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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (510717)	9/6/2009 12:16:17 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1579770

Reason is Kryptonite to the wingnut ideology.

To: koan who wrote (510717)	9/6/2009 12:28:48 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 1579770

EDITORIAL: The NEA's partisan work for Obama Federal agency organizes artists to push Democratic agenda (Goebbles would be proud of Obama) By THE WASHINGTON TIMES When the Obama administration launched its United We Serve volunteerism program earlier this summer, it was all about building playgrounds, caring for wounded veterans and reading to homeless children. Weeks later, the Obama White House, the National Endowment for the Arts and United We Serve have revealed the actual agenda -- backing the administration's political priorities with coordinated propaganda, perhaps boosted by millions in stimulus cash. In a conference call with dozens of politically connected artists held Aug. 10, Yosi Sergant, director of communications for the NEA, made the plan explicit: c "This is just the beginning. This is the first telephone call of a brand-new conversation. We are just now learning how to really bring this community together to speak with the government." c "So bear with us as we learn the language, so that we can speak to each other safely and we can really work together to move the needle and to get ... stuff done." c "I would encourage you to pick something, whether it's health care, education, the environment.... Then my task would be to apply your artistic, creativity community's utilities. Bring them to the table." c "Take photos. Take video. Post it on your blogs. Get the word out. Like I said, this is a community that knows how to make a stink. Do it. Do it within your town. Do it nationally. Call on other producers, marketers, publicists, art -- you know -- artists, people from within our community and get them engaged." The Obama administration had to know that its effort to use a supposedly independent arts agency and a national volunteer program to coordinate political propaganda in support of the administration's agenda was shady, to say the least. The most important unanswered questions are: Which artists and organizations were invited to be part of the effort? How many of them were recipients of grants from $80 million the NEA has distributed this year as part of the stimulus program? Clearly, there is something here because the first reaction of the administration to questions about the effort was to fudge. After the basic facts of the conference call broke on BigHollywood, Andrew Breitbart's Web site, The Washington Times called Mr. Sergant to ask for details of the effort, including a copy of the invitation sent to artists. In an act of shortsighted amateurism, Mr. Sergant -- an Obama political appointee -- told a Washington Times online producer the exact opposite of the truth: that the invitation "didn't come from us, so I don't have it to distribute. The corporation who set up the conference call and who conducted the conference call is another federal agency." The next day, BigHollywood published the invitation. Not only did the NEA send the invitation, but Mr. Sergant is the one who sent it. The invitation itself says the NEA was working in "collaboration" with United We Serve and the White House Office of Public Engagement. And Mr. Sergant was a dominant participant in the conference call. When government officials deceive the public, it's usually to cover up something wrong.

To: koan who wrote (510717)	9/6/2009 3:07:07 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1579770

Sorry, most of the DWM Greeks weren't atheists or opposed to religion. If they had been, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars wouldn't have preserved their works for thousands of years. There were a few exceptions like Epicurus and Democritus though even they didn't deny the Gods, only that they cared about humanity. Epictetus: When you close your doors, and make darkness within, remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone; nay, God is within, and your genius is within. And what need have they of light to see what you are doing? All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way. God has entrusted me with myself. If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked. You are a little soul carrying around a corpse. Empedocles: Happy is he who has gained the wealth of divine thoughts, wretched is he whose beliefs about the gods are dark. The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere. Socrates: A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true. Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us. Zenophanes God is one, greatest of gods and men, not like mortals in body or thought.