kvnchrist

Now that looks like a demonic cat. lol!

I've often wondered what the world would have been like if Kaiser Wilhelm would have won the first world war. Would the world be a safer place, or would we have developed Atomic energy into a bomb, or would it have been a scientific breakthrough with an international ban on weaponizing it. Would Israel even exist? Would superpowers even exist and would Russia have become a communist country?

Russia already has a 'potentially' 100 megaton bomb. They actually detonated one, but, had it dialed back to a 'mere' 50 megatons........ If it were an air burst, the Total Destruction radius (EVERYTHING reduced to rubble, regardless of construction.) would be in the neighborhood of 11 MILES in diameter, with 90% casualties..... (likely 100% within a few days.....) Heavy destruction RADIUS goes out over 37 miles...... ouch. That would HURT. Now, no one is going to launch a fistful of those at anyone. (mainly because they simply don't have that many.....) Spreading a handful of MIRVS over a similar area, say, 10 or so, with 100KT yield, (which a selection of folks actually HAVE....) would be rather similar effects. In any event, nuclear war would just be bad news, no matter which way you slice it. Even a 'tactical' nuclear war would be bad news...... You ever come across a book called War Day, you might want to read it. It's a very well written book about two journalist walking across America 5 years after a limited nuke strike. Very sobering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warday

v

Has anyone looked at the willful dumbing down of American society and the pettiness of self aggrandizing humor we have instituted here. We used to have a good sense of humor and virtually no one took offense to it. Now, we have to tiptoe through the landmines of others hypersensitivities even to make it through the day. What we have is a society of irrational fear of people who don't thing the way we do and it ends up us yelling at eachother, instead of us listening and debating respectfully, one another.

Politicans are a sideshow, They are Vaudeville acts advertised by the media to represent the values those who place them into office fantasize about. The politicians get away with what we allow them to get away with, because we have a mental image of who the opposition is and it is that image we delude ourselves in believing that these politicians are getting back at. It's short and simple. If we wanted to defuse the situation America would be able to. We are just so addicted to this self centered feeling of sanctimonious benevolence that we are blind to the reality that we are just being asses to each other.

Entitlements are apart of our culture. Getting something for nothing has become the norm. I just wonder if those who have this mindset actual appreciate the work so many have done or even try to understand just what a person goes through to make many of these works of art. For what it's worth, I appreciate the effo0rt.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/20/entertainment/jerry-lewis-dies/index.html An era has come to an end.

The one thing about conspiracy theories is that most people have a hard time believing that their side could never be apart of one. They are too interested in conspiring the those who share their beliefs to cast the other side in the darkest light possible The one thing many of the rank and file Democrats haven't seem to realize is the isn't any left in America. There are Republicans and Republican lite. What we have in America are teasers and pleasers. . They dangle opportunity in front of the poor and prosperity in front of the middle class and yank them back whenever they see we are about to grasp them. The one thing the elitists are terrified of is that we will one day wake up and realize we don't need them and that is why they pit the traditionalists (right) against the dreamers (left). The real tragedy is that people look at the opposing side as if they were stupid or immoral and they are too in love with their own self image to notice, for the most part, they are looking into a mirror.

I think we should really get away from referancing God and faith in some of these posts.

I am not calling this man this, but I learned, a long time ago, that even the most outrageous people in the world have something to say. I subscribe to the idea that everyone is a library and anytime that voice is silenced, that library is burned or burns itself to the ground. There are always losses in life, but those removed so abruptly give me pause to reflect. Maybe he will do the same.

I thank you for this. All I really wanted to do is to talk about this in hopes that the person will see others replies and think about how he dealt with this situation. If I wanted to start something, I would have named him, up front and that, I think would have started something that .I should think would get me banned from here. I'm not looking for a flame war and that's why I brought it up.

