What is it with Catholic Priests?

[KrazyHorse]

That the likelihood of my vote affecting any electoral result whatsoever is quite small, and the effect on my life of the change of a single electoral result is also fairly small. Therefore, the expected impact on my life of my choosing to cast a vote is extraordinarily tiny.

How is this a difficult concept? Why do I have to explain it to you?

[Al B. Sure!]

That the likelihood of my vote affecting any electoral result whatsoever is quite small, and the effect on my life of the change of a single electoral result is also fairly small. Therefore, the expected impact on my life of my choosing to cast a vote is extraordinarily tiny.

How is this a difficult concept? Why do I have to explain it to you?

Because I wanted to see you actually say something like that.

To sum KH on voting... why bother?

See that, HC. Listen to your hero.

[KrazyHorse]

I haven't voted in 7 years

[Al B. Sure!]

I haven't voted in 7 years

See that, HC, KH's opinion doesn't matter!

[Berzerker]

That is because Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice

no need to pre-judge a Church with their history

[Al B. Sure!]

To be fair, you have to give credit to the Church for moving on from its days of inquisition. The Church supports evolution and let's not forget the immense scientific contributions of some brilliant Catholic priests like Gregor Mendel (discoverer of heredity) and Georges Lemaitre (big bang theory).

The scientific community owes these men for much of our understanding of how life and the universe function.

[Al B. Sure!]

What is Ben's stance on evolution, by the way?

[giblets]

I'm sure it's as well thought out as his other opinions.

[Ben Kenobi]

Although African Americans comprise only 12.2 percent of the population and 13 percent of drug users, they make up 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses

One, drug offenses are not confined to users. Traffickers receive much more serious charges than those who do not traffic. You are comparing apples, "drug users" to oranges, 'drug offenses'.

Two, I'd expect 20 percent of those who receive convictions would receive 80 percent of the total convictions. The heaviest and most involved in the distribution of drugs are far more likely to receive a conviction than someone who purchased an illicit drug once. Yet your stat treats both as equal. Both are one instance of a drug 'user'.

[Ben Kenobi]

I only defend Ben when it is warranted. In this debate on felon disenfrachisement I couldn't disagree with him more and contributed to the other side. Not with insults and flaming (which Ben's opponents often resort to) but with some simple stats that refute his entire argument.

Do you believe that felons should be able to purchase weapons?

[Al B. Sure!]

Collected Opinions & Essays of Ben Kenobi, 2nd Edition

- It is faster to run than ride a bicycle
- American Indians were liberated by the United States
- The Muslims should vacate the Middle East because it is Christian land
- Convicted felons should not be able to ever vote
- Homosexuality is the leading cause of suicide
- Black men are 10x more likely than the general population to be gay


(Note: I am in no way altering or exaggerating any of the above. They were statements made by Ben Kenobi. Posters like myself requested clarification on some of them, and Ben repeated and supplied his 'evidence')

[Ben Kenobi]

He has a similar, albeit lesser, effect on the reputation of Christianity in general on these boards. Which is the main reason why those of his fellow-Christians who show solidarity should really stop and un-circle them wagons.

Right.

Let's see. I believe that homosexuality is wrong. I believe that abortion is wrong, and I'm the one who's casting down the reputation of Christians on this board?

Take the plank out of your own eye, Elok.

[giblets]

When did he say running is faster than a bicycle?

[Ben Kenobi]

What is Ben's stance on evolution, by the way?

That's a good question. I believe that the universe is around 20 billion years old.

I believe that earth has been around about 4.5 billiion years.

I believe that people as we know it today have been around maybe 50 thousand years.

I believe that species live and die over time.

I don't believe that there was a common ancestor between apes and men.

I don't believe that paleontologists have an adequate understanding of human evolution. They can assume that apes became men, but they are unable to prove and demonstrate their theory.

I do believe in differentiation as observed by Darwin, of species adapting to a change in an environment to fill an ecological niche.

I don't believe in speciation, that one species can become another species.

How would I define myself? I'm not a young earth creationist. I'm not really a creationist at all. I'm a skeptic. I don't believe our understanding of biology has reached the fundamentals as we have with physics and chemistry.

Evolution, has not been observed. It is a theory which isn't falsifiable. It makes no predictions that can be tested. This is contrary to how we understand science. All evolution says is that animals change to adapt to their surroundings, but it doesn't make predictions as to the rate of evolutionary change over time, or how this evolution will change the animals.

The argument for evolution is that it is a slow process which occurs over time, and yet, as others have stated it sometimes goes very fast. These two statements are contradictory to one another. It cannot be both mechanical and catastrophic.

[Al B. Sure!]

Here, gribbler:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showpost.php?p=5820337&postcount=173

Running is usually faster. At least for those of us who know how to do it properly. Plus you don't have to spend 500 bucks on a bike.

later, he said...

Over a distance of 5k or less. Longer than that, the advantage is to bicycles, but over short distances, the difference really isn't worth it.

I'm saying that under 5k, an experienced runner could outpace the average bicyclist. I wouldn't gage someone who does 20km every day on his morning commute as an 'average' bicyclist.