Ahh secularism...

[MSimon]

You couldn't be bothered to finish your degree, so you're out of work and have no prospects.

You know nothing of my prospects. I'm not going into details but let me just say that there may come a time that you will wish you were in my shoes.

And why should I have bothered to get a degree? I consider them a waste of time and money. I became an aerospace engineer without needing one. You should be so lazy. You probably had to show your credentials to get a job. All I had to show was my ability and then perform.

And how about an independent evaluation of my work:

http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2012/05/call-freelancers

What major magazine in your field do you write for?

I attribute it all to dope.

As I said - my family needed my personal attention and I abandoned work to do what was required. I'm glad to see it upsets you so.

And around here who do people ask when a Polywell engineering question comes up? Not you. What is holding you back?

From my perspective your carping looks like a bad case of envy. Another of your deadly sins to add to your hate. You pile up enough of those sins and you will be living a very miserable existence. Will be? Heck. You sound miserable today. I am honored to have been able to assist in your quest. (Your "don't listen to him" just tickled me to no end. Heh. And here you are STILL listening to me. Heh. Heh. )

You are wishing I had lived differently. Take it up with the Head Office. Evidently your plan for me counts for nothing with them.

Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law.

[Skipjack]

Well, I know it goes back 2,000 years and further still under other names. Its roots can be found in ancient Babylonian Mystery Religion. I know that the recent American version is the result of the writings of Anton LaVey, known as Satan's Bible. I have read it and researched it through contacts with the Satanist church in Portland, and I wrote a research piece about it for my junior level journalism class.

I can tell you that the Supreme Court of the US has formally declared that Satanism is a religion protected under the US Constitution, as result of a case where a prison inmate sued because the prison would not allow him a copy of Satan's Bible. I can tell you that like most religions, the Satanic church is extremely diverse in its beliefs and practices from one place of worship to the next and from one individual to the next. I can tell you there are most certainly theists, deists and atheists in the Satanic church.

I can tell you that Satanism is an international religion that holds a conference every 5 years that brings together Satanist church leaders from all over the world and enables them to plan their agenda for humanity.

And I can tell you, the most fundamental tenant of the modern, American Satanist church is to do evil, and call it something else, then laugh at people who let them do what they do.

So shock us Skippy. What do you know about Satanism? It's not legal in Austria, is it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism

Satanism is a group of religions composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Satan
This one is probably the biggest "satanic religion". Sounds more like libertarians to me

The Nine Satanic Statements[14]

The Nine Satanic Statements outline what "Satan" represents in the Church of Satan:[15]
1.Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.
2.Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.
3.Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.
4.Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.
5.Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.
6.Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires.
7.Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development", has become the most vicious animal of all.
8.Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
9.Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years.

[edit] The Nine Satanic Sins[16]
1.Stupidity
2.Pretentiousness
3.Solipsism
4.Self-deceit
5.Herd Conformity
6.Lack of Perspective
7.Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies
8.Counterproductive Pride
9.Lack of Aesthetics

[edit] The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth[17]
1.Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2.Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
3.When in another's lair, show them respect or else do not go there.
4.If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy.
5.Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
6.Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
7.Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
8.Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9.Do not harm little children.
10.Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11.When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they don’t stop, destroy them.

[edit] Pentagonal Revisionism

Pentagonal Revisionism is a plan consisting of five major goals written in 1988 by founder Anton Szandor LaVey:[18]
1.Stratification — "No one should be protected from the effects of his own stupidity."
2.Strict taxation of all churches — "The productive, the creative, the resourceful should be subsidized. So long as the useless and incompetent are getting paid, they should be heavily taxed."
3.No tolerance for religious beliefs secularized and incorporated into law and order issues — "Amnesty should be considered for anyone in prison because of their alleged "influence" upon the actual perpetrator of the crime. Everyone is influenced in what he or she does. Scapegoating has become a way of life, a means of survival for the unfit. As an extension of the Judeo-Christian cop-out of blaming the Devil for everything, criminals can gain leniency, even praise, by placing the blame on a convenient villain. Following the Satanic creed of "Responsibility to the responsible", in a Satanic society, everyone must experience the consequences of their own actions—for good or ill."
4.Development and production of artificial human companions — "An economic "godsend" which will allow everyone "power" over someone else. Polite, sophisticated, technologically feasible slavery. And the most profitable industry since T.V. and the computer."
5.The opportunity for anyone to live within a total environment of their choice, with mandatory adherence to the aesthetic and behavioral standards of same — "Privately owned, operated and controlled environments as an alternative to homogenized and polyglot ones. The freedom to insularize oneself within a social milieu of personal well-being. An opportunity to feel, see, and hear that which is most aesthetically pleasing, without interference from those who would pollute or detract from that option."

