Mark2005

Anyone can claim that. What if I marched to your door, kicked you out of your house and claimed God gave me your house? How would that sit with you?

I know it varies from one place to another, but where I am 2010 and 2011 was much, much worse. Nice to have some rain today. In 2011, they went 2-3 months with no rain. But, yes, I am convinced that global warming is a legitimate issue.

To answer the question in the original post: Yes, it is fine to vote for Mitt Romney or anyone else you feel is well qualified. One's choice of religion should not limit their voting choice. Some people will try to tell you their is a "right choice and a "wrong choice", but I disagree. Make up your own mind.

Throughout history there have been, and still are, a lot of evil leaders in the world. Do you blame God for that?

I think he should go to jail for at least 90 days or do a lot of community service. They need to make an example of this guy. He should also have to pay the restaurant for damages. Here is an idea, have him hold up a sign all day on the street corner advertizing for Chic Fil-A, while wearing a cow costume. To drive away more would-be customers?

Yeah, society is upside down in so many ways. No one really wants to repent, it seems. I find it odd what things are tolerated and what isn't.

So we see how ugly this was has become. And, in comparison with other stuff, this was pretty mild. At least no one got hurt. Honestly, I hope they're not putting people in jail for stuff like this. That would be going too far, IMO. Pay a fine and move on with. Nothing solved, sadly.

Then you would have to say the same for the rest of the world, not just U.S.

What did you think of Obama's pastor using his position for political purposes? It was terrible. I remember quite a few years ago sitting in a church service about two weeks before an election. The pastor's message was "vote your values". It was a very thinly veiled campaign propoganda session, complete with "voter guides" distributed to attendees. Made me sick. I thought "if this is what church has come to be about, why bother?" I have no problem discussing issues or even individual candidates. But when someone else tries to infer something about my character because of what I believe or who I support, I do get offended.

Another church figure attempting to use his position for political purposes. Sad. Again.

That was cited in the Salon article referenced above. I see the point; don't necessarily agree or disagree. As a reporter, I never used stuff like that in stories. It was like "I want to thank my Mom" or "my teammates did a great job". Just standard opening-line ice breaker. You courtesously wait for them to say it and then move on to what you want to ask. The only time I've referenced faith in a story is when I'm doing a profile of a certain person and it's obvious it's a big deal to them. Like a story I did years ago on an athlete who claimed to have been healed of a serious illness at a church camp. The catch is this.... no one ever interviews the losers about their faith. We never read or hear "I would have won, but God for the other gal" or "Glory to God I finished last." We got a couple of more God references in interviews from the US track hurdlers on Tuesday night. That's fine. I realize a lot of people --- from athletes to politicians to whomever --- faith is the most important part of their lives. That's fine. Doesn't really change my opinion one way or another.

Some of these shooters pass a background check fine because, hey, there has to be a first time for everything. It helps, but still a long way to go.

It's all just noise, a byproduct of this modern society where everyone has a platform to spout their opinion. Pretty soon, you learn to tune all that stuff out and do their own thing and be true to what you believe. The only problem I have with it is the message that God favors the winners more than the losers. What about Jordyn Wieber and her heartbreak? Does she love God or God love her any less? Equating success with God's favor can lead one down a very slippery slope.

No matter what solution you come up with, it will never be full proof. There is simply no way that you can ever provide an environment that is free of this kind of thing. We can take measures to reduce it, but never eliminate it altogether. Oh, I agree. I would suggest that until we learn to see the future, limiting access to weapons --- any kind of weapon --- is a step.

Anyone come up with a solution? How do you identify who the next shooter will be or how to keep guns with only the right people? Any ideas?

This is one of those issues where it is often hard to follow your conscious. It's a lot easier for me to sit here and denounce the evils of firearms than for the leader of a country to do so and alienate large groups of people.

I'm not sure which side is the more hateful, the LGBT side or their opponents.

