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Bill scott
SFN Addict

USA
2103 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:14:36   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Bill scott a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by HalfMooner




See, the thing is, Bill those of us with skeptical minds are far less likely to get greatly offended in this manner. I could cite you examples where I've mocked famous skeptics, both living and recently deceased. Nobody bitched about it, either, not even when I portrayed Kurt Vonnegut in Hell.



I didn't find that one funny either. And I would add yet another example of why I believe you have to much idle time on your hands.






I really don't expect myself ever to be in Hell, Bill. There ain't no Hell, and no Heaven, either, and there's not the slightest evidence to contradict me.


The interesting thing is that if I am right then we both will eventually know that I am. If you are right then neither of us will know this. If you are right, then at the point of death it will be as if you, or I, had never even existed.




Holding delusions of an afterlife makes people live worse lives in their very limited time on earth, I feel.


In certain cases I would agree. Suicide bomber, kamikaze, etc…








It makes them behave selfishly, and abusively. It can even make them fail to enjoy a laugh now and then. Our one and only shot at a good life is wasted by the enormity of concern with an eternity of pleasure or pain. This can make people mean, nasty, and bitter.


In certain cases I would agree.





I used Hell as a literary device, and a bit more. There is a common human longing for something akin to "divine justice." I'm prone to this myself. That's why positing Jerry Falwell as suffering forever for his hateful, bigoted, and selfish life gave me a small amount pleasure.



But if you are right then Falwell escaped all justice. In fact if you are right then many have escaped justice, Hitler coming to mind first. Not in my worldview.








If it gives you pleasure to think of Carl Sagan as suffering forever in Hell, then don't just hint about it, let it out!


It doesn't.






Few of us are going to be offended by your personal delusions, anyway. Carl sure doesn't mind.


I don't care if it offends you or not. I don't find pleasure in believing that CS would be forever in hell.

"Lets get one thing clear, Bill. Science does make some assumptions." -perrodetokio-

"In the end as skeptics we must realize that there is no real knowledge, there is only what is most reasonable to believe." -Coelacanth-

The fact that humans do science is what causes errors in science. -Dave W.-

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Bill scott
SFN Addict

USA
2103 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:18:27   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Bill scott a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Boron10

Perhaps he's trying to imply that I'm not "usefull [sic] to society" and am "about twelve years old?"



For what it's worth, I appreciate any comparison to HalfMooner, since he has a gift for humorous writing that far exceeds mine.



That would make you, what, ten or eleven years old then?

"Lets get one thing clear, Bill. Science does make some assumptions." -perrodetokio-

"In the end as skeptics we must realize that there is no real knowledge, there is only what is most reasonable to believe." -Coelacanth-

The fact that humans do science is what causes errors in science. -Dave W.-

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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:23:45   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The interesting thing is that if I am right then we both will eventually know that I am. If you are right then neither of us will know this. If you are right, then at the point of death it will be as if you, or I, had never even existed.
Pascal's Gambit. It's been a while since we've seen it.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard

USA
5310 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:29:09   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Gorgo a Private Message  Reply with Quote


I am going to rescind my warning, even though I think your original post probably deserved one on its own merit. Alas, I will consider the source…


You lay out an official warning because, what, you think Mooner can't take criticism?

Did Bill call Mooner fat? Or did he say that it wasn't funny, and it looked like Mooner had too much time on his hands? Do you think it's important to tell Mooner that he's funny when he's not to humor him? Do you think he needs to be defended like a retarded little brother? He's a grown man. Many people find it offensive to make fun of dead people, or even fat people.

If he's going to stick his neck out and make fun of fat people or dead people, why do you feel the need to defend him with an official warning? If he can't take the heat, he needs to get out of the satire business.

Now Bill has felt the need to continue to defend himself, and it's not turned into a pretty thing.

