November 24, 2019

The power of prayer.

140 comments:

Ken B said...

Prayer can reveal hypocrites!

AllenS said...

Please, God, take this old woman into your arms. Amen.

The Crack Emcee said...

Sign O' The Times.

Temujin said...

Thoughts and prayers have apparently been given a reprieve from the always-angry left.

She should just do the right thing and resign from the Court, then spend her time and energy with her loved ones. And by loved ones, I don't mean appearing on The View and Rachel Maddow.

Charlie Eklund said...

I’ve never been a fan of Mr....er...Professor Tribe, but anyone who can convince folks who’ve never bothered to voice their concerns to God to start doing so can’t be all bad.

Ken B said...

Wasn’t Tribe one of those decying Trump for talking about “Obama judges”?

gilbar said...

how's the saying go?
There are no atheists in groups of people terrified they might not be able to kill babies anymore?

JPS said...

There are no atheists in foxholes. The unsettling part is that the left thinks they're in foxholes, unless they dominate the government at all levels and hold a majority in an our-rulings-stand-forever, appointed-for-life super-Senate, as they see the Supreme Court.

I look forward to lots and lots of angry atheists slamming Tribe for this otherwise harmless variant on Pascal's wager.

whitney said...

Our Elites clearly believe they're just not praying to God

gilbar said...

of course, When the demo's are forced to admit that RBG is stone cold dead...
They'll use that as The Justification for packing the court (as soon as they can)

lonetown said...

There are no atheists in foxholes. and Tribe is at war.

Mike Sylwester said...

Mitch McConnell says that the Biden Rule does not apply to the situation in the election year 2020. I forget the logic.

In any case, I pray that McConnell is right about the Biden Rule and the election year 2020.

William said...

I can see why she stayed on the Court. If she had retired a few years ago, the world would little note nor long mourn her passing. But, as it is, she's in the thoughts and prayers of every liberal in America.....I wonder if posterity will remember her for her good works or for her self indulgence in staying on when retiring would have been the wisest course of action. Just now it's impossible to utter a negative word against her, but these latent negative thoughts will someday find expression.

Swede said...

All the atheists in their foxholes now willing to try anything to keep their draugr alive.

These are the same people that will insist that Amy Coney Barrett whored her way through law school before raping a bus load of school children.

It's what they do.

Browndog said...

Blogger Mike Sylwester said...

Mitch McConnell says that the Biden Rule does not apply to the situation in the election year 2020. I forget the logic.


Because the President is not a lame duck due to term limits. Biden rule applies if a new President is assured in the coming election.

Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ken B said...

William
You are likely right.
One can help this along by mouthing the regrets that are still permissible.
“If only she had decided to retire under Obama before her health deteriorated ...”
Or
“Too bad Obama didn’t get another chance at replacing someone on the court ...”

I like that second one. Subtle.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

LOL AllenS

Amen to that too. We know she is suffering. Please let her have the peace of release. Seriously. I would feel this way about my own, currently failing, family member and about myself when my time, inevitably, will come.

Mercy.

Mark said...

I thought the latest thing from the left was to angrily mock and malign people who expressed that they were thinking about and praying for others.

Mike Sylwester said...

I'd love to read a first-hand account of how Ginsburg reacted while watching the news on Election Night 2016.

I imagine that she "took the Lord's name in vain" at least a thousand times that night. Almost every word out of her mouth was a curse word.

gilbar said...

From the report:
She was initially evaluated at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., before being transferred to Johns Hopkins for further evaluation and treatment of any possible infection, the Supreme Court said in a press release.

Her symptoms have abated after intravenous antibiotics and fluids and she is expected to be released from the hospital as early as Sunday morning


Remember that time, when Everything was Fine?
And you went to a Hospital, with fever and chills?
AND THEY TRANSFERRED YOU TO ANOTHER HOSPITAL FOR FURTHER EVALUATION?

Under Liz Warren's Medicaid For All plan; we'll ALL be able to look forward to this sort of care
I mean, that's How They'll Treat Everybody... Right?
Right?

Ken B said...

Browndog's point is a good one. The president can be judged electorally for his appointment. Not so for lame ducks.

doctrev said...

May Jesus Christ accept her, and may she in turn accept Him.

rhhardin said...

She could just retire.

Mike Sylwester said...

Swede at 8:54 AM
These are the same people that will insist that Amy Coney Barrett whored her way through law school before raping a bus load of school children.

I expect that the first move of all these "religious" liberals will be to find some high-school classmate who will swear under oath that Barrett said the word nigger at a party.

Of course, the testimony will be a blatantly false slander, but all these liberals will claim publicly that they believe it.

Paco Wové said...

"The president can be judged electorally for his appointment. Not so for lame ducks."

But isn't a president a 'lame duck' during his entire second term?

Browndog said...

If you have but one prayer to give, give it not for yourself, but for the Goddess of Justice.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

If RGB dies,the GOP should immediately announce that they will have the same respect for the Biden rule that House Dems have shown for rules of due process and fairness. Then sit back and watch Dems and media (but I repeat myself) heads explode.

