Thought for the Day

[sukumvit boy]

With regard to your third point Stavros , yes, it's always a safe bet to wave the cross as well as the flag in US politics given the fact that over 70% of US citizens profess to being Christian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religi..._United_States
What I find interesting about Tim Farron is his support of same sex marriage, tolerance of some gay rights and support of cannabis legalization which would certainly seem unusual coming from an evangelical Christian , which he professes to be , here in the US.
So now his Christianity suddenly becomes an obstacle for him ?
I don't follow the logic of his reason to step down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Farron

[Stavros]

[QUOTE=sukumvit boy;1772980]With regard to your third point Stavros , yes, it's always a safe bet to wave the cross as well as the flag in US politics given the fact that over 70% of US citizens profess to being Christian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religi..._United_States
What I find interesting about Tim Farron is his support of same sex marriage, tolerance of some gay rights and support of cannabis legalization which would certainly seem unusual coming from an evangelical Christian , which he professes to be , here in the US.
So now his Christianity suddenly becomes an obstacle for him ?
I don't follow the logic of his reason to step down.
/QUOTE]
I think he got fed up with journalist pressing him for a statement on gay sex because they see it as a weakness and they love to exploit weakness in a candidate particularly if they are a party leader. In the end I think the truth is that he cannot reconcile his religious views with the general attitude in the UK to the social issues such as homosexuality and abortion which suggests to me that he should not be in politics unless he wants to convert people to some evangelical mission. It is a non-starter in the UK. Tony Blair's press spokesman Alastair Campbell when pressed on Blair's alleged Catholicism replied 'We don't go God' and that has been standard for many years now. Blair attended Catholic churches with his wife, but did not officially convert until leaving office as it is not possible for a Roman Catholic to be Prime Minister.

[bluesoul]

i really love how trump gets nervous and goes back to hillary. what's weird is why nobody questions his actions. btw: regulars: please provide links because i can't be fucked.

anyhoo: that don is a real dipship. should we go to cuba? what's up with that right?

the don: https://redirect.viglink.com/?format...c-6d7a3f07247b

[sukumvit boy]

"...not possible for a Roman catholic to be Prime Minister." ?
That struck me as so strange that I had to find out more about it , only to discover that there seems to be conflicting opinions.
It seems that other than some appointments to the Anglican Church , which it would be odd for a Roman Catholic to be making and which could be delegated to someone else to make , there is no prohibition to a RC being PM.
http://www.conservapedia.com/British_politics

[bluesoul]

^^^ did that link come out correct? yeah sorry about that if it didn't.

btw: how cool is this? http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/16/politi...ump/index.html

[bluesoul]

i hate to say it, but i actually think kellyanne is kinda cute

[Stavros]

"...not possible for a Roman catholic to be Prime Minister." ?
That struck me as so strange that I had to find out more about it , only to discover that there seems to be conflicting opinions.
It seems that other than some appointments to the Anglican Church , which it would be odd for a Roman Catholic to be making and which could be delegated to someone else to make , there is no prohibition to a RC being PM.

Strictly speaking and in legal terms I am wrong, but my understanding has been that it would be problematic for a practicing Roman Catholic to be Prime Minister because the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope whereas the Head of State in the UK is the Monarch, who is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and the political leader of the UK -by definition a Christian state- is the Monarch's Prime Minister. So problematic that it has never happened, even though Tony Blair went to mass with his family, although that does suggest most people don't care.

It is part of the question of loyalty that dates from the bloody feuds that followed the schism with Rome under Henry VIII, the anti-Catholic laws, that held sway until the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, and the general view that -until the Blair era I suspect- Catholics could not be relied upon to put the Monarch ahead of the Pope.

It is also complicated by the 'Irish Question' that played a major role in British politics from the mid-19th century to the Treaty of 1921 and independence, and can be seen at the moment in the difficulty surrounding Theresa May's need to agree a voting arrangement with the Protestants of Northern Ireland which will maintain her slight grip of power while the Catholics protest it is a violation of the Good Friday Agreement and should not go ahead.

'Let's not go there' would be the standard view on this issue, I think.

[alreik]

i hate to say it, but i actually think kellyanne is kinda cute

Hey man, I like Sarah Palin, and this is a Ts board

[sukumvit boy]

Strictly speaking and in legal terms I am wrong, but my understanding has been that it would be problematic for a practicing Roman Catholic to be Prime Minister because the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope whereas the Head of State in the UK is the Monarch, who is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and the political leader of the UK -by definition a Christian state- is the Monarch's Prime Minister. So problematic that it has never happened, even though Tony Blair went to mass with his family, although that does suggest most people don't care.

It is part of the question of loyalty that dates from the bloody feuds that followed the schism with Rome under Henry VIII, the anti-Catholic laws, that held sway until the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, and the general view that -until the Blair era I suspect- Catholics could not be relied upon to put the Monarch ahead of the Pope.

It is also complicated by the 'Irish Question' that played a major role in British politics from the mid-19th century to the Treaty of 1921 and independence, and can be seen at the moment in the difficulty surrounding Theresa May's need to agree a voting arrangement with the Protestants of Northern Ireland which will maintain her slight grip of power while the Catholics protest it is a violation of the Good Friday Agreement and should not go ahead.

'Let's not go there' would be the standard view on this issue, I think.

Yes , Stavros , you Brits have a lot of interesting history going back hundreds of years with the Roman Catholic Church ,the monarchy and British / Irish politics which I can't even hope to understand as a Yank outsider ,but which struck me as I was researching the Prime Minister issue.
The present one is our first monarchy.

[broncofan]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...-handel-239778

This is demoralizing for Democrats. Karen Handel defeated Jon Ossoff tonight in the special election in GA 6. It was a good test for whether Republicans in a closely contested district would put aside partisan politics and vote for a centrist who was clearly the more thoughtful of the two running. In debates it was obvious early on that Ossoff was articulate, polished, passionate, and qualified, whereas Handel was simplistic, stumbled over her answers and generally came across as a useless wingnut. I ask myself what I would do if the tables were turned and the Republican were the far better candidate; it would be difficult but rarely do Republicans ever put forward candidates who are well-versed in policy and have a clear, positive message.

There is the belief that this was a referendum on the centrist style candidate and some believe that a more "progressive" Bernie Sanders protege will do better by exciting the base rather than trying to appeal to the undecideds. We'll see...this was a red district and I'm sure Democrats will try to spin this as an over-achievement, but it depends when expectations were set. Many believed Ossoff would pull this out and he lost by a clear margin.