Re: Sexual Identity Hard-Wired by Genetics - Study

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
Considering that the flintheaded rightwing Christian morons don't understand science and don't accept it, this will have absolutely no effect whatsoever on them or on their Republican handmaidens in Congress or elsewhere. Their bigotry is not based on anything other than fear and hatred.

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
Listening test? Right. I'm talking about actual waveform analysis compared to the origional sound. Ah, so who cares what it sounds like - we'll tell you what you should be thinking. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the

Scouted: 1 million iTunes copies (Was: Re: iTunes for Windo$e)

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
Apple: 1 million iTunes copies, songs in three days By Peter Cohen [EMAIL PROTECTED] October 20, 2003 9:40 am ET Last week Apple introduced its long-awaited iTunes for Windows software. The software provides Windows PC users with the ability to buy music from the iTunes Music Store, and it

Re: Racism at the New Republic (long)

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
In general, I would agree with you.  In this particular case, however, ESPN at least pretends to be a journalistic enterprise.  Journalistic businesses are _not_ supposed to fire people in this situation, or they are not independent of their financial side - which they are supposed to be. 

Re: How some conservatives are deliberately destroying America

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/20/opinion/20MON3.html Well, I hope you're happy as prisoners are let out early, people die, teachers are fired, and Alabama becomes a third world country. And I hope the same sickness does not spread to the rest of the country. Because, regardless of why you

Scouted: The world's most unobservant woman?

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/10/20/offbeat.odd.australia.baby.reut/index.html Unexpectant mom shocked by birth Monday, October 20, 2003 Posted:6:00 PM EDT (2200 GMT) Carolyn Hounsell got a very big shock when she delivered a healthy baby boy. SYDNEY, Australia

Re: Evil acts of Shrub, Chapters MMMCCLXXXIV, MMMCCLXXXV

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
Giving Americans access to endangered animals, officials said, would feed the gigantic U.S. demand for live animals, skins, parts and trophies, and generate profits that would allow poor nations to pay for conservation of the remaining animals and their habitat. Why not try to curb that

Re: Evil acts of Shrub, Chapters MMMCCLXXXIV, MMMCCLXXXV

2003-10-20 Thread TomFODW
Somebody got out of bed the wrong side this morning  :) Maybe, but my point is, whenever people say that promoting abstinence as the only solution to AIDS and teen pregnancy won't work because it goes against human nature, the abstinence-only crowd says, basically, you can change people's

Re: Going for the ball (was Baseball Questions)

2003-10-19 Thread TomFODW
I feel for the poor SOB Cubs-fan who tried for the foul ball in game six of the Cubs-Marlins series.  He wasn't the only fan reaching for the ball, and considering he was looking up at the ball I bet he didn't even know Moises Alou was there. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org

Re: The Comedy Continues

2003-10-19 Thread TomFODW
Bush told his senior aides Tuesday that he didn't want to see any stories quoting unnamed administration officials in the media anymore, and that if he did, there would be consequences, said a senior administration official who asked that his name not be used. So, he can find out who

Re: The right kind of terrorist

2003-10-19 Thread TomFODW
How do you suppose the media would handle that story? My guess that if it didn't lead the evening news, it would be reported on it. It would at least be above the fold in many newspapers, and almost certainly would be a hot topic of conversation among the nation's radio talk-show hosts.

Re: Racism at the New Republic (long)

2003-10-19 Thread TomFODW
Mr. Easterbrook said he planned to apologize in his Web site column on Friday for stumbling into a use of words that in the past people have taken as code for anti-Semitic feelings. Personally, having read his response, I am ready to give him a bit of a break. I think he was stupid, that's

Re: Lying Liars: ShrubCo and Botulinum

2003-10-17 Thread TomFODW
it's easy to get confused between the botulinum B bacteria (not dangerous, found in Iraq) and the botulinum A neurotoxin (dangerous, not found in Iraq). I myself made this mistake, but I'm not a biologist and I'm certainly not a biowarfare expert. This tactic -- saying things that are true in

