eym_sirius

What could that possibly have to do with anything that has to do with discrimination against people, on the basis of race, age, gender, or sexual identification?

Actually, you're way off target. A business does not have, as evidenced by legal precedents, the right to discriminate, to deny equal treatment to customers. The racial makeup, the social profile, the age - none of these things may be used to deny services or products. You KNOW the stories from several years ago about diners who discriminated and got sued! Refusing equal treatment based on prejudice isn't just a bad business practice - it's illegal. If you know a law that allows age, color, racial, or sexual discrimination as (what you call) a "right of business", then state it! I'm b

A company that makes wedding cakes does not have to put two guys on the top of the cake. They can say that they don't do that, because they don't have guy-couple figures to put there. There's no discrimination if the cake company doesn't make a special accomodation that's outside of their usual offerings. However, if they refuse service to a gay couple who will put their own 2 guys on the top of the cake - That's discrimination because they offer cakes for sale to everyone but gay couples. The example of a muslim being required to prepare pork is inappropriate, since the muslim individual

For those who are familiar with the "Dual Survival" series: I received a note recently from Cody Lundin that said that he was separated from the Dual Survival show over safety concerns and other differences.

I've always had the same name, but the avatar has changed from time to time. I saw the "escape key" pic and thought that it suited "eym_sirius" because of the break-out spirit of nonconformity. I've made some great friends, including LPPT, but I rarely get to see her or any of them anymore. It's a comfort to come back here and see that some things are still the same.

If it were truly a non-issue, then the media reports would generate no conversation. The fact that we are having a discussion, and especially since the discussion includes those who say, "who cares?", indicates that it is a matter of interest. Taking a position contrary to those of your sex who do not share your sexual interests sometimes takes the form of a declaration of separation. In other words, in a multitude of ways,and for a variety of reasons, people proclaim their sexual interests by indicating that they have a difference with, in this case, gay individuals. They're not really seekin

In the same way that some people put their sexuality on display, others put their sexual hangups/fears and perverse fantasies out there for everyone to see. Speculation about what goes on in showers, locker rooms, and behind closed doors is for those with prurient interests and related fantasies. Maybe the reason they are so quick to make jokes and disparage others is because they have unresolved issues of their own and this is the dysfunctional way they are dealing with them!

What I'm wondering is "Why do you spend time thinking about other people showering in a locker room?" I think that it's not necessary to further characterize people who need to visualize such things!

If your attitude is that it doesn't matter about a person's sexual orientation, because it's that person's business and nobody else's, then why do you have difficulty with the individual no longer living a lie and "coming out"? How, when, or if they choose to disclose this information should be their personal business. Let's remember, too, that this is about the information getting out on a person's own terms, instead of it being spread by the tabloids. Think that nobody cares about who is gay in sports? If nobody cared, then this would not be an issue. It is an issue, because there are people

Feelip - Did you see Tebow play? He didn't start the faux-praying thing in the pros! Praying needn't include prayer-posing. The prayer-pose was Tebow's "signature move" and it was something, from all accounts, that he did during the games, but not during practice! He didn't throw a TD pass in practice and prayer-pose! He did it for the cameras, as a way of promoting his brand!

Feelip - "....his own shower and locker room"? What are you talking about? You DO know that there have always been gay football players, right? And that they've always shared locker rooms and showers? In this context can you see how your comment was nonsensical?

champsbbcoach - How utterly ridiculous to compare the Tebow situation to Michael Sam being gay. Tebow made a SHOW of his christianity on the field and it's for his on the field histrionics that he was rightfully ridiculed. Sam has made NO such on-the-field dramatic show of his sexuality. It occurs to me that their situations were done for OPPOSITE reasons. Tebow made his show a DISTRACTION from what should have been his focus. Sam only made the disclosure to KEEP from it being a distraction if the issue came up during the season. One person was making an on-the-field spectacle of him

["99% of the world COULD care less"] feelip - So only ONE percent doesn't care about this at all? Speculative opinion-percentages aside, how could you possibly know anything about the social dynamics of being gay? Have you discussed with ACTUAL gay people why they need to come out? Wouldn't that be the proper place to begin, rather to engage in speculation based on ignorance? (like this: "It appears that in the gay world...") I think that the answer lies in "intolerance". You can't just allow them to express their lives in their own terms. You have to know why they do what they do? Why

Again -- Anyone opposed to the government helping people is opposed to helping people. If people, for whatever reason, require transportation to get their kid to school - then that transportation needs to be provided or else some of our young people will not have an education and then will be a bigger burden on society, due to lost potential and higher crime rates.

