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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#116751: Mar 19th 2016 at 9:53:47 AM

The thing is, though, that a lot of state religions kind of beget a population that...isn't very religious at all? Like, looking at Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, they're amongst some of the most progressive states in the world, and all four of them have a religion that's sponsored by the state. Granted, you can opt out of paying religious taxes if it goes against your personal beliefs or you just plain don't want to, and there's also (some) state support for other, officially recognized religions (I believe.)

Every function the Church is responsible for is religious in nature, and if there's a civil benefit at all (such as in the case of marriage), the state can perform the same function, so opting out is becoming very popular amongst the younger generation.

edited 19th Mar '16 9:54:42 AM by math792d

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#116752: Mar 19th 2016 at 9:58:46 AM

To start off the weekend with a little humor, GOP leaders assure Rubio the party split is not his fault.

In an effort to comfort the distraught former presidential candidate, top GOP leaders reportedly sat down next to a sobbing Marco Rubio Thursday and assured him that it wasn’t his fault the Republican Party was splitting up. “Marco, trust me, this isn’t about you—we’ve been having problems for years,” said RNC chairman Reince Priebus, who consoled the weeping Florida senator by repeatedly telling him that the party’s breakup had nothing to do with anything he had said or done. “The fact is, we tried our best to work through our issues, but we just fought all the time. There’s nothing you or any of the other establishment candidates could have done about it. Okay, buddy?” At press time, Rubio had started blubbering even louder when Priebus admitted the party would probably never reconcile.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116753: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:04:35 AM

"There, there," said the elephant to the robot. "It's not your fault. It's our fault..."

The elephant shed a single tear, which fell on the train tracks they both resided on...

edited 19th Mar '16 10:04:43 AM by Luminosity

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#116754: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:06:50 AM

[up] Is the establishment the mom, or the dad, in this divorce with the Trumplicans?

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#116755: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:10:23 AM

Granted, you can opt out of paying religious taxes if it goes against your personal beliefs or you just plain don't want to, and there's also (some) state support for other, officially recognized religions (I believe.)

I don't know how it is in the other Nordic countries, but in Iceland you can not actually get out of paying religious taxes. You can choose which religious institution or humanist organization gets your taxes, but you can not get out of paying the fee altogether — the most you can do is register as "outside of organized faith", in which case you still have to pay the tax, which is just gobbled up by the state with no specific purpose. I don't know what the exact situation with this is in Scandinavia, but considering that Iceland inherited its original constitution from Denmark, I could believe it's something similar.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#116756: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:18:00 AM

We have a religion thread guys....or maybe it should get its own thread given how generic this conversation is being.....

flameboy21th The would-be novelist from California Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
The would-be novelist
#116757: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:20:07 AM

We're talking about religion's involvement in politics.

But keep things IN AMERICA okay?

edited 19th Mar '16 10:21:02 AM by flameboy21th

Non Indicative Username
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#116759: Mar 19th 2016 at 10:23:52 AM

Trk r jrbz?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#116760: Mar 19th 2016 at 11:05:51 AM

Latin America worries about "Trumpismo" (WSJ). As an Argentine, I agree with this opinion piece.

edited 19th Mar '16 11:06:12 AM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#116761: Mar 19th 2016 at 11:36:20 AM

Weekly Shonen Jump?

edited 19th Mar '16 11:37:46 AM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#116763: Mar 19th 2016 at 12:17:26 PM

@ Religious Taxes: In Britain, we don't have them. The CoE is self-supporting.

@ Terminus:

Anything as long as it's kept classified for national security reasons

And for those, a Presidential Finding does the Job.