It seems that a member of the board here has somehow come to the Idea that I have reported one of his posts and has scolded me over the pm system, demanding of me that I never report any of his posts ever again and then telling me that he has placed me on ignore, so I can't find out what this is all about, For the life of me, I can't remember ever reporting anything from him. This post is not about getting back at this person, but to discuss ways of dealing with situations and people in a mature and open manner as to reduce the chances of these people raging like this. There are far too few people who do these debates and to reduce that in any way hurts the board. Who knows, maybe the person will see the reply's of others in this and rethink his coarse of actions.

I think we make our own leaders as to what we admire and what is a central authority in our lives. Those that crave material wealth can and do divest themselves of the warmth of human interaction just as much as those who crave to help humanity can divest themselves of material wealth. Are not those people who these people admire as in role models not a type of leadership? As for what someone uses as a God, would that be something akin to the object of someones addiction? I am an alcholic. I've not drank in 40 some odd years, but at the height of my addiction, that next drink was all I lived for. I have folks i admire both famous and not famous but i don't follow anyone,never have.I grew up with parents that had little interest in me,i was clothed and fed very well but from the age of ten i had complete freedom,i could do whatever i wanted and go wherever i wanted,nothing was denied me.I never had to answer to authority,i was never punished nor reprimanded.My stepfather attempted to corral me a couple of times but my Mother would intervene and his efforts would be squashed. I am a product of my upbringing, no doubt about it,but would i change anything?No,not a single thing for i'm quite happy with who i am. I experienced a problem with alcohol and drugs as well but i got pissed off at myself and said enough,i quit my job took everything from my bank account toured the country for a year and it was a wonderful experience.I still drink whiskey today but not to excess. leading may very well not come from a leader, nor even a living being. It could just as easily come from an advertisement, a song or even a movie that has touched you. I think the most intense way to lead someone is to influence them intermittently, but often enough to plant a seed of thought in the individuals mind. If done properly, it would give the person the idea that the thought had originated with them. one may start out as independant and open minded as they can be, but is it not the experiences they have that guide their reactions in the future and somewhat inhibit expanse into further experiences.

the question is phrased too broadly: Material wealth + comfort -or- friendships + influence ... is not an either/or choice, nor is it an exhaustive set of options. Wealth at the expense of comfort and influence at the expense of friendships are common counter examples. Struggle through adversity and security of loved ones are also common indicators of prosperity. The real questions are: How much to you carer about the opinion of acquaintances and strangers, and do you take responsibility for your own actions? Typically, carrying about the opinions of strangers to the extent that ones does not break laws is considered health/expedient; caring about close individuals to the extent that you are surrounded by happy people is also considered healthy/expedient; doing the opposite is not. If you take responsibility for your own actions, you can pretty much do whatever makes you happy. Otherwise folks tend to be unhappy and blame "god" and just deal with things as they are. Of course these are very broad generalizations, but you get the idea. I would suggest work on asking you question better by examining what is important to YOU, and why. You can get hints by reading the great philosophers, but those would only be hints, the real answer comes from inside YOU. There is a reason that I approach such ideals as this and they work out incredibly well. Some of the most exhilarating conversations I've had the pleasure to read here has happened by throwing out a general ideal that everyone has in their heart and let those people shine in their own light. More than one topic has come from the comments of others as they hash out a previous topic. The one thing that is sorely missing in any of these forums is the what makes up the individuals behind the personalities and the avatars. The deeper you delve into what makes us the human beings we are, at our core the richer the experience. I find that the more precise you arein your questions the easier it is for those who are inclined to do so, to assign intent behind the posts and when that happens there is a good chance it will go South from there. I have often challenged my own political ideal in these forums and those who it is inconceivable to them to do the same have almost always branded me the enemy for just bringing stuff up. I don't relish the idea of tip toeing through someone else's idealistically mine field, especially in today's political atmosphere, where Evil is not a concept, but any ideal other than one's own. I don't know if anyone understands the method of my madness, but it has served me well and I have found several gems in the people who frequent these sites and have grown expediently because of it. I hope that I have touched those who have touched me.

I think we make our own leaders as to what we admire and what is a central authority in our lives. Those that crave material wealth can and do divest themselves of the warmth of human interaction just as much as those who crave to help humanity can divest themselves of material wealth. Are not those people who these people admire as in role models not a type of leadership? As for what someone uses as a God, would that be something akin to the object of someones addiction? I am an alcholic. I've not drank in 40 some odd years, but at the height of my addiction, that next drink was all I lived for.

