Disqus - Latest Comments for ConstitutionFan

Re: Movie ‘Noah’ Based on Kabbalah, Not the Bible

ConstitutionFan — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 15:05:14 -0000

Abiathar and Gwynn Ap Nudd: each believing a different fairy tale, and each yelling at the other about whose fairy tale is 'true'.

Re: Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz - Results - CSMonitor.com

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 07:32:59 -0000

Atheist, scored 100%.

Re: New Book Critiquing Jesus Mythicism

ConstitutionFan — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 19:26:10 -0000

Patrick, none of that is "strong" evidence.

Many religions and cults and traditions throughout the world and History offer equivalent 'evidence' which is no more nor less convincing than the 'evidence' from the Abrahamic faith traditions you offer. They each make faith claims that contradict all the other traditions' faith claims.

I see nothing more plausible to a genuinely neutral observer in the tradition you've chosen to believe than in any other.

Re: The Intellectual Snobbery of Conspicuous Atheism

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 13:06:28 -0000

"All of this leads to Watson’s conclusion: Religious belief is simply insufficient to explain the complexity of the modern world. It has led to violence and intolerance, yes..."

None of that is the problem with theism. Violence and intolerance is universal, practiced by believers and unbelievers alike. The problem with theism is that it's unsupported by sound argument and demonstrable evidence.

Re: New Book Critiquing Jesus Mythicism

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:43:34 -0000

I don't think it's a matter of honesty or dishonesty. The people who hold with Jesus Mythicism are probably completely honest about their conclusions. They could even be right, for all I know, although I currently doubt that in the absence of seeing convincing evidence or argument myself.

The existence of a historical Jesus is simply so far the most plausible explanation for me. The future may provide evidence that changes my mind, or it might not.

Re: The “Wife of Jesus” Coptic Fragment: An Update

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:30:43 -0000

Shouldn't you be posting at some kind of right-wing political site, or the FoxNews message boards? This site is for actual discussion about archaeology.

Re: New Book Critiquing Jesus Mythicism

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:08:57 -0000

"Casey argues neither from a religious respective, nor from that of a committed atheist."

I am a 'committed' atheist/agnostic, but I also find an actual historical Jesus to be the most persuasive hypothesis. I just don't find sufficient evidence anywhere that this historical Jesus had any actual magic powers, or that the god this historical Jesus believed in was/is real.

Re: LGBTQ Group to March in St. Patty Parade... Good News, Right? | Religion Dispatches

ConstitutionFan — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:25:42 -0000

"Saint Paddy's Day", not "Saint Patty's Day". "Paddy" is the familiar of the male name "Patrick", and "Patty" is the familiar of the female name "Patricia".

Re: Mathew McConaughey Irks Atheists, Delights the Devout | Religion Dispatches

ConstitutionFan — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:05:48 -0000

Fred Hoyle made that silly argument that evolution is like a windstorm putting together all the pieces of a jet plane, didn't he?

If that is him, that argument alone should be enough to discredit his input from further serious consideration.

Re: Sarah Palin: ‘Angry atheists’ are trying to ‘abort Christ from Christmas’

ConstitutionFan — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 15:40:00 -0000

Palin: " “Man, there’s something in the water, perhaps, around here – again you are fortunate you get to taste it.”
That's not water, Sarah... that's the Kool-Aid.

Re: Pat Robertson Claims Gays Deliberately Spread AIDS Using Sharp Jewelry (VIDEO)

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 06:15:45 -0000

Whenever Pat Robertson's name comes up on this board, I like to remind everyone of who he is.

During the Korean War, Robertson was a US Marine lieutenant. He left San Francisco with his platoon, but in Tokyo he got off the boat (due to the political influence of his US Senator father) while his marines went on without him to fight and die in Korea.

Robertson spent six months hanging out at embassy parties and such, until it became a known scandal; he was then transferred to cushy duty at the officer's club in Seoul, traveling back and forth to Tokyo to buy booze for the club and earning himself the nickname "The Liquor Officer".