[MSimon]

You couldn't be bothered to finish your degree

OK. I get it. You are incapable of learning on your own so you had to hire someone to teach you.

My condolences.

You would be surprised at how handy learning stuff on your own can be.

[MSimon]

1.Stratification — "No one should be protected from the effects of his own stupidity."

That corresponds to: Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law

[MSimon]

This one is probably the biggest "satanic religion". Sounds more like libertarians to me

Not too far off except for the vengeance part.

In most cases vengeance is a waste of effort. Indifference works better usually.

You should study American political history some though. What you call libertarianism was Conservatism around 1900.

What passes for "conservatism" these days was once a branch of Progressive (authoritarian) thought. Left wing Progressives are the secular branch and Right wing Progressives are the Religious branch. The branches diverged in the 20s 30s and 40s. Post war (2) they pretended to be two different parties - clever trick.

It is why the "left" rarely repeals the work of the "right" and vice versa. Each party adds to the mechanisms of control. Why would they want to give up control? It is in the nature of both parties. Two branches of the same philosophy.

[MSimon]

"Privately owned, operated and controlled environments as an alternative to homogenized and polyglot ones.

I personally like polyglot environments. It keeps you from being too "inside the box."

At the base of this branch of Satanism is fear. I never had much use for fear. It leads to unfortunate results.

LITANY AGAINST FEAR
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

[Skipjack]

LITANY AGAINST FEAR
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Dune...

[Skipjack]

I personally like polyglot environments. It keeps you from being too "inside the box."

At the base of this branch of Satanism is fear. I never had much use for fear. It leads to unfortunate results.

Honestly, I could not care less. It is just a another cult (or whatever you want to call it).

[MSimon]

I personally like polyglot environments. It keeps you from being too "inside the box."

At the base of this branch of Satanism is fear. I never had much use for fear. It leads to unfortunate results.

Honestly, I could not care less. It is just a another cult (or whatever you want to call it).

You mean like that Jewish cult popularly called Christianity?

[MSimon]

The libertarian message is especially attractive to younger Americans who are war-weary, socially liberal and skeptical of government interference in their lives. They've grown up paying into Medicare and Social Security but hearing – endlessly – that they're unlikely to receive the benefits of those programs. They see many government initiatives as unnecessary evils, and believe social issues such as abortion and gay marriage are matters of personal choice not political debate.

Many pondered why Ron Paul, at 76 years old, attracted throngs of 20-somethings to his rallies and, according to exit polls, consistently won the 18-29 age bracket early in primary season in states such as New Hampshire and Iowa.

Twenty-six-year-old Alexander McCobin has a response for that: "This is the most libertarian generation that's ever existed, and it's because libertarianism is just correct."

Four years ago, McCobin co-founded the group Students For Liberty, which now has some 780 affiliates. He was first turned on to the philosophy in ninth grade when his father gave him a copy of the Ayn Rand novel "Atlas Shrugged," the story of a fictionalized United States on the brink of collapse amid economic depression brought on by increasing government interference and regulations.

At 18, McCobin registered with the Libertarian Party. He plans to vote for Johnson come November, though he believes the outcome of any single presidential race is far less important than spreading the message of libertarianism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wire ... n-america/

Yeah. HufPo. Go figure. Arianna and I corresponded for a while when ending Prohibition was her thing. So maybe she is returning to her roots.

There is nothing like making war on your children (Prohibition) to make them turn away from you. Another case of just deserts.

[Skipjack]

You mean like that Jewish cult popularly called Christianity?

