Birdy

Connie's from Arkansas!!

I had two scenarios for how to take that photo and didn't want to say anything, because i'd prefer to stick with the one scenario, rather than have it be the other.

Hehe... i've always had a *bit* of it in me.

Dude, i'm done. I've said my piece on the big three, how i think and how i want something that's better for everyone. You're taking it to the next level to attack my politics when you know little to nil of them, so where's this going? Nowhere. Defending myself gets tyring when all i want is to find a way for us all to work together... that requires a little forgiveness and little less 'i told you so'. I've yet to find a political party that's perfect across the board... and who knows, maybe the perfect of today is going to be an absolute disaster tomorrow.

I hear what you're saying Davey, but a lot of what you're saying is also based on assumption (to be fair). Assuming he had a majority government, assuming he didn't want to get re-elected, assuming that he'd listen to the polarized right-wing of his party (without considering that's the very part of the party he's trying to squish). I said it before, but I wouldn't have voted for the CP if I thought they'd get a majority. I'm all about the minority and the ability that has to *hopefully* get us to all work together and be as close to representative government as we can get within the system. And all about being able to learn from our mistakes.

Seriously? I've admitted i'm wrong a few times and seemingly have had no problem in doing so. The latest was like... two days ago in the Yayyy God thread. But thanks for always going the extra notch to dig it in there! If you want to play the game of they're wrong, they're right go ahead. But it really does little by way of allowing any kind of progression when you hold people to what they thought when times were different. And just because they're wrong, doesn't make you de facto right.

AD, Davey Boy, please tell me you both can tell the MAJOR difference between Conservatives in Canada and Republicans in the USA. I would never, ever vote Republican.

Your paraphrase is incorrect. Read the newspaper or watch tv and check out how a conservative government has the ability to roll with this most recent death blow to free market economies, just like everyone else has had to do. If you wanna polarize conservatives and assume that they don't have it in their power to recognize a failure when they see it, I won't be able to change your mind. Likewise for the NDP and their support of the unions.

I didn't miss a point or two, the fiscal realities the big three were facing were shite. They built SUVs and trucks, etc. because of the need for money and to meet the unruly demands of their unions. Unfortunately for these companies acting on foresight could have had the potential to bring their demise even sooner.

The big three have been rolling out SUVs and big trucks for years now because that's what the consumer has DEMANDED of them. These gas-guzzlers were where their sales were, and laissez-faire economics permitted Ford, GM and Chrysler to be fully at the helm of consumer demand. This situation is the result of our (in a general sense) needs and wants as a society, our shallow thinking, our mismanagement of the environment. To solely blame CEOs and upper management for this is shallow thinking. Because of this, i think there needs to be a bailout. It's our society that caused this - from the perspective that we thought Avalanches were cool, that we allowed unions to become so big with little consideration for what's affordable and what's not, and because we invested whole-heartedly in laissez-faire economics as THE way. Collectively we profited and collectively we lost. (I'm generalizing here just to show the overall state of North American society.) I think it's in all of our best interest to recognize that we're in this together, obviously blame is going to be laid, but it should be laid around the entire table. Noone is really better than the next. The bailout should happen because of this, but in this bailout a new economic philosophy of fiscal and environmental responsibility should be born. And a full acceptance that capitalism if left to itself, will ultimately self-destruct.

I wouldn't say it's entirely the CEOs fault here, they're still in the wrong, but they're kind of the victim of an entire economic philosophy collapsing around them. I'm in favour of a bailout (primarily to save us all), but a bailout with huge conditions.

Well, commercial airlines are pretty expensive these days and a HUGE pain in the ass. And now that major airlines are merging with one another, regular schedules are changing and flights that took place regularly before, don't anymore. I'm not condoning the use of private jets, just saying I bet these are things thought about when one has the money and decides to fly privately. Jet-pooling's a great idea. I guess Bombardier makes a pretty eco-friendly jet... as eco-friendly as private jets get.

Patti Smith - Trampin'

YAY MUD!

You're not the only one here. You don't have to be a theist to celebrate God, because at the heart of religion lies the want to do good and be good, and that should be something to celebrate. Thanks for posting and rambling on and heavily quoting Bell. That story was great. I don't really invest in any sort of God, and believe rather that humanity has a certain inter-connectedness that guides us through this world and leads us (not always) to help each other through the tough times. So when your story started talking about god appearing on a donkey, it made me think that that donkey is the good will of man and that the most important thing (to me at least) is to live up to the potential inside of me to be good, to help others and to not take this life for granted. I know i'm not alone in thinking that everyone in the world is here for a reason, or that I wasn't the only one growing up thinking I can change the world. I can't tell you how long I struggled with the concept of changing the world and what that meant, or how I was to go about tackling this big case. But finally i had the realization that changing the world wasn't a jigsaw puzzle to put together, or a skyscaper to build alone, but it was more about being good, whole and human, considerate and compassionate and in being so, allowed this goodness to become infectious. It's simple for me - promote understanding, talk to one another, don't be afraid, recognize extremes as extremes, help when you can, be compassionate, understand that we are all born and we all die and in the middle we're wading through and what a better world we'd be if we'd wade through it together. That is what I consider spirituality and why I have always wanted this thread to not be 'Yayyyyy God' but to be 'Yayyy God!'. We all have this within ourselves, it's just coming to the realization that it comes in many forms with many faces.

Thanks guys... it's the power of truth.

Hahaha... remember the good old days of rollin' up the rim, where every other coffee got you a free doughnut or muffin or another free coffee?

Oh no, it's not meant as debate... i was just merely commenting on your remark in order to show how (i think) that line of thinking leads us to more exclusionary behaviour. Anyway, that debate was a year or more ago and i've since changed my position in an effort to be more inclusive and less... traditionary. Because ultimately, traditions are too personal to be mandated.

I think it might be too assumptive to say that convention leads to dispassionate repetition of prayer. Because after all, you can't account for what's going on in the heads of all those repeaters. This line of thinking seems to fuel the debate (not exclusively) for those who are against religious prayer in schools, work, government and basically wins it, letting a few speak for the majority, which isn't so inclusive after all.

Where's the book's worth of material!?

I wish they'd bring back the smiley cookies. Those cookies were awesome! Even now, a year or so post-smiley cookies, we always go through the drive thru and ask for them, hoping that the workers would pass along to management that they're continually being asked for. But no. It's always the same old 'we don't have smiley cookies anymore', and we reply 'oh'.

Stop being afraid, recognize polar extremes as polar extremes, fully realize we don't have all the answers, accept that our solutions to date aren't really solutions, talk to one another.

haha... well, I didn't schedule it! yep - trying to change public perception. jump on board!

No, i'm not asserting government's should mandate anything, moreso I'm just trying to explore some possibilities. My post was full of 'could's and 'possibly's. There's no point in saying 'yep that sucks' and not doing anything about it.