LaszloWalrus

I agree that there is a double standard, and that certain people (namely Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson profit by stirring up racism). I disagree with everything else. How did Imus insult "loud black liberals who are part of a victim culture"? He insulted people (who happened to be black) at the height of their success, using derogatory, racially charged language. Imus was wrong.

Imus was right to apologize. At best, he took the focus off of the team's achievements, and targeting them because of their race is innappropriate.

Yes and yes.

This seems to be a highly contextual issue. It depends upon what other criteria one has. If a white male is dressed in Middle Eastern garb and is speaking Arabic, that would warrent profiling him. Could you be more specific about what "all of the other criteria for being a terrorist" are?

Perhaps, but the majoritiy are men from the Middle East. If there were a large contingent of, say, European terrorists then maybe they should be screened as well. I wanted to know especially your thoughts on profiling because you're a police officer.

RationalBiker, are you arguing against racial profiling?

Killing cows for a living is quite different from someone who tortures animals for fun.

Wouldn't a person who abuses animals pose an objective threat to humans?

I wasn't considering Hitler either; I used him in the example to show the magnitude of what Genghis Khan conquered.

I voted for him as well. I'll repeat what I said earlier: he conquered more land than Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler combined.

Well, historically women did not have their rights recognized nearly as much as men did. Today, I don't see that women are still "dramatically underrepresented in the area of intellectual achievements." What is your source that there are "far, far fewer women of high intelligence than there are men"?

http://aynrand100.com/lifeworks.html Scroll down from the above link to hear Leonard Peikoff's "My Thirty Years with Ayn Rand"; it gives a good overview of her as a person.

Paying workers low wages (assuming that's what Wal-Mart does) is not remotely the same as a company's discriminating based on race. What do you mean by "treat their workers badly"? How do they give "capitalism a bad name"? I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with Wal-Mart aesthetically. As a college student, it can be a life-saver. If I wanted an aesthetically pleasing place to shop (and if I wanted to pay way beyond what I could afford) I'd go to Dean & Deluca.

I thought the Big Bang was a theory meant to explain an alleged origin of the universe. If this is your view (I'm not saying it is) why must there be an origin of the universe?

Why are you assuming a Big Bang?

Great post, but I disagree with your explanation of honesty. Honesty is ALWAYS good; in the case you mentioned, lying to the Gestapo IS the honest course. It represents your acknowledgement that the Gestapo do not have the right to know the truth.

No, but I'll see if it's availabe at any video places around here.

I disagree with this in part; positive emotions (or any emotions, for that matter) are not the standard of value, but they are values.

I think it was based on the story of Leopold and Loeb.

24. It is the only tv I watch these days, and it is easily my favorite show. However, it is imperative that one watch all of the seasons and episodes in order.

My first inclination is "yes," but I have to give it more thought.

I don't think watching cars is analagous. Do you have the right to have sex in view of others without their consent? Surely, though, one has the right to drive a car in front of someone without his consent.

I don't remember the movie all that well, except that I enjoyed it. I thought the point was that Gump was a success due to his virtues (such as honesty and bravery), and overcame his mental disability.

I think you're misusing the concept "explanation." One explains things in terms of existence, so existence can only be explained in terms of itself.

I'm not sure your analogy works, SoftwareNerd. After all, a movie theatre is private while immigration is a public matter.