The Batlord

No, the point, my thick-headed friend, was that overwhelming political support for something doesn't mean it's not garbage. You're just being a pedant. And not a very good one.

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Chula Vista

I love being talked down to.

UNANIMOUS.

Iraq War = 77-23

Experimental drugs for people who are going to die anyways = 100 - 0

Point being that a 100 to 0 vote means that not single senator feels threatened by the bill. There could have been lots of grandstanding over this, but 100 elected men and women studied the bill via their suborninates and deemed it worthy.

But wait. Frowny is concerned. Let's stop the presses.

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

DwnWthVwls

(1) Close to unanimous is not unanimous. I think 77 is "close to unanimous", but I could see how it's subjective and 77% may not be enough of an overwhelming majority for you to use the statement.

(2) Putting that aside, I think you're losing focus from the point, which is: just because people are in agreement about a topic/decision doesn't mean it's a good/right.

(3) It's not about because they are going to die anyway. There is more nuance to it than that. Curious what you thought about my previous lazy statement about if this was a case of churches pushing exorcisms/prayer, if you would be okay with it? It's perfectly safe which means it passes the first round of standards, but is it really the kind of thing we want to be backing?

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I don't got a god complex, you got a simple god...

Chula Vista

I don't equate phamacutical drugs with prayer/excorcism. And churches do push prayer already.

And where's the nuance? Your physician sits you down and tells you that they've exhausted all options and there's nothing else they can do for you and that you probably have 6 months to live. I don't see any nuance in that scenario.

One thing to consider is that the majority of the senate is Chrisitian. You'd think that at least a couple of the more extreme zealots would have opposed the bill on some sort of moral grounds.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Frownland

You can say that again!

Major lulz on the Christian thing though.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Chula Vista

Why? Bible thumpers get up in arms over almost anything. "If God says it's your time, you shouldn't be allowed to interfere."

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Frownland

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Wpnfire

Topic for discussion: Will there be a war between China and the United States at some point?

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Last.FM

My RYM Ratings

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riseagainstrocks

I think it's doubtful much like concerns over Chinese acquisition over US debt means some sort of economic warfare is imminent. Both sides have far more to lose than gain over armed conflict. As Mindfulness said, cyber "war" is ongoing between the US and China (and Russia, and Iran, and North Korea, and likely second order countries like Belarus and Kazakhstan), but this is the new norm in international relations. Despite the chest-beating of our President, US/Chinese relations are hardly at some nadir. Cooperation on the North Korean problem, the dominance of US technology in their nascent energy industry (it's actually scary how much natural gas they are sitting on, our own renaissance might pale in comparison); both strong pillars in the 'let's not kill each other' stool. Let's say the third is our mutual love of Jackie Chan.

The (economic) ties that bind are strong and the Chinese are a notoriously deliberate people. Short of some Elliott Carver-type plot (Tomorrow Never Dies) to provoke a physical war, I don't see one as likely.

A question for any lurking Sinophiles: do you think China will keep its structure/territory over the next 10-20 years? Or do you see a Soviet-style breakup coming as their market continues to march toward a laissez-faire-lite economy?

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One note timeless, came out of nowhere...

Chula Vista

So much this.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”