a-train

So if we are not concerned with proof, then we can just as well assume that Israeli bombings of residential housing is of the same motive as those of Palestinian bombings of Israeli residential housing. -a-train

The issue comes down to enforceability. Do we really think that the federal government, even working through local government agencies can go house to house seizing food? Do we give them so much credit that they would actually be able to get it all? What indication does the drug war give us concerning this matter. Is there some great shortage of marijuana or cocaine in the United States? Such drastic measures as a war against a black food market would only encourage support for such a market even among the most patriotic individuals. Much of the consumption of the food would be done illegally by law enforcement and those connected behind the scenes thereto. Have some faith in freedom and its unstoppable force, the force of God. -a-train

The Fourth Amendement to the Constitution of the United States says: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. You have the right to remain private and use the fifth amendment also. You have your rights. Act wisely. -a-train

Look, read, read, read. If you won't take the time to do it, you'll never have your own testimony. You may have a feeling that the task is tedious and painful, that reading the scriptures and looking at footnotes is boring, that taking notes is even worse. You may say that your lifestyle simply doesn't allow the time for these things. The reality is that studying these things will get you so excited that you will have difficulty ceasing to study the scriptures. Open them up and enjoy. Great trials and struggles have been invested in bringing them to you. Anti-mormonism is a great thing. It is a fantastic thing. It makes you work for your knowledge. Think about the questions it raised in your mind. Do not take the easy way out and simply post them on a forum or put them to a friend. You will not get any more results than whatever efforts you put into searching for these answers yourself. When someone says: "Joseph Smith said blah blah blah." Ask them "Where can I read the full text?" If they don't know, then see if you can find it anyway. If they do, go read it and study it. In every case you will find the gospel is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet and the antis employ ommissions and context changes to pretend otherwise. God be with you and bless you. Read, pray, and write in a journal about what you study and learn. -a-train

These statements cannot be proven and they serve only to obscure the issue. The U.S. entanglement in this issue serves only to globalize a border dispute not local to us.-a-train

Fact: There were Jewish terrorists murdering to promote the creation of the state of Israel. After the creation of the state, they were awarded medals and honors. Thus the argument that terrorism against the state of Israel came completely unprovoked to a people never having so engaged in such barbarism is not on good footing. For Mormon readers, it will interest you to know that one of the Zionist terror squads was known as LEHI. What is to be done? That is the question. We are now crossing a generation gap. Most of us were not alive for the creation of the state of Israel. Who has a say? The people living there. Let the governments of the world get out of the conflict and it will deflate. -a-train

Check out Current Melt Value Of Coins - How Much Is Your Coin Worth? -a-train

I think the vast majority of Americans can't actually agree with every plank of any political platform. Many call themselves Republican or Democrat, but they disagree with parts of the platform and with many of the party leaders on assorted issues. Certainly this is apparent in primary debates.That said, we seem to continually assume that a Democrat believes in a certain list of things and so also does a Republican. The party umbrella obscures our view. The only thing that makes a person a Republican or a Democrat is their involvement with the party, which could be in spite of very much opposed views. We might ask why someone of that sort would so participate. They each have their reason. There are many within each party trying to pull it in one direction or another. Most special interests will align themselves wherever they think they can gain support for their cause. While we may end up with an new New Deal in Obamanomics, it is possible that Obama's foreign policy will keep us out of the international fiasco McCain would have gladly marched into waving Red, White, and Blue behind his middle finger. It will be much easier to repeal a bad economic policy than to settle international unrest. For this reason, I think Obama could be the "lesser of the two evils". Am I a Democrat? Am I a Republican? I'm an American. I am free to align myself with (D)s and ®s wherever I can. There are people in both parties that support a repeal of the Patriot Act, an end to the drug war, a withdrawal from Iraq, an end to American Imperialism, balanced budgets, downsizing of government bureaucracy, free-market capitalism, and a host of things that I support, but neither party as a whole does so. The Libertarian Party, the Constitutional Party, the Green Party, or any of the others just don't seem to be any perfect fit for me. I am often thought of as rabidly right, rabidly left, and who knows what. Is it necessary for me to determine if a person is left, right, top, or bottom? If they want stricter drug laws, I don't care where they stand on the grid of any political scientist, they don't stand next to me on that issue. If they want to build a berlin-style wall between the U.S. and Mexico, I'm not standing next to them. If they want to raise tarrifs to protect particular U.S. businesses in the marketplace, I do not stand with them. I know many Mormons of all sorts of political opinions. I don't think there are any t-shirts that would appropriately designate their respective political ideologies. -a-train

