Here's how much I know -- I didn't even spell it right (Luthern) -- good stuff -- I like learning.

Present day Germany is 34% Protestant (mainly Lutheran) and 34% Roman Catholic.

The Lutherans are located mainly in the north except for the area around Oldenburg. That's where my mother was born (Steinbild nach Oldenburg) and she was originally Roman Catholic. There is a Lutheran enclave in the Baden/Wurtemburg area. That is where my father was born (Oberdielbach am Neckar) and he was Lutheran.

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
Here's how much I know -- I didn't even spell it right (Luthern) -- good stuff -- I like learning.
You're a good writer and speller. It's rare you screw something up, and that's a pretty minor error.

However, and on that note, I still don't get the whole "Iraquis" thing...:)

Southern Germany is a highly Catholic region, the northern areas are where you find protestant groups. Also, with Austria's close proximity to Italy, you can by default expect them to for the most part-roman catholic. However, Germany and other Euorpean nations, which may include Austria, have citizens pay tax for attending a church...so there is a growing sect of those who avoid the practice altogether in this modern age.

Germany used to be called the holy roman empire after all, as in roman catholic

Originally posted by The Praetorian

However, and on that note, I still don't get the whole "Iraquis" thing...:)

That one is pretty deep so suffice it to say ... I use it because I can. Funny part -- I've seen a couple of others use it here and there.

That's what's great about California -- anyone can be a trend-setter. :)

Not as in Roman Catholic, Trav. As in the Empire of Rome which for most of its existence was pagan.

Correct, Frogger.

The Florida statute is not called the Shoot First Law. It is commonly referred to as the Castle Law, as in, "A man's home is his castle." It basically says you no longer have to retreat if someone invades your house, or car or tries to abduct someone from your house or car. You now have the right to stand and defend yourself. Prior to this you had to basically run away.

The sense of the law has been expanded so that if you are in an area where you legally have a right to be and you are accosted you have the right to defend yourself up to and including the point of deadly force.

It is known as the shoot first law ~ www.shootfirstlaw.org or the stand your ground law and if I understand this correctly, it builds onto the castle law.

To me it says if a person feels threatened they can respond with whatever force is necessary to defend themselves, including deadly force. Simple as that.

Originally posted by Frogger
Not as in Roman Catholic, Trav. As in the Empire of Rome which for most of its existence was pagan. As Voltaire observed, "The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire".

Voltaire said that?
I thought it was Napoleon Bonaparte!
Goes to show how much I slept in world history class....

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
To me it says if a person feels threatened they can respond with whatever force is necessary to defend themselves, including deadly force. Simple as that.

Happily, that's not what the law says.

To me it says if a person feels threatened they can respond with whatever force is necessary to defend themselves, including deadly force. Simple as that.

Ets comin' raat for us! *empties auto-shotgun*

Originally posted by rendova

I thought it was Napoleon Bonaparte!


I thought it was Linda Richmond.

Originally posted by Frogger
Not as in Roman Catholic, Trav. As in the Empire of Rome which for most of its existence was pagan.

the roman empire moved to constanstinople, not germany

The Eastern Roman Empire moved to Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire did not. Actually, the Eastern Roman Empire did not so much move to Constantinople as have Constantinople become the capital of the Empire. In the beginning the Empire, while nominally a single unit had two rulers with multiple Caesars beneath them. It was a convoluted method of governance.

The Holy Roman Empire, later known as The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was an attempt to reproduce at least some of the unity of the former Western Roman Empire. It had nothing to do with the Eastern Roman Empire, an empire that existed until the taking of Constantinople by Mehmet in 1453.

The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 when Odovacar defeated Romulus Agustus, the last Western Roman Emperor, and took the title King rather than that of Roman Emperor.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
Happily, that's not what the law says.

We won't know what this law says until it's tested and interpreted by the courts. Meanwhile, you (or I) can be the lucky chalk outline that becomes the test case.