Re: Archbishop of Canterbury defends Terrorism

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
So where, when and how does he defend terrorism? I have read the entire report and haven't come across a single statement that would count as defence of the terrorists? I think he fails to recognize that use of terror, even in pursuit of otherwise understandable goals, negates those very

Re: Chinese manned space flight

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
In the European theatre the 8th Air Force launched its first 1000+ bomber raid in, I believe, late 1942. After that they were fairly routine in Europe and, I would assume, in Japan as well. I can't find my copy of Len Deighton's Bomber at the moment, or my other WWII books, so I can't look

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
In a message dated 10/16/03 6:51:09 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I hope they do well, but I wonder if, after years and years of free downloads, people are going to be willing to start paying. Some young people who think (if you can call it thinking) that they have some kind of a right

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
Who, exactly, is losing a lot of money from this stealing you are talking about? You don't suppose it is the creators of the music, do you? You think the only music being downloaded is from the major labels? That no independent labels and artists who release their own CDs are being ripped

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
Do you think the most money is being stolen from independent labels? Does it matter? Why rip off from ANYONE? Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
Do you think the record labels ask that question? The RIAA? And their iniquity justifies someone else's? Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle

Re: iTunes for Windo$e

2003-10-16 Thread TomFODW
Do you think it is evil to contribute money to terrorists? Um...non-sequitur? Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___

Re: McNabb and Limbaugh Re: Raceism

2003-10-15 Thread TomFODW
I have no idea, actually.  What I meant was that every conservative who even wants to think about racial issues outside of PC orthodoxies has to accept that this is the deal - the very first tactic that will be used by those who disagree with him is to call him a racist.  That's part of the

Re: Redskins RE: Raceism

2003-10-14 Thread TomFODW
I am sure that at some time in the south there was someone such as yourself who made the statement that they ,never would have guessed that the name Negro was offensive until someone told them. Actually, there were people in the South who didn't guess - and would not have cared - that the

Re: Incompetence?

2003-10-14 Thread TomFODW
Over the top arguments by both sides keep us from addressing real problems. When the debate is at this level, both sides are too involved in proving that the other folks are evil to worry about the details required to actually solve problems.  Further, it is hard to reasonably convince people

Scouted: A Bush Outrage Ignored

2003-10-14 Thread TomFODW
http://truthout.org/docs_03/101203F.shtml Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___

Re: Incompetence?

2003-10-14 Thread TomFODW
Tom wrote: Sometimes, I just get SO FREAKIN' ANGRY at George W. Election-Stealing-Compassionate-Conservative-My-Ass-Draft-Dodging-Deserting-Leave-No-Millionair e-Behind-Where-Are-Those-WMDs-You-Swore-To-The-Entire-World-You-Knew-Exactly-W here-They-Were? Bush, that I just want to scream

Re: French school bans headscarf girls

2003-10-14 Thread TomFODW
Wearing headscarves is oppressive how, exactly?  Please don't anyone take this as a defense of what the French government is doing, but... What they're now doing is permitting each school to make up its own mind whether or not to permit headscarves. Which at least is an improvement over a

Re: Incompetence?

2003-10-10 Thread TomFODW
Let's say the White House DID want to get revenge on Wilson; *Why* would it choose outing his wife as the way to do it?  Wouldn't there be countless better, more direct, more subtle, less *traitorous* ways to do so?  You know, get him tax audited, get a friendly journalist to write a

Scouted: Great idea! (Free your books!)

2003-10-08 Thread TomFODW
http://www.bookcrossing.com/ Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Rush Limbaugh sings I'm A Nazi

2003-10-07 Thread TomFODW
This is a must hear! An absolutely perfect piece of work. It must be heard to be believedG http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/pdupdate.htm Its near the very bottom of the page, just below the link box. I almost died laughingG Who wrote and performed this? It's priceless!