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter



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Bill scott
SFN Addict

USA
2103 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:30:00   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Bill scott a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by filthy

The interesting thing is that if I am right then we both will eventually know that I am. If you are right then neither of us will know this. If you are right, then at the point of death it will be as if you, or I, had never even existed.
Pascal's Gambit. It's been a while since we've seen it.






Call whatever you want. You have a third outcome to offer?

"Lets get one thing clear, Bill. Science does make some assumptions." -perrodetokio-

"In the end as skeptics we must realize that there is no real knowledge, there is only what is most reasonable to believe." -Coelacanth-

The fact that humans do science is what causes errors in science. -Dave W.-

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Bill scott
SFN Addict

USA
2103 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:33:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Bill scott a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Gorgo



I am going to rescind my warning, even though I think your original post probably deserved one on its own merit. Alas, I will consider the source…


You lay out an official warning because, what, you think Mooner can't take criticism?

Did Bill call Mooner fat? Or did he say that it wasn't funny, and it looked like Mooner had too much time on his hands? Do you think it's important to tell Mooner that he's funny when he's not to humor him? Do you think he needs to be defended like a retarded little brother? He's a grown man. Many people find it offensive to make fun of dead people, or even fat people.

If he's going to stick his neck out and make fun of fat people or dead people, why do you feel the need to defend him with an official warning? If he can't take the heat, he needs to get out of the satire business.

Now Bill has felt the need to continue to defend himself, and it's not turned into a pretty thing.


Or maybe I just don't have a problem calling lame humor, lame humor.

"Lets get one thing clear, Bill. Science does make some assumptions." -perrodetokio-

"In the end as skeptics we must realize that there is no real knowledge, there is only what is most reasonable to believe." -Coelacanth-

The fact that humans do science is what causes errors in science. -Dave W.-

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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:48:55   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Bill scott

Originally posted by filthy

The interesting thing is that if I am right then we both will eventually know that I am. If you are right then neither of us will know this. If you are right, then at the point of death it will be as if you, or I, had never even existed.
Pascal's Gambit. It's been a while since we've seen it.






Call whatever you want. You have a third outcome to offer?
Oblivion.

Pascal's Gambit is a logical fallacy. Consider, unless one really believed, then he'd merely be paying lip service, hedging his bets, if you will. If the deity in question can't pick up on that, then it is not omnipotent and therefore unworthy of worship. In the meantime, our nonbeliever has made it to services almost as often as the deacons, has tithed and donated to the collection plate, and done all of the various conniptions demanded by the sect. So either way, he loses out; if no God, he's wasted his time & resources; if there is an omnipotent God, he has, again, wasted his time & resources.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard

USA
5310 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:51:28   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Gorgo a Private Message  Reply with Quote

Or maybe I just don't have a problem calling lame humor, lame humor.


Like this.

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter



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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  16:57:19   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Bill scott
I didn't find that one funny either. And I would add yet another example of why I believe you have to much idle time on your hands.

...and...


Or maybe I just don't have a problem calling lame humor, lame humor.

What I don't get is why you waste your time bashing this, instead of spending quality time writing useful arguments in this thread...

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
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Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13476 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  18:25:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Gorgo



I am going to rescind my warning, even though I think your original post probably deserved one on its own merit. Alas, I will consider the source…


You lay out an official warning because, what, you think Mooner can't take criticism?

Did Bill call Mooner fat? Or did he say that it wasn't funny, and it looked like Mooner had too much time on his hands? Do you think it's important to tell Mooner that he's funny when he's not to humor him? Do you think he needs to be defended like a retarded little brother? He's a grown man. Many people find it offensive to make fun of dead people, or even fat people.

If he's going to stick his neck out and make fun of fat people or dead people, why do you feel the need to defend him with an official warning? If he can't take the heat, he needs to get out of the satire business.

Now Bill has felt the need to continue to defend himself, and it's not turned into a pretty thing.
I explained why I handed out the warning and I have rescinded it based on Bill's explanation for his second identical post.

Bill is free to criticize Mooner's humor all that he wants to. He can even call it childish, though the irony of that is not lost on me, based on how he framed his original criticism.

