Posts by BettyHumpter

15

Do you believe in ultimate justice?

by Fisherman in

ultimate justice means that conduct is not inconsequential.

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BettyHumpter

since just about everyone, (including Hitler I suppose) who dies before Armageddon gets a free pass to the safe and secure new system

But don't you think what so horrible about Hitler (and others like him) is that he ended so many people's lives prematurely? As an atheist, that's the horror of it to me. He had some 'ideas' and therefore ended the one and only life that those millions of people will ever have.

If there is an eternal afterlife whether in a paradise earth or in heaven with God or something else, then anything bad that may have happened on this brief blip of time here on Earth is irrelevant and therefore loses any impact compared to the millions, trillions, quadrillions of years ahead.

If this life is just a layover on the way to an eternity of eternal bliss then why does it really matter if Hitler was a naughty boy?

15

Do you believe in ultimate justice?

by Fisherman in

ultimate justice means that conduct is not inconsequential.

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BettyHumpter

"The Bible says you reap what you sow...but I think a lot don't believe that applies to them or else they would treat others better."

Yeah, it says that,and sometimes it's true, but unless there is an afterlife where one faces consequences (i don't believe there is one) then history is full of examples of people having a grand happy time in their own life via stepping on and being atrocious to their fellow man.

52

Free Will - Does It or Does It Not Exist?

by truth_b_known in

being born-in and raised as one of jehovah's witnesses i remember a common theme or phrases used by the watchtower in its theory of why things are the way they are -.

jehovah created humans.

jehovah created humans as free moral agents.

BettyHumpter

I'm not sure it does. I think at the instant of the big bang every subatomic particle was going wherever it was going and from that point on it was like a break on a giant billiards table. Everything, including me, my parents, Julius Caesar, ladies basketball and even Lloyd Evans was inevitable from that point. Certain billiard balls combing in a certain way bouncing off another, causing the other to bounce off the other and on and on.

But we have no way of knowing the current or starting position of every subatomic particle, so whether all history was ordained in that instant or not doesn't matter except as a mildly depressing thought exercise. It feels like we have free will, so we should pretend we do.

94

Will Ukraine win?

by Fisherman in

i was under the impression that it was going to be a short war, that russia’s military would indeed subdue ukraine’s forces quickly but that is not happening.

seems that russia’s military power is much less than it’s reputed to be.

no guess how it will all end..

BettyHumpter

"(as compared with the benevolent US variety, as seen in Europe, 1945)"

The occupation of Western Europe was benevolent compared to the Soviet zones, but that is apparent in hindsight. I don't think this affected Japanese plans in the summer of 1945, though. The war in Europe was barely over, there hadn't been enough time to see what form it would eventually take.

I think that the firebombing,the coming American invasion in November, the Soviets declaring war and finally the atomic bombs gave them a choice of surrender or suicide. Once under occupation, the fact that it was mostly benevolent came as a pleasant surprise.

(an interesting tangent: A typhoon in October 1945 went right over what would have been the staging area for the Invasion of Japan. I've wondered how much of a delay, if any, this would have caused.)

30

UK Tax cut for the wealthiest

by BettyHumpter in

jw
friends

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BettyHumpter

"Who decided that I should give "Society" a greater percentage of my earnings than the guy next to me"

The idea of a progressive tax is to avoid putting too big of a burden on lower income people. Lets say we just had an across the board flat tax. Everyone regardless of income paid 35%. If your household income is 200K, you may still think it's a drag paying income taxes, but your ability to house, cloth and feed your family is not severely affected. But if you're family income is just 30K, that same rate could be devastating. People getting evicted or going hungry doesn't do society any good. That's the general idea of different tax brackets.

But we also have regressive taxes such as sales tax that are a flat % regardless of income and this stings low income people much more than wealthy. When paying for groceries for example.

Then there are sources of revenue that may not be taxes per se, in the sense that if you're careful you can mostly avoid them. Things like speeding tickets. If you're a millionaire and you get a $400 traffic ticket, it's pocket change and not much of a deterrent. If you're low income and get the same $400 ticket it could cause a financial crisis.

I've heard that in some countries they do have an income based fine system for traffic violations, where the rich guy who is speeding gets a fine that actually stings, so that everyone has the same incentive to obey the laws.

30

UK Tax cut for the wealthiest

by BettyHumpter in

jw
friends

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BettyHumpter

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8

Social Media is facing the First Amendment in the US.

by Fisherman in

law makers in the us want to pass laws that apply the first amendment of the us constitution to social media forums such as tiktok and youtube that have banned poster for speech and content violations.. in the us, 1a usually applies unhindered to traditional public forums (such as sidewalks and parks) with restrictions only as to time place and manner..

BettyHumpter

"The government is not to make any law prohibiting the exercise of free speech. The law in question would be the same as saying whenever someone wants to say something of a political nature inside your private place of business you have to let them inside to give their $0.02."

Correct. But it sounds like they are gonna try to make the argument that the internet is a public utility therefore nothing can be banned.... or something. The obvious counter to that would be "no one is stopping you from setting up your own website."

But....these are the types who pitched tantrums during Covid when private businesses asked them to leave for being maskless. They felt their "constitutional rights" were somehow being violated. In short, they're morons.

26

ARMAGEDDON

by Lost in the fog in

can i ask please especially for all who are pomo?.

we've taken a decision similar to revelation 18:4 to get out of the watchtower and not share in its sins.. how many of you still believe that god will one day terminate the world's many systems by means of an armageddon?.

BettyHumpter

"Christians won't be here on earth for this event, (having already been raptured)"

Makes perfect sense.

8

Social Media is facing the First Amendment in the US.

by Fisherman in

law makers in the us want to pass laws that apply the first amendment of the us constitution to social media forums such as tiktok and youtube that have banned poster for speech and content violations.. in the us, 1a usually applies unhindered to traditional public forums (such as sidewalks and parks) with restrictions only as to time place and manner..

BettyHumpter

"Law makers in the US want to pass laws that apply the First Amendment of the US Constitution to social media forums such as TikTok and YouTube that have banned poster for speech and content violations."

That's wild,wild stuff. Can you further explain what you're talking about?

30

UK Tax cut for the wealthiest

by BettyHumpter in

jw
friends

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