Re: Religious Freedom

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
the monument will be no memorial. Phelps says the monument would be 5 to 6 feet tall and made of marble or granite.  It would bear a bronze plaque bearing the image of Shepard and have  an inscription reading MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou

Re: Week 5 NFL Picks

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
Arizona at Dallas - Can the Cowboys win outside of the Meadowlands?   If they can, it surely will be against the dreadful Cardinals at home.  Pick: COWBOYS I hate the Cowboys, but I had to find someone to choose this week for the survivor pool my synagogue men's club runs, so I picked them.

Re: Week 5 NFL Picks

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
So.are the Cards a worse team than the Texans? Yeah, I think they're worse. And in any case, the Texans are a second-year expansion team - they're supposed to be bad, they haven't had time to get good. The Cardinals have no excuses. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org

Re: Rush Limbaugh's identity politics

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
What is interesting to me about the whole Limbaugh/McNabb thing is: Limbaugh is correct - to a point. Donovan McNabb IS overrated and he DOES get too much credit for the Eagles' susccess - but not because he's black. He is overrated and gets too much credit because he is a quarterback. ALL

More despicable right wing behavior

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/10/03/missouri.website.ap/index.html Senate aide fired for offensive Web site Bond spokesman ran site named after Carnahan crash Friday, October 3, 2003 Posted: 12:40 PM EDT (1640 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Missouri Republican Sen. Kit Bond on Thursday

Re: archeology or archaeology ??

2003-10-05 Thread TomFODW
Frivolous question of the day. Archeology or archaeology? Which is the correct spelling? Yourdictionary.com lists both.  Google brings back results for both. Another frivolous answer: Neither. It's Throat-Wobbler-Mangrove. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I

Re: a new Br!n: book review

2003-10-01 Thread TomFODW
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. At least give credit to Groucho when you're quoting him! Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. -

Re: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

2003-09-24 Thread TomFODW
It makes sense: the Old Testiment was anti-Semetic. If you want to make a movie about, say, the latter days of the Northern Kingdom, and if you want to base it in the Bible, it will be a _very_ anti-semetic movie, showing israelites with all kinds of sins. How is the Old Testament (a term

Re: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

2003-09-24 Thread TomFODW
I realize that the Old Testament is a Christian term, and that the Hebrew Scriptures are the more common used term when these scriptures are discussed in forums that include people of many beliefs.  However, the professor who taught the Persian and Hellenistic Judaism seminar I took pointed

Re: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

2003-09-24 Thread TomFODW
Turn to any random passage and it will very likely be 'you people are evil and deserve to be killed' paraphrased. For one thing, those are translations. And not necessarily good ones. (The King James Bible may be beautiful English, but it is not a very good translation of the Hebrew Bible.)

Re: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

2003-09-24 Thread TomFODW
In a message dated 9/24/03 10:04:37 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: OK, lets look at Tobit, for example.  What evidence exists that it was first written in Hebrew? Sorry, at what? Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I

Re: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

2003-09-21 Thread TomFODW
I just finished reading this today. What a hoot! I thought it was wonderful. I'd also strongly recommend Paul Krugman's new The Great Unraveling, and Big Lies by Joe Conason. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I

Re: W's_sneak_vote_on_Vouchers_during_presidential_debate_passes_by_1_vote_ while_3_democrat_opponents_were_at_debate

2003-09-20 Thread TomFODW
a question which arises after reading the article is why there are apparently not any private schools available which emphasize that their academic standards are superior to those of the failing public schools but which are not associated with any religious organization?  Are there indeed no

Re: [Scouted] Hurricane Isabel: The View from Space

2003-09-18 Thread TomFODW
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18sep_isabel.htm?list818490 Impressive sight. Yeah, but it's funny, innit - I never realized you could see state borders from space... Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I

The ultimate photo op?

