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wild_turkey

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wild_turkey last won the day on January 27 2020

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  1. A shitty motel with 50 rooms has a night clerk throughout the night to monitor for problems. A camp with over 600 young girls sure as hell better have people awake at all hours, looking out for any potential danger. When that camp is next to a river and the forecast shows a chance of flash flooding, that should be the threat you don’t take your eyes off of.
  2. Pope Francis and Zelensky have had more to say about this than Trump.
  3. Adding onto my previous post because my thoughts shift somewhat... I'm assuming any attempt to explain this will go back to the concept of original sin, that Adam and Eve are responsible for the fall of mankind, we all deserve to die and spend eternity in hell for our sins, and anyone who isn't dead (yet) or is part of the small minority that makes it into heaven has been spared by the grace of God. So all the kids that died this weekend deserve it, their families deserve their devestation, and the others live to fight another day. The kid that dies in a school shooting deserves it. The mother that dies of cancer deserves it. That part really doesn't work for me, and likely one of the primary reasons I turned away from Christianity. If you are willing to believe that God is almighty enough to save people (especially that he can be motivated by prayer), then his unwillingness to save people is cruel. The Bible says something like "wide is the gate that leads to death and narrow is the path that leads to life." Okay cool, so his own user manual for the world he created informs us that most people will die and spend eternity in hell. But he created this, all of it. It's his game that we are forced to play. And every moment that this world continues spinning on its axis, millions more people are born who he will ultimately condemn to hell. Why allow that to continue? It's saddistic. Perhaps a willingness to accept that is an entry level requirement to being a Christian. I guess my brain isn't wired that way. It defies all logic.
  4. This post is prompted by Greg Abbott telling the people of Texas that prayer works in a tragedy and that today should be a day of prayer, but it could apply generally to many situations in life. I posted my frustration and anger over this in one of the flood threads, but those threads are very active with multiple random discussions, and this seems like a better place to pose these questions. I know these are not novel ideas or concerns, but I'm honestly curious what the posters in this thread think. For what it's worth, I was raised in a Christian household, read the Bible cover to cover at one point, attended a bible study throughout my time at UT, and then grew up and started to see a lot of cracks in the beliefs I was given, eventually deciding that none of it really works for me. So that's my starting point in these questions and I mean no disrespect towards anyone's beliefs. How can a person (elected official or otherwise) say that prayer works in response to the Kerrville floods? There are people with dead children. Did prayer work for those families? If you are someone that believes that prayer can produce actual results in this life, how do you explain a family that is praying about a missing young daughter who was attending a Christian camp of all things, and not having their prayers answered with their daughter returned safely to them? Did God only hear the prayers of certain families? Did he not love the other families? Was it simply in his plan that those families would suffer losses, prayers be damned? Assume that 2 families have very similar religious beliefs and both believe in the power of prayer. Family A gets their child home safe. They would likely say that God answered their prayers. Family B loses their child. What would family B say? The Lord works in mysterious ways? This obviously goes far beyond the tragedy in Texas this weekend. It could be applied to any horrible situation in life. If your child is killed in a school shooting, did you not pray enough? If your spouse dies of cancer, were you not praying enough? It seems like a magic 8 ball to me with completely random outcomes. Or possibly a fortune cookie where you can read into it however you want.
  5. Could someone also remind me how many billions of dollars Texas taxpayers are on the hook for to bail out energy companies in the wake of the 2021 winter storm? Perhaps a little bit of that money would've been useful for disaster prevention, which I hear is prohibitively expensive. Although obviously, a lower bailout would affect the energy industry's profits.
  6. The great thing about Texas is that those same taxpayers will pay $6.6MM for a settlement to 4 whistleblowers against Ken Paxton who is dirty, corrupt, cheated on his wife, and still got re-elected to one of the highest government offices in the state. But yeah, emergency alert systems that could save the lives of young girls, that's a bit ridiculous to ask taxpayers to cover that cost.
  7. As someone who was raised in a Christian household and is no longer of that persuasion, I really struggle with the prayer stuff in these situations. I’m not saying this to be contentious or an asshole (even though Greg Abbott can get fucked), but really just from a religious or philosophical frustration that’s on a long list of reasons that turned me away from church. How do you say prayers work when children are dead and other children are missing? Did those families not pray enough? Did God not love those children and their families? My heart aches for the families involved in this and everyone in their extended orbit. Very somber in our household and I’ve hugged my own child so much and been so attached to her and thankful for our family’s safety. I just don’t understand how such a horrific event can be followed up with “prayer works” when families are without their children. From my time in the church, I assume this goes back to the idea that all have sinned and deserve death, and it’s only by the grace of God that some people get to live and go on to heaven. So the dead people got what they deserved or something like that. I don’t know but that doesn’t work for me when God apparently made this world and everyone in it and rigged this game in a way that most people ultimately lose. If a human did that we would call them a sociopath. Sorry I’m rambling and I apologize if this is the wrong time or place or inappropriate in the immediate aftermath. Having an elected leader say “prayer works” is a little bit triggering on a topic I always struggle with.
  8. Fucking hell. What a nightmare for any parent.
  9. Horrific is the best word to describe this. I feel awful for those involved.
  10. Go aliens.
  11. Central Market is selling Rahr 6 packs for $13.99. That’s a ridiculous price for a mediocre beer.
  12. That sucks. My one visit to Terry Blacks was very good. I had brisket, beef rib, and sausage. This was a few months back.
  13. Yes, this is absolutely true. My dumbass rented a car from a place in the basement of the Louvre, thinking it would be easy to find because I know where the Louvre is, plus it was close to our hotel. Won’t ever make that mistake again. Driving in the city center is crazy and I’ve driven all over Europe. Take a train or Uber to a rental car place on the outskirts of Paris on the day you are leaving the city.
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