Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me…

Obama’s favorite biblical passage takes on a whole new meaning,
http://tinyurl.com/5gubz6

Misquoting the Bible in a vain attempt at making a "point"?

But I wasn't quoting the Bible, I was quoting Obama
quoting the Bible, and thought about how that might
relate to his concern for the less fortunate of his own
family. Let alone the average Joe.

First of all, Obama’s success is as much self-made, as it is
a product of affirmative action, in terms of both his academic
experience, as well as his short, dazzling political career.
Unlike his half-brother languishing in a Nairobi slum, Obama
has had the advantage of both worlds – white, middleclass
upbringing, as well as being black, so your comparison is
not germane. As far as what he should do about his unfortu-
nate relation’s plight, ask yourself what you would do, even
if there were no publicity consequences to consider.

Post by Spartakus
Oh, and while we are on the subject of beliefs, John McCain was asked
when life begins. He answered "at the moment of conception". If he
really believed that, why has he supported and voted for embryonic
stem cell research?

Since I’m not religious, I couldn’t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.
I would be more concerned with replies as “it is above
my pay grade” in answer to any question from a can-
didate for the Presidency of the United States. What
higher pay grade do you suppose he was referring to? ;-)

Karel Kriz

2008-08-24 18:48:45 UTC

In article

Obama¹s favorite biblical passage takes on a whole new meaning,
http://tinyurl.com/5gubz6

Misquoting the Bible in a vain attempt at making a "point"?

But I wasn't quoting the Bible, I was quoting Obama
quoting the Bible, and thought about how that might
relate to his concern for the less fortunate of his own
family. Let alone the average Joe.

First of all, Obama¹s success is as much self-made, as it is
a product of affirmative action, in terms of both his academic
experience, as well as his short, dazzling political career.
Unlike his half-brother languishing in a Nairobi slum, Obama
has had the advantage of both worlds white, middleclass
upbringing, as well as being black, so your comparison is
not germane. As far as what he should do about his unfortu-
nate relation¹s plight, ask yourself what you would do, even
if there were no publicity consequences to consider.

Since I¹m not religious, I couldn¹t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.
I would be more concerned with replies as ³it is above
my pay grade² in answer to any question from a can-
didate for the Presidency of the United States. What
higher pay grade do you suppose he was referring to? ;-)

While Obama's response to an unanswerable question was a bit flippant,
it was technically and ethically correct. Abortion is NOT a political
issue and it has become that only because of the undue influence by
religious zealots. It would be refreshing to have at least one election
where the abortion red herring is not raised.

K

Spartakus

2008-08-26 00:10:05 UTC

Obama’s favorite biblical passage takes on a whole new meaning,
http://tinyurl.com/5gubz6

Misquoting the Bible in a vain attempt at making a "point"?

But I wasn't quoting the Bible, I was quoting Obama
quoting the Bible, and thought about how that might
relate to his concern for the less fortunate of his own
family. Let alone the average Joe.

What advantage did Obama gain from being black?

Post by kujebak
As far as what he should do about his unfortunate
relation’s plight, ask yourself what you would do, even
if there were no publicity consequences to consider.

First of all, it is not completely certain that George Obama is, in
fact, Barack's half-brother. "Obama" is a fairly common name in
Kenya. Would you be shocked to learn that people who share family
names with famous people sometimes try to capitalize on their shared
name?

Secondly, the statuses of Obama's half-siblings have no relevance wrt
public policy.

Since I’m not religious, I couldn’t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.

In this case, we are talking about public policy. McCain is trying to
have it both ways, and you are essentially giving him a pass.

Post by kujebak
I would be more concerned with replies as “it is above
my pay grade” in answer to any question from a can-
didate for the Presidency of the United States. What
higher pay grade do you suppose he was referring to? ;-)

Glad you asked. The pay grade of *any* elected official.

kujebak

2008-08-27 06:47:45 UTC

Obama’s favorite biblical passage takes on a whole new meaning,
http://tinyurl.com/5gubz6

Misquoting the Bible in a vain attempt at making a "point"?

But I wasn't quoting the Bible, I was quoting Obama
quoting the Bible, and thought about how that might
relate to his concern for the less fortunate of his own
family. Let alone the average Joe.

What advantage did Obama gain from being black?

Post by kujebak
As far as what he should do about his unfortunate
relation’s plight, ask yourself what you would do, even
if there were no publicity consequences to consider.

First of all, it is not completely certain that George Obama is, in
fact, Barack's half-brother. "Obama" is a fairly common name in
Kenya. Would you be shocked to learn that people who share family
names with famous people sometimes try to capitalize on their shared
name?
Secondly, the statuses of Obama's half-siblings have no relevance wrt
public policy.

Since I’m not religious, I couldn’t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.

