On Wed, 04 May 2005 09:09:37 -0400, Dave Hall
wrote in :

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If you lead a monogamous lifestyle and do not engage in dangerous
recreational habits, your chances of contracting AIDS is minuscule.


HIV doesn't care if you are gay or straight.

No, but how you get it most definitely depends on how sexually
promiscuous you are.


No it doesn't. It only takes one exposure to get the bug.


And maybe you missed the
boat on this one too, but a lot of people got the disease from blood
transfusions.

If you read the link I provided, you'd find that the percentage of
those people are less than 2%.


I suppose those are acceptable losses, huh?


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Not just the First Amendment, Dave. The concept is reflected in the
main body of the Constitution; "...no religious test shall ever be
required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the
United States," a clause which was unanimously adopted by the
Constitutional Convention.

Yet the democrats are using this exact criteria to DENY appointees to
the court. In their minds, a strong belief in faith should be regarded
as a reason to disqualify someone from serving in public office.


You are -totally- off your rocker, Dave.


This country was founded on the principle of religious freedom (as
well as other important principles). After being forced by England to
practice only one religion (the religion of the state), the new
Americans wanted people to have the freedom to practice religion
according to their belief, be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam,
Bhuddism, Taoism, Monoanimism..... or even no religion at all.

The USA is not, nor has it ever been, a Christian state.

Not "officially",


Or "unofficially".


but our whole government is littered with Christian
references. The ten commandments in judicial buildings.


As well as religious symbols of other faiths.


The swearing
on the Bible,


And here's proof that you have never read the Constitution -- the
passage I quoted above is in direct reference to the requirement for
an Oath of Affirmation.


and others. Things that have been here for many years,
yet liberals are now fighting to have removed.


Better late than never.


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It doesn't
change the color of your house, the mileage of your car, or how fast
the weeds grow in your garden. It doesn't affect you in any way except
the way you feel.

It tarnishes the sanctity of marriage. If you are someone who does not
believe strongly in anything, then nothing can affect you. Who was it
that said that "those who will not stand for anything, stand for
nothing"?


Unlike you, I believe in the Constitution.


And -you- are responsible for the way you feel, not -anybody- else.
There is nothing in the Constitution that dictates how a person should
feel. If gay marriage weakens the value of your marriage, it does so
only because you let it, and that's nobody's fault but your own.

It diminishes the value of the whole institution. It's not much
different in principle than earning a college degree. If they change
the requirements for a college degree to only needing 2 years of
course study, then it diminishes the value of that degree for those
who put in their 4 years.


If you are so worried about the "institution" of marriage then you
have bigger issues than gays. In case you haven't noticed, nearly half
of all marriages end in divorce, and a large number of people get
married more than once. There is also the issue of polygamy -- if you
are going to claim that marriage is a religious value or that it is
traditionally monogamous then you better change your tune because
that's not the case. For example, King Solomon (a "servant of God")
had 600 wives and 900 concubines... or was it 900 wives and 600
concubines.... whichever, it doesn't really matter. The point is that
the "traditional Christian marriage" is just as much a farce in
definition as it is in practice; and gay marriage has far less impact
on it's "value" than legalized divorce, secular ceremonies, Joseph
Smith, or even the holy doctrine of your own faith.


If your bigoted brain had any intelligence you would realize that gay
marriage would -strengthen- the value of your marriage because it
provides a contrast to your own definition of the union.

How does diluting an institution strengthen it?


Referring back to your "college degree" analogy, if the standards are
lowered then my degree becomes more valuable. Here's another analogy:
If some of the auto makers start making cars of lower quality, what
happens to the value of the vehicles made by other manufacturers? Duh.


But that's
not the case. You just hate homosexuals. It's as simple as that, isn't
it, Dave?

It's easy for people like you to vilify and demonize any opposing
views as hate. That's an overly simplistic justification and usually a
sign of someone who's afraid to take on the topic and discuss it to
the level that's needed. A common tactic employed by liberals. Are you
SURE you're not a liberal Frank?

I don't "hate" anyone Frank.


