NorthoftheBorder

I don't think I live a sinful lifestyle, so I have nothing to admit.  You guys act like you can simply choose to believe something that you aren't sure about.   I am not built that way.   If your god is vindictive enough to send me to some type of hell because I am not sure, then so be it.  I just don't believe that.  If he is compassionate and loving like you say, he wouldn't do that.  i wouldn't.

Unless anyone has had a supernatural encounter with the risen Lord, no amount of debate, words written on a Messge Board Thread, or words on paper in a book called the Bible will convince anyone who does not want to believe.  No one can believe without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit!

I am concerned , Mat.  I'm concerned that I cant ;buy into a worldwide flood when there is no evidence to support it.   I am concerned that I can't experience miracles that were not well documented 2000 years ago.   Would love to be able to make that leap of faith, but this brain that God gave me just doesn't allow it.

You can't believe because there is not enough evidence...........now there is a novel idea!  Very similar to the problem I am having with the "Big Bang" theory from the secular scientists that you are putting your faith in!

The ability to make appointments like this is why Obama was elected in the first place. He has the ultimate "trump CARD"!!!

The wedding cake argument is a tough one for me, to be honest, but it's not the same issue. Denying someone.a service because of their sexuality is on one hand, the same as denying service because they're black, which is completely wrong. In this one instance, however, I actually agree with you. Because if you're a Christian who has strong beliefs about homosexuality, I think it's reasonable to deny this particular service, as it goes against the cake maker's religious beliefs. This is similar to a church choosing not to perform a same sex wedding. On the flip side, if a restarant owner denied service to homosexuals, I would have a huge problem with it, as eating is not something that he could claim as a pillar of his religion reserved only for heterosexuals. All that being said, denying someone a service based on religion is completely different than denying someone the right to force religion at a place where the government forces other people to go, or at an event sponsored by a place that is an extension of the government. The government does not have the power to stop individuals from partaking in religion, as this is their right, no matter where they are. But it does have the power to keep the majority, no matter their beliefs, from trampling on the rights of the minority. And when people claim their rights are being violated because they are not allowed to pray over a loud speaker or a school is not allowed to sponsor a Christian event, they're making a claim to rights that they in fact do not have.

Ethnicity, skin color and gender are quite different from sexual preference!  And serving anyone a meal in restaurant is also quite differernt from a civil ceremony celebrating something,  Quite frankly, unless you are trying to prove a point and force something upon someone that they do not believe, you just go to get your wedding cake from someone who supports it!! 

I hear a lot of these statements, but then every time I see one of these "anti-Christian bigots" actually doing something, at least locally, it's because Christians are violating the constitution. I've never seen any of them trying to stop a church from having church, or even kids being able to worship at school.

Children are always allowed to pray at school, can meet in groups and pray, are provided places to do so, can wear Christian shirts, etc. etc. But a public school, which is a public entity, may not endorse religion or religious activities. And IMO, a 2nd grader is not old enough to make that sort of decision on his own. So while it's great for a kid who's grown up in the church that his school is violating the constitution in the name of Christianity, it's not so great for the child who's parents don't agree with the religion, or God forbid would like for the child to grow a little older and then choose for himself. As long as the school clearly separates itself from promoting the program, then I don't see a problem. As Mat said, perhaps parents could organize it. I personally think a parental permission slip for children that age should be necessary, so that no parent who doesn't want a child to attend has to worry about their child being influenced into going.

But seriously, enough with the "woe is me" victim card from Christians on this issue. the only right being taken away is that of forcing religion onto others, and lets be honest, if China Elementary advertised an Atheist activity on their FB page, the same people who are unhappy now would be even more unhappy, even though it would be the exact same thing.

On the surface your premise sounds ok......except that those who disagree with Christianity do not want to stop at the "line" that you have drawn.  No, if I disagree with same sex marriage and I make wedding cakes and do not want to take on a same sex marriage cake making engagement, then I will be sued.  That is hardly tolerance!!  I am not trying to stop the wedding, just do not want to participate!!  Your argument is what the "tolerance" crowd says, but it is not their actions!!!

