I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Blue:  Ok, I will give you a catechism lesson that was never explained to me as a child.  GOD is both MALE and FEMALE.  The reason the child sees God as a Male, imo, is because everything she was probably taught or knows about God is through Jesus who IS a male and at the same time God in Man!   It amazes me that a well educated lady like yourself who can appreciate the gorgeous Jim Morrison thinks God was a female!  Maybe you had a "feminist" for your catechism class nun.  No thanks needed.  Glad to be of help!

Kadeeb

I did the exact same "refresh the page thingy" yesterday.  You know the old saying, "great minds think alike"... <snort>

It is UNBELIEVABLE that you girls have zeroed in on TWO FRICKIN WORDS of Sarah's commentary. Think about it...how absolutely ridiculous! My gawd... all I can say is that I will pray for each one of you. Feel blessed, not insulted. 

This is far more disgusting than a possible misuse of TWO WORDS:

Sanders Fundraises Off Arizona Murders  

There has been no shortage of individuals and institutions that have sought to capitalize on the shootings in Tucson. Add Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to that list.

This afternoon Sanders sent out a fundraising appeal, seeking to raise money to fight Republicans and other "right-wing reactionaries" responsible for the climate that led to the shooting.

He writes:

Given the recent tragedy in Arizona, as well as the start of the new Congress, I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few words with political friends in Vermont and throughout the country.  I also want to thank the very many supporters who have begun contributing online to my 2012 reelection campaign at http://www.bernie.org/.  There is no question but that the Republican Party, big money corporate interests and right-wing organizations will vigorously oppose me.  Your financial support now and in the future is much appreciated.

Sanders lists several events as evidence that right-wing rhetoric led to the attacks, and then continues:

What should be understood is that the violence, and threats of violence against Democrats in Arizona, was not limited to Gabrielle Giffords.  Raul Grijalva, an old friend of mine and one of the most progressive members in the House, was forced to close his district office this summer when someone shot a bullet through his office window.  Another Democratic elected official in Arizona, recently defeated Congressman Harry Mitchell, suspended town meetings in his district because of the threatening phone calls that he received (Mitchell was also in the cross-hairs on the Palin map).  And Judge John Roll, who was shot to death at the Giffords event, had received numerous threatening calls and death threats in 2009.

In light of all of this violence - both actual and threatened - is Arizona a state in which people who are not Republicans are able to participate freely and fully in the democratic process?  Have right-wing reactionaries, through threats and acts of violence, intimidated people with different points of view from expressing their political positions?

A staffer in Sanders' campaign office confirmed that the letter went out today.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/sanders-fundraises-arizona-murders_533487.html

Do we all now have to repeat our replies? This is getting really boring. Last night I said I was too nosy to use the ignore button, but I'm rethinking that.

oaky 2tzus, I am gonna try and take a crack at answering your questions about the Alberta case.  I skimmed about 30 pages of it, until I got bored.

The guy in question was not a pastor - he was a mail order something or another (from the US) - he didn't have a church or any churchy duties.  At the time of the decision, he was working in an auto parts job (or similiar).  

He didn't do what he did privately to his religious group - he put a letter in the newspaper opinion section.  And he used terminology something like - this is a call to arms -

He worked with a group of youths, shortly after the publication, one of the kids from his group bet up a young gay fellow.  Red Deer is a small town - so everybody knows pretty much everybody.

Another gentleman who ran a support group for the gay community placed the complaint - as it was one of his members who was hurt.

Once the complaint was placed, the courts heard expert testimony and from all the participants and it was decided in court.

I think one of the factors included in the decision was that he left the call to arms (or whatever) open ended.  So it could have been interpreted litterally (sp) - he claims he meant it figuratively.

I hope this helps.  Never ever gave any of this any thought before - so no expert here and I did only peruse.

Re:  strange people, hate speech, and toning down the rhetoric...

I stayed up late last night because a certain Heisman Trophy-winning college football player was scheduled to be on the Tonight Show ("with Jay Leno").  The trouble was that a certain "American stand-up comedian, television host and social critic" (a.k.a. Bill Maher) was also there, being interviewed before said football player was introduced.

