In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up!
NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action.
As relatively obvious theological points, in Gen 38 the seed-spilling is obviously not the crime, the failure of filial duty is. And Christians do not accept Torah as a normative code anyway.
The Catholic position of sex as fundamentally procreative is based in Catholic ideas of marriage and the function thereof (better not to be married, so marriage should have productive purpose).
Protestants generally have no problem with non-procreative sex. Some Protestants, largely evangelicals, consider human life to begin with an ensoulment that begins with the fertilization of an egg. Other Protestants do not. There is basically no biblical stance on abortion; the Hebrew code treats killing a woman's fetus as an injury done to her. One of the Psalms is sometimes interpreted as referring to embryos, but most Protestants take it as a description of predestination.
On July 02 2014 15:07 zlefin wrote: Was the Hobby Lobby case ever forced to go to mediation? Looking at the stances of both sides; it seems like mediation would have been the best solution (difficult if people are trying to make a test case, but if the judge makes it clear that any party not taking mediation seriously is going to get ruled against).
Taking mediation seriously just means attending the sessions. Judge cannot force people to agree on anything. So mediation would just be a waste of time. Mediation is useful in stuff like contract disputes or divorce proceedings, where both parties have an interest in not bringing the case to trial, but not test cases for the Supreme Court where the whole point is to get a case to the Supreme Court.
On July 01 2014 16:56 BillGates wrote: Anyone else familiar with the Alex Jones radio show? Just found out that show few weeks ago and that guy is so well researched and knowledgeable, one of the rare Americans that actually knows which planet he is on.
I agree with 90% of his deep analysis and information, I think some of the details may be different and stuff, but the overall geo-strategy analysis is spot on.
Any other conservative/constitutional show is like utter crap with fake issues and stuff, but this Alex Jones guy really understand the issues. I think more people need to learn about him and watch his show.
Is this post for real? Alex Jones is a raving lunatic who basically embraces every single batshit crazy conspiracy theory he comes across (he also invents his fair share).
It has been almost three years since a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Prague, Oklahoma, buckling a highway, cracking structures and rattling nerves. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the state.
City workers in Prague, a community of 2,400 people about 45 miles from Oklahoma City, wore the “Keep calm” T-shirts in May ahead of the heavily Czech-American community’s annual heritage festival.
It’s good advice. The Oklahoma prairie is rumbling like never before. Like residents across the state, the people of Prague have had to adjust to constant earthquakes. In the first half of 2014 alone, there were 211 earthquakes at or above 3.0 magnitude in the Sooner state, crushing the record 109 set in 2013. For three decades prior to 2009, Oklahoma measured one to three quakes 3.0 or higher per year.
On a Thursday in late June the region was hit by five quakes stronger than 3.0 — all in one morning.
Scientists link the seismic activity to the injection of wastewater into the earth, a process that follows the fracking of rock formations for oil and natural gas.
“They’re happening all around us, and they’re getting more intense,” said Mary Reneau, 71, who, along with her husband, Joe, 78, operates a 440-acre hay farm on the outskirts of Prague.
The 2011 temblor heavily damaged the Reneaus’ home. A chimney collapsed into the couple’s living room. Since the big quake and extensive repairs, the Reneaus have found new cracks.
up to date view on fracking and earthquakes. basically the reinjection adds very minuscule seismic energy by itself, it's more of a lubricant for existing faults, but only small scale triggers are likely. one may say that these induced quakes might even relieve energy from potential big quakes, but there's a lot of complex interaction between how small quakes can induce larger ones so it's not for sure.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A rocket carrying a NASA satellite lit up the pre-dawn skies Wednesday on a mission to track atmospheric carbon dioxide, the chief culprit behind global warming.
The Delta 2 rocket blasted off from California at 2:56 a.m. and released the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite in low-Earth orbit 56 minutes later, bringing relief to mission officials who lost a similar spacecraft five years ago.
