Just a little drive-by attack by your local blog host on a comment made by Mitt Romney this morning. “Attacking someone’s faith is unAmerican.” Oh, I beg to differ, Mr. Romney. I’m not sure there is anything quite as American as attacking Mormonism. The history of the Church of Latter Day Saints is practically one attack by Americans after another. I’m pretty sure that President Buchanan went so far as to send troops to Utah to deal with Brigham Young.
Given the lore Mormons attach to the events of the “Mormon War” in the 1840’s and their “exodus” from Nauvoo, Illinois, Mr. Romney’s comment does seem a bit affected.
I have no idea why Willard Mitt is running for President, but if his campaign convinces just one young person out there that no amount of money can buy competence it won’t have been in vain.
And in Huckabee news: He held up passage of a disaster bill in Arkansas in 1997 because he didn’t want tornadoes, flood, etc., to be referred to–as they usually are in such instances–as “acts of God”.
Hey–wait a minute. I actually agree with him here.
We know what causes hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc. We can even predict when they’ll hit, where (within reason), and how hard. Why, in 1997, where we still referring to these things as individual, conscious acts by some supernatural being? Why is this crap in our laws? Why is this crap in our insurance policies?
I suspect Rev. Huckabee had alterior motives, and the “acts of God” thing was a cover story. But who knows? I encourage him to showcase his God-doesn’t-do-floods belief in his campaign.
I recently answered an Email from German University teacher in Berlin who teaches advanced English precisley on the term ‘Act of God’.The German expression is ‘horere Gewalt’ and she thought the best translation for English might be the French term ‘force majeur’. I replied that traditionally insurance companies have used the term ‘act of God’ because no one can question God( in this ‘Christian nation’) and therefore specifically the insurance companies shouldn’t be required to pay for repair.But then added any ‘act of God’ is something that just has to be dealt with. Then I added that God seems to be on the side of those ‘who have’.This is the same group who have asked me to ‘explain logically’ why Americans voted for Bush ,even a 2nd time.
This is probably the only thing that I see eye to eye with Huckabee on.
No matter what your faith, most of us can agree that one of the following is true:
1. God is responsible for everything, or at least anything not caused by man. God is responsible for everything from sunsets to supernovas. The phrase “act of God” is not specific enough.
2.A being other than God (for example, the devil) is responsible for disasters. The term could be inaccurate.
3. God does not exist, and therefore cannot be responsible for natural disasters.
Has there been a court case in which a person who believes that God is not the cause of disasters and sued his insurance company over the language of the contract? Can we just start using the term “natural disaster”?
The Puritans fled religious persecution in England so that they could persecute people over here. It is an “American” thing to do, but it still does not make it right.
America is a geographical location. “American” in the literal sense of the word means anything or anyone that comes from America. An activity, be it baseball, religious persecution, or Communist aggitation could be said to be “American” if the activity takes place in America or is carried out by Americans.
The term “un-American” usually means whatever the speaker of the term wants it to mean.
Dog, Bush has been in office for 7 years now. If they don’t get it now…
What about having the “revelation” that God doesn’t want them to have multiple wives? Seems like that happened and suddenly Utah was made a state.
T-I don’t like the “Act of God” part of a policy, either. If they want to go that far, maybe they should give me a “guardian angel” discount since I haven’t had a car accident in a number of years. Just call it what it is-“forces of nature we don’t want to cover.”
An Act of God is a natural disaster but a natural disaster is not necessarily an Act of God.Probably insurance companies decide when the two terms co-incide ( don’t pay),and when they don’t( have to pay).In Florida there are many re-occurring stories of damage not paid for because of creative defining.What is flood damage,for example? Is flood damage only payable if the water comes in at ground level,or is it also flood damage if the water comes from a blown-off roof? So the hole gets fixed but no one pays for the water damage inside the house caused by the hole in the roof.. These are real stories.That’s where government needs to step and mandate that damage covered in name be paid for by one policy or the other.
I own a house in Florida and homeowners need to have 3 policies: home owners, flood, and wind storm damage,which requires a hurricane rider with typically about $3,000 deductible to cover hurricane damage,so that’s true catyclismic insurance.In Florida, house insurance can be higher than the real estate taxes.In my case they are about the same.
first- merry x-mas to you and yours! thanks for permitting me to annoy you, amuse you, and sometimes actually make some sense.giggle!(rhymes with google)
riddle me this: why are we spending trillions of dollars, and racking up thousnads of deaths,(about 4000 so far) and 30,000 wounded, (12,000 seriously- arms, legs, disfiguring, and TBI’s)fighting the evils of fanatical religious fundamentalist extremist islamic republican kool-aid drinkers.
Oh yea-we are fighting them over there so we dont have to fight them over here?
So let me get this straight. The GOP/Republican base is made up of mostly evil fanatical religious fundamentalist extremist “Islamic republican” Kool-aid drinkers, and they are engaging in sectarian political warfare to jockey for the republican nomination, so they can become commander in chief to fighte the RFE’s over there so we dont have to fight them over here?
confused yet?
And what of the rumors that Obama is a stealth “Malcom x”, and if someone were to MKLjr him some april, wouldnt that inject lots of cash,a dn rhetoric into the seriously stagnatedcivil rights movement- cant mobilize the troops if theres nothing to mobilize against? such as a lightning rod event- boy- I can hear Al, Jesse, Louis, and the rest all chomping at the bit , anghettos alll across america will burn. boy-what an international spectacle that would make?
and what an excuse to further clamp down with the forces of fear, and homeland security, to “insure the safety of the peoples of ze Fadderland”?(say that like Ah-nold vould say zat, and you get my point.
So I’m voting for Kucinich- but he will not be on the indiana ballot, and so I wont waste my vote, and will vote for Hillary. Imagine Mamoud,Amadmaniranian, and the fear of all the islamic /sharia loving male chauvinists in all the islamic republics, If a woman with PMS and an itchy nuke finger holds their fates, (and nuts) in the balance)
recall the ancient greek tale of “Lysistrata”?
that will get us out of iraq, and bring peace on earth, for sure.
anyway- doug. Mr. Masson- thank you for your indulgence, and allowing me to contribute to the civil discourse here in upper Indianastan.
I enjoy your legal teachings. i’ve learned a lot of practical things. want to be a member of my Governor staff-We’re taking over the entire hoosier gambling industry legally- worth billions. goldfinger, eat your heart out. Danny Ocean is a piker, by comparison.