Mike Sylwester said...

Browndog at 8:55 AM
Because the President is not a lame duck due to term limits. Biden rule applies if a new President is assured in the coming election.

Thanks for the reminder.

In retrospect, I see that Senator Joe Biden was acting by Divine Guidance when he declared the Biden Rule. God does love and protect America.

On this Sunday, I will pray my thanks to God for guiding Senator Joe Biden to declare the Biden Rule.

Browndog said...


But isn't a president a 'lame duck' during his entire second term?


Election year lame duck.

Michael K said...

I'd love to read a first-hand account of how Ginsburg reacted while watching the news on Election Night 2016.

I think she said she was moving to New Zealand. No luck, though.

RMc said...

Sign O' The Times

Mess with yo' mind, hurry before it's too late!

gilbar said...

If you look at the shadow of the penumbra of the Biden Rule,
That shadow CLEARLY STATES, that NO REPUBLICAN can nominate a justice, ONLY DEMO's are allowed

Original Mike said...

"Even if you don’t believe in the power of prayer ���� it can’t hurt to try this once . . ."

If there's a vengeful God, yeah, trying it "this once" could hurt.

Beasts of England said...

If they gave a shit about her wellbeing, they’d beg her to retire. But they don’t care about that, they only want this frail woman to spend her last days in misery; in service to their cause.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Please, God, take this old woman into your arms. Amen”

Serious question - is this a Jewish belief, or just a Christian, and maybe Muslim, belief? I have never understood the Jewish beliefs here, despite long talks with good Jewish friends, but just know that I find my Christian beliefs much more comforting.

Mike Sylwester said...

Browndog at 8:55 AM
Because the President is not a lame duck due to term limits. Biden rule applies if a new President is assured in the coming election.

So, I figure that if Trump wins in 2020, then the Biden Rule will go into effect in early November 2023. Or maybe in January 2024.

In either case, the liberals will have to pray intensely and persistently to keep her alive until then. The liberals might even have to attend church and put money into the collection plate every Sunday until then.

Bay Area Guy said...

I actually do believe in the power of prayer, although I'm not totally convinced it works. But Larry Tribe's new found respect for prayer is disingenuous. He doesn't give a shit about prayer, or RBG, for that matter. He simply doesn't want President Trump to exercise his Constitutional authority under Art 2 to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court, if RBG can no longer serve.

Painfully obvious.

Obsessed with Trump, Larry Tribe has become an unhinged loon. We should be praying for him!

Browndog said...

Liberals will scream that Trump cannot appoint SC judge while under investigation.

Hence, the investigation never ends.

rehajm said...

So lefties are like Chreasters, christians who attend church only on Christmas and Easter. Except they don't attend church on either Christmas or Easter, they just pray when the political tide turns woefully against them.

Maybe the Germans have a word for that.

Mike Sylwester said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
clint said...

The "Biden Rule" is totally irrelevant here. It was explicitly about an appointment in an election year when the Senate and President are from opposing parties, unlike the current case.

Further, the point was to assert that the Senate isn't *obligated* to vote on a nomination. There was *never* any part of it that said they were obligated *not* to vote.

Mike Sylwester said...

I pray my thanks to God also for guiding the Senate Democrats to get rid of the filibuster for judges and then for opposing the nomination for Gorsuch, so that the Senate Republicans got rid of the filibuster for justices too.

Indeed, God acts in mysterious ways.

God sometimes acts also in humorous ways -- as when he guided Ginsburg to delay her retirement until her replacement would be nominated by President Hilary Clinton.

Fernandinande said...

Even if you don’t believe in the power of prayer 🙏🏼 it can’t hurt to try this once

Sacrificing a chicken works better, but it can hurt to try if you don't do it correctly.

MadisonMan said...

I pray that she has comfort and is in no pain. I don't quite understand why she didn't retire a long time ago, but it's her life and her decision. Me, I want to spend time when I'm old doing something different from what I've worked on for my whole life, because change is important.

Johnathan Birks said...

Funny how "power of prayer" and "fuck your prayers" come from the same people.

Jason said...

"Please, God, take this old woman into your arms. Amen."

A long, long time from now.

After a relaxing and enjoyable retirement.

gilbar said...

Serious Question:

If/When RBG goes into a persistent vegetative state; will the Demo's want her replaced?

On the One Hand; if they replace her, without waiting for Demo control, they'll lose a seat
On the Other Hand; if they DON'T replace her; they'll lose a vote, for the duration
On the OTHER Other Hand: would Demo's be able to say we should count her vote, anyway?

Justice Ginsburg, Raise your hand if you concur with this decision; lay quiet if you don't

rhhardin said...

Scott Adams today, do you know how much money is going to be spent in the next 12 months to keep this woman alive.

Curious George said...

Yes Laurence, me, Susette Kelo and other residenets of New London, CT are praying.

rhhardin said...

Weekend at Ruth's.

jaydub said...

Now he's converting leftists to Christianity!

Is there anything that Trump can't do?

David Begley said...

More people die in January than in any other month.

JAORE said...