In case you haven't noticed, Gorgo we are cracking down on personal insults on this forum. And Bill's post was filled with them. But I did not warn him for his first post as we do tend to be lenient around here and I do know that Mooner can take care of himself.

My warning had absolutely nothing to do with Mooners feelings. It had everything to do with Bill's lack of civility, which was how I saw his second identical posting. I was corrected and I acted accordingly. The discussion Bill and others are having right now has nothing to do with the warning. No one is even talking about the warning anymore except for you…

Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26020 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  18:35:37   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Gorgo

You lay out an official warning because, what, you think Mooner can't take criticism?
We're trying to reduce the amount of interpersonal hostility on these forums. Bill was obviously being hostile, and that hostility nearly vanished between the time he was warned and the time his warning was rescinded. Now he's feeling entitled to continue his previous level of hostility and you, Gorgo, appear to be trying to escalate things even more, although you're being much more polite about it than Bill is.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  18:35:40   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Gee, Bill, I'm not sure how ever I'm going to be able to please you about all this idle time I have on my hands. I'm not even sure if I want to please you.

Since I've gone out of my way to once again tell you about my situation, and yet you don't accept it, what am I to do? You want me to hang myself? That would rid me of all this wonderful free time that I'm enjoying, and which seems to so annoy your anal-retentive Protestant work ethic. But that ain't gonna happen.

Meanwhile, your repeated refrain is boring. A better approach might be to strike back with, well, humor, Bill. That is, if you're up to it.

I challenge you.

My guess is that you are a deeply bitter person with an authoritarian personality. I think you see things in stark black and white, with few gray areas, and no colors at all. You bow to authority, not reason. I suspect you are so concerned with an invisible god and an intangible devil, and that your mind just doesn't have room for trivia like colors, or humor. You're too busy with concerns for the mythical next world to enjoy the only one you'll ever see, this one we're living in.

But I might be completely wrong about this. Instead, you may be a completely normal person, but one that for some reason has a reverence for undeserving con artists like Falwell.

I can accept that you and a great many other people find some, most, or all, of my attempts at humor to fail. Humor's hard to do, and it's very subjective. If you closely watch a successful standup comedian, you'll notice that their jokes often fail. But they keep the flow going, and score often enough to keep most of their audience happy.

Of course, some people don't really seem to have any humor. Do you, Bill? I mean this seriously: What makes you laugh? Not all of my humor is political or religious, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that I should at least try to understand what might make you laugh. Do you have a favorite comedian? A favorite cartoon strip that makes you laugh? I hope you do, Bill, for your own sake. Or do you resist all humor, because it might demonstrate that you have too much time on your own hands, idle hands that could become the devil's playthings?


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
Edited by - HalfMooner on 10/08/2007 18:56:48
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 10/08/2007 :  19:00:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Kil wrote:
My warning had absolutely nothing to do with Mooners feelings.
Heartless bastard.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard

USA
5310 Posts

Posted - 10/09/2007 :  06:27:07   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Gorgo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Dave W.

Originally posted by Gorgo

You lay out an official warning because, what, you think Mooner can't take criticism?
We're trying to reduce the amount of interpersonal hostility on these forums. Bill was obviously being hostile, and that hostility nearly vanished between the time he was warned and the time his warning was rescinded. Now he's feeling entitled to continue his previous level of hostility and you, Gorgo, appear to be trying to escalate things even more, although you're being much more polite about it than Bill is.


So, to counter it, Kil is hostile to both Bill and Mooner, and you add your two cents for no other reason than to just drag on the nonsense.

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter



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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 10/09/2007 :  07:06:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Coming up ladies and gentlemen, is tonights main event; a Battle Royal Match! Twenty (count 'em: 20!) SFN Superstars will compete in this very ring and the last one still standing will recieve the coveted Undisputed Blatherskite Chumpionship Belt!

And there's the bell, and here we go!!






"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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