Originally posted by Frogger
The Eastern Roman Empire moved to Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire did not. Actually, the Eastern Roman Empire did not so much move to Constantinople as have Constantinople become the capital of the Empire. In the beginning the Empire, while nominally a single unit had two rulers with multiple Caesars beneath them. It was a convoluted method of governance.

The Holy Roman Empire, later known as The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was an attempt to reproduce at least some of the unity of the former Western Roman Empire. It had nothing to do with the Eastern Roman Empire, an empire that existed until the taking of Constantinople by Mehmet in 1453.

The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 when Odovacar defeated Romulus Agustus, the last Western Roman Emperor, and took the title King rather than that of Roman Emperor.

thanks for clearing that up frogger :) I guess the word holy threw me off.

I'm really enjoying this history lesson from Frogger, Trav, Rendova, Vile Et al. Good stuff.

I hope it's not cut and paste :D

Lungdop

I'm a history buff as is rendova and vilepagan is just smart. I'm not saying you're not smart, rendova, just that vilepagan is.

Trav does pretty good too -- he's posts a lot in the history section.

I like to lurk over there in history but rarely post. My history knowledge isn't broad enough but OTOH south america, central america, russia ... I can hold my own.

I am not that smart, Frogger, and I'll be the first to admit.

the Politics forum is a bit frightening--I know I'm ignorant on that topic. Just never had that much interest in it.

but, I do like to read and thankfully remember all sorts of useless stuff.

the day you stop learning, or wanting to learn, is the day you die.

I am writing in patriotic colors today in honor of the Boston Tea Party. Dec 16, 1773

It is a mistake to not remember history.

I haven't found anyone here who I don't consider smart. The discussions here are of a much higher caliber than in most other chat sites. Even those who hold views diametrically opposed to mine seem pretty intelligent.

I don't know Frogger ... IIRC, seems to me you called someone dumb not too long ago.

OTOH - If it wasn't you, I aplologize.

I might have because even smart people sometimes say dumb things. It was probably one of you liberals. We fiscal conservatives seldom say dumb things and I never do. Just look at what is says under my handle........Toadly right all the time.

I am just beginning to get into roman history, I have been stuck in world war 2 for the past 15 years, its time I move on. I have to admit most of my knowledge about the Roman period comes ffrom computer games like Rome: Total War. i am going to get some books and get nerdy on it soon though.

My daughter has majored in Classical Studies (Greece and Rome) for years at the University. She loves this stuff, and I've heard that a lot of college and high school kids really love that Roman history now........ I don't know much about it myself but I've read that the kids are liking this because of the movie "Gladiator" and want to know more about it.

That was a great great movie.

Originally posted by Travh20
I am just beginning to get into roman history, I have been stuck in world war 2 for the past 15 years, its time I move on. I have to admit most of my knowledge about the Roman period comes ffrom computer games like Rome: Total War. i am going to get some books and get nerdy on it soon though. An easy way to start is Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome, first book of her ancient Rome series. While it is 'historical fiction' she is an accomplished scholar and spent over 20 years researching and writing the six novels. Similarly, Robert Graves' I Claudius is less arduous than Gibbon or the ancient historians. Of those, Ceasar's Commentaries on the wars in Gaul was the easiest for me to read.

http://content.humpingfrog.com/pictures/sub_13115.jpgThe real reason Arnold wouldn 't commute Tookie's sentence.

Originally posted by Travh20
I am just beginning to get into roman history, I have been stuck in world war 2 for the past 15 years, its time I move on. I have to admit most of my knowledge about the Roman period comes ffrom computer games like Rome: Total War. i am going to get some books and get nerdy on it soon though.

Ahh, the history of Rome...good stuff Trav, enjoy yourself in your studies. Greece and Rome always make for quality history :)

Originally posted by rendova
That was a great great movie.

Commodus: The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story! But now, the people want to know how the story ends. Only a famous death will do. And what could be more glorious than to challenge the Emperor himself in the great arena?
Maximus: You would fight me?
Commodus: Why not? Do you think I am afraid?
Maximus: I think you've been afraid all your life.

