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ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
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Do a Google search on "Java Dangerous". If you really don't have a need for Java or if you don't keep it upgraded then keeping Java on your computer could be dangerous.
Also, if you are just trying to keep your chats private from the casual snoop then you may be ok with an encrypted chat room. But, don't think it is private from the USG. If the USG can put the heavy on Edward Snowden's email site then they can and most likely have put the heavy on all such sites...email...chat rooms...etc. Snowden's email site, Lavabit, did the honorable thing and just shut down. But a lot of other sites would just go along with government snooping. You can make it more difficult for the USG by using strong encryption and TOR but then if you do so, the USG automatically targets you and puts you on a list of possible terrorists.
If you want to be pretty secure, and harder to spy on, try Tails. Tails is a "live" operating system that lives on any storage device you put it on...mostly a USB thumb drive..and it is freely downloadable. You boot up with this plugged in and it bypasses your normal operation system and hard drive. Nothing gets stored on your hard drive because nothing gets written to it. No risk of viruses or trojans and you can use your Tails thumb-drive on any computer...library...coffee shop...lap tops...etc. If you ever do banking online...it would be safer to use Tails. But, of course, don't rely on what I have to say about it...do some due diligence and check it out your self. Be sure to read the "about" and "warnings" pages after you click on download (it doesn't immediately download but gives the first time user some vital information to read).
https://tails.boum.org/
Hi Marc! Sorry; I got sidetracked for awhile, but I'm back. Anyway I've got the chat box on my screen, I've followed your instructions and am now waiting for your name to appear in that box. I'll just wait patiently, since I had you hung up for awhile... - AIW
In the chat room--on the phone--there is a button with the icon of people on it. When you press that button you get a list of buttons with the names of the people currently in the chat room. I think it works by pressing the name of the person you want to send the private message to. That brings up a dialogue box you can type into and hit send. Then your message appears in a private window. At least that's how I think it works.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I don't know. I can't access it with my computer; however, my phone works fine. Why don't you log back in and wait. I will try to send you my info via a private message and see what happens. If you get it, email me and I'll email you back.
Let me know when you're ready, I'll check back here every 15 minutes.
Marc, I hate cutting into this discussion but I just want you to know, we tried the chat room. Predictably, we didn't get too far. My husband & I managed to get Java installed, and access the chat room itself, but that's as far as it went. Exploring it thoroughly, we couldn't find anything private about it.
I'm not looking to chat with anyone; I prefer the blog for conversation like you do, and for the same reasons. All I'm trying to do is find a way to confidentially swap contact information with a few blog buddies. That's all I want. It's how I'm preparing for the possibility of losing this blog one day, should the loss of net neutrality result in Thom's blog biting the dust. It would be nice if some of us can have a way to remain in touch, with or without the blog. The chat room doesn't appear very conducive to that. What are we missing? - AIW
Palindromedary ~ Yes, that is correct. However, you forgot to add translations too. Many translations and the inevitable edits and misinterpretations that go along with them. Also, 'getting the story right' by the high council also had to include justifying everything the Empire wanted to accomplish. One very important detail. In fact, that was probably the number 1 item on the agenda. I certainly agree with that.
I differ though in how you interpret a Messiah being necessary to overthrow the Empire. Certainly, the Empire could be a pain in the butt; especially for those outside of it. However, the Roman Empire during the time of Jesus--much like here in the United States today--also served as a necessary evil. It offered stability, order, security, protection, regulation, infrastructure, and above all, an opportunity for prosperity for the vast majority. Much like here in the US the members of the Roman Empire were far better off with it than without it. Also, like with the US, the subjects of the Empire also enjoyed religious freedoms and local governance privileges. The Romans were really good at cultivating friends with benefits relations with their conquered territories. It made ruling them and collecting taxes much easier. That is the main reason they existed and prospered for so long. I doubt they had to stoop to the level of manufacturing a peace keeper Messiah to pacify the people. However, even if they did, it was a good idea for all.
