Comments by Crocket Lauderdale

Comment #242836 by Crocket Lauderdale on September 4, 2008 at 2:14 pm

As I mentioned earlier, the most conservative Christian I know is voting for Obama citing his support of faith based initiatives. See here:

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/docs/general/FS_PCF_FINAL.pdf

Does that make everyone who votes for Obama a conservative Christian as well...or would that be guilt by association?

2. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242717 by Crocket Lauderdale on September 4, 2008 at 11:38 am

Just based on the above video, I'm not so sure this alone qualifies her as a "crackpot". This looks like pretty much any guest appearance at any Sunday service in Anytown, USA. I attend the local RockStar church with my girlfriend quite regularly and I see much nuttier things than this pretty much every week.

I'm also not sure the hysteria over any candidate's mention of "god's will" is warranted either. To me, this is a common side effect of personal success in even the moderately religious person. Even a karma loving, crystal wearing, hippie is likely to attribute their success in life to their belief system.

Is it delusional behavior? Of course it is, but there's so many people (especially in the USA) that suffer from the virus it's no wonder no one knows they're sick. The "finger on the button" references are more than a bit paranoid in my opinion as well. It's likely we would have blown ourselves up long ago if it were that easy.

I've got much homework, rationalization, and compartmentalization, ahead of me before I can really choose what I think is the lesser of evils.

I found a site that appears to do a pretty good job of weighing the candidates' stances on issues regarding religion. Judging how close the candidates really are on many issues, I'm sure many of us here will have to make some compromises as well.

http://pewforum.org/religion08/compare.php?Issue=Faith__Based_Initiatives

Keep Chope Alive!!

3. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242433 by Crocket Lauderdale on September 3, 2008 at 4:54 pm

jabber

I agree. I think by and large we create our candidates. If they all look and sound like Frankenstein, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Although both candidates could certainly be considered extremist fundies compared to most of the contributors on this site, my feeling is that the religiosity of both candidates falls in line with the majority of Americans. They are trying to win a popularity contest after all, and any candidate not savvy enough to pander a bit to such a powerful demographic is probably not savvy enough to navigate this little rubber raft we call democracy.

McCain for instance…certainly he learned his lesson 8 years ago when he was defeated by Bush mostly for "not being Conservative enough". Why on earth would he not drift to the right a bit? He wants to win right?

I think the motivation is similar for Obama. The Democrats didn't exactly leave a wake of integrity the last time they navigated down the Potomac. Bill's transgressions left a bad taste in many American's mouths, and this was a major contributing factor in why Bush got elected in the first place. A handsome and charismatic man as well, Obama is wise to establish his "moral foundation" upfront and distance himself from his party predecessor.

4. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242411 by Crocket Lauderdale on September 3, 2008 at 4:14 pm

So, I was speaking with girlfriend's Super Christian mother on a visit to North Carolina (Bible Belt, USA) last week and she said something rather interesting regarding her choice for the next Pres. She said that she was going with Obama because (among other things) "his support of faith based initiatives). Knowing her, I was confident that she had done her homework. Has anyone else heard similiar lines of reasoning?

5. Ten Commandments' of race and genetics issued

Comment #213541 by Crocket Lauderdale on July 18, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Here's a couple of recent non-african sprint champions and World Record Holders:

Jeremy Wariner: 400m Gold medal winner (USA)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Wariner

Liu Xiang (China): 110 Hurdles Gold Medal and former WR holder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiang

Pietro Mennea (Italy): 200m -- held the WR for 17 years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Mennea

6. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #209171 by Crocket Lauderdale on July 11, 2008 at 6:01 pm

"I've got your nose!" -- In defense of Professor Myers‏

July 11, 2008

Dear President Bruininks,

I'm writing to lend my support to you, your University, and Professor Myers against the recent threats issued by Bill Donohue, the Catholic League, and it's members.

As a native of St. Mary's County, Maryland, the site of the first Catholic Mass in the "New World" and (arguably) the birthplace of religious toleration in America, I am no stranger to Catholic culture and have no shortage of friends within that community. I am deeply embarrassed, however, by the recent actions taken by many of my fellow Americans, apparently with the encouragement of Mr. Donohue and his organization.

The response from much of these people has been childish at best. The pleading, crybaby rants of many of these so called adults reminds of a game sometimes played to tease young children called "I've got your nose!". If you're not familiar with this harmless little prank/illusion, its when one pretends to steal a child's nose right off their face with a gentle brush of the hand, quickly pocketing it away for ransom. Since the child can't see his nose without a mirror, they assume the worst, believing its truly gone. They plead for it back, sometimes hysterically, and usually tattling to the nearest authority figure for it's prompt return. Although it may be a bit cruel to laugh at the naivete' of children, it certainly is NOT so to laugh at adults, especially those who's willful ignorance and narrow-mindedness deserve ridicule.

Perhaps I'm still suffering a bit of a contact high from all the gunpowder smoke and Freedom Fries I inhaled during last weekend's Independence Day festivities, but I think now is as good a time as any to reflect on the principles this nation was founded upon and the great men and women who sacrificed their lives to defend them. In retrospect, much of the brilliance of our "Founding Fathers" is evidenced in the way they provided a construct to not only protect our nation from threats outside our borders, but also from threats growing within. What those who have threatened Mr. Meyers (and now likely you as well) have done amounts to a form of Terrorism not unlike the recent events involving the Danish cartoonist's depiction of Mohammed. Now, we have Americans making direct and hostile threats to Professor Myers' life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. This simply cannot stand.

I can't help but think how trivial and open-net-easy our defense of Mr. Myer's free speech would seem to a US Marine about to storm the beaches of Normandy, or one of Washington's Continental Army troops, freezing his a** off in Valley Forge. Isn't defending a highly respected and descent human being's right to make jokes about Holy Hors devours the least we can do?

On a lighter note, I also can't help but imagine a hypothetical conversation between Mr. Donohue and Mr. Christ Himself:

Mr. Donohue: Jesus! Jesus! Those heathens are stealing all the crackers!!!

Jesus: Crackers?!? Crackers?!? I'm supposed to be the Truth and Light and all you want to talk about is crackers? Crackers?!?*

Mr. Donohue: Don't worry, we told his boss, and some of us threatened to kill him for you.

Jesus: Dude...get some perspective! Seriously!

Mr. Donohue: But we thought you were gone! We thought they stole you from us!

Jesus: Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. Your faith in me is soooo touching. By the way...what have you been doing with that 10% cut you've been getting all this time? Don't tell me you can't afford to buy some more crackers...

Mr. Donohue: Sorry Jesus, I'll try to do better next time. Can I please have my nose back now?

*shameless Allen Iverson reference.

Thanks for your time and consideration for those writing to support Mr. Myers. His body of work in Science and his participation in its public discourse has helped many people -including myself -gain valuable insight into the lessons from our past, find kinship in the present, and foster hope for our future. Regardless of faith, he must truly be a blessing to us all.

Best regards,

Jxxx Exxxxxx
San Diego, California