Phi for All

How my daughter dresses, and the stance I take on the issue, is perhaps not the greatest example of political social conservatism, but it's an area where I feel a more traditional value, e.g. clothing that covers valuable territory instead of flaunting it, is appropriate. In my defense, I feel that way about clothing in general, for both genders. I don't favor clothes on anyone that reveals too much; if you want to be sexy, I've learned over the years that, for me, it's sexier imagining what's under the clothes rather than everyone seeing it on display. There may be a psychological factor at work here as well. I don't think dressing like a hooker is a good self-image. But how people dress is hardly something I could, or would want to control. While I might think it's a good thing for everyone to dress modestly, or at least less skimpily and see-though-ily, I don't want legislation about that. But I think it would affect the way I feel about regulation in the entertainment industry. I'm liberal about sex and sex education though. This is an area where social conservatism historically messes everything up. From circumcisions for preventing masturbation to public school abstinence-only programs, conservatives have been scientifically in the Dark Ages with regards to sex. Repression and senseless control are just about the last things our sexual education needs. Actually, I'm asking why you think the government is to blame, when it's the corporations that have bought legislation that favors them, allows them to hide their profits offshore, and control all the media that's supposed to inform you of what's really important, instead of making it look like it's the government's fault.

I think we need to stop with the Left Wing/Right Wing labeling. Same with Conservative/Liberal. Nobody is always conservative or always liberal about everything. We do ourselves a disservice throwing a blanket over our political stances. I'm not a Liberal. I can't be, not the way I feel about how my teenage daughter should dress. I'm not a Conservative. I can't be, because I think government should work for all the People, not just the People who live the way I do. That said, in my experience, there are more people calling themselves Conservatives. They don't say, "I'm pretty conservative", the way I hear people say "I'm pretty liberal". No, they say, "I'm a Conservative", like every decision has to be a conservative one. I think there are a lot of scared people out there who feel life is just moving too fast for them to keep up, and they have a dim view of all the progress happening because they just don't understand it. They label it "Liberal" so they can kick it to the gutter and denounce it as BAD. Modern political conservatism seems to be the worst to me. I know many people who are mostly conservative when it comes to fiscal policy, and liberal on social policy. They recognize that we need to keep a close eye on the purse-strings, and also recognize that programs that benefit and strengthen the society as a whole are important as well. But modern political conservatism seems aimed in the opposite direction. Squash the social programs because not everyone is worthy, and let big business suck the coffers dry with a combination of lucrative government contracts and tax evasion. Slavery sought to turn people into property, and now Corporate Personhood, a conservative agenda, is trying to turn property into people. I think real People are being tricked into thinking that being "A Conservative" means being cautious, thrifty, wise, and unwavering. This is exactly what the mega-corporations need to keep up the plunder of this country; people who don't want change, who will trust your judgement in money matters, who will ignore the bad things you do, and who can always be counted on to give up more of their freedom in order to be more patriotic.

You should start another thread based on this study, one that can explore more than just the homophobic angle of this thread. It's totally on-topic here, but I see a lot of tangents coming off this conversation. I, myself, would probably create most of them. Conservatism is becoming more pervasive as people start labeling themselves and not their stances (some people call themselves liberals too; it's weird to me, I take a different perspective on just about every issue). I think people who call themselves "a conservative" tend to make conservative choices even if a liberal one is better in context (again, weird). WRT homosexuality, intolerance like that insures that gay people will always be "wrong" instead of "different". And everything they do will be labeled wrong as well.

The easiest solution is to put a caveat in either your title or opening post that says you only want to talk about a specific religion, or an aspect of a particular religion. Then the staff understands that general comments and replies regarding a different religion are considered off-topic. We have the section because people will bring up religion whether we have it or not, and it's easier to deal with in it's own section. And we also try to keep the conversations oriented in rational directions, even if we're talking about an essentially supernatural phenomenon science isn't meant to be used with.

If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you're claiming that Ann Coulter bought herself a baseball supply company.

Made worse by the fact that so many Republicans disagree on platform issues. How is a small government going to successfully regulate all those people having sex and playing soccer?!

There is a portion of the populace in the US who think their opinion should be everyone's opinion. These are usually bigots and evangelical Christians, with a healthy dose of businesspeople who want to manipulate the free market in their favor. They're not always Republicans but usually call themselves conservatives, even though their vision of the US is actually pretty radical. I'm starting to see signs that nonsense like Coulter's blog is actually starting productive dialog about issues in this country. She's getting less and less support the more she attacks out of personal incredulity. I'm actually kind of amazed she wrote this since part of her base has to be the Soccer Mom Army. She gained no friends in Colorado with that crap, if the attendance for our little league soccer games is any indication.