Yes you do. You hate homosexuals. You also hate blacks. It's written
all over your posts despite your efforts to hide the fact. You can
justify your hatred any way you want -- even to yourself. But the more
you write about such subjects, the harder you try to skirt an open
admission, and the easier it is to see the bigotry in your writings.
It's that 'perception window' thing I suggested you read about. Or
haven't you found that book yet?


But I do acknowledge that homosexuals are
biologically and mentally anomalous. It's not "normal" behavior no
matter how much anyone wishes to sugar coat it. I also resent efforts
to "normalize" obvious abnormal behavior rather than trying harder to
correct it.


There is nothing in the Constitution that requires a person to be
"normal". In fact, the world would be a pretty boring place if
everyone fit within one standard deviation. But the Constitution
-does- say that you can do anything you want as long as it doesn't
infringe on anyone else's rights. So how does gay marriage infringe on
your rights, Dave?


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I see you slept through history -and- science.

No, actually those were my strongest subjects. I had to explain to my
4th grade teacher how nuclear fission worked. I have also studied the
intricacies of our planet and its ecosystem. It is far too complex to
have evolved totally randomly.


That's an argument used by primitive civilations to explain things
which they do not understand. If you want to be a part of an
enlightened society, the first thing you need to learn is that
complexity does not require divine providence. But if that concept is
beyond your level of comprehension you can always take up astrology,
voodoo, crystal ball gazing..... or even republican economics.


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You have just as much right to declare that you
are a Christian (or whatever warped permutation of religion you have
adopted to validate your "core beliefs"). And no group of Christians,
no matter how large, has the right to impose it's version of morality
on me.

Nor do you have the right to denounce any display of religiously
inspired morality.


I have just as much right to denouce it as you do to display it. It's
called "freedom of speech". But that freedom doesn't extend to the
point that it conflicts with the constitutional precept that seperates
church and state.


This is 21st Century America, not the dark ages or the Spanish
Inquisition. But it -is- your business to abide by the Constitution
the United States, which clearly states that religion has no place in
this government. If that makes you feel bad, tuff ****. Learn to live
with it or get out. I would highly recommend the latter.

I just wish all those sore losers at the end of the 2004 election
would make good on their threats to leave this country and join
Canada. Then this country can return to more traditional values.


Yeah, it was a whole lot better when women didn't have the right to
vote, the blacks that weren't slaves had their own schools and public
facilities, chemical waste could be dumped anywhere, working 16/7 for
just enough to eat..... those were the good ol' days, huh?


These "Christians" really need to start practicing what they
preach. Or at least how to live and let live.

Not when abhorrent behavior is cancerous to their way of life. They
have a right to fight for what they believe in, just as much as those
who would throw traditional morality to the wind in support of the
latest hedonistic pop-culture fad.


Rock and roll is here to stay, Dave.

Yep, you're one of those guys who believes that change is always good,


Wrong. I believe that change is inevitable.


and that new ideas are always better than old ones right? March like
the rest of the lemming right off the cliff........


History proves that those who don't accept the changes that come with
time are destined to be left behind. That's why the Constitution is
considered to be a "living" document -- it adapts to change. You,
OTOH, can't.


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Oh dear god, you really don't have any clue about how the government
works, do you? Three branches of government? Checks and balances?
Seperataion of powers? But why should I be suprised -- you haven't
even read the Constitution.

I told you before. But you don't seem to know how government works.
The legislative branch makes the laws. The executive branch enacts
them. The judicial branch applies them. Those are your checks and
balances.


You have verified my suspicions nicely. Thank you.


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Just like you never learned the basics of electronics. The problem is
that you can't possibly make an informed decision about who to vote
for if you don't even know the job description!

I'm not the one who threw away my vote on a non-candidate.


The only people who waste their votes are the people who fall for any
bull**** propoganda which proclaims that not voting for a democrat or
republican is "wasting your vote".


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Climb down off your morality horse

Morality is the foundation of any successful government. You have yet
to learn that.


"Morality" has been the -DOWNFALL- of more governments than you can
imagine. When a government starts dictating morality is when the
people usually seek a new government -- one way or another. And the
best example of this in recent history is when the 13 colonies signed
the Declaration of Independence.

BTW, what's the name of that tech school you claim to have attended?






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