Tony L.'s Comments

A Photo by Michael L.

Nov 30, 2007 | rating: 10 | comments: 296

Tony L. Feb 14, 2008, 7:45pm EST

Having trouble seeing your photos... :( Even the thumbnails aren't coming up.

Election polls show Americans are bigots by Tony L.

Feb 13, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 8

Tony L. Feb 14, 2008, 7:17pm EST

The point is that the generalizations, true or not, are not the type of information voters need most. Voters should be getting much more information on what the consequences of voting for each candidate are likely to be.

Election polls show Americans are bigots by Tony L.

Feb 13, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 8

Tony L. Feb 13, 2008, 8:54pm EST

You know... it does sometimes feel like I am preaching to the converted here. Maybe my post is only stating what is obvious to most everyone out there. But if that's the case... HOW do they maintain their ratings? I mean it really hit me when I was listening to NPR and they had a breathless special on how White Men were more likely to vote for Obama. This is relevant to the issues HOW?

God? Are you there? by Tony L.

Jan 30, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Tony L. Feb 9, 2008, 9:02am EST

Just finished 'The God Delusion' and will be looking at the books Teresa mentioned today.

On morality without religion: Richard Dawkins makes a great point when he suggests that it is in our best interests to develop (you know, evolve) social standards that foster the safety we find in groups.

What I find really amazing is how narrow a view of reality religion can foster. That is one of it's most dangerous aspects for me.

Teresa, just being the strongest and meanest won't ensure you or your kin last very long, so it would not follow the rules of natural selection. In fact, a stronger, meaner specimen is likely to be picked off by a group of weaker specimens working together for their common good. Natural selection at work, something that can be seen in nature time and time again. The majority of our sense of 'morals' may well come from instinct of survival and procreation.

Are you sure you read the same book I did? Did you finish it? Skip chapters?

Time For Another Super Day! by George Vreeland Hill .

Feb 5, 2008 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 16

Tony L. Feb 5, 2008, 11:07am EST

McCain says we should be in Iraq indefinitely. That doesn't work for me. I think our involvement in Iraq is a wound that will continue to hemorrhage until we get out of there, and is possibly THE BIGGEST THREAT to our national security.

Obama is a very promising candidate. But what is this nonsense about giving driving licenses to illegal immigrants? NO! No matter how I try, I just don't see the sense on that one. Since it doesn't seem particularly well thought out, it makes me wonder if he is quite ready to make the difficult decisions facing our country right now.

And then there is Hillary. To be honest, I am not so excited by the thought of Hillary as President. She is definitely part of the establishment... and she is a deal maker. But then maybe some of the qualities that bug me about her are the exact same ones that would make her a good President. Who says the President has to be someone you would have a few beers with while watching the Super Bowl? I don't have to personally like her to vote for her. I think she just might be the best man for the job. Maybe just the lesser of evils presented to us this round of elections, but if you don't vote, you can't complain.

White men are more likely to vote for... by Tony L.

Feb 5, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 4

Tony L. Feb 5, 2008, 10:34am EST

Jeff/David- Fair enough... but it's a bit like 'I wouldn't join any organization that would have me'. I mean, one climbs high enough up the political tree to become a viable candidate for President of the U.S., and it's hard to imagine one is still a decent person. I imagine for each and every president that was voted in, there are 1000s of skeletons, 1000s of people they had to step on to get there. That just seems to be the way our system works.

That said, I do believe we can make a difference by voting. I don't think there is a huge difference between, say Hillary or Obama, but there are certainly fundamental differences between them and McCain. Remember your vote is not necessarily an endorsement of a particular candidate, it can merely be exercising your right to vote against the others. The lesser of evils is still evil, but at least it's lesser.

Jeff- I am actually going to write the various media outlets and complain. I will post any responses I get, for those interested. I agree, I doubt it will change things much. They have done their polls, and they feed us what they think we want to hear. But who knows until you try?

$500? Are you CRAZY? by Tony L.

Feb 1, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 10

Tony L. Feb 4, 2008, 10:35pm EST

Chris- Yup... there was a little tea party in Boston that had something to do with 'taxation without representation'. There are a few of us who realize we are being fleeced, but SO many who have no idea. Listening to NPR today I wanted to rip the radio out of the dash and throw it out of the window. They were telling us how many white men are going to vote for Obama. WHY are they spending more than 90% of air time telling us what they think other people think, according to polls, INSTEAD of raising issues, discussing issues, and educating us on the different views on ISSUES. I DONT CARE WHAT WHITE MEN ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR!!! Or anyone else. What should I vote for? Educate ME on my options! Until that starts to happen, we will continue to get fleeced, left and right.

Destruction by Distraction by Maya W.

Feb 3, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 15

Tony L. Feb 3, 2008, 8:44pm EST

I agree with you. And in honesty, I think they should take down the whole money for points concept and encourage more companies to give away certificates. I cannot imagine a way to legitimately earn 3000 points here, not in a meaningful way. Sure, you could 'read' 1000's of articles, and 'comment' with comments like 'way to go', and 'right on sister'. But in the end, I don't think that contributes much to the quality of the experience here. So take down the bogus leader of cash incentives and help reduce the noise to signal ratio here!

God? Are you there? by Tony L.

