AJ, I wasn't addressing whether you were a depressed person, or not. That you countered my comment with a self-appraisal is of no concern to me, either way.

Your initial three sentences were written in context, and as such, they represent a depressing package deal.

I stand by my comment. :)

Funny, I'm not a depressed person. You would seriously claim to know everything there is to know or that you could know everything there is to know? Anyone who claims that is arrogant and full of bluster, no? As for there being a lot more to existence than what we can see and touch, you deny this in spite of the new marvels being found everyday via space exploration?

Although I definitely think that the whole idea of religion is "bunk"- bacause it is involves blindly "believing" in whatever is written in some book. That doesnt mean in itself that everything that IS in their books is "bunk". Therefore, I dont question people who espouse religion, I just dont trust that they will respond appropriately to facts as they come up. They are entitled to accept whatever they want as truth. But when candidates tell me before the election that they are controlled by their religion, it makes me very nervous that they can separate religion from government. Thats why I was put off by Carson's comments about religion.

O is not a US citizen by his actions and words. O is a muslim by his actions and words. O has repeatedly committed treasonous acts according to his actions and backed by his words. O has misused his office AND circumvented or ignored the Constitution and its separation of powers repeatedly. Further, almost everything he does has been to deconstruct every major pillar of who and what we are. To be this far into his "oministration" and seeing what we've seen/experienced locally and globally, I do not understand how anyone, literally anyone, believes he's working in the best interests of this nation.

No, O was raised for what he's done, designed even, AND someone, a foreign entity, PAID for his rise to do exactly what he's doing.

Proof? Objectively look at his actions and words.

Crime is real. What we're talking about with someone wanting to overthrow the US Constitution (not just for absurdly widely interpreting it) running for office is not real.

You may want look into the educational background of the 9-11 terrorists and bin Laden. Our kids are being force fed socialism in school (particularly in ASU). I've made a battle out of fighting this all their lives.

"o you really think that being [insert religion here] includes the idea of living life deliberately and doing your own thing...."
No, not if they take the stories literally. My point is many people are religious because of their cultural heritage, but they clearly know it ain't so and are able to live in reality. They have memories holidays with extended family in their home town, and the special holidays to commemorate some super-human people who talked to the gods and supposedly accomplished some great feats thousands of years ago. They turn to these memories for strength when they face difficult times. They don't go out and believe in the supernatural or support the extreme ideas in the religious texts.

I am not saying we should humor them or pretend to pray with them after a tragedy. But I have no desire to confront them about their "olive tree". I have no desire to tell them, "All that's bunk. Your grandmother believed it b/c she happened to be born at a time a place where that held sway and no one had the temerity to point out how irrational it is. All those good values came from human kind and reason, not gods. Your religion condoned murder, rape, slavery, and brutally executing people for trivial offenses. It is incompatible with modernity." They generally know that. They generally want those who use the religion as a justification to commit crimes to be jailed. There is no case of radical extremists running for office in the US. We are talking about something that does not exist.

Of course radicals and criminals are real. I'm just saying there's not a large problem of educated people becoming radicalized. We're taking about something completely made up.

Yes. When we get into questions like this we really do not know. I do not know the details of cosmology, and I suspect there is so much more to understand than even what expert cosmologists know.

Agreed, but the problem is the Senate. Clinton's impeachment trial showed us that.

When it comes to something science cannot prove and only theorize on you can choose to believe it (accept) or not. BB is speculation based on observation but it does not reveal where anything, including that initial dot of matter, came from or where it existed prior to going boom. All I say, and will ever say with regard to the unknown, keep your mind open because we do not and cannot know for sure.

Consider this:
God said....
The BB happening? Universal resonance?

I just think the possibilities are fascinating.

unfortunately the will to impeach, even for treasonous conduct in office, is horribly absent.

Why don't you go over there and say the same thing in front of a crowd of those barbarians. I want to watch.

They're real.

I don't see the need. I would simply insist on moving for impeachment at the first sign of any violation of the Oath.

This should have been true, but it isn't. 0 is every bit as much a race-baiter and fight-picker as Sharpton. He and Demonrats like him will not allow the race issue to die if they can possibly prevent it.

hear hear

What a depressing sense of life conveyed in three contradictory statements.

So-called moderate Muslims dare not criticize the radicals on risk of punishment (death) for apostasy. This is because the "radicals" are actually following the DIRECT words/commands of Allah laid out in the Qu'ran and the word of God can never be altered. Those who do not take these words literally dare not speak out.

I avoid "I believe" in reference to a scientific claim. I accept scientific claims. Scientific claims by their nature invite new evidence to disprove them and lead to a better model. I will not be surprised if new evidence upends the entire science of cosmology in my lifetime.

Sorry for the atheistic snark. I didn't mean to insult religion but rather to say all religions of the world seem bizarre to atheists if taken literally, and there's no point for us examining the stories and picking favorites.

I don't know anyone who takes a religious tradition literally as you describe. I certainly know they're out there, and that in some ways I live in bubble of educated people. People who take these things literally are at risk of being radicalized for any number of reasons. Blaming it on their "olive tree" accomplishes nothing.

Thank you. We are all entitled to our thoughts and opinions. For me I guess I am a bit tired of so many people trying to force others by government force to live by religious tenets they have blindly accepted. Things like the temperance movement taking form in excessive DUI victimless punishments, the anti homosexual attitudes, the anti gay marriage laws, even the prohibitions against consensual polygamy. Not to even mention the use of God to justify wars. The senseless war on victimless use of drugs like marijuana. These and other things make me NOT want a "religious" president running government. It's ok with me if people want to believe things in accordance with religions, but government shouldn't be run by those beliefs

But we are good, and they are evil.

Disappointing statement...but you are entitled.

Survival Instincts, human mutuality and cooperation is something that's seems to have been engineered out of today's society.

Seems there are many gods to choose from but only one devil. And the devil seems to be on the winning side over the gods