CastleBravo

I'm not sure how I feel. If there's some deeper meaning in it I'm not getting it. All I saw was sex and violence; not much different from today's box office hits so I'm inclined to not think much else of this film. I watched it with my girlfriend simply to shock her. That seems to be the point in this work, and to that end it achieves it's goal. Perhaps you can explain to me what is entertaining about this?

I think the bottom line is that most American citizens will take to the streets over a sporting event before they will over major political/economic action (assuming "revolution"means some sort of drawn out violent period of extreme change). I don't think the average citizen thinks about the weight of anything past their mortgage and what to have for dinner. Why do you think the situation is a dire as it is? Why do you think most people are a walking ball of contradictions? It's because they don't seem to care. They aren't going to care until you start taking food off their plate and once you start talking about catastrophic food shortages in the United States I put on my tinfoil hat.

I had the exact same thought when I learned of their existence. Beverage affinity aside, these people are absolutely pathetic. Democrats at this point are just evading reality on a massive scale.

Define "revolution"; are we talking blood in the streets? I'm not sure what to think to be honest... I've had grown men whom I'd trust with my life tell me to expect violence within my lifetime (I'm only 22). If you want a realistic depiction of what a "revolution" might be like in America, I suggest researching the situation in Argentina http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_eco...9%E2%80%932002). I think the dollar is screwed. I'm no economist, but our willingness to print money seems to indicate that as a nation we don't even value our own currency. Why should the rest of the world? We can't even pay our own senior citizens their social security; why should China think we're good for their money?

Talk about perfect timing... my brain is currently pulling overtime trying to figure out what to spend my life doing. That blog has a lot of really great ideas. Thanks Diana.

Well your presence on this forum probably signifies a rational persona, meaning I would probably think of you highly. If we were friends, treating yours like dogs would not be conducive to our friendship meaning it would be sacrificial to do so. And yes, I am surrounded almost entirely by irrational people. I have maybe 4-5 people I can have a good conversation with. The rest are pretty much wingmen and drinking buddies.

I thank you all for your input. The FAFSA (federal student aid) is a stupid thing. It doesn't care that I am not claimed by a dependent, as long as my dad makes over $100k/year I don't get very much money. However, if I wait until 1/1/11 to file for aid I will have been born before 1/1/88, which is a way to eliminate the effect of my fathers' income. This year I got a tax credit for the full reimbursement of the tuition I paid last year. This could be a much simpler process than I thought. On top of that, the Commonwealth of Kentucky gives you money based on your GPA and test scores. I'm thinking a crummy job below the poverty line will keep FAFSA flowing long enough for me to get on my feet and into a nice paid internship. The military was a consideration for a while. An alternative actually. As someone pointed out, I would be 27 when I got out and almost 40 if I decide to get a doctorate. If I'm going into the military, THAT will be my new career. While I don't have anything against the military, honest introspection leads me to believe I could not handle it for more than 4-6 years. The military was another solution to my "what in the hell do I do with my life?" question. I can make myself much happier in the private sector. So the plan is to get my associates from the community college (probably going to switch to general studies while there) and then transfer to NKU (credits transfer there VERY easily) and get my BA. I have changed my mind about strictly wanting to go to a private school. I'm liking OSU's political science program and University of Pittsburgh's Philosophy program (currently #4 in the nation). I would relocate to Oxford if I could get in, so location is not an issue. The only think holding me back now is my academic past.

Currently I am 22, living at home, unemployed and out of school. I started going to school at 19 and only went for 2 semesters for Information technology. I got a job in the IT field and decided to stop going to school and do it the old fashion way of getting certifications with different systems. I learned after a while that IT had nothing to offer but a paycheck. I was laid off last September. I am going to go back to school for a double major in political science and philosophy. The problem with this is that my academic history is absolutely horrible (If i passed a class it was by the skin of my teeth). I used to hate learning. I used to hate doing any kind of work with my brain. Lately though I have developed an insatiable thirst to learn absolutely everything I can. I am definitely ready to go back to school but A) I have terrible credit and my GPA was probably a negative number. Obviously I'll have to start at the community college level but I eventually want to get into a private school. Tuition for the CC in question was under $2k/year Is anyone aware of any grants for the unemployed to go back to school? I'm not claimed as a dependent by my parents. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their life?

This is more to the point of what I was trying to say. In the case of our victim being raped in the park, I would probably react without even thinking. There is little danger to me and no reason whatsoever to walk away and let an initiation of force continue. The way I see it, any man firing a gun in a public place is a direct threat to my life. He has demonstrated an absolute lack of respect for any human life and there is no reason to think he respects mine. So in the case of a cafeteria shooting, I would draw down. I currently have no training outside of a basic safety course. I have only practiced the "front sight; press" mantra. One of the first things I plan to do is get into a defensive pistol course as soon as money allows. I am aware of the value of training and am not blowing it off.

