Conversation Among Friends

Dudes - a colleague just gave me a book by Bill O'Reilly this past week: "Culture Warrior". Being uncabled, i didn't know the guy was a major news anchor on Fox - didn't know of his existence, in fact.

are you guys familiar with him? what are your opinions? he seems to be an odd combination of gasbag and hero. in some aspects i was astounded how perceptive he was (effects of entitlement mentality, for instance), in other respects i was dismayed ("of course the U.S. is the center of the universe").

how real is that guy?

MK,

Let's say for example that we chose to discuss the issue of abortion.  (I'm guessing that you are in favor of abortion (?)).

Can we have an objective and intellectually honest discussion?

These are pretty amazing.

 http://www.texasjim.com/NASApix/NASA%20pix.htm

 js

I am going to participate in this.  It starts on 22-Sept at the abortion clinic in Saginaw as well in about 80 other cities in the US.  I invite you to join me - to sit and pray for an end to abortion.

http://www.40daysforlife.com/tricity/custom_page.cfm?category=2&page=2&active=2

What about intellectually honest discussion?

Part of the problem is busy schedules and taking the time to write and research some so that opinions have meaning and logic.

This discussion should benefit from the use of data and logic and deductive argument.

Another problem is that arguments need to be short - again the busy schedule thing.

JM,

Nice piece on your blogmower re: the persistence of myth. Frankly, I am amazed and frightened by these results.

js

Here's a taste of Islam that some are denying is true.

I came across this and, of course, thought of Joey...

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Now those Google searches no longer have to be tailored quite as precisely.

What do you guys think about Bhopal?

I understand Dow's argument: Union Carbide was a part of Dow neither when the tragedy occurred nor when Union Carbide settled with the Indian government. But Union Carbide did become part of Dow, and the settlement Union Carbide made does not seem to have adequately remedied the situation (according to a film I recently watched, the site has never been cleaned up, so the pollution continues to affect the people living in the area). Though perhaps Dow has no legal responsibility for Bhopal, it seems like is does have a moral responsibility to try to make things right. If you (Union Carbide and now Dow) pay someone (the Indian government) to fix a mess you made (disaster in Bhopal) but the mess isn't cleaned up (due to either inadequate funds or failures of the Indian government), you still have a moral responsibility to clean up the mess.

Guys,

i just came across this bbc story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6952558.stm

so what does the church recommend women do who carry the child of a rapist, or are forced to become pregnant at gunpoint? i can see it's not fair to the child, but it ain't fair on the mother, either. what to do?