They can't prove there is no god and you can't prove there is.  But somehow, they are liars and you are not.  Do you  not see how silly that sounds?

Unless anyone has had a supernatural encounter with the risen Lord, no amount of debate, words written on a Messge Board Thread, or words on paper in a book called the Bible will convince anyone who does not want to believe.  All the while that we have "theories" without any imperical evidence about how something was created from nothing. And yet we have a vast universe made of up an unkown  number of galaxies made up of innumerable stars and planets, we have unexplainable events where the natural is miraculously changed/healed right in front of those who do not want  believe and will deny the evidence of a creator because........the creator dares to say "thou shall not"!!!

In the name of freedom and tolerance, anti christian bigots actively work to remove all forms of christianity from public life.  They are actually actively at work inside the christian church trying to change the church by reinterpreting the bible to say that sin is no longer sin!  We are nation of ostrich's with our head in the sand!! 

Just saying the facts. Does it hurt my feelings? no.. Not my individual feelings, but I wonder how many of you would react if a muslim student led a prayer? Would there be this much support? Sometimes you really do have to be careful for what you wish for....

We also disagree on the merit's of this law!! 

By 2024 both of these two football programs could be irrelevant!!   I surely can' think of two that care for any less!!

He made an allusion that implied that the country was perfect at the start of Obama's presidency, and is now a barren wasteland. My point in its entirety being that neither one of these is anywhere close to accurate.

I don't think that it implied perfect, but it surely implied much better in spite of the fact that it was imperfect before.  The real point was that it has noticeably declined.  You are a lot like my 17 year old daughter.  You take the extreme position when I make a comment that you don't like instead of addressing the issue, which is the noticeable deteriation, as a diversion to addressing the problem that needs to be fixed! 

Good point, but the operators aren't the only permanent jobs that refineries create. How many more contractors are they bringing in for maintenance and whatnot afterwards?

To Bigdog's point that is true and I just had that discussion this morning. Let's look at ExxonMobil. They are "expanding" in the Woodlands with a multibillion campus that will bring about 8,000 additional jobs to the Houston area. From what I heard, they could be spending $10 billion on an expansion of the refinery in Beaumont but it will only provide, lets say no more than 100 permenant jobs. Yes the 4 years or so of construction jobs in the area are a really good shot inthe arm and it does create other spinoff permanant jobs. Still very good news!

Just had a brain blurb!! My son's favorite movie when he was 3 years old or so was Lion King. There is a great parallel in that movie to what is going on here in the good ole USA and the Pride Lands of the movie. Obama's term as Presidency could be compared to "Scar's" time a King of the Pride in the Pride Lands with it results on our country. Another big problem is it apprears we do not have in the wings a "Semba" to come in to replace him and restore us back to greatness!!

I am hearing that some local companies are beginnning to prepare for a major expansion at ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont. That will help for sure.

I read up on this earlier, I expect a little growth but nothing major. I expect ppl to start moving from here to the Houston area more rapidly soon.

There is only so much that Houston can grow before it gets so big that it is unamanageable to live in.  Now can it double in size before it just gets too big?  Maybe but if it were then BMT/PA would surely benefit some from that type of growth.  Of course that will be another 20 years or more!!

The absolute best news that we have had in the last 6 years of this regime!!! 

Eric Holder!!!  He is maybe even, as a human being, worse than Obama!!!

We will have to see but Sam does not appear to be quite the team they were the last 3 years.  Your point about no chatter from LU fans is well taken and is because LU fans are at best skeptical about Woodard's ability to be anything better than a 5-7 to 7-5 coach in the SLC and after 4 years of beating our chests, we are taking the wait and see approach with not a great deal of hope!  If Woodard surprises us we will be more than overjoyed and if we win Saturday you will have to cover up from the smack talk you will get.  However, no one is going out on a limb at this point and talking smack or making bold predictions.  Last years game, a 14-3 win by Sam, quieted down the Sam fans and they were not nearly as arrogant as past years.  I expect a close game and still give the edge to Sam but think the scoring will be much higher for both teams than last year.