Comparing what was going on in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus to what is going on now in the middle east is a hard stretch. What happened in Jerusalem at the time it was initially attacked and under siege by Rome is another story. The Romans drastically improved the situation for the Hebrews over that time interval. They were much better off under Roman rule than say under Egyptian rule. The Romans allowed and encouraged their culture. The Romans even rebuilt their sacred Temple of David for them. Of course, I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence; and, to some degree, like Matt said, some people are never really satisfied. How can you be when others have something better than you. Better sandals, a shinier chariot... envy will always be with us. So will discontent. Sure you can compare a suicide bomber to a Roman guard assassin. You can also compare them to a mass shooter. There are nut cases everywhere throughout history; and, there always will be. These people, however, are not the status quo. They are the desperate lunatic fringe who simply get the most attention because they make the most noise.
The middle east right now also is not like it was under Roman rule. As much as the US would love to emulate that Empire in detail, in order to do so would require a vast amount of men, money, and machines permanently stationed there. The US is in no economic condition to leap into a quagmire right now; and, the current chaos there is proof of that. The moment we pull our muscle out, all order, security, stability, and prosperity goes out the window. I think that the Hebrew leaders in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus were well aware of that fact. They were simply hungry for as much power and easy money as they could get; and, were in no need whatsoever for competition. They promised their people a warrior hero to exploit their despair. They had nothing to gain from the realization of that promise any more than they did from the realization of a pacifist Messiah. All they had to sell was an empty promise and any realization of a any real Messiah was a direct threat to their authority.
Meanwhile, the people had nothing to gain from rebellion either. If they actually had the wherewithal to cast off the Roman Empire they would find themselves in the same boat that Baghdad is in right now--under siege from every corner and begging the Romans to come back and help. They had no ability to raise an army and their businesses would have been crushed. So you see, it doesn't really make any difference whether Jesus was real or made up. What he taught was how to live in peace with others and how to live in harmony as a citizen in a large Empire. That philosophy enabled prosperity and happiness for a multitude of people for countless generations. That lesson is just as useful and true today as it was back then. Personally, I don't want to abolish my government, I want to improve it. The only way to do that is to effect change from within. I believe we are far better off with the Federal Government than we would ever be without it. It is a huge asset in our lives and relatively cheap to run with everyone kicking in. It is a shame what it has been perverted to do in the middle east. My heart goes out to those people. Yes, there is a very real possibility that some would be warrior Messiah will rise in that region as a result. Strange too. Twenty years ago I would have told you that such a scenario would be impossible. Today, it looks almost like an inevitability.
Regardless, the story of Jesus and the Bible are apples and oranges. Few--if any--people who call themselves "Christians" and claim that every word in the Bible is the Word of God actually live the teachings of Jesus. Simple fact! Personally, I don't have a clue as to what they actually believe. All I know is they use the various hodgepodge of books in the Bible to justify making themselves rich and controlling and exploiting other people. I consider them to be extremely dangerous. I've also reconsidered what you've said about Atheism not being a Religion. I've decided that you are correct. It is a belief system; but, only involves the self and no external deity. Well said!
One great thing about the Roman Empire during the time of Jesus is that they did their best to remain religiously neutral--following many of the same principles that the US is founded on. It is my belief that this is one of the main reasons that the Empire lasted and prospered for so long. As the founding fathers pointed out, almost unanimously, a theocracy is unsustainable. The current groups in our government that intend to inflict their religious beliefs on us all is a direct threat to our national security. Unfortunately, they are such rich groups that all our "cops in black robes" have been bought off. The one shining hope we have as a nation is not in a Messiah; but rather our Constitution. As long as that document exists we have the power and the right to ward off these secular attempts at undermining our freedoms the same way Dr. Van Helsing uses a crucifix to ward off Dracula. May freedom prevail.
DAnneMarc: I agree with most everything you have said except I believe that all religions, and all religious beliefs, are false. Atheism is not a religion..neither is science. And this is the definition of religion that I am referring (it has always been, until recently the definition--recently they have added on another definition that, In my opinion, is probably the result of political/religionist pressure to be able to include Atheism as just another religion..which would not be correct):
Religion definition:
--the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
"the freedom to practice their own religion"
--- a particular system of faith and worship
-----------------------------
I believe that in order to more accurately imagine what Jesus, for example, and all of his disciples were really like and what they really believed, if they ever existed at all, one only has to look at Al Qaida or the Taliban. The "Taliban" or "Al Qaida" of those days were also pious believers in their "God" and they also had a powerful enemy to defeat....the Roman conquerors and occupiers.
