Pope sends direct message to Ben

[Sava]

Personally, I think BK just loves the negative attention because he doesn't know how to deal with people being nice to him.

[Ben Kenobi]

I think BK just loves the negative attention because he doesn't know how to deal with people being nice to him.

More entertaining than Real Housewives, TBF.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Personally, I think BK just loves the negative attention because he doesn't know how to deal with people being nice to him.

He wants to think he's Jesus

[rah]

Sorry, If I had to resort to getting entertainment by taunting people to hate me that would be the ultimate proof that I have no life or friends or women. That would be very sad.

[Ben Kenobi]

Sorry, If I had to resort to getting entertainment by taunting people to hate me that would be the ultimate proof that I have no life or friends or women. That would be very sad.

I don't see how it's less constructive than watching TV. And it's interactive too!

[Ben Kenobi]

He wants to think he's Jesus

Hispanic folks rule.

[Lorizael]

Is everyone else here as bored with this topic as I am?

There's a simple solution: stop being so wrong all the time.

[Ben Kenobi]

There's a simple solution: stop being so wrong all the time.

You know what's awesome? A 50'' pizza.

[molly bloom]

Obamacare is a massive scam.

To my mind, so is the modern Catholic Church. it's directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of more people than Obama's two governments, has financial links to right wing crooked politicians in Italy and of course the Mafia, and was responsible for the cover up of institutionalized paedophilia in its own organisation and its various schools, colleges, et cetera.

And let's not forget the use of slave labour in Eire's Magdalen laundries.


And you chose to join it, Sister Bendy of Apartheid, ! Great discernment on your part.

[molly bloom]

Yes, it has, and there are good reasons for it. Drops in the birthrate have been devastating in the past.

The idea that you are a history teacher is really quite profoundly disturbing to me: every time I have been reminded of this, I wonder what did Texas or Texans, ever do to deserve such an inhumane punishment ?

I love how you airily link a society's toleration of anything other than man on top missionary position heterosexual sex with a 'decline in the birthrate'- noticeably failing to substantiate this with any examples from the historical record. I hate to be the one to have to break this startling news to you, but history isn't normally taught by wishing 'facts' into existence sans proof.

Also: birthrates rise during and after wars. Clearly, the god you imagine loves us so much must have a real hard on for conflict and human suffering.

[molly bloom]

Though, declaring a King to be "Defender of the Faith" and then turning around and not granting him an annulment (which was kind of common in those days among the princely-caste) was a bit silly (Yes, I realize the Pope was scared to death of the Spanish at the time).

He had good reason- the troops of the (Catholic) Holy Roman Emperor- also then king of Spain- had sacked Rome. This had good and bad effects- good, in that Rome could be rebuilt and refurnished with fine architecture and art, bad, in that people died and much was destroyed, good, in that fugitive artists and artisans spread High Renaissance work throughout Europe, bad, in that it showed Popes up to be venal temporal rulers...

[molly bloom]

They owned an Empire under the Angevins. And it wasn't until after Catholic emancipation that things really took off for the Victorian era. Coincidence, I think not.

And England finally earned Europe's respect again under the Protestant Commonwealth- after two fairly useless Stuart monarchs. As for the Catholic Emancipation shtick- really, what utter a-historical nonsense.

[molly bloom]

They weren't. They were conquered by the Dutch.

Sure they were. Quick quiz- how many wars in the 17th Century did England fight against the Dutch ? And how many did it win ? And during which one was England supposedly 'conquered' by the Dutch ?


Really, you're more stupid than I ever imagined.

[molly bloom]

A nation ruled by the Dutch But I guess that's what happens when you become a fief of the Dutch. .

Two lies that need to be nailed quickly- William of Orange was invited to come over by English politicians. He happened to be married to a certain Mary Stuart, who was closely related to her father, who was James II, the Catholic King of England who did so much to lose his throne. William also was descended from a Stuart...

At no point was the kingdom of England a subsidiary part of the United Provinces- in fact there had been talk in Elizabeth I's time of her becoming a ruler of the Dutch, or at least appointing Leicester as a Viceroy.

This is what happens when naked prejudice takes priority over fact and balance. You should really go work for Faux News- you have the facility for deceit down pat.

[Ben Kenobi]

The idea that you are a history teacher is really quite profoundly disturbing to me: every time I have been reminded of this, I wonder what did Texas or Texans, ever do to deserve such an inhumane punishment ?

You'd be better off asking why Canada would award me a degree in the first place. Short answer - I earned it. I took 36 credits in my final year - 6 courses in history all at the same time to meet my graduation requirements for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History. My degree is 50 percent sciences (Physics, math, Chemistry) in that order, 25 percent Arts electives (English, Philosophy, Economics), in that order.

I love how you airily link a society's toleration of anything other than man on top missionary position heterosexual sex with a 'decline in the birthrate'

Never said anything about the missionary position. The difference between the Rome of the Punic war and the Rome of the 4th century is the birthrate of Roman citizens was too low to sustain military losses. By the time of Stilchilo - they were making do with barbarians which raises the question - "where were all the Romans?"

noticeably failing to substantiate this with any examples from the historical record.

The only thing that stopped Justinian from keeping Italy and restoring the Empire is the devastating plague of Justinian. There were plagues. The Empire was never quite the same after the Antonine Plagues (after which they had massive disruption and the Crisis of the third century, followed by the Cyprian plague.

I hate to be the one to have to break this startling news to you, but history isn't normally taught by wishing 'facts' into existence sans proof.

I hate to break it to you but there's extensive commentary on this by scholars of the time of the manpower losses suffered by the Empire.

Also: birthrates rise during and after wars. Clearly, the god you imagine loves us so much must have a real hard on for conflict and human suffering.

It's also why China is going to be devastated. 40 years of the one child policy - if the US wanted to cripple China - they couldn't have done it better had they tried.