2003-09-17 Thread TomFODW
I wouldn't be at all surprised if, when we finally capture Saddam Hussein, Bush contrives to be present as they parade the humiliated former Iraqi leader in chains before the world, so that Karl Rove can package it as a campaign ad. Try to make it look like Bush personally defeated Saddam in

Re: Scouted: reconstruction then and now

2003-09-15 Thread TomFODW
Nice find!  Germany did have long democratic traditions to work with, though.  It had just momentarily forgotten them. Not that long. Not really. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. -

Re: Scouted: Talk Like a Pirate Day

2003-09-13 Thread TomFODW
Ar! Ye scurvy knave! Why did ye not inform us o' this handsome event sooner? Tis too late t' participate fully! Ye've scuppered our chances! Best take yerself off an' hide, 'cause if we catches ye, tis t' Davy Jones' locker we'll be sendin' ye! Arr! Tom Beck www.prydonians.org

Re: Trampoline bear

2003-09-13 Thread TomFODW
I wonder if the bear had fun . . . So much fun, it's run away to join the Moscow Circus. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle

Re: Decline in SF?

2003-09-11 Thread TomFODW
I think reading Guy Gavriel Kay may have spoiled me for other epic fantasy, actually. _Tigana_ is on my unread pile. I'm not much of a fantasy reader, but _Tigana_ is one of my all-time favorite genre books. Probably in my top 10. I'd also strongly recommend _The Anubis Gates_ by Tim

Re: Scouted: The South Will Rise Again!

2003-09-10 Thread TomFODW
For someone to want to restore a men only institution could well be a desire to return to misogyny, but it might not. I'm not sure that we should immediately assume they're just a bunch of scumbag racists. And sexists. And almost certainly anti-Semites. I can't expect someone in

Re: 2003 NFL Preview

2003-09-10 Thread TomFODW
What owners are *not* hated by fans? New York Giants fans (of which I am proud to be a lifelong member) practically worship Wellington Mara. We're not as sure about Bob Tisch, but that may just be a sort of good cop/bad cop kind of thing, where Mara is the Grand Old Man (he just turned 87),

Re: Decline in SF?

2003-09-10 Thread TomFODW
Frankly I have a confession - I have not read any new sci-fi, other than Brin for about a year. I am looking for good recommendations. Would anyone on the list have any ideas for a good book to read :-) (Please limit your suggestion to one per person. - thank you) His Dark Materials

Scouted: The South Will Rise Again!

2003-09-09 Thread TomFODW
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/09/08/military.college.ap/index.html Graduates plan male-only military college Monday, September 8, 2003 SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Disgusted by what they see as the extinction of the all-male Southern military college, some graduates want to build one

Re: Scouted: The South Will Rise Again!

2003-09-09 Thread TomFODW
Hmmm - If it wasn't a black military school in Detroit, but some other blacks-only institution reviving their traditions and past, I don't think much would be said at all. There are plenty of women-only institutions, plenty of African-American-only institutions, and in fact plenty of

Re: Decline in SF?

2003-09-09 Thread TomFODW
Judith Berman wrote an article on this topic in The New York Review of Science Fiction several years ago. It was called Science Fiction Without The Future or something like that. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never

Re: Roy's Rock and 'God-haters'

2003-09-07 Thread TomFODW
In this case, however, I suspect that Mr. Hill and those who think and feel like him feel that they have already argued at length with abortion doctors in general and perhaps with that doctor in particular and have concluded that no amount of further arguing will dissuade them from performing

Re: Torcon 3

2003-09-06 Thread TomFODW
Highly discouraged top-post: Wow, did this topic devolve rapidly! I wondered about that myself (since I initiated it). Am I the only Brineller who went to Worldcon this year? Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I

Re: Roy's Rock and 'God-haters'

2003-09-06 Thread TomFODW
I think that in the minds of those extreme enough to kill doctors who perform abortions, what the doctors do is murder, and what they do in killing the doctors is justifiable and *not* murder.  (I disagree strongly with that position!  Guess I don't have what it takes to be a bomber or a

Re: Roy's Rock and 'God-haters'

2003-09-06 Thread TomFODW
In a message dated 9/6/03 5:33:02 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: But there *are* circumstances under which I *would* kill.  Just not religiously motivated ones.  My own survival, and that of my children, would be the prime motivating factor in any killing I did. Not that I agree with this