The flight was "a perfect ride into space," said Ralph Basilio, the OCO-2 project manager, at a post-launch press conference.
Power-supplying solar arrays deployed, initial checks showed the spacecraft was healthy and two-way communications were established, he said.
The launch was canceled on Tuesday morning because of a failure in ground equipment.
NASA tried in 2009 to launch a satellite dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas caused by the burning of fossil fuels. A satellite plunged into the ocean off Antarctica after a hardware failure with the Taurus XL rocket.
After the loss, NASA spent several years and millions of dollars building a near-identical twin.
The day after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, a group of religious leaders sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that he exempt them from a forthcoming executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT people.
The letter, first reported by The Atlantic, was sent on Tuesday by 14 representatives, including the president of Gordon College, an Eric County, Pa., executive and the national faith vote director for Obama for America 2012, of the faith community.
"Without a robust religious exemption," they wrote, "this expansion of hiring rights will come at an unreasonable cost to the common good, national unity and religious freedom."
The leaders noted that the Senate-passed Employment Non-Discrimination Act included a religious exemption:
Our concern about an executive order without a religious exemption is about more than the direct financial impact on religious organizations. While the nation has undergone incredible social and legal change over the last decade, we still live in a nation with different beliefs about sexuality. We must find a way to respect diversity of opinion on this issue in a way that respects the dignity of all parties to the best of our ability. There is no perfect solution that will make all parties completely happy.
The White House announced in June that Obama would issue an executive order forbidding contractors that receive federal funding from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender equality after the House had stymied ENDA. The White House declined to comment to The Atlantic on the Tuesday letter and did not immediately respond to TPM's request for comment.
On July 03 2014 05:56 TheFish7 wrote: Wait, so Federal Contractors are currently able to discriminate against LGBT people when hiring?
Basically, yes. There's no federal law protecting against LGBT discrimination. As long as the employer isn't in a state that has a state law prohibiting LGBT discrimination, there's nothing to stop the employer from doing it. And an executive order isn't really going to fix anything because there won't be any teeth to it.
On July 03 2014 06:02 TheFish7 wrote: Huh. Thought that was included in the civil rights act. Didn't realize it was a state thing here.
No, sexual orientation isn't a protected class under the Civil Rights Act / Title VII. Courts have refused to read a new protected class into the statute. Congress has to amend Title VII to grant those protections.
On July 03 2014 06:02 TheFish7 wrote: Huh. Thought that was included in the civil rights act. Didn't realize it was a state thing here.
No, sexual orientation isn't a protected class under the Civil Rights Act / Title VII. Courts have refused to read a new protected class into the statute. Congress has to amend Title VII to grant those protections.
Which would probably happen tomorrow (actually closer to the elections[gotta love politics...]) if it weren't for primarily protean "religious" opposition
On the heels of World Pride, Burger King has wrapped its signature Whopper with a rainbow-striped wrapper in a move meant to show solidarity with the LGBT community.
Dubbed ‘The Proud Whopper,’ the new sandwich being sold in San Francisco this week is a marketing spin off BK’s new slogan, “Be Your Way,” reports USA Today, as the message on the wrapper reads “We are all the same inside.”
No changes have been made to their burger.
Over on the company’s Facebook page, the new gay-friendly burger has drawn a slew of mixed comments ranging from support to anger.
“No longer a customer. Sell your products not your ideology,” posted one user.
But while the marketing stunt may have cost the brand a few fans, it’s also garnered new ones.
Their target market? Millennials, a generally more liberal and progressive demographic with major purchasing power.
“I LOVE THIS! I haven't eaten at Burger King in ages, but I think I'll do just that. WAY TO GO BK!" posted another.
Sales of Proud Whoppers will be donated to a local foundation that benefits LGBT high school seniors graduating next year.
A few years ago, iconic American cookie brand Oreo also ignited a firestorm of controversy when the company posted a rainbow-colored cookie in support of Pride.