If there were no set consequences for specific actions, there could be no actions. -a-train

The executioner whose hands took the head of John the Baptist may have been clean, but he was the tool of the evil Herod. The issue becomes problematic when the good persons become tools in the hands of the wicked. There were Christian and even Mormon people following orders from their NAZI leaders. It should be remembered that a sign reading: "No Jews Allowed" hung over the door of an LDS chapel in NAZI Germany.Just because someone's intentions and spirit is right, doesn't mean that they know what is going on in the world around them. A law enforcement officer may be following commands, but the person being wire-tapped, searched, arrested, and so forth may only be the victim of persecution from politically connected and powerful. -a-train

I want one for my wife's car keys, purse, wallet, shoes, pretty much everything she owns.-a-train

"Just any old religion or does it only matter that its not Mormon?" -a-train

Cash is still anonymous. Plastic causes prices to rise because merchants are charged anywhere from 1.5% to 3.0% for the transaction plus fees and equipment. And, your financial institution knows your every purchase and can be compelled to divulge this information to government authorities. Assertions that plastic is safer than cash are simply outrageous. Perhaps the day will come that cash is outlawed, but until then, I use it. -a-train

Mark of the beast or not, a government mandated chip would constitute an atrocious invasion of privacy and an affront to the rights of man. -a-train

Walking in L.A. ? -a-train

Look, it's not rocket science, and with all due respect, I personally find that at the end of the day, at least at this moment in time, these common phrases which are in use 24/7 can be fairly unique if used properly. You simply shouldn't of complained. It's a nightmare. Am I going to say what I want to say and how I want to say it? Absolutely. -a-train

I don't feel like I voted for a the lesser of any various evils. But, I didn't vote for Obama or McCain. And isn't that the point here? The point is simply that we don't have to vote for the (D) or the ® just because of "feasibility". Yes, the Republican and Democrat candidates have the greatest financial and political backing in a national election, but what is considered impossible because of sociopolitical conditions in one decade is reality in another. Obama's election is a striking example of this truth. There are those who say: "A third party vote is a wasted vote. They don't stand a chance." But many people who fought for black civil rights lived to see a black president, and the growing number of Americans who have had it with the ®s and (D)s may just as well live to see a third party president. -a-train

I think there are a lot of agendas to go around. It is the alignment of various agendas toward the formation of a global regulating body with the power to enforce its resolutions internationally that I am most weary of. This is the famous "conspiracy of ideals". Real free trade would solve these issues. If we weren't propping up failing businesses and industries, the available capital could be allocated to real solutions, especially in the sector of energy. -a-train

Shoot, I SERVED a mission and couldn't get an LDS girl. I had to import one from the Presbyterian Church. -a-train