Fwd: Polygraph Roulette

2003-09-05 Thread TomFODW
From the weekl What's New from the American Physical Society: A two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences, The Polygraph and Lie Detection, showed polygraph testing to be less than worthless (WN 18 Apr 03).  You might have expected at least a token decrease in testing by the Department

Re: those who can't, teach

2003-09-04 Thread TomFODW
The Center for the Study of Popular Culture released a report that documents the stunning bias against conservative viewpoints on college faculties and speakers platforms. At 32 elite colleges registered Democrats on the faculty outnumbered Republicans 10-1. At two of the schools Bowdoin and

Scouted: Firefly to become movie

2003-09-04 Thread TomFODW
http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/04/film.firefly.reut/index.html The short-lived TV series Firefly is moving to the big screen. After taking his Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film and turning it into a successful TV series, Firefly creator Joss Whedon is about to do the reverse

Re: Humor: Pilot Humor

2003-09-04 Thread TomFODW
Hah-hah, very funny. Except - it's not reall PILOT humor, is it? It's really MECHANIC humor. Other than that, carry on. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle

Torcon 3

2003-09-03 Thread TomFODW
While I enjoyed myself throughly in Toronto, that was for reasons in addition to the Worldcon, so my experience probably was not typical of other attendees'. I'd be curious to hear what other Brinellers thought of this year's Worldcon. My impression was that it was basically a Worldcon. Pretty

Re: BBC to put television show archive online

2003-08-31 Thread TomFODW
In a message dated Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:19:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, Bryon Daly [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I've read Gaiman's Neverwhere, but had no idea they made a series out of it until I saw it listed at Amazon.  Is the series any good?  Faithful to the book?  Worth buying the DVD set?

Re: BBC to put television show archive online

2003-08-31 Thread TomFODW
But a question for our UK comrades, were shows with a more commercial orientation such as The Professionals, Makepeace Dempsey et al made by the BBC, or were they made by third party production companies and simply shown on BBC? Neither. Both were shown on ITV. -- Tom Beck

Re: Scouted:  Programming Language Inventor -OR- Serial Slayer

2003-08-22 Thread TomFODW
An aptitude test to determine whether you know the difference between a geek and a serial killer: http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz I got 6 out of 10. I got 9 out of 10: You'd spot Hannibal Lecter in seconds at an Open Source conference. Your liver's safe. Whew. I like my

Re: disinfopedia

2003-08-22 Thread TomFODW
This appears to me to be a parody of the Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org). As such, I think people here may be taking it a bit too seriously. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry

Re: Scouted: The Gender Genie

2003-08-22 Thread TomFODW
Very cool, even though it got the two graphs I ran wrong. I just typed in the first 3 paragraphs of my draft novel, and it guessed the author is female. Hmmm...not the last time I went to the bathroom... Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the

Re: Scouted:  Programming Language Inventor -OR- Serial Slayer

2003-08-22 Thread TomFODW
In a message dated 8/22/03 5:33:17 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: p.s. glad to hear my liver is safe, though! I'm glad, too...mmm...liver... ;) Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. -

Re: Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence

2003-08-19 Thread TomFODW
We've been led through the nosering, people.  Read about the white paper of October 2002 in this article. Literary license my gluteus maximae -- that belongs in fiction writing, not official policy explanations But, to the war-is-wonderful crowd, all that fades down the memory hole. Now,

Re: This Tiger Has No Teeth

2003-08-17 Thread TomFODW
Did you think the book with the environmental terrorists was the worst book before this? I think it was Executive Orders. Rainbow Six. I thought it was okay (although the environmental terrorists weren't very credible). I didn't particularly like Executive Orders (Iran attempts to

Re: This Tiger Has No Teeth

2003-08-17 Thread TomFODW
Do you think that Clancy's novels have lost their edge? Or that Clancy has spread himself too thin over time? The man is a franchise now, mostly. I with your perception... I think he has Ludlum Disease. (He has reached a level of success as a best-selling author that makes him,

