Fiannan

Of course they did or else Joe Biden would not have noted that Franklin Roosevelt went on national TV in 1929 to re-assure the public in regards to the Great Depression.

Not sure, A friend of mine who is really into those "Prophecy Key to the Future" type books quoted me something about the future where some countries in Europe (Sweden was one) would look with shock as the once mighty USA would collapse in an unbelievably fast manner.

What Scandinavia needs is for the various conservative Christian groups and the Muslim fundamentalists immigrants to unite (politically) and counter these trends. Look, you know as well as I do that most parliament members in Scandinavia would cry like little girls if they knew Muslims were getting mad at them -- and if Christians and Muslims can exercise unity to push for more parental rights and less ammorality in the culture maybe something could be done. As for entertainment I am not sure. The sad irony is that there is less explicite sex scenes in movies today than in the 1970s because when people want that they can just watch porn on the net. So moviemakers have toned that down but increased the violence. Not sure that is any better though. Once heard a film critic say the irony is (at least in America) that if a woman's breasts are exposed people get more squimish than if a movie has a killer chop the woman's breasts off in the course of a murder. Weren't the people before the flood condemned for allways having violence in their hearts?

Kinda strange, I have known people from Alaska who would prefer to link up with Russia rather than have liberals in Washington DC lock up their oil resources. Has anyone read up on what Neal A. Maxwell has written about the whole exodus to the Rockies by the righteous trying to escape the collapse of social order in what will be what's left of the USA?

Who did that study, some lonely crazy cat ladies? Stress is often blamed for depression but it is not in reality associated with depression. The way we employ coping mechanisms is. Strange, many older people find great happiness in their children and grandchildren so again, I would not put any stock into a study that says this. However, there may indeed be a few women in modern society that (as I made reference to in regards to "Desperate Housewives") feel left out in value if they are not rich career women.

Actually, I think you are referring to the level of anti-depressant drugs used in Utah, and that being quite high in raking with other states. Problem is, we don't know who is using and why. I have posted articles here that indicate that ACTIVE Mormons have a significantly lower rate of depression than the general population. Now why would Utah have that whole statistic about drug use though? Here are some possibilities: 1) Gotta admit, if I were totally inactive or a non-Mormon in Utah I'd probably be pretty depressed. It would like being a foreigner living in a remote village in China. 2) Mormons tend to trust authority figures. Unlike, let's say, people from states like Missouri where you question anybody in authority as a norm a Utah Mormon might trust some mental health worker who says a drug might help their kid or themself. Maybe someone from Missouri might be more likely to tell the worker where to insert the drugs. Hey, my dad is from Missouri and everyone I have met from there have this positive trait. 3) Yes, there is a culture in the LDS community that says you have to combine some "Desperate Housewife" image with living the Gospel. Maybe trying to live in two worlds doesn't help in regards to mental health. 4) Well, let's see, we have had lots of people on these boards who are unhappy with some quirk their husband might have (thinking he is some son of Satan or needs professional help) that many women in the US (or the world) would not see anything wrong in being married to a man with this sort of thing going on. The psychological pioneer Alfred Adler had lots to say in regards to depression being caused by one's personal perspective on events in life and the goals they set (too high of an expectation leads to depression as do too low of expectations). So maybe there are so many variables that we cannot say that LDS people are (statistically speaking) more prone to depression due to anything related to the Gospel. I think a person who is truly in touch with who they are in the eternal perspective will be more likely to be happy and able to cope with what the world throws at them. Just my opinion of course.

Not entirely sure this is accurate. You focus on problems but what about interests? I have several female friends in their early 20s and one of my best friends is about 27. The 27 year old as well as one of the younger ones know my wife and there is no "appearances of evil" taking place but the 27 year old has on many, many occasions mentioned that we work extremely well together and have a great time together and the other has mentioned many times being on the same "wavelenth". Now I am nearly twice their age but in relations to common interests, favorite passtimes as well as outlook on life there is no division due to age. I will note that none of these women are LDS. And in a normal LDS social network there is little liklihood we would have met one another. I can imagine that if I were single and LDS (and had the social network I do today) I would consider dating any number of twenty-something friends I have. So here is where I see the absolute definciency of the current social system set up for LDS people. There MUST be plenty of single LDS men and women who would prefer to meet LDS people for dating and eventual marriage but are divided by arbitrary age limits and wind up dating and marrying people who are non-LDS and also fall into different age categories since people often meet in places like work for instance. If we got rid of the current system and some 20-something did not want to get to know people older then fine, nobody would be forcing anyone into relationships. Yet there are plenty of people with age differences who can and would hit it off and get married and since it happens in the real world why is it so bad if it happens in the LDS world?