In this case, we are talking about public policy. McCain is trying to
have it both ways, and you are essentially giving him a pass.

I am giving McCain a pass because abortion is not so
much a public policy issue, as it is a liberal wedge issue.
Roe vs. Wade has been the law in this country since 1973.
It has survived three Republican administrations. Sugges-
ting that woman’s right to chose is going to be jeopardized
by the next Republican in the White House is urinating on
the proverbial lamp post. There are far more universally sig-
nificant points to consider in this election, such as, among
many other, whether we want “The world as it is”, as opposed
to “The world as it should be" :-)

Glad you asked. The pay grade of *any* elected official.

I thought perhaps he might have been passing the buck to
the Allmighty. The only authority higher than the President
of the United States :-)

- Hide quoted text -

Post by Spartakus
- Show quoted text -

Spartakus

2008-08-28 16:22:37 UTC

Post by Spartakus
Oh, and while we are on the subject of beliefs, John McCain
was asked when life begins. He answered "at the moment of
conception". If he really believed that, why has he supported
and voted for embryonic stem cell research?

Since I’m not religious, I couldn’t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.

In this case, we are talking about public policy. McCain is trying
to have it both ways, and you are essentially giving him a pass.

I am giving McCain a pass because abortion is not so
much a public policy issue, as it is a liberal wedge issue.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!! *Liberal* wedge issue??? Where have you been the past
35 years? It has always been a wedge issue wielded by the *Right*.
There was no "pro-life" movement before the states started easing
restrictions on abortion in the late 1960s. Nobody cared about
abortion until it became a legal medical procedure that women could
access without shame or fear.

Post by kujebak
Roe vs. Wade has been the law in this country since 1973.
It has survived three Republican administrations. Sugges-
ting that woman’s right to chose is going to be jeopardized
by the next Republican in the White House is urinating on
the proverbial lamp post. There are far more universally sig-
nificant points to consider in this election, such as, among
many other, whether we want “The world as it is”, as opposed
to “The world as it should be" :-)

Indeed, that is a question that has occupied philosophers for
centuries.

Glad you asked. The pay grade of *any* elected official.

I thought perhaps he might have been passing the buck to
the Allmighty. The only authority higher than the President
of the United States :-)

Well, *I* think that the correct answer is that life *continues* at
conception. But then, I am not running for office.

Quadibloc

2008-08-28 18:18:02 UTC

Post by Spartakus
Well, *I* think that the correct answer is that life *continues* at
conception. But then, I am not running for office.

But the kind of life that continues at conception isn't the life of
specific individuals that the homicide laws are intended to protect;
so the question is when _that_ kind of life begins. Birth? Conception?

It seems to me that syngamy is vastly more plausible than birth for
that purpose; if syngamy is too early, it would be because of more
difficult arguments involving the lack of the incipient beginnings of
the brain in concrete form yet.

John Savard

kujebak

2008-08-29 22:38:07 UTC

Post by Spartakus
Oh, and while we are on the subject of beliefs, John McCain
was asked when life begins. �He answered "at the moment of
conception". �If he really believed that, why has he supported
and voted for embryonic stem cell research?

Since I�m not religious, I couldn�t care less about what
McCain (or Obama) says, or thinks on such issues.

In this case, we are talking about public policy. �McCain is trying
to have it both ways, and you are essentially giving him a pass.

I am giving McCain a pass because abortion is not so
much a public policy issue, as it is a liberal wedge issue.

What makes a wedge issue a “wedge” issue is not
its subject matter, but the purpose of its use in the
political debate, which is to divide the opposition,
and to obscure that which is of universal concern.
Moreover, to the gays same sex marriage is not a
wedge issue any more than abortion is to the Christian
conservative, because both of those are a part of each
of those constituencies’ core beliefs. However, they
are a wedge issue to the left-wing ideologue, who
exploits topics like gay marriage, woman’s right to
chose to have an abortion, corporate executive com-
pensation, or the oil companies’ so called price gou-
ging, to create a rift in the support for the conservative
political alternative. This is not to say the political right
is entirely innocent of this practice.The fact that you’re
the one who brought it up proves my point.

Post by kujebak
Roe vs. Wade has been the law in this country since 1973.
It has survived three Republican administrations. Sugges-
ting that woman�s right to chose is going to be jeopardized
by the next Republican in the White House is urinating on
the proverbial lamp post. There are far more universally sig-
nificant points to consider in this election, such as, among
many other, whether we want �The world as it is�, as opposed
to �The world as it should be" :-)

Indeed, that is a question that has occupied philosophers for
centuries.

Yes, but let's not ignore that it’s only been about 90 years
since philosophy was first applied to social engineering
through the power of the state. It all began with a shot from
the cruiser Aurora upon the Winter Pallace on October 25,
1917.