Laurette

True independent thinkers don't change their clocks just because everyone else does. I will do my own research and determine what time it is

And the answer is to BAN it?

Ok, I am glad to hear it. Most people (not you) write/speak/post as though Israel was the only state favoring a religion.

I did not say that. But I am glad to hear that you are consistent and I will assume that you criticize all countries which mandate racial or religious discrimination.

And other countries give special privileges to Christianity or to Hinduism. I'm not claiming that these countries are necessarily democracies, but one should keep this in mind. Some people seem to think that (or post as though) Israel is the only country with a state or official religion.

The Saudi Arabian constitution IS the Qur’an and Sunnah. Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan define themselves as Islamic states. In Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Qatar, Yemen, Brunei, Sudan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, conversion from Islam is a criminal (sometimes capital) offense.

These countries' constitutions name Islam as the state religion: Afghanistan, Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Comoros, Mauritania, Somalia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia.

You are right that I used the word "rebuttal" too loosely.

Report: Pentagon Eyes Defending “Armageddon” Briefings Religious-freedom group claims a Pentagon source reports some are defending the briefings as personal speech

On the other hand, this jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/report-pen... seems to indicate the reports might be true as originally reported, with little or no exaggeration.

I did read it before posting. No, it's not a rebuttal, but it expresses skepticism, saying that a thinly and repetitively sourced exposé might be exaggerated and that if it were to be debunked, it would harm our cause. It questions why only this single journalist was contacted by so many.

Before you share that story about how troops were told the Iran War is for "Armageddon," read this The narrative is dramatic. The sourcing is thin. And skepticism matters, especially on something this serious.

But here is a rebuttal. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/before-you...

Before you share that story about how troops were told the Iran War is for "Armageddon," read this The narrative is dramatic. The sourcing is thin. And skepticism matters, especially on something this serious.

But here is a rebuttal. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/before-you...

Maybe when they are older …?

Z by Costa Gavras

As in France, where the two ruling parties from 1960-2017 of the left (Hollande, Mitterand, ...) and right (Chirac, Sarkozy, Pompidou, ...) have been replaced by two other parties: the extreme right (Le Pen, Bardella) and the center (Macron).

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez. www.propublica.org/article/alex...

Yes, I agree that the attention that Trump pays to elections indicates that he knows he can't just push the "steal midterms" button. However he could be planning to do BOTH -- pursue electoral (gerrymandered etc.) victory in districts he can win AND ALSO steal the election in districts he can't win.

So famous actors James van de Beek and Eric Dane both needed fundraisers to support their end of life care (and families). But at least the US has freedom…. from caring about other people I guess?!??

It’s a Wonderful Life bank run scene.

“You're thinking of the $175 billion in tariff money all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Your money's in the White House ballroom, the renaming of the Department of Defense, the $10 billion transfer to the Board of Peace, and a hundred other unauthorized actions.”

www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/pro...
Bill Gates has given a tremendous amount of money to fight malaria.

Malaria - Eradication, Prevention, Through Innovation & Data Malaria eradication is a top priority of the foundation. For two decades, we have devoted resources and expertise to a relentless pursuit of malaria eradication.

www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/pro...
Bill Gates has given a lot to fight malaria. REALLY a lot.

Does ICE compensate wrongful detained people?

Weren’t we told that it was time to panic when the Trump administration started ignoring court orders?

Weren’t we told that we would know we’d lost when the Trump administration started ignoring judicial orders?

U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections

NYT: Trump secretly deported 9 migrants despite court orders to not remove them to their home nations. So, he sent them to prison in Cameroon: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...

The commander in chief telling troops who they have to vote for is itself a presidency ending impeachable scandal.

The US DOD has just blacklisted military personnel from taking courses at most of America's top universities and specialist tech and medicine schools, including Harvard, Yale, MIT and Johns Hopkins. Somehow I don't see the PLA making this kind of unforced error.

I feel this way about pretty much all vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. You shouldn't be allowed to dump cyanide into municipal drinking water and you shouldn't be allowed to recreationally spread viruses around shared public spaces.

I do not understand why journalists (or Congress) never ask for proof or even evidence. “Each Caribbean boat knocked out saved the lives of 25,000 people”? Ok, show us the drugs. ‘Murderers taken off the street”? Ok, show us their criminal records.

I do not understand why journalists (or Congress) never ask for proof or even evidence. “Each Caribbean boat knocked out saved the lives of 25,000 people”? Ok, show us the drugs. ‘Murderers taken off the street”? Ok, show us their criminal records.