In the thread on Killer Drones, it was reported that one member was being uncivil and rude. Upon review, there are no personal attacks, just attacking the idea. If we can focus on ideas and remove our egos, a discussion happens instead of a debate. You win knowledge when you discuss, you win nothing when you win a debate.

Awesome, welcome to a thousand conversations about your questions.

Signalling his eminent departure, ADVANCE sent PMs to many of his detractors, informing them in no uncertain terms what he thought of their opinions. Apparently, if you tolerate homosexuality, you ARE a homosexual in ADVANCE's mind. I'll gladly wear that part of the label he pinned on me. And all Americans are rednecks, so I've got that going for me as well. I would like to formally apologize to the Bastard community out there. My temporary new usertitle is in no way to be construed as ridiculing this important sector of society.

That happened to a friend of mine, except he was chopping chilis for his party, then stepped into the shower for a quick rinse and started washing his favorite parts before he washed his hands.

HutchBronze was spambanned as a sockpuppet of ADVANCE. It's not worth what this does to your credibility.

Greatest I Am has been banned for abusive behavior, after assuring us he wouldn't do that anymore if we let him post in the Religion section again. Sincere he was not.

You look like you haven't aged a day, Ed! Thanks for a great idea!

With regard to thread hijacking, I think the desire to spread new-found knowledge is a natural product of the scientific method. In a discussion forum such as this, however, it's essential that we focus on the topic of the thread starter, and not try to introduce knowledge that will cause a significant shift in the discussion. The best thing to do is start your own thread. Link back to the original and start with something like, "While following the discussion in the Relativity & My Aunt Hazel thread, it occurred to me that my new hypothesis might be applicable here." It gives context, doesn't hijack someone else's discussion and keeps both threads clear of unnecessary cross-talk and confusion,

danston has been banned as a sockpuppet account for nyouremyperfect10, which is still an active account. We'll treat this as a memory lapse.

! Moderator Note A note to everyone, let's tone down the usage of words designed to get a rise out of each other. No more trolling/flaming to emphasize your points, you don't need it.

C'mon guys, why not share here? Is it my breath? We're smaller than Facebook but with your help we definitely have a higher combined IQ.

PureGenius has been suspended for a week for soapboxing (ignoring discussion rules and just repeating a stance without support). We appreciate his civility in the face of numerous detractors, and would encourage him, on his return, to begin actually listening to all the expert resources that have shown willingness to help him.

Windevoid has been banned for consistently ignoring efforts by the membership to cure his complaints about basic science with knowledge and understanding. We wish him luck (elsewhere!) with this methodology.

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. I never could have afforded to rent alone while going to school and working part time. I rented with two friends, and we handled the bills just fine. Get a Costco membership and split everything evenly. The tiny home thing is cool, but it will still be more expensive than three roommates sharing costs. And something about living alone in a place like that doesn't sound like much of an improvement socially from living with your parents. It's good to be with people your own age who have similar problems.

Yay, dave! Thanks very much!

Bob goes out and buys a parrot. The first day, he teaches the bird to say, "Who is it?" whenever the apartment doorbell rings. He's so pleased, he tells the bird he's going to go back to the pet store and get the bird a nice treat. While Bob is gone, the bird hears the doorbell ring and says, "Who is it?" A voice from the other side of the door says, "It's the plumber. The landlord said your faucets were leaking and I'm here to fix them." The bird repeats, "Who is it?" "IT'S THE PLUMBER! I'm here to fix the leaks!" the man insists. "Who is it?" The man begins screaming. "IT'S THE PLUMBER! YOU CALLED TO HAVE YOUR LEAKY FAUCETS FIXED AND I'M HERE! PLEASE LET ME IN!" Predictably, the bird asks, "Who is it?" The plumber loses his cool and starts jumping up and down. "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, I'VE TOLD YOU THREE GODDAMN TIMES, IT'S THE PLUMBER!!!" Suddenly, the man grabs his chest and keels over right there in the hall. When Bob gets back, he sees the dead stranger in front of his apartment door. He drops his bags and kneels down, exclaiming, "Oh my God, who is it?" From inside the apartment, he hears the bird say, "IT'S THE PLUMBER!"

jelowry87, are you talking about 195° Fahrenheit or Celsius?

rigney has been banned for abusive behavior and inappropriate language, on top of his history of failure to back up his arguments. We wish him well wherever he goes.