Re: This Tiger Has No Teeth

2003-08-17 Thread TomFODW
Been a little busy since then, and not been to many bookstores lately Ah, so you're the reason book sales are down... I'm doing the best _I_ can, you know, but I can't make it up all by myself - we _all_ have to our share. That includes _you_, missy... ;) Tom Beck www.prydonians.org

Re: Texas Republicans Vote to Fine Fugitive Democrats

2003-08-15 Thread TomFODW
Colorado Republicans rushed through a redistricting plan during the last three days of the session in May, suspending legislative rules that could have allowed Democrats in Colorado to block it... I guarantee you, if the situation ever changes so that the Democrats are in control in

How soon...

2003-08-15 Thread TomFODW
...until Dubya begins to argue that the blackout is yet ANOTHER reason to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge? I'm surprised he's waited this long to try again to drum up support for his payback to his oil company puppetmasters. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org

Physics vs Economics (Was: major power outage in the East)

2003-08-15 Thread TomFODW
From an Op-Ed article in today's NY Times: the idea of creating large national markets to buy and sell electricity makes more sense as economic theory than as physics, because it consumes power to transmit power. 'It's only efficient to transmit electricity for a few hundred miles at most,'

Re: leave the constitution alone

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
So does Ms. Tucker think we should restore the original wording of the Constitution by removing the right to privacy interpretation of the 14th amendment on which the SCOTUS based its decision in _Roe v. Wade_?  Or, given that she is black, how about repealing the entire 14th amendment?

Re: Dubya with Kung Fu Grip

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Personally, I'm holding on to my money until they release the Heroes of Desert Storm Action Figures collection. I'm waiting for the Pfc Jessica Lynch figure complete with Pentagon Overstatement Accessories. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see

Re: Politics, was [L3] Re: fight the evil of  pricediscrimination

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
No matter what laws get passed, no matter who can leagaly cary a gun and who can't Criminals will allways own and carry guns. Right, and other criminals will always commit crimes, so why have any laws at all? A much more interesting statistic would be the perentage of non-law-enforcement

Re: vv audits non profits that don't tow the ideological line

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I didn't know you could tow an imaginary line. The phrase is, actually, toe the line as in, put your toes on the line and not past it. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry

Re: Dubya with Kung Fu Grip

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Wonder if it comes with drug paraphernalia, booze bottles and MPs in hot pursuit. No, that's the _Teddy Kennedy_ action figure.  For a little more money you can buy the car accessory containing a lifelike babe.  Realistically steers off bridges unexpectedly. (OK, it's a low blow, I

Re: Dubya with Kung Fu Grip

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I know the legend. My question was, what if the figure is in the likeness of a Gentile?  Are there goyim golems? Well, the Golem is not actually in the likeness of _anyone_. It's just a clay figure. The rabbi formed it for the purpose, he didn't take an existing statue or something.

Re: The evil ham and cheese sandwich

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I'm not going to use the word all here, because there probably is some fundamentalist in this world who takes all of the bible to heart including wearing non-blended fabric (amish?). But just because a person has some guiding principle, it doesn't mean they have to be bound to every single

Re: Author question

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Awhile back I picked up a book out of the Exchange bargain bin by Sarah Zettel, The Quiet Invasion.  It is still in pile of to read books.  Has any one read anything by her.  Worth the effort? I read her Fool's War which was okay. I met her years ago at MediaWest before she was first

Re: good olde fashioned bible burning

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Church leaders say any Bible besides the King James version that they use, are distractions. Which is, you know, a mistranslation from the Hebrew (which is itself a translation from the Greek). Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man

Scouted: Okay to execute innocent?

