If I missed it in the article, I apologize. But does anyone have ready access to statistics on the issue of general incidences of food-contamination related illnesses in the U.S. vs. other western nations (per capita)?

I would too, if I knew it was effective. However, consider this: the government passes a regulation that drives the cost of eggs up by $.01 per dozen. Proud of their accomplishment and the dozens of lives saved, Congress passes an additional 50 regulations over the following seven years, each driving the cost of eggs…

While I appreciate the spirit of your sarcasm, Bwelty, I think a lot of people oppose regulation in America because, due to the way laws are passed in a "compromised" form, the regulation is a far cry from what is needed to actually help, and thus generally just results in disproportionately driving up the cost of…

I think most farmers are smarter than most celebrities.

Let me take a swing at the Terminator question (and the writer's request that we "fix" Terminator for you). Consider this possibility: Skynet never wanted to kill John Connor. Oh, sure... that's what it programmed the T-800 to do; but that's what the T-800 was built to do (same for the T-1000 and T-.. um...…

I have been using the R.A.T. 7 for about a year. I have had a generally good experience with it. Its highly customizable design makes it very nice for me, as I have larger than average hands. The palm rest is comfortably, and I particularly like the side-scrolling wheel. The cursor is pretty accurate and largely…

But Snape was driven to his angst because he was a socially awkward, disproportionately intelligent youth who was mocked and hazed by the "cool kids". The fact that he risks - and ultimately sacrifices - everything and turns away from the path he is likely to have followed out of love (and a love that was never…

As someone who was a customer of Blockbuster.... where will the grave be located so that I may go and dance on it?

To clarify, much of the surface temperature data used to support the argument that global temperatures are rising are the result of computer-simulated data that compares data collected at present with "adjusted" data collected during the early 20th century. Why the adjustment? Because early temperature gathering was…

This is a loaded question. While I certainly agree with the author on the issues of vaccines and evolution, global climate change (at least, the position that global climate change is man-made) is hardly scientific fact. In the last 18 months the climate change movement has had to answer some very difficult questions…

Science FICTION.

So, to cross-reference my own post, under your definition of "omnipotent", God would be able to create a rock too big for even Himself to move. In other words, omnipotence would allow him to transcend even paradox. That's a pretty convenient literary tool, and I suppose I would have to say that even God is not that…

Now, let's not get snippy. The simple fact that I disagree with you is not "me not wanting to recognize the logic." I also do not think a conclusory "Yes we could" following a query about the nature and ability of imperfect beings to appreciate goodness in the absence of evil is exactly an exercise in "logic." The…

And we were SO close to eradicating the scourge of female fantasy armor stereotypes. Point of Clarification: It's FANTASY. Get over it.

I think the obvious answer is to step lightly into a large puddle and flap and flutter around wildly.

We may be approaching a semantics tipping point here. I remember encountering an agnostic in college who first introduced me to the old "Can God create a rock so big he can't move it?" paradox. The Judeo-Christian belief system involves an omnipotent, benevolent God who desires to offer Man a choice. So I suppose the…

Put another way: There is an important distinction between not being able to come up with a reason and assuming that there is none. As a man of faith, I have decided to choose to believe that there is a reason, because the alternative is to conclude that there is none, that life serves no purpose, and that our entire…

I disagree entirely, and the entire line of thinking is flawed by assuming that (1) Man has all the information that God has; and (2) the capacity to comprehend it. The ineloquent analogy I use is having your child vaccinated as an infant. You understand the purpose, it is necessary, but your infant lacks the capacity…

Epicureas' argument there is fundamentally flawed by assuming without establishing that evil serves no purpose; that his understanding of the universe, and life, and the purpose of life is absolute. It is ignorance blended with arrogance.

Oddly, reading those very arguments destroyed Epicureas' credibility for me, not God's.