One of the greatest epics that graced the screen, Scott hit gold with that production. If you haven't seen it, do so.

Maximus: My name is Gladiator

If you want to learn about ancient Rome there is probably no better author/historian than Michael Grant. He has written extensively on the topic and is easy to read.

Some of his titles are: Gladiators, The Antonines, Art in the Roman Empire, The World of Rome, and The Roman Emperors. He has written more but I can't remember them right now.

Commodus: The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story! But now, the people want to know how the story ends. Only a famous death will do. And what could be more glorious than to challenge the Emperor himself in the great arena?
Maximus: You would fight me?
Commodus: Why not? Do you think I am afraid?
Maximus: I think you've been afraid all your life.

One of the greatest epics that graced the screen, Scott hit gold with that production. If you haven't seen it, do so.

Maximus: My name is Gladiator
***********************************************

"What we do in life echoes in eternity....."

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius.....and I will have my revenge in this life or the next."

"They say that death smiles at everyone. All a man can do is smile back."

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED????"

Oh god, what a great movie!!
When I get off work, gonna go watch this again--for like the 20th time!

You just like the movie because of all the sweaty men running around half naked.

That's not true, Frogger!
I'll admit tho, that Russell Crowe (Maximus) is what god meant when he created the word "Beautiful".........



**sigh****

You've gotta be kidding, Ren - that man is a mole-faced monster. I seriously don't understand how women find him attractive at all...

"Phone throwin' maniac! Git 'em away frum my chilldruns!!!!"
-Ethel, Lifeless town USA

Crowe is a good actor...Gladiator, Master and Commander, The Insider, LA Confidential, Cinderella Man, and A Beautiful Mind all had venerable performances by him.
And Prae---you are the epitome of a playboy, you talk of fine liquors and tobacco, sleek cars, elegant rifles, and spend a great deal of money on "picking up young hot chicks" at bars and wherever else. I do believe rendova, being a female and all, will have a more prominent say on what men are attractive. :D

There's just something about him.

Something CUTE!!!

What's this about other women finding my Maximus attractive?? Them little hussies better be keepin their eyes to themselves.

Ren's the jealous type.

Originally posted by Evakian
And Prae---you are the epitome of a playboy,
LMAO. No, seriously, I just like to fancy myself that way. :) I'm slightly better than average looking, fairly intelligent, and yes, I do have expensive tastes.
Originally posted by Evakian
you talk of fine liquors and tobacco, sleek cars, elegant rifles,
Damn straight, and when I start earning some real cash, I plan on having lots of the above.
Originally posted by Evakian
and spend a great deal of money on "picking up young hot chicks" at bars and wherever else.
This, unfortunately, is true, but rare are the days when I'm actually able to pick up a "young hot chick". I'm not 21 anymore.

Originally posted by Evakian
I do believe rendova, being a female and all, will have a more prominent say on what men are attractive. :D
I have no doubt. ;)

Originally posted by The Praetorian
LMAO. No, seriously, I just like to fancy myself that way. :) I'm slightly better than average looking, fairly intelligent, and yes, I do have expensive tastes.

Close enough. ;)
Playboy-A man who is devoted to the pursuit of pleasurable activities

Damn straight, and when I start earning some real cash, I plan on having lots of the above.

Some "real cash"? How much would that be in your eyes?

This, unfortunately, is true, but rare are the days when I'm actually able to pick up a "young hot chick". I'm not 21 anymore.

Haha, maybe you need to take tips from Russell Crowe :D

I have no doubt. ;)

::realizes how much we've deviated from the original topic::

Okay, let's return to the subject at hand...whatever it was, something about Arnold Tookie, the the lezbo democrat. ;)

I like talking about Maximus a lot more than Arnold!!

(we need to start a "Gladiator" thread in the movie section!)