Correct me if I am wrong but I have heard this in institute classes and in sunday school lessons -- di Joseph Smith predict that someday China and the USA might go to war with each other? Just curious since the Chinese may someday ask us to pay back all that money they have invested in our debt. If we are broke they might not appreciate that in the least. The USA is in no way immune to the wrath of God -- in fact we as a Christian nation are more inclined to have to pay the debt (so to speak) to God since we have had more exposure to the truth. The one thing that the Russian observes that Americans are taught to ignore is tribalism. When the USSR broke up you had ethnic groups immediately stake their claim to land and your liniage made all the difference in who you identified with. The same thing is evident in the Balkins, Iraq, all throughout Africa, etc. In the US election you also saw voting patterns break down on ethnic lines to a dramatic degree. The Book of Mormon seems to indicate that this will hold true in the future as the "gentiles" forsake morality and need to be replaced by people with Lamanite heritage. So maybe people should take our Russian quite seriously.

RIA Novosti - World - Russian analyst predicts decline and breakup of U.S. While some may dismiss what he has to say LDS people may want to see what their church leaders have said about the future -- it sounds pretty much like what the Russian predicts, except the LDS version makes it sound more like a Mad Max world with the righteous of all faiths winding up as refugees -- heading to the Rocky Mountains as the LDS Church will be the only stability left in what used to be the USA.

He made them male and female perhaps?

Yes, all issues have black and white. Look at the accomplishments of Germany from 1933 to 1945: Laid the foundation for the development of the US NASA program. Created the first interstate freeway system. First government to promote animal rights legislation. First national park system in Europe. Went from poverty to relative prosperity (destroyed by the war of course). Problem was a ffew other items that tend to blacken their reputation.

Males have few rights in this matter. If a woman wants an abortion she can have one for whatever reason. Yet if she fishes out a condom after the act from the garbage and impregnates herself the guy has a legal obligation to pay child support. Worse case I heard of a few years ago involved a babysitter doing it with a 12 year old boy (I think it was against his will as well). Later she discovered he got her pregnant and she sued for child support and was awarded it.

That reasoning could be used for a lot of organizations as well as social issues. Take pornography for example. A few days ago I was in a discussion with someone on an unrelated issue and she said something about pornography. She said that overall it is quite benificial to society. When I started to challenge her she said that it helps people be creative and I was forced to admit that many marriage and sex therapists use pornography when someone in a relationship has problems opening up sexually. I suppose it allows many young women to be able to go to college, helps keep many off welfare and even might help with the overall birthrate (a female Christian Democrat in Sweden got publicity a few years back when she suggested state TV play non-stop porn on Saturdays to assist in raising the fertility rate). Doubt any organization on earth is totally without some merit. Doesn't make what they promote right though.

If given a choice I'd rather drink Mountain Dew anyday over Coke.

President Hinckley said on Larry King that there was no prohibition against members drinking caffeinated cola drinks but it probably wasn't the best thing for them to do.

Absolutely correct.:) The relationship described seems rather confrontational. It seems he may be overprovocative for whatever reason (highly histeronic perhaps) but so is the wife -- seems ready to pounce once something is said that she disagrees with. Problem is, when the yelling begins (or the temptation to yell) the higher order areas of the brain shut down -- reasoning basically stops. You are in a neaurological fight or flight mode so the endorphine system is pumping adrenaline as well as seratonin and a bunch of other chemicals that put the body on alert. At this point the couple may as well be a couple of chimps fighting over a monkey both want to eat as far as true communication is concerned. Both husband and wife need to seek God as well as seek better ways to communicate. Can a person be a good member of the Church and cheer when he or she reads about God nuking Sodom? Sure. Would hauling him in front of a bishop help? Might, or they both might wind up sharing their favorite gay jokes. There is no worthiness question dealing with his negative attitude towrds homosexuals unless is translates out to him intentionally hurting people -- come to think of it, it's like the issue of homosexual feelings (if not acted upon or lusted upon thre is no punishment for the person having them. However, maybe if you want him or her to think about his position ask how they would feel if a son or daughter became gay or would he help a stranded driver if he found out it was a lesbian. Get a conversation going. At the same time my experience has been that the Relief Society is more apt to rip on members of the ward and spread gossip. I even knew one wife whose husband was in the bishopric who at least once listened through the wall as her husband was meeting with a man in her ward and then called the wife up and let her know what they were talking about. So it's not unusual for people to commit major sins like gossip but maybe ask the husband something that will allow him to find good qualities about the people he's jumping on. Don't just wait to jump his case. One last thing, the sad part of such bickering is that due to the hormonal infusions into the body some people can eventually get addicted to fighting as much as getting addicted to caffeine. Be careful -- and that goes for any husband or wife out there.