The 1969 Texas/Arkansas game!!  I saw it again a few months ago (only the second time in my life) on LHN and it was just as much fun to watch but it didn't have the suspense of who would win!  Watching it the first time made me a Longhorn football fan!! 

This statement from the article"In his recent address to the nation, President Obama declared that “ISIL is not Islamic.” is just another example of political correctness.  What is the danger of political correctness:  It hides the truth, and when you hide or deny the truth, then you can not recognize evil or something that puts your life or those that you love in peril.

Bamakid, you are a deep thinker and you are trying to tackle an issue that more than one great thinker before you have spent considerable time and effort to come up with solutions.  I personally think that there are very "powerful forces", both black and white, who profit greatly from the current situation as you so clearly laid out that have and will prevent the real solution and change that is necessary.  Booker T. Washington himself recognized the potential for those "forces" at the turn of the century.

Only by God's immeasureable Grace can someone have the hope and trust in His plan for their daughter and their very own lives that these two people have!!

I do not see the situation at Lamar getting any better any time in the near future.

 

This is the problem with Lamar - Lamar does not have a lot of students that buy into the school the way other schools do.  When you go to Texas, Texas A&M, Sam Houston State, Stephen F Austin and most other schools you move to or near the campus and participate in the area activities many or most of which directly relate to the school - like the athletic programs.  A lot - and I think most - of the students at Lamar commute from their hometowns to attend - my daughter graduated from Lamar in December of 2013 and lived in Liberty the whole time she attended Lamar - I know many other students that did the same thing from many of the surrounding area towns.  Therefore, they do not become "sold" or "invested" in the school like students at Texas and A&M (and others) do.  I went to the college several times and was surprised  at the number of student vehicles that either did not have a Lamar sticker or had stickers from Texas, Texas A&M and other colleges on their vehicles.  Go to Austin or College Station and look a vehicles on campus and you will see virtually every vehicle will have a sticker for Texas or A&M - this is a loyalty question - loyalty leads to attendance at school functions that includes athletic events.

 

I went to SFA and we were called a suitcase college as a ton of students left every weekend to go home or to other colleges rather than stay in Nacogdoches, Texas.  Lamar's problem I believe is even deeper as the students never really buy into the school they are there because - in a lot of cases - they have limited other options due to (1) having to work, (2) parents cannot afford to pay rent for them to attend college away from home or (3) Married with children and the close major college is the best answer.

so the take away for me is that you are not a graduate of TAMU, but of SFA?

How would BISD factor into this statistic?

NO IT CAN'T HAPPEN

 

All the FAILED sports programs in Beaumont over the years - Beaumont is a cesspool - a commuters town and can not and will support anything.

 

Lamar University Football - FAILED (once already)

 

Texas Wildcatters (Hockey) - FAILED

Beaumont Bullfrogs (Baseball) - FAILED

Beaumont Golden Gators (Baseball) - FAILED even with Future Major League Baseball players John Kruk, Roberto Alomar, Joey Cora, Ozzie Guillén, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Shane Mack, andBenito Santiago all played at one time for the Golden Gators

Southeast Texas Mavericks (Basketball) - FAILED

Texas Strikers (Soccer) - FAILED

Texas Drillers (Football) - FAILED

 

On another note - Ford Park can't even maintain events enough to be considered a success. And this is terrible - over the years we had season tickets to The Wildcatters (didn't know a thing about hockey - but fun to watch) The Bullfrogs and the Golden Gators.

It can't happen just because it can't happen as if there is some artificial barrier that prevents it no matter what.  The problem is we do not have the right people on deck doing the right things!!!  I am utterly convinced that with the right plan, the RIGHT PEOPLE executing the plan, and the proper funding, then Lamar Football/Basketball/Baseball et al would be highly successful and could move up the conference ladder!!!  Get the first 2 of my formula right and the third will take care of itself.  Donors, season ticket holders and game attendance will increase significantly. 

And why there has been a significant and consistent migration from California to Texas over the last few years!!!