Bush isnt stupid(Im not an expert, but they dont let stupid people in yale), and for anyone who thinks everything is his fault you dont know how our government works/you dont understand the power of congress. And yes its up to a mere couple hundred of people, 535 to be more exact. If your upset at america, you should be upset with congress, because they all voted one way, and quicklly change their minds on critical matters. Had 9/11 not happened you probly wouldnt have anything bad to talk about right now regarding bush, or america. That whole thing ruined his presidency. So say what you want but its not exactlly fair. People think Clinton was a better president then Bush. Do some research on it. 9/11 really screwed bush over.
As this video shows, Clinton basically wanted to do the same thing as Bush:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j79y7i10FY

America is founded on religous background, however that has nothing to do with our law, and things like abortion are pretty much diffrent for everyone, even people of the same religion, its also against the law for those two things to come in contact, its called seperation of church and state, which im sure your familiar with. Who cares if christians voted for bush, you relise every president we have has either been agnostic, or protestant. Cept John F Kennedy of course, but that should be proof enough that religion isnt a big factor. If you have exciting ideas then people will elect you.

This is the kind of person we dont need:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGct7N86mrY&mode=related&search=

Bush is stupid.  He is an idiot.  And he definately is a liar.

And Pug, I understand what you're saying completely.  Religion and politics should be handled completely separately.

Are they realisitically separable though? Since religion governs the moral values of a society, and assuming that those moral values, in turn, lead to the creation of a nation's laws, it seems like they can't be pulled apart.

Not to step on any toes, but these days, we all know that the authenticity of religion itself is debatable. It took centuries before Jesus's words are documented, and it is without a doubt that the church burned all other holy documents save for the 4 remaining ones Christians use today. Is Christianity today only part of a bigger, more complete picture?

The same applies to Buddhism. Why are there so many sects - Theravadan, Mahayanan (or whatever it's called), Zen and so on? The Buddha's words were documented hundreds of years after his death. Therefore, how much of it is "his words" and how much is "added on"?

In Buddhism, I have never accepted anything beyond what are most certain to be Buddha's words - the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path. Anything more than that differs with each sect, and I can only assume that the rest of the alleged "doctrines" are merely contrived by followers.

Just some thoughts.

Bashing, yes. Behind, no. Point, non-existent to begin with. Bashing doesn't make anyone feel better. Likewise, venting does not cool off a person. *shrug*

Venting cools me off :) beer too.

Yes.

We don't need religion to know what is right and wrong, good and evil.  Religion is mostly nonsense, unfortunately it has an exceptionally strong ability to make people believe in all sorts of rubbish.  Thankfully I live in a country where religion has practically zero influence on my day to day life, a fact for which I am eternally grateful.

Same here. That said, most of Europe is very secular to begin with...

Although I'm not against religion, it does lead some people to believe in some... bizarre superstitions.

In a fruitless attempt to show that he has potential, my now-ex-teammate cited the belief that thick eyebrows speak of high creativity. And he has really thick eyebrows. Does that really prove anything? I wonder sometimes how these beliefs came to be.

I have thick eyebrows. Am I creative? If so, then +1 for that theory.

On my part, I find that religion contributes mostly to my meditation and reflecting. Soul-searching and things like that.



I'm sorry that in many circles it's often commercialised, forced upon others, and a basis for war and impediments to advancement.



But to me, religion is something I believe should be more on grace, acceptance and betterment, for yourself and others - but more importantly something that deals with the various philosophical aspects of life. A sort of spiritual comfort, I suppose.



. . .



And oh, some grandparents where I am are very certain the landing on the moon was entirely fabricated. It's a place of higher beings, you know. No man can reach it.