I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon. If i were to walk up on a man raping a woman, would it be immoral for me to walk away? Lets say a crazed gunman opens fire in a crowded cafeteria; Would it be moral for me to draw or try and find the nearest exit? My basic principle is to run when possible. A firearm is an absolute last resort. I never want to have to end a human life. By letting an aggressor take innocent life am I sanctioning his action? Am I trading innocent life so that an evil life may live? Do I have a moral obligation to protect those that can not protect themselves from an immediate threat I have the power to stop? Running from such situations strikes me as very anti-human, though I am unsure of my thinking.

I have read the exact opposite; that it keeps much longer than pasteurized milk. Can you provide a source? Raw milk contains enzymes which break down lactic acid so the milk does not spoil as quickly; this is my understanding. Would the logic then follow that as long as you keep it refrigerated (preventing bacterial growth) it will be good? I think with raw milk it all comes down to the hygene of the cow and it's surroundings. Cows fed a proper diet of grass and hay and given a clean environment will produce healthy milk fit for human consumption. The cows on factory farms would not be well-suited to producing raw milk.

If I did, I would have used something else to validate my point of biological sex This was some of the ever-useful knowledge they left out of my public high-school texts. I'm beginning to think nothing they taught me is true. Thanks though. I'll have to re-examine my premise then. What else is used to show biological sex (besides sex organs)? If chromosomes can't always be accurate then what can?

This is initially what I was getting at. You can be socially accepted as a woman, but you are, and always will be, genetically male. There is no way to change this. It is reality. Turning the male sex organs inside out and adding female cosmetic appointments does not change the fact that you came from an X and Y chromosome, not XX. Do transgender individuals accept this and realize that they are merely trying to be "as close" to the sex they feel inside? I think some need gender reassignment surgery in order to "feel" entirely like the sex they think they are and others do not. Again, it appears to come down to an individuals idea of what constitutes gender. But those that feel they do need surgery, are they trying as hard as they can to evade the fact that they were born male?

I guess addressing us like 5 year olds is supposed to make us hate them less... OHMAN.

As I said, I have asked the wrong question. It is clear that gender is too complex an issue to link to sex alone as I tried to do initially.

I think I am asking the wrong question. The right one might be "Does sex determine gender?"

Why wouldn't it be a man trying to change reality to suit his feelings of being a woman? If he were to die and most of his body were destroyed and he could only be genetically identified, would he not be labeled "male"? Even if he had undergone surgery, therapy and hormone treatment would the reality still not be that he is male?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Objectivism reject the "mind/body" dichotomy? I'm pretty sure I just read something about it in the first chapter of OPAR.

I don't even want to know what my misspelling of that would have looked like

I was watching Nip Tuck (I'm generally not a fan of popular TV, but this show presents a great deal of moral and ethical issues that I find interesting) yesterday and there was a Trans-gendered man (a man by sex who thinks as if he's a woman) featured wanting to get a sex-change operation. Does a man wanting to be a woman violate the law of identity? Even if the sex change operation is done, is a man still, and always will be, a man regardless of how he mutilates his body? I think so, but I am curious as to what my fellow critical thinkers believe. I will admit I don't entirely understand how anyone can think they are anything but what they are, but does this come from my having "not experienced" the confusion of a gender identity crisis or has a trans gender individual abandoned logic and reality altogether?

Also, why are berries better for you than other fruits? Just less sugar and more fiber?

This is another reason raw milk would be beneficial to my diet; cost. It is definitely more expensive and that means going through a gallon a day is entirely cost-prohibitive. If I view milk as a sensible indulgence (like extra dark chocolate or a beer) rather than a staple drink, my consumption drops greatly. Calorie intake isn't too much of an issue because I do heavy compound lifts 2-3 times a week and I walk at least a mile on my off days. To be honest I don't even count calories anymore, I just make sure I'm not going overboard on the dairy. My father is also a great fan of conventional wisdom and buys low fat EVERYTHING. The only thing he buys that I can eat are eggs and hamburger, and even the hamburger is at least 90/10. It is also the crap packaged for Wal-Mart that comes from 1500 different cows injected with everything but black tar heroin. Not my idea of a healthy red meat. And Brian, That video about sugar was absolutely awesome. Everyone in this thread should view it.

Thats funny, I had never even heard of pastured chickens. It makes sense though, seeing as though grains dont want to be eaten by anything. I am aware of the omega 6:3 issue. I already eat mostly berries. I get bags of frozen berries because they are cheaper. Other than that i eat a lot of grapes and the occasional Grapefruit (occasionally because it just takes too much effort ). Sometimes I'll eat a banana before a workout if im hungry. Thanks for that link as well though as I try to avoid sugar as much as possible.

Im not sure why I couldn't make that connection before. Thanks.

http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html That is a list of farms in different states that you can get raw milk from one way or another.