Poll:- life better now or in 1959?

SirJosephPorter

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Nov 7, 2008
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Reading the second one is a bit tricky, with all those strikouts going on. But, we must remember this is part of progress and freedom. Everybody should have an equal chance to express themselves without any fear of having their self-esteem damaged. Snoop Dog is obviously enriching our lives with his interpretation of what appears to be some sort of relationship with a person of the female gender. This is a sterling example of how much we've gone forward since 1959 in the literary skills department. (How does one express the sound of a grunt in words with less than 5 letters, whilst avoiding the dreaded knuckles-dragging-on-the-ground issue?)

That Cohen guy is obviously so old-fashioned that he hasn't learned how to scale all those big thoughts and words down to a level - the lowest common denominator - that everyone in society should have a chance to grasp and appreciate. What an unfeeling man he must be! If he doesn't straighten up, he'll go nowhere.
:lol:


The world is big enough for all kinds of music, counrtyboy. Personally, I don’t care for things like rap, heavy metal etc. But there are people who do. I regard all music as equal in value. I prefer some types (classical, opera, Gilbert and Sullivan), some others may prefer heavy metal and rap. What is the difference?
 

AnnaG

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Jul 5, 2009
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Quite so, Cliffy, those were the good old days. Not only we had capital punishment, we also locked up the perennial trouble makers, the gays for several years in prison. I am sure that made the streets really safe.
Gays were locked up in 1959? Do you have any evidence supporting your preposterous claim?

We had our priorities right in those days, we did not worry about inconsequential things. Thus, who cares about child sex abuse by the Priests? That is something to be hushed up, the priest moved over to the next parish, and it is all over. Where is the need to hold the priest or the church accountable?
Um, the kids that were abused hadn't spoken up untill mid 60s I think. If no-one tells anyone how do you expect we do anything about it?
"Ah, whatta maroon". B. Bunny

Another inconsequential crime was wife battering. Bible says man is the boss, so what is wrong, it he knocks about his little woman a bit? These days people worry about the silliest of things, they didn’t back in the good old days.
If no-one said anything about it, why would anyone do something about it?
[FONT=georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif]Before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity? ~Steve Polyak[/FONT]

It was much more important to worry about homosexuals practicing sodomy, people having sex before marriage, etc.

Yes, those indeed were the good old days.
So are these days:
 

AnnaG

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Sorry, Tenpenny I posted before I read your post. I am working my way down from where I left off before.

But as I said, that is a minor point. We executed innocent people? So what? Some want to replace our system, which says that it doesn’t’ matter if 100 guilty men are found innocent, but one innocent must not be convicted, some want to replace it with it doesn’t matter if hundred innocent men are convicted and given the noose, as long as we get that drug pusher b*astard and give him the noose.

Then we can all live happily ever after.
Who are these people that want to replace our legal system?
BTW, there's an immense amount of difference between a justice system and a legal system. The justice system is more like our civil courts. The legal system is our criminal courts.
 

countryboy

Traditionally Progressive
Nov 30, 2009
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If you like to live in a dictatorship, go for it. I would much rather live in a democracy, with all its problems rather than live in a dictatorship where there are no problems, but where there is no freedom of speech, freedom of expression etc.

So if you want to live in a dictatorship, that is your choice. Just remember, you may not be able to post in a forum in a dictatorship. Somebody representing the dictator will parse your every word to see if there is any implied, hidden criticism of the dictator. And woe unto you if he finds anything.

Well SirJP, you about did yourself in right there with those comments. Although I enjoy a good debate, I usually like to do it when both sides have some glimmer of credible knowledge on the subject. You have shown that you don't really understand life in Singapore or Thailand (your "dictatorships") but you certainly have no qualms about taking bits and pieces of things I'm sure you've read about somewhere, adding in your own bits and pieces of how things should be in your Never-Never Land, and presenting that as the last word in the great truth of the universe.

You must have been a fiction writer at some point in your life, because it does appear to be your greatest strength. In fact, I'm beginning to see that you excel at it. May I suggest something along the lines of "Fantasies of the Universe" as your next great work?

Real learning of lasting value comes not solely from the world of academia. A bit of experience provides the proof, or shall we call it "the meat" to round out the picture.
 

countryboy

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Nov 30, 2009
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The world is big enough for all kinds of music, counrtyboy. Personally, I don’t care for things like rap, heavy metal etc. But there are people who do. I regard all music as equal in value. I prefer some types (classical, opera, Gilbert and Sullivan), some others may prefer heavy metal and rap. What is the difference?