Unlike the Proud Whopper, however, which is being sold in a San Francisco restaurant, the rainbow Oreo wasn’t actually for sale.
A press conference call for Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-Miss.) re-election campaign turned into a fiasco on Wednesday when an unidentified caller began asking whether Cochran improperly "harvested" votes from African-Americans like "black people harvesting cotton."
According to several reporters, Austin Barbour, a GOP operative and adviser to Cochran's campaign who was speaking before the interruption, shut down the call after repeated interruptions by the unidentified caller. A shouting match ensued with the remaining callers on the line, and some suggested that either the Cochran campaign had "planted" the question, or perhaps "even Obama" was to blame.
up to date view on fracking and earthquakes. basically the reinjection adds very minuscule seismic energy by itself, it's more of a lubricant for existing faults, but only small scale triggers are likely. one may say that these induced quakes might even relieve energy from potential big quakes, but there's a lot of complex interaction between how small quakes can induce larger ones so it's not for sure.
The video is obviously pretty boring, and doesn't really come to any firm conclusions on anything, preferring generalities. In other words, a standard student thesis. The most interesting points that he made were that it was impossible to adequately determine risk before drilling.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Republicans claimed victory this week in the Supreme Court ruling on religious freedom and the White House's acceptance that an immigration overhaul won't happen this year. Today's victories could haunt the GOP in two years' time, as the party's presidential nominee looks for much-needed support among women and Hispanics in the 2016 election.
With no movement on immigration legislation, a new crop of Republican presidential candidates will be asked to outline their own plans for resolving a vexing issue that is a top priority for many Hispanic voters and concerns business leaders who traditionally support the GOP. And Monday's high court decision granting some companies religious exemptions from providing contraception coverage gives Democrats a peg to reopen a debate on women's health that tripped up Republicans in the last election.
For more moderate Republican presidential hopefuls, both developments present a familiar conundrum: how to stake out positions conservative enough to appeal to the voters who dominate Republican primaries while not turning off those who could be swayed in the general election. It's a challenge 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney was unable to navigate — he tacked to the right as he outlasted his primary rivals, but could not compete with President Barack Obama among women and Hispanic voters on Election Day.
The struggle to strike the right balance was evident immediately. Chris Christie, the typically outspoken New Jersey governor, ducked questions this week about his view of the Supreme Court's decision on contraception.
"Why should I give an opinion on whether they're right or wrong?" Christie said during an interview Tuesday on CNBC. "In the end of the day, they did what they did. That's now the law of the land unless people in the elected branches try to change it."
Such efforts to avoid the question will be challenged by 2016 hopefuls on GOP's right flank eager to talk about the high court ruling as a victory for religious liberty and the end of the legislative debate on immigration as a win for those who equate creating a path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. illegally with amnesty.
Now that the Supreme Court has issued its ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, the legal fight over the Affordable Care Act will shift a few blocks away to another Washington courtroom, where a far more fundamental challenge to Obamacare is about to be decided by the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Indeed, if Hobby Lobby will create complications for Obamacare, Halbig vs. Burwell could trigger a full cardiac arrest.
If Hobby Lobby will create complications for Obamacare, Halbig vs. Sebelius could trigger a full cardiac arrest. - The Halbig case challenges the massive federal subsidies in the form of tax credits made available to people with financial need who enroll in the program. In crafting the act, Congress created incentives for states to set up health insurance exchanges and disincentives for them to opt out. The law, for example, made the subsidies available only to those enrolled in insurance plans through exchanges "established by the state."
But despite that carrot — and to the great surprise of the administration — some 34 states opted not to establish their own exchanges, leaving it to the federal government to do so. This left the White House with a dilemma: If only those enrollees in states that created exchanges were eligible for subsidies, a huge pool of people would be unable to afford coverage, and the entire program would be in danger of collapse.
EPT