Islam is COMPLETELY compatible with classical liberalist thought. It is whether or not classical liberalism can be believed in by Muslims, and I think it can. Part of our trouble in America is that we have developed a phony "American" culture. True American classical liberalism is completely at ease with various customs coexisting together. Perhaps a Jew or a Muslim will adhere to the strictest code of living imaginable, both visible in dress and in deed. It is when we alienate them on that basis that the trouble begins. With the globalization of commerce and trade will come a tremendous push toward freedom and good government everywhere; and with that there will come more fearce opposition. In fact, it is already here. This is why there is so much corporate clamour for mercantilism in the United States. These businesses want advantages in the global economy, and they want the taxpayers to fund it and Uncle Sam to enforce it. They have always used national, religious, and racial lines to draw support. We have been exhorted against and even taxed heavily for buying Korean or Japanese products or engaging in business with them. It is the basis of commerce the brings people together. Think of the people you work with. Think of the customers you serve. The vast majority of these you would have little or no relation if it were not for the business you conduct. Like I said, there are those throughout the world that fear more global division of labor and commerce. Most of them do so for their own priviliged economic situation. Some also fear cultural change, but all their efforts from peaceful to violent, from little to tremendous, whether they are a corporate lobbyist backed by a gigantic money machine or a lone suicide bomber, they cannot stop the overwhelming desire of each individual to improve their situation. Muslims will continue to be just as engaged as the rest of the world in making themselves marketable in the global economy. -a-train

Look bro, the girls of the world ain't nothin' but trouble. -a-train

Child labor laws are so funny. I can tell a person I won't hire them strictly because of their age, but their race or sex is out of the question.As a person who has worked in America since the age of 9, I thank God I didn't live among those who would discriminate against me because of my young age. -a-train

I'm sure the foreign investors are leaping at the opportunity to invest in American auto manufacturing. GM stock is only down 85% since a year ago and 95% since a peak price in 2000.It would seem that our companies are not outsourcing fast enough and Congress is trying to speed the process by simply ruining as much business opportunity as possible through regulation. It will all ultimately lead to heavy protectionist policies preventing the good ol' days when you could get a quality Japanese automobile at a great price. -a-train

All of these fearful predictions suffer from the same narrow view of the the auto market itself and adjacent industries.The picture painted here is that GM closes and this causes a GM supplier, such as a supplier of headlight housings for example, (they get headlights housings from a manufacturer in Brazil) to also downsize and engage in lay-offs or even closure. The plastic supplier for that headlight manufacturer thus has troubles, and the results spread vertically. The whole matter thus extends to people in finance, in auto insurance, the oil companies, tire manufacturers, auto glass manufacturers, car audio, it goes on and on. What is narrow about this view is the disregard for the rest of the auto industry and the total auto market. The company in Brazil will now sell more product to Ford because previous Chevrolet customers will buy Fords. The tire manufacturers will still sell tires through Hyundai, Volkswagen, Toyota, and others. Now, some will quickly look at what I'm saying and bring this objection: "But a-train, the whole industry is selling less cars, so GM is going to close and those other car companies won't sell more cars. The total units sold in the auto industry is down, a-train. So those adjacent businesses will not be able to keep selling the same level of product through other car brands." My answer to that is: "Exactly!" So it won't "bail-out" the auto companies if we give billions to GM. They still won't sell more cars and their suppliers will still sell less product. So the chain reaction that everyone is so worried about will happen regardless of the "bail-out". However, we will actually spread the disease even further with the "bail-out". Rather than quarantining the afflicted, we are infecting many more. When there are two many sellers of a given product, the market is saturated. If saturation reaches a point so dire that many cannot even survive, what should be done? Someone needs to leave the market and allow it to be less saturated. Who should? Who does the market say should? In this case, the market is saying GM. Americans need to stop being sissy and start getting busy. I know that sounds harsh, but we all have to. I sold cars this summer. I made decent money, but the writing was on the wall and I left. My personal abilities to perform productive labors for my fellow beings would be wasted if I were to sit in a car dealership watching snow collect on cars all winter. The massive amount of capital at GM is poorly allocated. These people need to go to work building something other than cars, or perhaps different cars (like Toyotas). These people need to take their talents, their knowledge, and their capital and do something that the global markets will reward with real business. Propping up these bad investments will only make matters worse and make them worse for more people. In fact, it will do just exactly what you are raising concern about, it will spread the problem to more and more businesses effecting more lives. -a-train

What WAS the idea of NAFTA? It is strange to me that a treaty made up of around 1000 pages of trade restrictions should be known as a "free-trade agreement".-a-train