After reading about this, I mentioned it to my Marine father (who served in Korea during the months immediately after the signing of the cease-fire).

Dad got red-faced and snarled "That sonofabitch was Robertson?!" Dad said every Marine in Korea knew the shameful story of the cowardly lieutenant who got off the boat.

Robertson has for many years now fraudulently referred to himself as a "combat Marine". He also on his website to this day deliberately mischaracterizes his service stars (received for serving basically anywhere in the same hemisphere where somebody else is serving in combat) as "Bronze Stars" for heroism in battle.

Pat Robertson makes pond scum look good.

Re: Fox News Defends Anchor Who Grilled Aslan (VIDEO)

ConstitutionFan — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 08:41:30 -0000

Has everyone except me forgotten that Jesus is also one of the most important prophets in the Qur'an, arguably second only to Muhammed? And that Muslims believe almost all the same supernatural things about Jesus that Christians do: virgin birth, miracles, opponent of the Devil in the End Times Showdown at the OK Corral?

Even if we were to adhere to the FauxNews bogus criterion that only people who believe in a religious figure get to write books about that religious figure, Reza Aslan still gets to write about Jesus.

Re: King's Democratic Challenger Denounces DREAMer Remark

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 08:37:46 -0000

As a former longtime resident of Iowa's Southwest corner, I often refer to as Iowa's Northwest corner (King's district) as "the Mongol Steppes."

Sadly, yes, being mad as a bloody March hare does in the minds of that particular constituency qualify him to sit for another term. That seat is probably his until he surrenders it.

Re: Steve King: For Every DREAMer Brought To U.S., 100 Are 'Hauling 75 Pounds Of Marijuana Across The Desert'

ConstitutionFan — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 20:52:47 -0000

I used to have a .wmv file of a speech King gave at a Minuteman rally in the southwest around 2009. I'll see if I can find it again.

The upshot was that Latinos couldn't be trusted in the border service because they were all "moles". King's solution was to racially bar Latinos from the border service and ship some trustworthy Norwegians down from Minnesota to replace them.

Re: In Violent Holiday Weekend, 9 Dead And 48 Injured From Chicago Shootings

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 19:33:04 -0000

If you will recall, Mr. Loetche, the "gun-grabber" laws you are referring to were overturned by Scalia & Friends in McDonald v Chicago (2010).

So, the deaths in question are really the fruit of gun-kissers like you getting your way.

Re: Police Let Speeding Car Drive On After Seeing Iowa Governor Inside

ConstitutionFan — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 06:39:21 -0000

"Preferable" doesn't translate to "legal", even if you're the governor.

Re: Police Let Speeding Car Drive On After Seeing Iowa Governor Inside

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 10:20:34 -0000

Like father, like son. During Branstad's first tenure as governor, his son drove recklessly on the highway and killed some people, and then got off with a slap on the wrist.

Re: Justice Kennedy Denies Motion To Halt Gay Marriage

ConstitutionFan — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 06:08:06 -0000

"Polygamy" defined precisely is marriage of one person to two or more persons of the opposite sex:

"One man/multiple women" is "polygyny".
"One woman/multiple men" is "polyandry".

"Polyamory" is a broader term describing sexuality, and not necessarily specific to marriage.

Re: Pat Robertson Wonders If Justice Kennedy Has Clerks Who 'Happen To Be Gays' (VIDEO)

ConstitutionFan — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:46:41 -0000

No public statement by Pat Robertson should go without mentioning that as a lieutenant in the Marines during the Korean War, he left San Diego with his platoon—but during the passage he had his US Senator father pull strings to get him out of hazardous duty.

So, the ship docked in Tokyo, Lt. Robertson got off, and his marines went on to fight and die without him while Robertson wore his uniform at cocktail parties.

He claims to have won several "bronze battle stars" and to this day calls himself a "combat marine", but the stars were only the smaller kind you get for serving anywhere within a "theatre of war" and Robertson never heard a shot fired in anger.