If thats your opinion

[Diogenes]

D,

Your culture war only perpetuates your misery. On this issue you are a joke. And the joke is beating you hard. The harder you fight your culture war the more harm it will inflict on you. Just deserts.

I know this is difficult for you but you might want to find the speck of love in your heart and see if you can't enlarge it until it fills the universe. The work is long and hard and painful and worth it. Odds are though you are too old and set in your ways to change. Pity.

Dude, I am not a warrior, I am a prophet. The culture war is going to resolve itself without any help from me. I'm just pointing out that a lot fewer people will get crushed if they get out of the way of nature's rebuke.

[Diogenes]

"Always another excuse for being a druggy and burden on society. "

I look at it as just your excuse to get the jack boots to do something you like to see done, when it's none of your business. Most of the people I know who do drugs aren't a burden on anyone, and that has been a constant since history started keeping track of such things.

Thing only thing the war on drugs got us was an ignored constitution and an army pointed at us.

What we got from it is NOT having the Socio-Economic Collapse that China had. Nobody seems willing to examine this theory, so perhaps I just need to keep posting it. The following is a repost of this message.

I guess I'm near the top of that list.

Wasn't inferrring I thought you were a nutbag, hasty editing on my part...the libertarians seem to be the only ones who wish this country to get back to anything the founders would recognize. The war on drugs has been a miserable failure (only an authoritarian nutbag would think otherwise) worse than prohibition(thanks to FDR for helping to end that) Forfeiture of assets is the most blatant example of legalized piracy by the gov against its own citizens, the war on drugs needs to end for that reason alone.
http://reason.com/blog/2012/06/14/but-w ... ld-steal-h

I have yet to see a single one of you "libertarians" address the point that the war on drugs is NOT a miserable failure because since the early 20th century it has prevented us from doing this:



Chests of Opium imported into China.



For some reason, all you people who supposedly have an understanding of physics can't seem to grasp that it takes energy to oppose a force, and if there is no energy spent in opposing a force, the natural result is a pattern like this:






Do you physics majors not understand acceleration? (exponential growth.) Of COURSE it takes a force to prevent acceleration! (from another force) Our Drug war has held the addiction rate down to ~2%. Without it, after a hundred years we should likely have a 50% addiction rate, as did China after a hundred years!

Are such simple concepts REALLY beyond your understanding?

[TDPerk]

Nobody seems willing to examine this theory, so perhaps I just need to keep posting it. The following is a repost of this message.

Our own history is the counterexample which voids your counterfactual. It's obvious it's only in the pointiest part of your own head that you even have a point to examine. The hundreds of years of our history when recreational pharmaceuticals were not controlled and were no more a problem in and of themselves than they are today are evidence you've got nothing.

All we have from drug prohibition is like fractions of people--compared to pre-prohibition--using drugs, a like small fraction of which have a habit that makes them a problem to other people in trying to satisfy their habit, and our trying and inevitably failing to prevent anyone from using them costs a lot of money and forces us to ignore the constitution in attempting it.

Prohibition is just a dead loss all around.

[TDPerk]

Or, to take a glance at counter evidence which is far, far more specific, look at this account of opium use in Nantucket:

http://revolution.h-net.msu.edu/threads/crevecoeur.html

" In the Revolutionary era, French immigrant turned American farmer J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur noted that many women on Nantucket took a “dose of opium every morning” and “would be at a loss how to live without this indulgence.”1 And in February 1839, the editor of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal insisted that “The secret consumers of opium in the United States are vastly more numerous than is suspected” and that opium-eating was particularly prevalent among the rich, who could afford to “gratify the propensity without restraint.”2 "

Several things should come to mind, namely that Nantucket, even though it was in this--presumably in your eyes, sad state--at bout the same time as your graphs for china begin...it never experienced your growth in addiction rates, and their is no evidence in this account there were any especially large fraction of useless people in Nantucket in that time or decades following. And yet, their was no prohibition, and opium could be freely had at a relatively manipulated market price.

Your graphs do not prove what you claim they do, and we know this from history.

In fact, it stands out how throughout most of this country's history, addicts have been productive people.

It is Prohibition and it's associated effects which render most of those who are useless, useless.

So end the obviously failed experiment called the War on Drugs.