Originally posted by Evakian
Some "real cash"? How much would that be in your eyes?
No less than 250K a year. When you make half a mil, you're wealthy. At the one million dollar mark, you're an official player. Any more than that, and you're above the law, period. ;)

Originally posted by rendova
(we need to start a "Gladiator" thread in the movie section!)

Done :rolleyes:

Originally posted by The Praetorian
No less than 250K a year. When you make half a mil, you're wealthy. At the one million dollar mark, you're an official player. Any more than that, and you're above the law, period.

Bill Gates has alot of money, a whole lot....he must be an superofficial Überplayer.
So Bill Gates is Hugh Hefner, Brad Pitt, Warren Buffett, and Stephen Hawking all rolled into one and multiplied by 50?

Give it five minutes and we'll see Mr. Gates on posters in ladies' locker rooms.

Praetorian

You had better up your money figures. 250 K ain't what it used to be. There is no way you are going to get all those fine wines, cars, rifles, houses, etc. on a mere quarter mill. Of course, if you live in Mississippi or Arkansas you can be top dog, but if you live in one of the major urban areas you will be only the very top of the middle class or the very lowest rung of the upper class.

If you want to rent a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a small kitchen, and a small livingroom in a decent area of NYC your minimum rent will be about $3,600 per month. That's over $43,000 a year just for a small apartment. If you want a two bedroom place you are going to have to shell out much more.

If you want a car it is going to cost you more big bucks. You will need to rent a garage for it since you won't keep a great car on the street where it will be vandalized. There goes another couple grand.

You will have to pay federal tax, state tax, city tax, adjusted minimum tax and a high sales tax. Whoops! There goes another forty or so thousand.

If you go to lunch at Il Mulino, it will cost you more than $100 per person. Dinner will probably be almost double that. Don't even think of going to Per Se where dinner can cost more than five hundred dollars. If you want a bottle of Dom Perignon or Crystal to go with that fine meal, and what high roller wouldn't, it will set you back another bundle.

Heaven help you if you want to buy a place to live in The City. An apartment in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone will set you back about 800K, one in Manhattan well over a million.

Sorry, Prae but your $250,000 just ain't what it used to be.

All the more reason for him to avoid living in New York City ;)

Originally posted by Evakian
All the more reason for him to avoid living in New York City ;)

Or to make sure you have a lot of money.

If you are satisfied in living in Mugwump, Evakian, each to his own. I prefer being able to go to Broadway plays and to eat in the fine restaurants in The City.

My youngest son and daughter-in-law live there and do fine. Of course, they are both lawyers so it makes it a bit easier for them. They have also decided that living in The City, they don't need to own a car.

Originally posted by Frogger
If you are satisfied in living in Mugwump, Evakian, each to his own. I prefer being able to go to Broadway plays and to eat in the fine restaurants in The City.

The big urban centers have their advantages, and their disadvantages. It really depends on the city and the person.

Pfft...."New York"???? Hell no, Chicago all the way, baby!!! :)

P.S. The cuisine in New York is truly awesome in the right places, but I wouldn't leave Chicago for New York in a million years.

Oh, and you’re right about the 250K thing, Frogger. The same problem exists in Chicago, only instead of driving a Porsche; I’d have to settle for an M3. Instead of living in a big house, I’d live in a nicely decorated condo on the outskirts of the city. You get the picture, but I’d still be able to live a decent life on 250,000 a year.

My sister has had her 2-bedroom flat in NYC (13th st and University Pl. in the village) since the 60's -- 40 years. She falls under that rent control program they have (name skips my mind at the moment) -- long story short ... she now lives on the Island but still has her apartment that she pays 60's prices for and sub-leases it out for 5K/month. Not bad.

Originally posted by The Praetorian
Pfft...."New York"???? Hell no, Chicago all the way, baby!!! :)

P.S. The cuisine in New York is truly awesome in the right places, but I wouldn't leave Chicago for New York in a million years.