One cannot make the life of a cold-blooded killer as vital to protect as the life of an innocent child(a month before birth or a month after). There is no logical reason to preserve someone who has takenthe life of another human being who was innocent. Personally, when I hear of all the inmates waiting on death row and then hear a story about a person dying for want of a kidney, heart, etc. I have to grant the Chinese some respect since they execute inmates, then send the doctor in with a refrigerated van to get all the healthy parts so the killer can help save the lives of innocent people.

It is my belief that IQ is a combination of natural abilities (genetic) and environment. If you are born with the ability to reach an IQ of let's say 130, yet you are lazy or placed into an environment that isn't supportive of intellectual growth, the IQ potential will not be reached. It's sort of like if we took that guy who won all the gold medals swimming in Beijing last summer -- if we cloned him and placed 5 clones in families that encouraged athletic acheivment then we would stand a great chance of having a few Olympic athletes being created. However, if a couple of the families live where there are no pools, it's doubtful they will be heading for the Olympics. Only the ones with aptitude, skills and opportunity will bloom. Now if we placed the 6th. and 7th. child in a family like Michael Moore or Mike Huckabee we might get a couple of clones who have weight problems. The potential would be there but... However, if one were to clone Danny Divito and give the clone intense swimming training and opportunities one would doubt the kid would ever make it to his state high school regionals. That being said, it's up to us as parents to develop our children's aptitudes and talents as much as possible. This is why home schoolers do so well -- absolutely no teacher can be as dedicated to your children as you can be. So starting children in early learning as well as showing them how wonderful learning can be can cause a disinterested child who might test low on an IQ test originally to expand and test out quite a bit higher after intervention.

Now that reminds me of Peter Jackson's "Braindead" movie.

As illustrated in this case as well: YouTube - Gay Fascists Attack Old Woman Holding Cross at Protest

Two comical zombie movies "Shaun of the Dead" and "Return of the Living Dead" have zombies that are a bit more human but still want to eat people.

Not sure I'd trust this zombie:D:

This is why you need to buy the DVDs that are original versions of classic cartoons. You can also see the originals on the internet -- many are posted on You Tube under "banned cartoons". The Flintstones was indeed an adult cartoon. If you analyze the content you can see that -- of course, the inuendo contained in most classic cartoons is highly sexual as well as violent but kids don't really notice it. Again, I'd say most cartoons made today are merely based on the concept that if you make a cartoon the kids will watch it. Most are really cheap in content and if they use computer animation exclusively then that just emphasizes the cheapness. There are exceptions that I would buy for my kids if I saw them on sale: Spongebob Johny Bravo The Winx Club PowerPuff Girls Courage -- the Cowardly Dog Dexter's Lab (the cartoon, not Dexter the crime fighter) Avatar Eek the Cat

Actually, whoever created the Teletubbies really knows their early children's psychology. Studies have shown that a toddler's optic preferences are for round edges, soft patterns and slow movements (shows like Sesamie Street have been criticized for being too past pace and not allowing a child's brain to focus on an image long enough to really gain anything from it except perhaps the inability to be able to focus in general if they are exposed to it too much). One reason I cancelled Disney recently is that the cartoons they mass produce seem hypnotic in being fast paced and basically junkfood for the mind (as well as perpetuating the whole middle-school and high school stereotypes -- with the kids who look like outsiders always being the bad kids). Nicholodeon is a part of MTV and while I may not like MTV's politics I have noticed the cartoons tend to be more educational, portray "outsider" kids generally as the good kids and don't try to hyptotize the kids with fast visual changes. I do suggest people buy movies (i.e. Pixar films) and classic cartoons (Tom and Jerry, Loony Toons, and other older cartoons) for their kids. As for my children's favorites, my 7 year old absolutely loves "The Winx Club", I do suppose some people might not like the show's concentration on magic or the skimpy outfits the female heros wear (oh well, it's Italian produced). She also watches a couple of Japanamation cartoons made for young people. All my kids like Spongebob (even the teens) and the little ones can watch shows like Tom and Jerry all day.

Since someone has brought up the issue of Asperger's I just have to ask something. I was talking with a psych instructor the other day and she mentioned that she too was a big fan of the TV series Dexter. We both thought that the character did not really display the symptoms of a psychopath but rather (due especially to his obsession with blood as well as following a code given by his adoptive father -- and his lack of social skills) he was more in line with Aspergers as a psychopath is generally charming, often charismatic, has a great command of language and can play the social game really well. Then we got into how Borderline and Aspergers seem very much the same diagnosis but then how anti social personality disorder also falls into the mix. It was great to have a discussion over this over lunch but it seems the more you investigate all this stuff the less credible diagnosis seems to appear.