@pureblarney: I've always thought atheists were closer to fundamentalists than either would care to consider -- so certain in their certainty. List me as agnostic -- did aliens plant a terrarium? -- and pass the chips
@If_I_Had_a_Poodle: Oh lord, please don't bring that into it... I was just making a lol.
I call myself an atheist only because I don't believe in any religious definition of an Earth-only god. I think a lot of atheists are very arrogant... But I think we're really only human, and by that fact that we're very inclined to trust mythology and imagination. I'm not sure what happened at the Big Bang, but I wouldn't rule out something that's so big that we wouldn't possibly be able to understand it... which might encompass something godlike, but I think it's self-limiting to try and think of it that way. I guess I'm more of an atheist-agnostic hybrid, but in general, I think religion is beautiful and important as a tool and as a mythology, and all the cosmological history I ever read makes me so excited and so overwhelmed. Anyways, here's the chips, and pass me a beer.
Medical marijuana is a budding field that resinates with many. Once you hash out the legalities and get your rolling papers in order, you can make a kushy living.
Pot puns? You can say weed rather not, but we've got a sensimilla of them.
@Glib and Bitchy: I hope I'm not just the tokin' female in this discussion, even though women do know better how to provide a little THC. Can't we all be buds?
@Matt Cherette: Hey! I went there--class of '01!--and it's a wonderful institution with a proud tradition of academic rigor and intellectual--oh who am I kidding. Abort mission.
@Foster Kamer: It was funny like a typical New Yorker cartoon is funny. You know someone out there is laughing, but they are likely a 75-year-old shut-in.
Not understanding the logic of why only historically black colleges and a university for women can provide accessible, affordable education for minorities and women. I know this story hits the left's sweet spot, but these schools are duplicative and basically mediocre. You'd do the afflicted groups more good by concentrating on the good schools and preparing students to enter them and helping them pay for it.
@quotidian: As a student at an HBCU, I completely disagree with you. Though I never planned on attending a historically black institution, I found it hard to resist the full scholarship offer. The students here who received this scholarship are national merit and achievement scholars. Things don't run as smoothly here and other HBCUs as they may at better funded schools, but I've not found my education lacking. Knowing we have to fight against the presumption that we're receiving a mediocre education, the professors stress that we must know everything expected of us and much more.
As for those who are not here for the same reasons as I am, they are offered the chance to get a college education when, yes, they probably wouldn't have been accepted to many other places. I don't see a problem with that. The fact is, these schools are educating most of the black college grads in the country. Closing them down would obviously leave a void in opportunity.
@quotidian: As a student of MUW, I also completely disagree with you. Our tuition is thousands of dollars less that MSU's, despite the fact that the atmosphere of MUW, which is much more like that of a private college with no classes over 25 or 30 people, is simply preferable to some students. Mississippi University for Women, which has admitted both men and women for almost thirty years, was the first public university for women in the country and has a thriving women's studies program as well as the only culinary arts institute in Mississippi. We also have a 12:1 student faculty ratio, a beautiful, charming campus, and traditions that have been going on for over a hundred years. Mississippi State University has none of these things. MUW is a wonderful school, and is a much better option for a lot of us, not just the "afflicted groups," though I guess the inexpensive tuition and emphasis on women is a plus for them too?
The argument for programs "pulling their financial weight" is why only PE is taught in redneck schools. You think Arithmetic pulls its own weight? When is the last time you went out and bought a ticket for one?
@MisterMustard: I'm from Mississippi, and I grew up in the suburbs. Not at all third world, I'm afraid. I will agree that there are parts of the Mississippi Delta that are horribly impoverished, and perhaps that's what you're thinking of, but the entire state is by no means like that.
@SouthernSatine: I am from the MS Delta and I do agree that the area has impoverished parts, but that is also a valid reason to keep these smaller universities open. The majority of MS residents can't afford to attend the larger universities which also have larger tuition rates. Financial aid doesn't always cover the entire amount.
11/29/09
11/28/09
[Insert "wait. wut?" here.]
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I call myself an atheist only because I don't believe in any religious definition of an Earth-only god. I think a lot of atheists are very arrogant... But I think we're really only human, and by that fact that we're very inclined to trust mythology and imagination. I'm not sure what happened at the Big Bang, but I wouldn't rule out something that's so big that we wouldn't possibly be able to understand it... which might encompass something godlike, but I think it's self-limiting to try and think of it that way. I guess I'm more of an atheist-agnostic hybrid, but in general, I think religion is beautiful and important as a tool and as a mythology, and all the cosmological history I ever read makes me so excited and so overwhelmed. Anyways, here's the chips, and pass me a beer.
11/29/09
11/28/09
Pot puns? You can say weed rather not, but we've got a sensimilla of them.
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(btw, "Am stirred, damn"? HA! Tijuana try another?)
11/28/09
11/28/09
For twenty years now!
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11/28/09
Speaking of Hogwarts, you don't think Nevil Longbottom has the word "bong" in his name for nothing, do you? Horticulture ftw.
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11/19/09
As for those who are not here for the same reasons as I am, they are offered the chance to get a college education when, yes, they probably wouldn't have been accepted to many other places. I don't see a problem with that. The fact is, these schools are educating most of the black college grads in the country. Closing them down would obviously leave a void in opportunity.
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
God damn
11/18/09
11/18/09
New GOP motto: If it ain't swinging from a tree, there's no racism to see!
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