saying much. lol!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Hey guys just letting you know that I’m starting a blog, whatever that’s worth. It hasn’t taken any sort of form yet and I still need to think of a name for it, but here’s the beginning of it anyway.
http://michaelgoonan.com/blog/
I’ve also thought about starting a collaborative blog, but instead of taking a right or left wing stance, it would be called “Spectrum USA” or something along those lines, and have bloggers from both sides. I feel like I should make a name for myself first though.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
ha ha, epiphany. you’re silly.
vince~ what the hell are you talking about? how would i know? are you being a smart ass?
flap~ yeah, it comes down to faith. but you also have to take into account common sense. God gave us the power of reason. i believe in using it. not to think that i’m better than my Creator, but to get to the truth of his nature.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
You sounded good on the radio by the way. You have a good radio voice.
Truckers are kind of one dimensional thinkers, aren’t they? All the trucker callers can think about is getting their loads to the dock as fast as possible so they can pick up another load and collect their check. If they’d think just a little bit about what they’re spending relative to what they’re collecting … well, reality will catch up with them eventually. Even the company drivers who aren’t paying for their fuel will find their employers will eventually force them to slow down and drive more economically.
I’ve crossed Texas and Oklahoma at 20mph before, pulling a combine behind a Chevy HD truck. 20mph sounds horrible but even at that pokey speed, you’d be surprised how much more of America you see than at 80. At 20mph all the dogs that come out to chase you can keep up for a while. You almost spend enough time with them to get to know them.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
don’t be a smart ass with me, Vince. i’m not in the mood for it.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
good for you, michael! i’ll check that shit out, for sure.
i’m so proud of you!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
How does this guy on the phone know the truth? Bashing Christians but he has no answers.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
…and walking into the bar, i see no seats…
July 11th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I guess I take a deist view of God myself. I believe that there’s a higher power out there, there’s something… but I don’t know what it is or why. But it’s not anything like a personal kind of God that cares about what you’re doing or what goes on, on this planet. No hell, no heaven. No punishment or reward. We’ve been created and now we’re on our own.
Religion to me is just God made in man’s own image.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Cheryl, here’s the problem I have with overanalyzing those things: people have been philosophizing, examining evidence, and debating God since the beginning of time. In the context of Christian faith, generally speaking there’s not much new evidence either way. The problem of suffering has been hashed and rehashed forever. I don’t have a good answer other than free will creates suffering.
Atheists and agnostics always call it a cop out against us crazy God-believers, but God cannot be fully understood. A goldfish can’t understand his surroundings, and neither can we.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
‘mouse~ who are you referring to?
i think that truckers appear single minded bc they need to get paid, you know? we all have a job to do, to put food on the table for ourselves and/or our families. i know that slowing down makes more sense economically. maybe they need to be educated about that.
i enjoy driving and seeing america. i actually have a personal goal to visit each of our states, and take a pic of my bare feet on the ground in each state. (i have a thing for walking bare foot on the earth… chock it up to my upbringing) so i can totally appreciate your appreciation for the landscape of america.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
pooh! what’s up?! you’ve been ditchin’ us lately. i am therefore going to ignore you, bc i missed you. LOL
July 11th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I will definitely check out your blog Michael!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Haha come on in directorpooh, you can share my seat.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
“But it’s not anything like a personal kind of God that cares about what you’re doing or what goes on, on this planet.”
I’ve been leaning more towards a Deistic view, but I’m still researching.
“Religion to me is just God made in man’s own image.”
DAMN! that’s one helluva thought provoking comment.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Jeebus Cripes. More truckers who don’t understand simple math.
Make the speed limit 150mph. That way, they’ll all double their driving income and get rich.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
oh man, sorry cheryl…been in and out for most of this week…but i usually post something during the day when i visit LL
July 11th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
i think the speed limit should be warp 4…but that would mean that we have warp engines…semantics
July 11th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
How do morals have any meaning without God? What is right and what is wrong? It makes absolutely no sense to me. Might makes right? Majority rules?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
There is a higher being, call it God, Allah, L Ron Hubbard. But I believe most of the “word of God” is man’s attempt to control mans behavior.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
“In the context of Christian faith, generally speaking there’s not much new evidence either way.”
the newest evidence, for the 20th century, was in the form of the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea scrolls. those discoveries were big deals for a reason. some of the texts discovered then had been previously unknown to scholars. scholars knew about them bc they were mentioned in other works, but the text had been lost.
the most important issue for me regarding the development of Christian Orthodoxy is the Arian Controversy, centering on the disagreements between Arius and Athanasius. their dispute on the true nature of God.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
my pizza’s here!!!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
no ice cream tonight cheryl?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
flap~ i’d really like to reply to your last comment. however my pizza just arrived, and i’m on my 3rd glass of wine. it’s friday night. i try to avoid heavy thinking on the weekends.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
So no ultimate justice? We’re just evolved pieces of biomass part of a cosmic mistake? Any traces of all the beauty, love, suffering, strides, and gains of our civilization will be erased when the Sun envelopes the Earth in a billion years or so?
