Posts Made By: James Brown

November 22, 2004 05:01 PM Forum: Politics

Acceptance

Posted By James Brown

A few weeks ago I referenced Elsabeth Kubler-Ross in a post, (in jest of course,) and in response to some very angry post-mortems on the election.

No one got the joke. sad

That won't stop me from trying again though! smile

Judging from the deafening silence here in Politics over the last few days, I am guessing that we have now reached "Acceptance." wink

- Jim -

November 24, 2004 01:11 AM Forum: Politics

Re: a good cartoon for a rainy night

Posted By James Brown

Those strips are OK Nils. A bit heavy handed "college newspaper-esque" for my tastes though.

I did want to mention... and I'm sure that this goes without saying etc. etc. ... And I know you were joking... but;

If you really believe that the left does not think in stereotypes... (I doubt you really believe that and I like jokes as well as the next guy, just ask Russell). Well if you really think that, then you've lost your mind.

Stereotyping those of us on the right as simple-minded homophobic Bible thumpers has been (without doubt) the number 1 post election story of 2004. - Jim -

November 30, 2004 04:42 PM Forum: Politics

Re: Why the Free Press Is

Posted By James Brown

"The press in America will never report the real truth of how US Government policies have killed millions since WWII."

Ray, your conclusion appears logically inconsistent. If the press did not report these "truths" how would you know about them? I assume you are not a CIA-military insider.

"To minimize the possibilities of lost revenue, therefore, outlets will tend to report news in a tone more favorable to the government and giving unfavorable news about the government less emphasis."

I observe that the opposite is true. Since WWII the press has relished in the free reporting of news disfavorable to the government. The coverage of the Vietnam war, Watergate, Monica Lewinsky and most recently the coverage of our inevitable setbacks and failures in Iraq come readily to mind. I am not naive enough to believe that the government is never able to keep a secret from the press, but what has that got to do with the press not being free? Also, I think that such well kept government secrets are the exception, with leaks being the rule.

Finally and most importantly, I feel absolutely comfortable with corporations (private enterprise) "running" the press. The fact that the U.S. is blessed with a diverse and privately owned press which is responsive to market pressure is a thing of beauty.

The only alternative to private enterprise and market forces is public ownership (government ownership of the press 8O 8O ) or government regulation and support in contravention of market forces. Such a course would hardly be the route to an unencumbered and accurate press which is free to be critical of the government. To paraphrase someone, our press may not be a perfect solution to the need for an informed public, but it is the best solution. Sure quite a bit of garbage gets published. Certainly some truths get obscured. Caveat Emptor!

And lastly...

"And millions of American sheep will continue to not care as long as they can turn to the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR and look for comfort in whatever religion ails them."

And I suppose that this little dig make you feel superior? I personally find this type of self-serving generalized attack on millions of persons you know so little about to be quite tedious.

- Jim -


December 10, 2004 08:40 PM Forum: Politics

Re: scenes of reality in Iraq

Posted By James Brown

"Someday we will have to face the truth of what we have done over there."

What does it mean to face the truth? I would agree that we should recognize the civilian carnage and domestic cost of our actions in Iraq. I would agree that we should also question the morality of the action in the first place and condemn the whole action and specific incidents if necessary.

But on the "someday" you refer to we will have the historical perspective to consider the truth of our actions within the context of our effect for good or ill on both global terrorism and the Iraqi people as a nation.

Please do not think that I am condoning or minimizing civilian deaths. I don't need Don chewing on my butt too. It is terrible that justice will not be done on the Marine in the beginning of the article if he in fact committed an unjustified murder as described.

Picture Dresden, Hiroshima or Nagasaki in 1945. Unthinkable cost was intentionally levied on civilians by the U.S. and Britain. Of course the circumstances were different. Nonetheless the reason those carnages are not universally condemned today is the historical perspective. Many persons of good will(not all persons) accept the truth of WWII civilian carnage within the context of contemporaneous necessity and great historical good.

