It seems there is concern among some folks that this so-called training maneuver is just a cover story. What's really going on? President Obama is about to use Special Forces to put Texas under martial law.
Thanks to MrSmith's post about "Hand-Wringing over Hillary … ?", I became aware of the fact that Hillary has reacted and is handling it well:
"I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They (the State Department) said they will review them for release as soon as possible," Clinton said in a tweet late Wednesday night.
I quite deliberately used the indefinite article "An" in the title for I in no way intend to speak for all atheists. As I've mentioned before on this site, I was raised a Christian, and that has no doubt influenced my worldview. If I were to create a creed for all atheists, it'd simply be, "I do not believe that gods exist." That is what is sometimes referred to as weak atheism (no insult intended). It is the type of atheism that animals and babies have, and that some adults claim to have (I'm skeptical about that). Strong atheism is the belief that there are no gods. Some people have a hard time distinguishing between those two statements, but the former is a lack of belief in gods, and the latter is a belief in the lack of gods. For those who use this terminology (and it's definitely not universal), there's also weak agnosticism – an uncertainty in one's beliefs, and strong agnosticism – a belief that such knowledge is ultimately unknowable for anyone. Again, the terms weak and strong should not be considered judgments about those positions.
I know some people might suggest the money spent on these rockets could be better spent lifting their people out of poverty, but given their population of well over a billion people, I think that forcing them into either/or options is narrow thinking.
As my Thursday is wrapping up and most of y'all's Thursdays are starting, it's time for another open thread Thursday.
I missed it last Thursday due to having a very sick cat - we ended up taking her to a cardiologist and getting a brain MRI, but they couldn't really figure out what was wrong with her. The good news is that she's mostly recovered now.
India's first mission to Mars has successfully entered orbit, at a cost of about $74M (cf. NASA's Maven mission at $671M, although the two missions have different objectives).
I, for one, am very happy to welcome another nation to the list that have now sent missions to Mars!
Obviously we're in no position to be outraged, but it does make one laugh at Merkel's previous attitude towards us spying on her. See also this article.
I love MrSmith's Friday Afternoon Haikulodeons, so I'm suggesting open thread Thursdays for one-off comments that aren't quite big enough for blog posts. So, here's the open thread!
”We asked Mr. Turiano not to attend our [ Lincoln -Reagan] event because we have no intention of allowing him a platform to spread hate and intolerance,” said Jennifer Owen, the Yellowstone County Republican chairwoman. “There is simply no place for racism in this party.”
So, on a discussion board elsewhere, someone posted the following Tom the Dancing Bug comic:
Now, I'm familiar with the the 1 Kings 7:23-26 reference, and it's never fazed me: 10 cubits times pi (3.14159…) is 30 cubits, to one significant figure. No problem. The Ezra 1:7-11 reference is more confusing. Specifically, Ezra 1:9-11:
Note that this opinion piece is on whether the secession of Crimea can be morally justified and does not address the question about what to actually do if the voters do vote to secede (or if fraudulent election results say that they do).
For those who have been lucky enough to miss this particular theory, there are enough people speculating on Obama's sexuality now that this might be the next in line after the birther theory. I became aware of this while staying with my conservative in-laws this last week.
