Messages From Marilyn Burge
3,181 - 3,200 of 3,324

Religious Right throw Millions of $$$ down the crapper
I think maybe at least some of the voters finally figured out what the world would be like if the Far Right took over the country, and ALL of us were subject to the kind of scrutiny Big Bill has been subjected to for far too long now. Even a great many pious people who have truly changed their ways have things in their past they would hate to see put under that kind of a microscope.

Hello
I saw your letter in the Biblical Archeology Review. I didn't know you were interested in seeing centerfolds in the BAR, until I read your letter. Will wonders never cease?

Hello
Isn't earthquakes supposed to be one of the signs of the End of the World <tm>?

Over the Top!
Or, even more to the point, they may fear that if they say "I am an atheist," it'll add time to their stay, or lessen the likelihood that they'll get paroled later on, or get them persecuted by the staff while they are there.

Religious Right throw Millions of $$$ down the crapper
Yes. It was a witch hunt. First they tried making Whitewater stick. Failing that, they concentrated on Filegate. That failed, so they started in on the the Travel Office fiasco. That failed, so as a last resort, they went for the bimbos. The problem there was that everybody with an ounce of sense already knew he couldn't keep his pants zipped, and had known since before he was elected the first time, and they had already chosen to overlook that

Over the Top!
That isn't so, Dave. A prisoner may PERCEIVE that saying (s)he's a Christian will get better treatment by the guards or parole board. It isn't important that this actually be the case, it is just important that the prisoner perceives it to be the case.

More Americans United News
Not at all. Americans United call cases to the attention of the IRS all the time. That is what those posts are all about. As for opening things up to churches, we don't have a clue how much money the churches have. The only small window we posses into that question is the amount that is claimed on taxes, and that is only the amount in excess of a standard deduction that people care to declare. In order to let

Over the Top!
With prisoners, I would think that you could put all the safeguards int he world in place and there would still be a sizable percentage of the respondents who would think it was a trick. Criminals are nothing if not paranoid. It comes from having so many scams in their own modus operandi that they automatically assume that others operate on the same level.

More Americans United News
Well, the problem is that there is no way of knowing how much money the church gave the candidate without that financial information. And, if the church gave the candidate enough to 'buy' the election. The plain truth is that the churches have agreed to forego political activities in order to get and retain their tax- exempt status. A deal is a deal. They can engage in political activities to their heart's content, anytime they are willing

Religious Right!
This quote has nothing to do with evolution, Laurie. There's a whole world out there that never addresses the topic, believe it or not. It has to do with following the law. Men man laws that shall not be broken without consequences, just as your god has you know? Like Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness? Ever heard of it? The laws of Men in this country say that if you are on the wrong side of an issue,

Septuplets are now one year old
I saw a show last night on the McCaughey septuplets first birthday. Among other things I showed the new home, not yet finished, that is being built and donated by the community in which they live. The mcC's will be responsible for the utilities and taxes once they move in, but all the material and labor were donated by the people in the little town in which they live. It is a 5,500 square-foot home, compared to the 800-square-foot home

Dating Questions.
I missed this the first time around! He is equating the HUAC with 'proof' that the ACLU is commie? Good Grief! McCarthy was exposed as the liar that he was. It was common practice for him to wave a grocery list in the air while claiming it was a list of commie members of some organization. Now I can see where Laurie gets the pattern for the techniques he uses to 'prove' that evolutionists are liars and frauds! It, at

I'm back . . . [2]
Sorry to hear about your loss, and even more sorry that the 'memorial service' did nothing to help you remember her favorably and cope. I can sympathize with what you went through with your family. If there is one thing I learned from the loss of my baby sister a little over a year ago, it's that a death in the family brings out the worst in all of us. Perhaps that is inevitable, since profound losses leave our feelings

Abuse in CO
Dave: I have forwarded a copy of this to my fundy friend. He is the chair of his local school board (a SDA grade school). (I'm not sure whether the school goes beyond the eighth grade, or exactly where the cutoff point is.) My question for him is whether or not his school is subject to the same regulations regarding sanitation, fire protection, etc. as any other institution. It'll be interesting to see what his answer is. I also asked

Dr. Laura -- That bitch!
I thought Dr. Laura was a Jew. it?

Jehova's Windowless
This is just a guess, but KH's must be completed in 24 hours. Windows take time to frame, etc., and the stained-glass windows indigenous to most houses of worship take weeks even months to sketch, manufacture, assemble with lead, and install in the building.

Clearwater Update
Give Robert Curry my best, and add me to your crash-mail list marilyn_burge@msn.com I'll see if there is anything I should forward to Oregonians for Rationality for our newsletter. I'll give you any proper attribution, be assured. I saw a letter from you in a recent issue of the Skeptical Inquirer. Why do you use the Rev. title in letters of that sort? Do you actually feel it adds credibility to what you are saying?

A note of thanks...
There's your answer right there: he was LISTENING and ASKING QUESTIONS. I call that studying. Studying doesn't have to take place with a book. They were amazed at the answers that he got (which implies that he was asking questions that were deeper than they would expect from a twelve-year-old, and they were amazed at his understanding, which preceeded those questions. Read the second verse in the context of the first. Well, since nobody recorded every single move he made,

Give to needy
You deleted the paragraph that said his church holdings were worth 100 million. given that, it is no unreasonable to assume that at least some of those holdings are generating income. Colleges charge tuition and also receive income from the sale of books. Also, people donate money to private colleges (endowments), and those endowments are invested and generate income. No knowing the exact nature of his other church holdings, it is not at all unreasonable to assume that some of

Jim Staal LIVES!
I think my fundy friend would come right out and say that he doesn't see how a person could see the R as symbolic and still call themselves a Christian, but that it is up to god to sort it out. I have no problem with that concept, myself. I also have no problem with a person calling themselves a Christian and seeing Jesus as a great teacher rather than as god in the flesh. The JW's do exactly that,