Some are louder than others. Some are faster, some are slower. I think they're all a bit different, from what I've heard. Anecdotally speaking, of course.
 

SirJosephPorter

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Nov 7, 2008
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I have been to Singapore, countryboy. I have seen Singapore first hand and it is a great place to visit. But I wouldn’t want to live there. A dictatorship, no matter how benign, is not for me.
 

SirJosephPorter

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Some are louder than others. Some are faster, some are slower. I think they're all a bit different, from what I've heard. Anecdotally speaking, of course.

I am sure there are differences. What I meant was that it is all music, I don't think one kind is better than others.
 

countryboy

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Nov 30, 2009
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I have been to Singapore, countryboy. I have seen Singapore first hand and it is a great place to visit. But I wouldn’t want to live there. A dictatorship, no matter how benign, is not for me.

It's just as well. They might not even let you in.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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If you like to live in a dictatorship, go for it. I would much rather live in a democracy, with all its problems rather than live in a dictatorship where there are no problems, but where there is no freedom of speech, freedom of expression etc.

So if you want to live in a dictatorship, that is your choice. Just remember, you may not be able to post in a forum in a dictatorship. Somebody representing the dictator will parse your every word to see if there is any implied, hidden criticism of the dictator. And woe unto you if he finds anything.

Sometimes S.J. when you receive benefits there's a price to be paid, just like the prices we're paying for the benefits of '09.
 

JLM

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We also executed several innocent people, for crimes they didn't commit. But that is a minor point surely? All we have to do is shrug our shoulders, say sorry and move on to the next execution.

Yep, that's one of the down sides that I've never made light of. I'm getting so sick and tired of people trotting out David Milgaard's case when arguing capital punishment. That case would never have made it to first base had it not been for an incompetent judge. David had a solid and indisputable witness ( the proprietor of a store that he was just opening when David went in for cigarettes) which clinched the time and place of his whereabouts at the time of the murder. There's going to have to be some fine tuning if capital punishment was to be reinstated. like that judge (unlike in the 70s would have to be held accountable.
 

TenPenny

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Yep, that's one of the down sides that I've never made light of. I'm getting so sick and tired of people trotting out David Milgaard's case when arguing capital punishment. That case would never have made it to first base had it not been for an incompetent judge. David had a solid and indisputable witness ( the proprietor of a store that he was just opening when David went in for cigarettes) which clinched the time and place of his whereabouts at the time of the murder. There's going to have to be some fine tuning if capital punishment was to be reinstated. like that judge (unlike in the 70s would have to be held accountable.
Maybe I missed it, did SJP mention Milgaard?
I think you're the one that brought this case up.

What about the many people in Ontario convicted of killing their babies?

Would you want to have seen them all executed?
 

JLM

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Maybe I missed it, did SJP mention Milgaard?
I think you're the one that brought this case up.

What about the many people in Ontario convicted of killing their babies?

Would you want to have seen them all executed?


Not this week, we've had discussions in past months (years) where Milgaard's name has come up several times by various posters, none of which were cognizant of Milgaards case. I believe one case and maybe the only case, where there was a wrongful execution in Canada was the case of Wilbert Coffee a prospector in Quebec in the '50s and his case had some doubt. I detest the thought of people being wrongfully executed (and I'd only execute people who were guilty of several heinous offenses) but I detest it more when a sweet innocent 6 year old child (who never committed any crimes) is savagely terminated. SORRY but you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes.
 

JLM

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wow That's quite a spin you put on JLM's point. You should be in politics, Pompass; you'd fit right in.

Anecdotal = worthless.

I don't think he said anything about Dresden and its people.

That's OK, Anna, he can ''spin er" any way he likes, I may have been born at night but it wasn't last night. Definitions of words like "decency" don't change a lot over time, while some things may become more or less acceptable, core values don't change much. If you get a punch in the nose in 2009 it's not going to feel much different than it would have in '59. :lol::lol:
 

TenPenny

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Jun 9, 2004
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I'm not sure why an innocent 6 year old is more important than any other innocent person.

For those who brought up Homolka/Bernardo, I'd be interested to hear how you think capital punishment would have prevented their crimes.
 

SirJosephPorter

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Nov 7, 2008
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Sometimes S.J. when you receive benefits there's a price to be paid, just like the prices we're paying for the benefits of '09.

Quite so, JLM. But I don’t think freedom, liberties are worth trading for any benefits. I wouldn’t trade my freedom of speech, liberties, freedom to worship (or not to worship), freedom to speak out against the government (or indeed against anybody for that matter) for any amount of benefits. I wouldn’t trade them for Kingdom of Christ himself.