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/12/national/12DEAT.html(note: free registration required) Signs Grow of Innocent People Being Executed, Judge Says By ADAM LIPTAK A federal judge in Boston said yesterday that there was mounting evidence innocent people were being executed. But he

Re: The evil ham and cheese sandwich

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I don't :) How about, Everyone who quotes the Bible to support what they've already decided to believe does so selectively.  I think that's more accurate, as it covers the case of NOT quoting the Bible at all, while covering the content of Tom's statement.  :) Ah, the Fallacy of

Re: Most Dangerous States

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
And the best way to show how this is true is to show how the % of people who are victims of crimes and own guns are much lower than the % of people who simply own guns. If owning guns is as much of a deterrant as this author suggests, than one should see a significantly lower crime rate for

Re: Most Dangerous States

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
The molehill is not 100% fatal. Many people are shot each year and survive. And many more don't. Your chances of surviving are extremely greater if you don't get shot at all. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I

Re: Most Dangerous States

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Atr the same time Texas was trying to keep more freedoms New York was inacting more and more strict laws which, while reducing the crime rate, aslo affected the freedoms of the law abiding citizen. Huh? When did New York become a police state? So if there is any corolation, (which you

Re: Politics, was [L3] Re: fight the evil of price discrimination

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
So the only people you want carrying guns is criminals? You want everyone else, every law abiding citizen to be at the mercy of gun toting criminals? I think I'm being baited here, because I don't see any other way what I'm saying could be so completely misunderstood. But just in case this

Re: Author question observations

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I don't have all that much interest in fanfic, but what *did* interest me was seeing P. N. Elrod on that list.  I didn't know that.  (And I usually see her once a year, and she recognizes me, and we have nice little conversations, but more about costume stuff than anything else.) I'm

Re: Heinlein quote

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I'm not claiming to agree with Heinlein, but I will note that people are very friendly in Texas and not so friendly in New York. G You'd better never not come back to New York no more and say that. We New Yorkers don't take kindly to peoples what calls us unfriendly. ;) Seriously, it is

Re: ignorance is strength: the W administation Vs science, Report

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Levels as low as 2.5 have been found to have subtle effects on cognition/intellectual functioning (I forget the thread in which I posted several studies WRT this, but they appeared to be decent science). Toxic effects of arsenic have also been shown at levels that this administration

Re: Author question observations

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
I'm not complaining, but it is interesting that this list can goes more wildly off-subject than any other list I'm on (2 others).  And not slowly either, it happens FAST. Your point? (:::giggles:::) By the way, nobody responded to my point about Zettel being someone who started off what

Re: Author question

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Okay.  But, although admittedly there's a lot of threads with a lot of characters near the beginning, by page 100 you almost certainly have _some_ idea of what's going to happen . . . (Unlike Delaney's _Dhalgren_, where by page 100 most readers have given up and thrown the book away in

Re: shrubCo's faith-based prison program an absolute failure

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
Your stance is to be expected since your positions are rather extreme when it comes to religious issues.  Unfortunately, since you sacrificed accuracy in your pursuit to prove a point your position seems no different from the Bush administration presenting this as an overwhelming success based

Re: Politics, was [L3] Re: fight the evil of price discrimination

2003-08-14 Thread TomFODW
How about if we change Jan's statement to something like: C) everyone [who wants to own a gun and who has not been convicted of a violent crime or diagnosed with a serious mental or emotional illness] should [be allowed to choose to] have a gun. Can we all agree with that? No. I would

Re: Dubya with Kung Fu Grip

2003-08-10 Thread TomFODW
         I swear I've seen a big stone one of Lincoln, sitting down.  You mean that it WON'T come to the defense of Liberty when a rabbi writes the word on its forehead? I dunno.  Was Lincoln Jewish?  If not, why would a statue of him pay any attention to what a rabbi does? There is the

Re: leave the constitution alone

2003-08-10 Thread TomFODW
(J Which is why I also asked if she$B".(J would have said "Leave the (BConstitution(B (J alone" in 1866 when the Fourteenth Amendment was proposed to give rights to(B (J former slaves . . .(B (J (B (B (JYour attitude appears to be on the lines of, If you oppose any particular (B

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