Color me naive, but I am still hopeful that great good will come out of our war in Iraq, and that those lives will not have been wasted. - Jim -

December 13, 2004 04:32 PM Forum: Politics

Don Dickinson

Posted By James Brown

I was distressed to see that Don Dickinson apparently committed Astromart suicide over the weekend. I don't doubt that his temper got the better of him and that Herb was fully justified in pulling the plug. I saw that Don and others were warned last week.

I will miss Don though, and I hope his banishment is temporary. I enjoyed his posts and learned a lot from them. It goes without saying that Don and I disagreed on many things political, but I will gladly shake his hand as a friend if we ever cross paths in real life.


January 11, 2005 06:51 AM Forum: Religion

Objective Proof

Posted By James Brown

I just came in from the partly starry-partly cloudy cold....

How many words have been spilled on this forum concerning objective proof of a deity?

Do you listen to music when you observe?

Have you listened to the final movement of Beethoven's magnificent 9th symphony. (His last) The melody is powerful. The chorus sings these words adapted by Beethoven from Friedrich Von Schiller:

"Brüder über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such'ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen."


You know the melody as "The Ode to Joy." A translation of this and other portions of the chorus is:

"Brothers!, above the starry canopy
A loving father must dwell.

Can you sense the Creator, world?
Seek him above the starry canopy.
Above the stars He must dwell.

Be embraced, Millions!
This kiss for all the world!
Brothers!, above the starry canopy
A loving father must dwell.

Can you sense the Creator, world?
Seek him above the starry canopy.
Above the stars He must dwell.


These magnificent lyrics are a hymn for amateur astronomers everywhere. I can attest that while listening to this symphony, this grand chorus, while observing the heavens, it becomes very easy to believe in God.

When I contemplate that Beethoven composed and conducted this sublime work when he was ill and deaf it becomes very easy to believe in God.

Is this objective proof of a Deity? Is it logical?

No.

But it comes close.

Good Night.

- Jim -

January 12, 2005 06:23 PM Forum: Politics

Deja Vu All Over Again

Posted By James Brown

http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=282281&poll_id=&news_id=&page=

Ray, are you going to beat us monthly with this story?

- Jim -

p.s. You surely noticed that no one responded when you posted this piece a month ago. That is pretty darned rare in the politics forum. I think that Brett must have accidentally hit "reply" this morning instead of "start a new thread", since his post has nothing to do with yours.

I recognize that our collective indifference to the article you have re-posted validates your world view. Is it possible that there is another explanation for our indifference? - Jim -

January 20, 2005 04:49 PM Forum: Politics

Re: Mission Accomplished

Posted By James Brown

[QUOTE]Jim Babcock said:

We came...we saved lives...and we are leaving. [QUOTE]

Surely this can not be correct Jim. How could the evil neo-cons (who indisputably run the show) leave the region with all that oil sitting there, simply ripe for the picking?

- Jim -

January 21, 2005 09:51 PM Forum: Politics

Self Aggrandizement

Posted By James Brown

My reply to your penultimate claim would consist of a single word. The single word which you so unwisely placed in a post this morning and which caused said post to be deleted.

In addition, even if you had read the source documents, why would that make your conclusions and analysis "Truth"?

On the contrary the "Truths" you have posted today and in the past are 100% consistent with the "Truths" spewed on the agenda driven lefty web pages you used to link to.

In other words, I hardly expect to find something like the following in the dispassionate facts of a CIA report no matter how many FOA requests I file:

"He wanted to nationalize the oil industry. That is why he was taken out. (Ray Medhurst 1/21/05)"

Maybe your analysis is correct incidentally. I simply find James' analysis more credible and more persuasive. No big deal.

- Jim -

January 25, 2005 06:41 PM Forum: Politics

A Little Vacation

Posted By James Brown

Well, John Sheil apparently just took a little vacation courtesy of Herb's decency policy. It is beyond me why anyone would think that misspelled cuss words are OK when the forum has been warned at least twice...

Not to mention the fact that the "misspelled vile rant" is about as unpersuasive as any post imaginable. - Jim -