The whole reason why the Jews were looking for a "messiah" for many years was because it was a "believer's" way of creating hope that this messiah would come and defeat the Roman occupiers. (Kind of like how the Dems preach one thing, like a Dem Messiah that will beat the evil "Romans" of our day...the Republicans.. and then mysteriously disappear, acting like Republicans, after they are elected). They expected the new Messiah to be a military leader, with the help of God, to militarily defeat the Romans. Was Jesus a Zealot and/or a Sicarii? If Jesus really was a militant Zealot or Sicarii, how funny and brazenly defacing would it have been to... instead of a brave militant who crept up behind Roman soldiers in the market square with a curved dagger, stabbing them in the back, then disappearing into the crowds ... re-brand this guy as a peace-nik...love thy neighbor type? The elite Romans probably sh1t their pants laughing at all of those gullible converts to Christianity. What a better way of pacifying the militant Jews or anyone else that would be a threat to the Roman Empire!
http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/p/Sicarii.htm
Yes, yes, I know....Jesus was love...Jesus was for peace... Jesus healed the sick. "According to the Bible" (which is about the only place in history where Jesus was mentioned that wasn't a forgery), Jesus would never be a Zealot or Sicarii. But the Romans rewrote Jewish/Christian history as a way of making fun of them and trying to railroad the rebellious Jews.
http://www.eclectica.org/v7n3/rogers.html
And there were many contenders for mythical position of Messiah..many magicians concocted all manner of hocus pocus and generated myths about themselves in order to qualify as such a "messiah". I doubt that they would have been as interested in portraying that image if they knew the final outcome...crucifixion..if that is what really happened.
I imagine there are even many people, today, who fancy themselves as Christ reincarnated... believing themselves to be "holier than thou", or more Christ-like or God-like than others... with the ability to "properly" interpret their holy books.
Obscenely wealthy people are not any different. They are protecting their psychological meme's not to mention justifying the size of their bank accounts. No one is going to heaven or to hell because those things are merely just as made up as Thor, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny. After the adults play that little trick on their children when they are young and expect them to get over it, the adults go on to brain-wash them with equally fantastical fantasies when they force them to go to church and believe in all of those ridiculous lies.
There are no more truths to the Christian (or Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindu, etc.) myths than any of the more ancient myths that Judaism and Christianity and Islam stole ideas from to begin with. Yes, they plagiarized and modified those more ancient myths to be more acceptable and believable by the audience of the day. And they added in their own bits of magic as well...walking on water, casting out demons into swine, feeding the masses with a few fish and loaves of bread, turning water into wine, bringing dead people back to life, dying on a cross and coming back to life and ascending to heaven... and many more.
And Emperor Constantine, during the 1st Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, made all of the Bishops of the early Christian Churches come together to hash out what was to eventually become the Bible. Many documents had been left out for various reasons. Bottom line, they had to get the story straight in order to minimize conflicting stories. And the "bible" was subjected to quite a number of "re-interpretations" and "subtractions" and "additions" along the way as well.
I happen to fancy the belief that the Romans created the Jesus story although just about anything could be true...or not.
http://news.discovery.com/history/religion/scholar-claims-jesus-was-roma...
Marc, for one who is so "emotional" you can sure write a lucid post. Maybe you oughta get "emotional" more often! - AIW
While I'm at it let me get something else off my chest. The Bible isn't a book. it is a loose compilation of books. The notion that the Bible is the Word of God is false. The Word of God is in the Bible if you want to dig for it. However, God is perfect and the Bible is not. In essence, the four Gospels are the Word of God. Everything else is a fairy tale. A very, very dangerous and misleading fairy tale.
