Seems the lawmakers down in Arkansas aren’t real fond of the idea of keeping church and state separate:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The state House on Friday voted against affirming the separation of church and state in a resolution brought by a legislator who said he was fed up with a religious undertone at the Capitol.
The House voted 44-39 against the proposal. Only two Republicans voted for it, and one of them, Rep. Jim Medley, said he had intended to vote no but didn’t get to his machine in time to change his vote.
Democratic Rep. Buddy Blair said he offered the measure because he was tired of conservative colleagues “making every issue into a religious issue.”
“It’s unbelievable to me. They have just voted against the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of the state of Arkansas,” Blair said.
Legislators have offered bills this session to keep gay people from adopting or serving as foster parents; define marriage in school textbooks as a one-man, one-woman union; require minors to get a parent’s permission before an abortion; and offer “In God We Trust” license plates.
Republican Rep. Michael Lamoureux said Blair’s resolution wasn’t needed.
“It’s clear that our founding fathers, that they wanted Christian beliefs,” Lamoureux said. “The separation of church and state is not in our Constitution.”
There was a time when I laughed at the idea that we could see this country turn into a theocracy one day, but I’m finding it less laughable with each passing news item about lawmakers out to undermine the bedrock this country was built on. I used to think that the overwhelming number of moderates would keep the extremists on both sides at bay, but the Fundamentalists have learned how to manipulate their way into office all the way up to the President and they’re hell bent in making good use of their power to bring about the theocracy I used to laugh at. The reelection of Bush has emboldened them to the extent that many feel it’s no longer a threat to their political careers to vote against long-standing principles laid down by the Founding Fathers themselves.
Things are only going to get worse from here. Hang on, it’s going to be a rough ride.
Theo,
What you’re discussing is Kant’s categories, which really are a reiteration of Aristotlean metaphysics. Moreover, it was Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason that suggests that religious claims are not under the purview of philosophy but instead should be grounded by empirical claims. Kant, despite being quite religious himself was influenced by figures such as Hobbes and Hume who were both atheists.
Never said the questioning is folly. Just much of the claims. Just b/c one calls bullshit, does not mean that one MUST have the answer.
You asked how something came from an equation. Using math (and following its rules), you can derive other equations that may describe seemingly illogical phenomenom. Hence, experiments are done, and in this case time dilation was proven experimentally.
Quote found here
In my Calc III and Physics classes right now, I see a lot of equations that describe more mundane phenomenon, like electricity and gradients. What I find geekly curious is that in calculus, I see similar (if not the same) equations and theorems that describe several things. It makes me wonder whether the equations were found first (as it seems to in multivariable calc), or the phenomenon observed first (as with much of the electrical world) and equations determined later.
You hold the concept of time dilation “illogical” because YOU can’t seem to wrap your head around it, but it isn’t actually illogical. The mathematic formulas that you refer to so derisively show the logic behind the concept, and experimental evidence shows that that logic is sound.
And yet you would go from a philosophical postulation asserting something to a theory asserting something illogical:
What is your opinion of the existentialists(Sartre, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, etc.), the Social Critics(Adorno, Marcuse, etc.), and Sellars and Wittgenstein? I’ll grant you I think the deconstructionists and feminists made terrible philosophies, but I am becoming increasingly more a fan of the existentialists.
Dear frends
happy to get in touch with you i request to accept us to join with your organasation am interested with your program and teachings.
with love
ralph ondari
Ralph, not sure what the hell you’re asking to join.