Are there alternatives? If the roads are driveable, then how about taking a taxi to pick up your kid? Not sure why anyone would need for their kids to be at home, as long as they're safe. But for those who think that government shouldn't be the answer - utilize private enterprise solutions, walk to the school and walk back with your child -- or wait for the government school bus to bring your child home, whenever that is.

For those who want limited government/no government - Who, if not the government, is supposed to assist citizens in situations of need? Private enterprise? Who is supposed to do welfare checks on stranded vehicles? Who salts/sands the roads? What private enterprise puts out the fires yesterday? What private enterprise ensured the safety of school children who couldn't get home to their homes yesterday? Kudos to any private enterprise entity that opened its doors, but the truth is that private enterprise will only go so far in what it can or will do to assist people in need. The bulk of that du

You know that the radical right-wing doesn't believe in science! They'd only believe in the effects of greenhouse gasses if a supernatural being magically created them.

Does anyone know what good a "head meteorologist" is, if he can't analyze and predict a weather system within twelve hours? If all he does is to look out the window and report that it's snowing -- any of us could do that!

Coincidentally, I was posting this same idea on another thread; I didn't see this one. Last night about 11ish, Glenn Burns was calling for a "slight dusting, with no more accumulation than one inch". Thousands listened to him and thousands got stranded. Schools didn't let out until after it was too late to get them safely home on the buses. It's time for Atlanta to get some new "head meteorologists"!

I think that the screw-up this time was the "head meteorologists" who called late last night for a "small dusting" of snow, with no greater accumulation than 1 inch. Does the title "head meteorologist" actually mean anything? It seems like there's absolutely NO actual analysis by the local weathermen. They just seem to pass along what the national weather service says. I think that when it comes to the possibility of extreme weather events, it's a mistake to put a lot of trust in the "expertise" of the head weatherguys. They were WAY off the mark this time! I think that the stations need to co

GD - Surely, as smart as you are -- you could think of a better response than -- "Nuh-uh - It's THEM doing it, not us!" Besides that, your response was off-point, the point being that the meme "Uncle Sugar" ORIGINATED with right-wing think tank jerks for brainless sheep to repeat THAT meme. Your point was self-incriminating, since you seem to be saying, "Yeah, I'm a brainless sheep, but so are the liberals, in a spin-doctored version of my sheepiness"!

What a great guy and great talent!

The truth is that there is no "Uncle Sugar". There's just a bunch of jerks in an ultra-conservative think-tank who design memes for human sheep who will spread "Uncle Sugar" around like the ROTOVIRUS on the Royal Carribbean!

But -- just to be clear here -- You have choices, right? Isn't the point of the OP that teachers and other State of GA employees have NO choice in healthcare providers? What does your personal situation have to do with State employees having no healthcare alternatives? You complain about having to pay for your own healthcare costs. What are YOU offering as an alternative solution - someone ELSE paying for your bills? Isn't that the very essence of (((((Socialism)))))? If you ARE offering that alternative (someone else paying your bills), this is the ONLY WAY that the afflicted CAN receive

By the way, for those who want to regard warning fellow humans about certain natural hazards as going AGAINST the principles of "survival of the fittest" for the good of the species, it's likely that clear communication skills and a willingness to assist others (empathy) may be traits of MORE evolved individuals! Likely, those individuals who can't stomach human understanding and caring will be the ones left on the trash-heap of evolutionary history! There will always be people who look for an excuse NOT to care for others! It's bizarre that there are functional adults who think that hel