Jan 30, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Tony L. Feb 3, 2008, 11:29am EST

Derrick- I guess I AM trying to religion bash. Well, not BASH necessarily. I mean, I find that what I have learned so far makes me very afraid of ALL religion, because religion sets up a base of unquestioning belief. Time after time, that has opened the door for good people to do very bad things, in the name of belief in the supernatural. To me this seems very dangerous. If religion is as false as it seems to me, then I think we should actively educate the populace to gird them against the inherent dangers. Religion seems to be a very effective opiate for the masses, a drug for which our addiction is so great that most addicts (let's call them 'believers') when presented with the proof of the dangers and damages turn a completely blind eye.

Religion sets the stage for fundamentalists, extremists, and terrorists. As an American, I want 'In God We Trust', and all that other freaky mystic junk off of our money. Why do we have Egyptian burial tombs and magical symbols on there as well. It's pretty, but it's just not right. Especially when we are told we have equality of religious freedom, separation of church and state, etc etc. When the money I spend has your religious symbols on it and not mine, that is not freedom of religion. That is mere tolerance of my religion.

Bash might be a strong word... but in an environment where even relatively atheist children such as myself are indoctrinated to believe that this whole myth in God (or whatever your religion calls it, Him, or them) is perfectly harmless, and that it promotes concepts of LOVE, PEACE, HARMONY, ACCEPTANCE, etc... I wonder if there exists a need for atheists to take it up as a serious cause to protect our children from the dubious nature of the lies presented so matter of factly by the current establishment. Maybe it's time for a revolution.

Teresa- I will read those books next, and my commentary on them will be a bit more detailed than calling them 'misinformed'. Give us something, any detail within the book that you take issue with. I am less interested in the fact that you disagree with the book than I am in what exactly is it you find false or misinformed.

The Dems deliver a solid One-Two by Tony L.

Feb 1, 2008 | rating: 9.6 | comments: 20

Tony L. Feb 2, 2008, 9:34pm EST

Teresa: It's always been the age of deception. See my article on God and the big mysticism of religion. Difference is now the average American has more tools to see question, and potentially see through the most basic illusions, such as freedom and justice for all, separation of church and state, etc etc. Whether or not we are tapping into the full potential of that at the moment is not the point. The point is the game is getting much more sophisticated with the rapid growth in availability of information, including misinformation.

jJack: Terribly sorry. In fact I do know the difference, but get a bit careless when impassioned. If you can't handle the content of my intention due to typos or mis-steps of grammar... my apologies. I know how blinding the passion for proper grammar can be. My mother used to rant and rave at the split infinitive at the intro of every Star Trek episode. Lucky for me, she allowed me to continue watching!

The MAIN point here, for anyone still with me, is that the debate between the Dems was a positive evolution of the state of politics today, and I hope it continues. I hope it changes the way we do politics in the future.

Who's afraid of the big bad Osama? by Tony L.

Feb 1, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 2

Tony L. Feb 1, 2008, 7:36pm EST

So a few hours after writing this, I was traveling with my partner. At La Guardia the security check was literally not moving. The scanning machine was just sitting there as the belt failed to move items forward. And the man operating the machine just sat there and waited, and even though no new items crossed his scanner, and the line was only getting longer (and not moving), he just sat there.

My partner finally got out of the line and asked him what was taking so long. His response was that people weren't pushing their items forward. My partner and he exchanged a few words about this, and my partner was clearly dissatisfied with this line. He changed lines, and was promptly through the security check. Almost.

I stood and watched as the lazy, and now angry security officer called over a colleague, who he requested to have my partner have an additional and more thorough check. Clearly an act of retaliation, clearly meant to show who is boss. And a clear message to us all. It is NOT our security they are watching. They are using this whole Terrorist threat as an excuse to get us accustomed to being unquestioning and servile citizens.

Now, I know better than to make so much as a peep when going through the security checks. But then the ones that are manning the security checks are the ones I am truly afraid of. They are the ones that threaten my comfort when traveling, and even threaten to imprison me if I should say the wrong thing... like any critique about the ineffectual, and inefficient 'security' process.

We get the government we deserve guys... write your representatives and demand that they ease up on this security charade. I am sick of taking my shoes off when traveling. It's stupid.

Why 'Hill-a-Rack' is the winning combination by Tony L.

Jan 10, 2008 | rating: 8 | comments: 10

Tony L. Feb 1, 2008, 11:12am EST

Didja see the debates? Woo-hoo! That is how it's done. Good, clean discussion on the issues. That is a step towards a better political debate. And it looks like I am not alone. You watch when Hillary wins the delegates on Tuesday... Hill-a-rock, here we come! I will be SO proud to be an American on the day she gets sworn into office with Obama as her VP. 16 years of Obama in the White House... now THAT'S what I'm talking about.

God? Are you there? by Tony L.

Jan 30, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Tony L. Feb 1, 2008, 11:05am EST

Thanks all for reading my post and taking the time to comment. For those of you who haven't read The God Delusion... I would be very interested to hear your reactions to it. Particularly from people who consider themselves believers in some sort of god.

Jesus C.: Thanks especially for your post. I laughed out loud! :)

Teresa: I would be very interested in your sources for the figures you stated, and especially interested in your commentary on this book after reading it.

As far as the question of morality... I think morality can definitely exist without God. In fact I think much of what we consider moral is absolutely within our natural instinct. I don't see that morals and faith in the supernatural have anything to do with each other.