It’s truly a sad thought to me if we are “on our own.” Then again, sadness has no meaning without God.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
pooh~ i’ve got cookies n cream and snicker’s pieces in the freezer waiting for me!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
awww shit… almost FFAF time! who’s going to be first???
July 11th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
i won’t be…i’m shooting for third again
July 11th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
“How do morals have any meaning without God?”
Then how is it, that as a child with no knowledge of God or the bible whatsoever that I had morals? Because I did, so how would that be possible that you have to have God to be moral?
July 12th, 2008 at 12:00 am
flap~ i didn’t say that there is no God. however, i believe that the American concept of God may not be the actual idea of him that he would like us to have.
i strongly recommend that you review the Arian Controversy at some point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism
i used to be one of the most faithful and charismatic christians you could ever imagine (and cute, too!). as i said, it was my passion for God that motivated me to study the true nature of him. learning his true nature meant spending years sifting through centuries of bullshit, and i’m STILL not done researching.
God and I had a very intense relationship. so i won’t give up until i find the truth.
i’m just encouraging you to do the same, that’s all.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:00 am
FFAF is open!
July 12th, 2008 at 12:02 am
epiphany~ you can definitely have morals without God. however, God is an excellent tool for enforcing those morals, and the societal laws that are built from them.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Cheryl…I had heard of something recently…some scrolls or stone that had been discovered. Supposedly they will shed more light on the idea of Christ’s resurrection and how it actually was a concept used earlier by Jewish teachers, etc.
Man, I hate to thump my Bible…but John 20:29:
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.
It is not easy to believe strongly in ANYTHING nowadays because doubt is viewed as much more enlightened. Pluralism and zeitgeist are the names of the game.
Gotta have faith…that’s all I can say. I say that as a lover and lifetime student of science, too.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hmmmm. Pizza.
Speaking as a former truck driver, many of us are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Many of our dullest kitchen utensils call Alan on a regular basis. Sometimes, you have to take the lunkhead driver by the hand and explain EVERYTHING to him veeeeeery slowly.
Who’s to say I’m not a better driver drunk than you are sober? Can you prove drunk driving laws are anything but an infringement on my constitutional rights? That case of Bud in the back of my pickup is only there to help me relax for the long drive home, officer. The old broads of MADD are a bunch of do-gooders and fascists.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:04 am
“Then again, sadness has no meaning without God”
I once watched a documentary called “The People in the Jungle” I think it was called. It was about 3 generations of chimps. There was much sadness in those families. With one mother and chimp child, he was very neurotic and way too dependant on his mother. When she died young, he was observed grieving over her for days and weeks. He wouldn’t leave her body and was clearly depressed. He stayed and grieved for so long he starved to death. One of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. There is sadness and depression in our cousin’s world, the Great Apes. And they don’t know a damn thing about God.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:05 am
I would be careful of charismatic perspectives on Christianity, Cheryl. You don’t to be CRAZY about God. By the way, Arianism is heretical…that’s why it didn’t stick in mainstream Christianity.
“Faith alone in Christ alone.” That’s the core of what it means to be Christian…or what it should mean.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Well, I’m not a Darwinist, Epiphany.
Okay, God doesn’t exist: why should I care about humans? Furthermore, who cares about chimps? No absolute morals means why should I care about anyone?
July 12th, 2008 at 12:09 am
“By the way, Arianism is heretical…”
LOL, flap. This is exactly my point. do you now WHY it was “proved” heretical?
okay~ this is ruining my buzz. not bc you don’t have great points, as always, but bc it’s the FFAF!
July 12th, 2008 at 12:11 am
are we going to stay here or move over to the FFAF thread?
July 12th, 2008 at 12:11 am
very interesting story, E. one of the other things i’d like to research is altruism in animals.
‘mouse~ you are so funny! your satire is truly unique.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:13 am
flap, why are you equating charismatic with crazy?
July 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am
“How do morals have any meaning without God?”
Most priestly lectures I’ve heard insist that God gives us free will. If that is so, then we are free to accept or reject the existence of God. And we are also free to accept or reject morals. That means we can accept or reject either or both, and therefore you can reject God and accept morals.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:10 am