The way the Bible is composed, anyone with a working knowledge of it can justify anything they want--especially if they are a man. The Bible isn't set up to help women exploit anything. However, if you are a man, you can justify anything from adultery to murder; and, murder includes genocide. You can own and rape slaves, cheat on your wife, and then turn around and have her killed for cheating on you. The list goes on and on with the sin and crimes you can justify in that compilation of books called the Bible. It needs to be edited down big time.
Whenever I quote something not in the four gospels I do so facetiously because it is so easy to twist some parts of the Bible to support anything. Of course I have no cult or reputation to protect--and receive no money to lose--by telling you this. You won't hear it coming out of the mouth of any representative of organized religion; however, that is exactly what they do as well. I'm just playing their game.
It is interesting to note that Jesus used to constantly correct and scold his apostles for not grasping the will of God. In one memorable passage he got so pissed off at his apostle Peter that he called him "Satan". Some of you might recall that it was this same apostle--Peter, the Rock--who later went on to found the Roman Catholic Church. Coincidence? I think not.
With that in mind one can easily discount all the letters written by the apostles after the death of Christ in the New Testament along with the Old Testament which Jesus himself discounted as being outdated, irrelevant hearsay. The only text relevant to one's spiritual growth is in the Gospels. Everything else is a vast web of conflicting ideas, values, and examples that only serve the needs of the self serving clergy and their official institutional agendas.
The Bible, as we know it today, can be an joyful source of enlightenment, or a dangerous weapon. In the wrong hands it has already lead to murder, war, and genocide. It has justified slavery, brutality, and oppression. It is high time that we as rational, critically thinking and logical human beings edit the book to reflect the clear and perfect intent that an immortal omnipotent being would wish to convey. Anything less is nothing else but an insult to both God and man. Every day we pay the price for that insult.
My apologies for getting so emotional and off topic.
This is slightly off topic but last week I read a rather insightful article in Time magazine about the Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby. Interesting stuff. They are billionaires. Something like the 17th wealthiest family in the country. They are also religious fanatics. They claim that they owe their success and vast fortune to living according to the Bible. However, I though Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and money." Apparently the Green family has proven Jesus wrong.
They run their business according to their own "special" "Christian" values. For instance there is a group prayer before every company meeting. Yes, as you may have guessed, more than one employee has resigned as a result of the proselytizing management. They pay their workers well, starting them off with $15/hr, and with $1/hr raise every year. Apparently, this form of Christianity pays well for those willing to accept it.
If that was the end of it ,one might think it to be a nice, harmless little isolated cult. However, wait, there's more. Currently, this family is financing a "Bible Museum" that will cost them anywhere between $250-$450 Million. What harm could that do? Well, the family is also financing a huge and expensive Bible study course that it intends to make available as an elective in public high schools. Ok now, here we go.
Here is where I draw the line. Obviously a clear entanglement of church and state. Obviously a clear intent to proselytize and indoctrinate our youth into their false religion. Obviously a clear and present threat to our freedoms, liberty, and way of life. This family has stepped way over the line; and, I am certain it is not going to stop there. This is just the beginning. All one has to do is look for the intent where it is hidden in plain sight. All one has to do is to alter the juxtapositioning of the words in the title of their company to see their real agenda. Hobby Lobby is actually Lobby Hobby. They intend to use their wealth to suppress and control us all; and they are off to a splendid start.
Don't confuse this bright shiny self proclaimed "Christian" cult with anything else. They are the Synagogue of Satan and nothing less. They are worshippers of money, hypocrites of the highest order, and extremely dangerous.
Yes that too CHUCK...There are many layers.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I think you have the right impression. My problem is that I connected only with my phone and not my computer. However, there seems to be a secure enough connection to whoever is logged on at the time to send private messages. There is a page with a list of people who are currently in the chat room. Same name as we are registered in the blog. On the phone, when I tap on a name I get a box that I can send--what appears to be--a private message to. I tapped on my own name and sent "hello" to myself. It appeared to work; and, did not appear in the chat room. I look forward to trying it with you tomorrow night. Till then, Happy 4th of July.
Marc, I'm not going to get to the chat room until tomorrow, so you'd do best to check in tomorrow evening.