When I once mentioned this story to my father, a marine who served in Korea, he exclaimed "That a--hole was Robertson?!" Dad said every marine in Korea knew the story of the cowardly lieutenant who got off the boat.

Re: Despite SCOTUS Ruling, Inequality Under DOMA Will Continue For Some Same Sex Couples

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 20:57:16 -0000

If Lewis's bride was just his first cousin, and he was married in a state where first-cousin marriage was legal, then no other state would object legally to his bride on those grounds, even in those days, as all states gave "full faith and credit" to all marriages legally performed in any given state.

The "13-year-old" part, though, possibly meant that it wasn't a legitimate marriage even in the state where the marriage was performed.

Re: Despite SCOTUS Ruling, Inequality Under DOMA Will Continue For Some Same Sex Couples

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 19:13:00 -0000

If my command of CA community property law is "cursory", my command of tax law is even more so. I'm afraid I can't help you on that one at all, Nat. Sorry.

Re: Despite SCOTUS Ruling, Inequality Under DOMA Will Continue For Some Same Sex Couples

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:47:19 -0000

As I understand it (and my understanding is very cursory) CA is a "community property" state, so assets acquired by either during the marriage belong equally to both. So, to begin with, you should have said "half of the marital assets", not "half of the other's property".

With that said, the broadly-phrased rule is that the partners equally split the marital assets.

Assets acquired prior to the marriage by one or the other partner, on the other hand, generally are not "marital property" and not subject to division. (Unless there's some further factor, like gifting or commingling, involved.)

Re: Nazi Commander Accused Of Massacres Has Been Living In Minnesota For Decades

ConstitutionFan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:11:03 -0000

"...he was awarded an Iron Cross, a Nazi award for bravery."

Not to defend Karkoc at all, just to clarify a nerdish point of fact: the Iron Cross was a German military award for bravery, created well prior to the Nazis.

You could reasonably refer to Karkoc's particular Iron Cross as a "Nazi award", since it was awarded to him during the Nazi era and probably by Nazi superiors for Nazi reasons, but in general historical terms the Iron Cross was not a "Nazi award".

Re: White House Denounces Steve King's Amendment That Would Deport DREAMers

ConstitutionFan — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:37:40 -0000

Speaking as an atheist, it is regrettable that in the rough-and-tumble of this board people sometimes take too many easy cheap shots at religious believers. Ultimately, this board is all about the politics, and people of faith—specifically because of their faith(s)—have been significant forces for both evil AND good in American political history.

On the other hand, when a mendacious huckster like, for example, Pat Robertson opens his yap about God sending meteors to kill the homos or some such twaddle it's just so hard not to reply with a sneer about Pat's Imaginary Friend in the Sky.

Re: Steve King: 'Damaged' Rubio Unlikely To Win Iowa In 2016

ConstitutionFan — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:09:15 -0000

KING: "My perspective is that the immigration issue will sort Republican candidates."

King's perspective is almost always the immigration issue. Mexicans are his bête noire.

His initial rise to national wing-nut prominence in 2004 or so was on the back of his completely false construction of some GAO numbers, which he claimed proved that 28% of all crime in America was being committed by illegal aliens. (I tracked down the real numbers at the time, which in fact indicated that illegal aliens were committing crimes at pretty much the same per capita rate everyone else was, meaning they were committing about 3% of America's crime.)

I've also seen footage of King at a MinuteMan rally, where he demanded that Hispanic Americans should be ethnically barred from employment in the federal border patrol on the southern border because they would become "moles" promoting illegal immigration. He insisted Hispanic officers in the border patrol should be legally permitted to work only at the northern border, and that we should send some "good Norwegians from Minnesota" (that is a quote) to guard the southern border. King did not suggest that white Americans couldn't be trusted to guard the Canadian border, by the way.

In other words, King is not "just saying he's a Skynyrd fan."