Keep Rolling On
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#116764: Mar 19th 2016 at 1:06:27 PM

[up][up][up]Wall Street Journal.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
optimusjamie Since: Jun, 2010
#116765: Mar 19th 2016 at 1:37:23 PM

[up] I think he was having a chuckle.

edited 19th Mar '16 1:37:35 PM by optimusjamie

Direct all enquiries to Jamie B Good
Bat178 Since: May, 2011
#116766: Mar 19th 2016 at 1:50:43 PM

[up][up][up][up][up][up] Great, now we have to worry about South America becoming Neo-Nazis too, not just North America.

edited 19th Mar '16 1:51:06 PM by Bat178

Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#116767: Mar 19th 2016 at 1:52:44 PM

I don't think that was the point of the article. The insinuation was that Trump is a "caudillo," a sort of personality cult politician familiar to Latin Americans, and that this is how they're explaining him down there. Whether the latter's true or not, I cannot say. I know enough Spanish to take orders like a child, not enough to make a cogent analysis of Latin perceptions of Anglo America. That said, we probably shouldn't worry about them turning fourth reich-y if that's what a caudillo does: It's happened, it's happening, it will happen again. What's seemingly new is an American iteration of the same. Even then, at least one commentator stoked the fires of American exceptionalism and speculated that our checks and balances would prevent him from doing as much as Hispanic caudillos have done in their own countries in the unlikely event he was elected.

edited 19th Mar '16 2:04:05 PM by Artificius

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#116768: Mar 19th 2016 at 1:54:09 PM

Indeed I was.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#116769: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:06:47 PM

What can the President do/not do with executive orders?
As Septimus noted, everything he's authorized to do by law. That is, the executive order must be explicitly sourced and grounded in authority already granted by existing statute. The Presidential side of the equation has been strongly pushing the envelope over the course of more than a century, though, so the exact bounds of it are nebulous, to say the least.

edited 19th Mar '16 2:06:57 PM by darksidevoid

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
TerminusEst from the Land of Winter and Stars Since: Feb, 2010
#116770: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:07:12 PM

[up][up][up]

Everyone, everywhere has problems with neo-nazis.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#116771: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:12:24 PM

South America is hardly caring about Trump, we got bigger problems than a brainless toupee with a loud mouth.

Also our problem is with the far left right now.

Inter arma enim silent leges
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#116772: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:15:21 PM

The thing with "separation of church and state" is that it's not a concept that will have any effect on people who believe that their religion is or should be a higher authority than the state.

@math792d: Simple: in Europe, churches (especially established churches) have quite often been associated with power and oppression. In America, religion has been associated with freedom.

And most of Europe has some degree of religious establishment. Germany collects church tax for all the churches, while Italy has the otto per mille which applies to everyone full stop (but is given to whichever church, or the State, the taxpayer wants). Seen in that light, there's no difference between that and the established churches of Scandinavia.

edited 19th Mar '16 2:17:43 PM by Ramidel

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#116773: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:17:25 PM

[up]x7: It's more of a commentary that the way Trump is doing politics is very similar to the way Latin American popullists have done so over here. The thing is, most of our populist caudillos use far-left rethoric rather than the far right one Trump uses (although there's some overlap anyway).

[up][up]More accurately (IMHO), with the corrupt shitheads hiding behind far-left "we are defenders of the poor" rethoric while selling our countries among themselves and their cronies.

edited 19th Mar '16 2:17:47 PM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#116774: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:19:57 PM

The revolution will not be nationalized?

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#116775: Mar 19th 2016 at 2:35:16 PM

It will just be transfered from one set of oligarchs to the next.

"Listen, years ago I rode with Juárez against Emperor Maximilian. I lost many chickens but I thought it was worth it to be free. When Porfirio became President, I supported him – but he stole my chickens. Then came Huerta and he stole my chickens. Then it was Carranza’s term, and he stole my chickens too. Now comes Pancho Villa to liberate me and the first thing he does is steal my chickens.(…) What makes one different from the others? My chickens don’t know. All over the world revolutions come and go. Presidents rise and fall. They all stole your chickens. The only thing to change is the name of the man who takes them."

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

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