I'm not surprised by what you've just said. Like you, I prefer having time to think & compose my messages. My idea was that since it is private, it would be a way to exchange contact info with other bloggers. Do you think this would work? Is it private enough? Or did I have the wrong impression? - AIW
chuck the prez has everything to do with it he is your leader. he should be rallying the country to buy American. He could be pushing to every one that America should have tariffs to protect American companies. If the leader of your country can't get it done who can. it is his job to convince everyone to invest in America. Instead he is scaring investers away. it's taken him fives years to say yes or no to a pipeline. Who is going to even consider a project knowing that.
Thanks 10-K! And like you do too. - AIW
Happy 4th to all the participants on this blog that sincerely care about social and economic justice, like most of the founders did.!
Aliceinwonderland ~ I'm not so sure if you'll like it. It's a line by line real time type of thing. I like the blog much better. It gives one time to think and compose. However, it is what it is. If it's a useful forum for exchanging personal info it works for me. You can find it by hitting Thoms links above and below that say "community". Then look for the "chat room" button. Good luck! I'll check back here tonight and tomorrow morning to see if you got it and picked a time. I got things to do tomorrow afternoon and might not be available again till tomorrow night. It's morning or evening for me.
Marc, not having tried the chat room yet, I can't confidently give a specific time. We'll have to first give it a try. Soon as we've got it figured out, I'll let you know and we can take it from there. - AIW
Aliceinwonderland ~ I have to laugh. After spending most of the afternoon on the Oracle website I decided to try and access the chat room from my phone and it worked. Anyway, let me know what time you'll be on and I'll instant message you the info.
Aliceinwonderland ~ Well, in the time it took you to respond I already found the chat room and am frustrated with it. It requires java to use and for some reason I can't install it. Strange, I honestly thought it already was installed. The cause could be anything and I just need time to figure it out. Meantime I might try from another computer. Maybe your hubby might have some ideas. The troubleshooter on the java website is a joke. I keep getting an error message that says it can't find the download package and that I need to check if it is an authentic Windows download. I'm almost certain it is a security issue, maybe with my antivirus software, firewall, etc. I've downloaded and installed java on many other computer before and never encountered this problem. Anyway, I can already sense it is going to take time to resolve this issue and I might just not be able to join this weekend. Sorry. I was looking forward to it. Don't count me out yet though. I'm quite persistent and good at resolving these issues.
Sounds good, Marc. I too am fine with the status quo, just talking here on the blog. But I think it's a great idea to exchange e-mail addresses at some point; just in case, like you say, the blog gets trashed by corporate sabotage. We both know how fragile the status is with internet neutrality, wherein anything is possible.
I think this is something our other blog buddies might consider as well. It's a way to safeguard valued connections against a fascist takeover. Radical as this sounds, it's really not all that radical considering the freak show already well underway.
This weekend when my time is most flexible, I will check out the "chat room". I tend to be a bit skittish when it comes to doing anything new on the computer- an inhibition based on an abundance of experience, coupled with my inadequacy regarding all things technical! But when my incentive is strong enough, as it is now, I don't let that stop me. - AIW
Aliceinwonderland ~ No problem. Take your time with Loren, I'm sure you have a lot to mull over; and, I don't want to be a fly in the ointment. I'm just fine with our correspondence here on this blog. Eventually though I'd like to at least exchange emails so we can keep in touch if--God forbids--anything would ever happen to this blog. Like you said several times, our exchange helps keep us both sane. I love Loren too. Whatever he decides is fine with me. Maybe I'll check out the chat room too. Never been there before. Do you think you could post the link when you go so I don't have to search for it. (Personally, I always thought this was the chat room.) That shows how blog savvy I am. What is the chat room anyway, a blog by another name? Looking forward to learning more about this.Thanks for the heads up Sandies! See you there Alice!
Financial Disclosure Reports for SCOTUS Judges:
http://cryptome.org/2014/06/scotus-finances-2013.pdf
nachos -- With reagan lowering tariffs and clinton passing NAFTA, why do you pick unions as the cause.
Interestingly, the numbers show that lowering tariffs and NAFTA did not have a strong effect until dubya and the repugs changed the tax structure (per Thom).
kend -- You keep saying it, so I will keep saying it. What does the prez have to do with it?