Lots of different religions have various concepts of heaven or an afterlife. I have no idea which, if any, are true. I am OK with either idea, whether there is anything after this life or not. Maybe it will be even better than our present life. Not sure anyone really knows. I thought about it a lot after Dad died, but I'm at peace about it.

Yikes! That is where I used to live. Hope people are OK there.

In the middle of the continent, there are no ocean winds to cool things off. So you get more extreme temperatures in both summer and winter. Of course, Gulf Coast areas have higher humidity, but the actual temperatures are usually more moderate. Yes...that makes a lot of sense, about the mid states. I saw this morning ...there are terrible fires in Oklahoma... houses are burning. That is sooo sad. Wished I could have a long enough garden hose to reach there ...to give them water. I am not joking either. These people need to leave there towns or state...till everything gets better. I wouldn't mind taking in 2-3 people for refuge here where I live. Love Songs, When a place is very dry, it doesn't take much to start a fire. Remember the fires last month in Colorado? Then the winds start up and the fires can spread rapidly. Visited Yellowstone National Park and you can still see damage from the great fire in the late 1980s that destroyed thousands of acres. These fires are just too big to handle, even with all the modern equipment. Sometimes you have to wait for a break in the weather, some rain, change in the winds, etc. And that can take weeks or months. There is very little defense against them, which is why people often have to grab what they can and get to safety in a hurry. In many ways, the severe wildfires can be worse than the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.

BA, Enjoy my time in the Pacific Northwest, too. It's definitely different than most places, climate-wise. Most of the US is in a drought. I saw some long-range projections of a drought that could last through 2020. I don't have climate data in front of me, but it definitely FEELS hotter now than summers did 20 years ago. That could be me getting older or my body changing from the years I lived up north (moved back to the south last year... ugh), but I used to actually DO things outside in the summer. I do believe there is some truth to the global warming idea. I wouldn't say it is God giving a warning call, probably just natural climate cycles. But the sun shines on the just as well as the unjust.

In the middle of the continent, there are no ocean winds to cool things off. So you get more extreme temperatures in both summer and winter. Of course, Gulf Coast areas have higher humidity, but the actual temperatures are usually more moderate.

Send some rain over here, please. LoveSongs, I was in Oklahoma last year. Lot of bad things happened, but still have some friends there. Too hot there for me, although not much better in some other places. I deal better with cold winters than hot summers.

Why is it not the "smartest" thing to stand up for your convictions and say how you believe, how you feel? Is that somehow wrong? Or are Christian Conservatives the only group expected to give up their voice and remain silent? Explain to me exactly how what he said was "dumb." Cobalt, If one is running a for-profit business, it's usually not smart to alienate a certain segment of potential customers. That cost your business money. It would be the same if it were gender-based, race-based, religion-based, whatever. I respect his (or anyone's) right to say whatever they want. They will reap what they sow, however it shakes down. It's not a huge deal to me personally. Mark, the way you are reacting, it comes across as if you thought Mr.Cathy went out of his way to make a statement to disparage gays. That isn't what happened. He was being interviewed and asked to talk about its WinShape Foundation. You can read the whole thing here. But the point of contention was here: The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners. It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. "That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries," Cathy added. Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position. "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. "We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized. "We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles." Now does this sound like an irresponsible man out to alienate anyone? No, I don't think he was intentionally trying to alienate anyone. I'm proud of someone who isn't afraid to stand up for what they believe. (Sheesh, I do that and get hammered for it.) I think the whole thing has been blown far out of proportion. I suppose if I were a gay person, I might feel offended and not want to eat there. Understandable. There are plenty of other places to eat. I didn't participate in any sort of support Chick-Fil-A day. There is a restaurant not far from me and I enjoy eating there occasionally. But I'm not out to make any sort of political or social statement. I think the whole thing Mike Huckabee started was rather dumb and it came off making supporters and opponents both appear bigoted and mean-spirited.

This isn't Iran. Christians in America have it better than in many, many countries around the world. Tell some Christian in the middle east or parts of Asia or Africa how tough you have it in America, and they will laugh at you. Those people sometimes are killed for their faith.