Of course the Beatles and Elvis are not drawing crowds. THEY'RE DEAD! What an asinine comparison. Now just for clarity, are you going to tell every responder how wrong they are? Drawing crowds has very little to do with being alive. look at all the conventions for aname that go on around the world. Star Trek conventions will be around long after the actors that played the rolls are long gone.

I know that this might seem to some to be pretty cut and dry, but I think it controls the way we see ourselves in the world around us. IIs prosperity defined by how much material wealth and the level of personal comfort we acquire or is it the amount of friendships we have and how far our personal influence has on others?

Music is the one language that transcends all others combined. Looking back, at influential bands. I would say those who were copied and their songs re-sung, where the most influential. I would say Chuck Berry and Buddy Holley were two of the most influential people in rock and roll, since their songs have been covered so many times in so many eras.

You don't tolerate what you except and what is intolerable is there is more power to be had and more money to be made by those who dabble in dissension. This is not a white thing or a black thing and has nothing to do with race. It has to do with control of a narrative that is as old as man. I would ask you what mindset do you think a person needs to have to rely on stereotypes?

Exactly, the blatant disregard, in all these posts in this thread, for the young man that lost his life is indecent and uncivilized. The young mans blatant disregard for common sense is what got him dead. And I am supposed to feel sympathy for him? Not happening. If that makes me indecent, and uncivilized, I can live with that. How much of what you call now, common sense did you have when you were his age? common sense is not as common as people put out and many times the good sense we have, today is because of the rocky road of bad decisions we've navigated in our youth. We also need to understand that the world was a different place in our youth and that the miracles of technology, today has made the world a smaller place, without granting anyone any better grasp of this thing called wisdom.

I don't see any reason to see this as anything more than an inexperienced youth that got caught up in something a more experienced person would not have. I think if any one of us wants to judge him, then they should look back at the way we all were at that age. I know if I would encounter myself today, the way I was at his age that i would probably have the desire to slap the crap out of him. Maybe, if someone would have done that to him before he had left, he would still be with us.

What is actual in this world isn't confined to limitations of ones ideology, Ideology and arrogance is what brought us President Trump in the first place. Underestimating him by overestimating ourselves is a trap each of us set for ourselves. Who we find within that trap, once it is sprung is not by his hand, but ours. He is where he is because of that trap. Hehehe...Yeah,i haven't found anything factual yet either. :tongue: You can dismiss all that I have said all the way up till reality smacks you right in the face. Reality is that President Trump has beaten conventional wisdom into the ground and those who depend on it have followed suit. He continues to do so, today and wither it is conceivable to you or not, I expect he will do so in the future. I don't support Trump, but I do give him his due for where he has taken himself in a relatively short period of time. I don't think this probe will go anywhere, because it hasn't already and it's been going on for almost a year. I would think they would have something, by now.

Hehe,well hell we can draw imaginary castles in the sky all day long but that won't get us any closer to what is ACTUALLY going on.If the investigation has indeed been dropped i'm sure more interesting information will follow.Don't you What is actual in this world isn't confined to limitations of ones ideology, Ideology and arrogance is what brought us President Trump in the first place. Underestimating him by overestimating ourselves is a trap each of us set for ourselves. Who we find within that trap, once it is sprung is not by his hand, but ours. He is where he is because of that trap.

You ever thought he was trying to protect his reputation as being an upfront guy. He has friends in the FBI and all over government and most likely knows just how much evidence is out there. If he exonerates President Trump with a stable full of Democratic lawyers to back him up, he won't look like he's in the bag for President Trump. I would be willing to bet President Trump is saying all this about him being fired to fire up his detractors. If President Trump can keep the attention of his supporters on his detractors instead of himself, he can do what he wants. This is a high priced food fight that's going on and the only casualties is thre American Public. With all this sizzle there is very little attention being payed on the steak.