Oh, and you’re right about the 250K thing, Frogger. The same problem exists in Chicago, only instead of driving a Porsche; I’d have to settle for an M3. Instead of living in a big house, I’d live in a nicely decorated condo on the outskirts of the city. You get the picture, but I’d still be able to live a decent life on 250,000 a year.

Lived in both cities, and while Chicago is nice, it is still only the Second City. The Big Apple is numero uno.

Lungdop

The NYC rent control program is called, The NYC Rent Control Program, or simply, Rent Control. It was inaugurated after WWII to help returning GIs afford apartments and it just never ended.

I knew it was some highly technical and catchy name :D

Originally posted by es347fan
You want some cheese with that whine, Deepest Red?

I know it's not your fault for being this ignorant, but I wasn't "whining".

Whining is to complain and not do anything about the problem. I not only advocate an alternative to the current wretched set up but I act on it.

If it wasn't for people like me pointing out the flaws in the system, no one would have weekends, holidays, civil rights and so on.

Originally posted by Frogger
I've worked full time for years and yet have no health insurance and can barely pay my bills. This isn't a personal flaw with me, as reactionaries always say, because most people I know are in the same situation!

All I can say, Deepest Red, is if most of the people you know are in the same situation perhaps you should find new friends and acquaintances. Most people I know do have health insurance and can afford to pay their bills.

Maybe it's time for you to stop whining, get up off your ass, stop waving your deepest red flag and look for a job where you get health insurance and can afford to pay your bills.

A child could write better responses than this tripe you post.

The reason you don't know anyone in my situation and are so hopelessly misinformed about real life is because you're not working class. Unlike you and your pals, doddy didn't pay our way through life.

I work, put myself through school, and take care of some of other responsiblities without complaint. Probably more than you'll ever do. "Get[ting] up off my ass" is not relevant, rich boy.

Originally posted by Deepest Red
A child could write better responses than this tripe you post.

The reason you don't know anyone in my situation and are so hopelessly misinformed about real life is because you're not working class. Unlike you and your pals, doddy didn't pay our way through life.

I work, put myself through school, and take care of some of other responsiblities without complaint. Probably more than you'll ever do. "Get[ting] up off my ass" is not relevant, rich boy.

Big wow. You put yourself through school. Guess what Pinko, so did I. I grew up poor and began working weekends and summers and after school when I was fourteen. My parents couldn't afford to send me to college so I joined the army for three years and went under the G.I. Bill. I worked all during college. I was accepted for a doctoral program at Northwestern but turned it down when my father died and I had to return home to take care of four younger brothers and a younger sister.

You might consider me rich but others might not. I am probably in the same category as Lungdop Philing, more than a million but not multi-millions. None of what I have was handed to me. I got it by working and saving.

You can either continue whining about how other people had advantages you didn't or you can do something about it. Other people had advantages I didn't but I set out to both take care of present responsibilities and plan for the future.

I have come across your type many times. You wallow in your misery, decrying the fact that others have it better than you but you do nothing to pick yourself up. What you deserve is not a helping hand but a boot in the ass.

You're pretty sad, Deepest Red.

Originally posted by Deepest Red
A child could write better responses than this tripe you post.

The reason you don't know anyone in my situation and are so hopelessly misinformed about real life is because you're not working class. Unlike you and your pals, doddy didn't pay our way through life.

I work, put myself through school, and take care of some of other responsiblities without complaint. Probably more than you'll ever do. "Get[ting] up off my ass" is not relevant, rich boy.

LOL, this is classic. "your not working class", WTF? my wife bought me season 6 of seinfeld for my B-day, and it has the one about the communist, where Kramer is the department store Santa, adn he is telling the kid that he shouldnt want a toy race track because they are made in taiwan by kids like him and the "corporate fat cat"s triple their profit margin, and the kid jumps up and start yelling at Kramer "hey this guy's a commie! Commie commie, traitor to our country" LMAO

Good gift -- Sienfeld rox

"Voters aren't INTERESTED in "bad behaviors"--Arnold Political Sayin'...




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