Leno asked Maher for his "take" on the tragedy in Arizona.  Maher replied, "...we’re gonna have to hear from the NRA a lot, that this shouldn’t stop anything they want to do. The NRA should just change their name to The Assassin’s Lobby…".  The audience groaned.  Maher continued, "I’m so tired of hearing about the 2nd Amendment and the Constitution.  If you love guns, just admit it.  It's just a vice -- it's like alcohol, or drugs, or sex addiction, or gambling.  It's just a vice. It's something you like, it’s not good for you or anybody else.  You just like it.  But, stop the bullshit [the word was bleeped] about the 2nd Amendment and the Constitution.  [?] a much bigger issue which is the psychology of this country which loves guns.  It’s just a very armed country with a lot of crazy people which is not a great combination." 

[There were other comments dealing with gun control and the right-to-carry laws in Arizona, but those were missing from the video I used to write this up.]

Leno then asked Maher about reports that FOX News was going to "scale back the rhetoric" -- would this last?  Maher replied, "No, because that’s the rhetoric they love… the right wing loves …  the go-to rhetoric for them is, 'wouldn’t it be fun to kill the people we disagree with?' "

The audience groaned some more.  Maher continued, "They try to put across this false equivalent…", and then he realized he had lost the audience.  He said, "No?".  And some members of the audience shouted, "No!".  Maher responded, "Really?  Then, do you read?  Have you seen what people have said?  Have you seen what Sarah Palin says?  She talks about …  don’t retreat, reload… she says it like a pull-toy that’s broken, every 5 minutes." 

Maher went on to cite what he considered inflammatory statements from other Republican politicians.  Then he said, "Left wingers don’t talk that way.  And also, left wingers, even if they do sometimes make a gun analogy or something, their audience isn’t hysterical.  They’re already talking -- the right wingers -- to people who are hysterical and are irrational and are highly armed to begin with."

Maher continued:  "Newt Gingrich -- and, by the way, among the right-wing douchebags I hate, I hate him the mostest -- he says, ... he said the Obama Administration is as much a threat to us as were the Nazis and the Soviet Union.  Now, it’s not just ridiculous, but when you characterize the opposition -- political opposition -- it's not just the opposition, but the enemy -- the Soviet Union and the Nazis were our enemies ... of course, you’re going to have borderline people who go and take this over the line....".  There was some applause from the audience.

"So stop telling me that the Left and the Right are both crazy.  Yes, there are crazies on the Left, but they’re not the same.  They're not gun crazy, they’re not violent crazy. Who goes to gun shows?  Who was for the war in Iraq?  Who’s part of militias?  When you hear the phrase 'armed compound in a secluded rural area,' what is that -- a bunch of Democrats?  Is that Dennis Kucinich out there?"

Lovely man, that Bill Maher.  Tone down the rhetoric?  Really?

otter

Blue:  All these posts and I now find out you are a foreigner.  You live in Canada?  You sound so much like one of us that I am astounded.  Nothing wrong with being Canadian.  I used to have a Canadian friend but not any longer.  It's so nice having this international group and Laura too!  It's obvious she's American because she seems to have a problem with people not liking Palin.  BTW, I saw a show today where this guy was ripping Palin apart over what she said.  All I could see was our Laura screaming at him!  I am not going to reveal who he was but it was "not" Beck!  Lots of other people besides "me" dislike that rooting tooting woman! 

When someone disagrees with you, it doesn't necessarily mean that the person doesn't understand the issue, just that they have a different opinion, perspective or interpretation.

And when did Wikipedia become a trusted source of information? 

I was just repeating what a previous poster said and commented on the similarities.

Why are you reduced to ridiculing the name of the event?  By "administration" do you mean the Obama administration or the administration of the university? It's a university sponsored event and I think that reasonable people would assume that the university came up with the name. I think it means the people who are gathered there will find some solace in their unity. I might not have chosen the word thrive but I wouldn't have chosen "blood libel" either.  Edited - typo

I would respectfully suggest that if you are already upset by the title of the gathering today and/or the way it is being handled that you simply don't watch. Nothing earth shattering or life changing is going to happen at this memorial. You won't miss anything and your blood pressure will thank you.

Instead of spending the evening being critical why don't you find someone you love and do something fun. (Learned from experience during the Bush administrations)

Hey Otter, what was it that Bill Maher said was incorrect?  

He's like most of the pundits on TV, they make their money off of controversy. Sometimes he's funny, sometimes he's not, always he's irreverent.