I don't expect the Lord to directly answer my prayers. Or rather I don't expect to clearly understand HOW the Lord answers my prayers.

But prayer, to me, has value for what the very act of prayer give me.

Tribe has, IMO, an absolutely perverted view of prayer.

Kind of a quid pro quo view.

AllenS said...

AMENDED --

Please, God, take this old woman into your arms right now, thanks. Amen.

Don't know anything about Jewish, or Muslim stuff, Bruce.

jimbino said...

Seeing that we waste over $10000 per year of taxpayer funds trying to teach kids, it's a shame to ruin their little brains with prayer, superstition and religion. Someday we'll need to start teaching truth, reason and science instead of prayer, Santa Claus and God.

Mark said...

Mockery of God and using Him for crass political snark isn't any more seemly coming from folks who identify as being on the right -- as we're seeing here -- than it is coming from the left.

daskol said...

Bruce, while I grew up in a religious environment with a religious education, I'm far from an authority. We do express such sentiments at funerals and in the various mourning rituals. There does seem to be relatively less attention given to the afterlife and its rewards in most mainstream Judaism, while Christians seem to derive more comfort from their beliefs than do Jews in this regard. RBG is a very secular Jew, and like all secular folks is probably focused on worldly matters, a notion reinforced by watching last year's hagiographic films about her.

Ray said...

"I actually do believe in the power of prayer, although I'm not totally convinced it works."

It works, but not the way people think/want it to work. Remember: God doesn't do "quid pro quo".

Earnest Prole said...

Impeachment never made sense as a political strategy except as battlespace preparation for the imminent war over filling RBG's seat with a young Federalist Society jurist. Expect nuke deployment and use.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Mike @ 9:27

Perfect.

Wince said...

I'm expecting Tribe to go full-on Norman Bates attacking Amy Coney Barrett after hiding RBG in the fruit cellar.

mockturtle said...

The bosom of Abraham beckons.

Original Mike said...

"On the OTHER Other Hand: would Demo's be able to say we should count her vote, anyway?"

Don't laugh. I think that's exactly what they'd do.

Iman said...

AllenS right out of the gate for the gold!

Did you know there’s an RBG Action Figure toy in every box of SunMaid Raisins?

Gahrie said...

Someday we'll need to start teaching truth, reason and science instead of prayer, Santa Claus and God.

Do you have any idea of what life is like in those societies that have abandoned religion? I suggest a quick perusal of the historic record is in order.

alanc709 said...

The Biden rule is basically, that if you don't have the votes to overcome cloture, you can't nominate a candidate for the Supreme Court. It's not like it's a constitutional amendment.

Gahrie said...

The only chance the Democrats have in 2020 is if RBG dies and the Dems can make the election about replacing her.

Gahrie said...

Further, the point was to assert that the Senate isn't *obligated* to vote on a nomination. There was *never* any part of it that said they were obligated *not* to vote.

The last time I did the research, 48 nominations to the Supreme Court had failed and 123, or a quarter of them, failed because the Senate took no action on the nomination. What happened was neither unique nor even unusual.

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

When you hate Trump so bad that you are willing to believe in God.

JaimeRoberto said...

If we had nationalized healthcare, she'd be dead by now.

Mike Sylwester said...

alanc709 at 10:41 AM
The Biden rule is basically, that if you don't have the votes to overcome cloture, you can't nominate a candidate for the Supreme Court.

A good start to educating yourself about the Biden Rule is to watch Senator Biden's speech proclaiming the Biden Rule on the Senate floor.

Birkel said...

The number of people who actually believe, and who are praying in the other direction, would be an interesting set of questions.

Big Mike said...

The only chance the Democrats have in 2020 is if RBG dies and the Dems can make the election about replacing her.

@Gahrie, if that we’re true then Pelosi would be dispatching someone to smother her with a pillow as I type this.

Big Mike said...

I do expect Democrats to try to make the Senate races about the Supreme Court. And I expect it to blow up in their faces.

RobinGoodfellow said...


Blogger MadisonMan said...
I pray that she has comfort and is in no pain. I don't quite understand why she didn't retire a long time ago, but it's her life and her decision. Me, I want to spend time when I'm old doing something different from what I've worked on for my whole life, because change is important.


She likes being on SCOTUS. She was certain Hillary would beat Trump, and that she would have up to 8 more years to serve, then retire and allow President Hillary to name her replacement.

When Trump won—quelle horreur!—she was trapped. She thinks she can’t retire with Trump in office, or he will upset the balance of the court. She feels honor-bound to stick it out.

Mark my words: she’ll be dead and the left will hold seances to divine her wisdom on each case from beyond the grave.

Danno said...

If she croaks, the Republicans should do a no-huddle offense where they nominate, discuss, and vote (i.e. Senate consent) her replacement into the SCOTUS all in one day.

Just think of the exploding heads that would cause.

Iman said...

^^YES!!^^

Have that sucker “press-the-button” ready.

TJM said...

Tribe is more likely praying to Satan to keep Abortion Queen on the Supreme Court

rcocean said...

Dear God,

Please save Atheist Ruth Bader Ginsberg and restore her to health, so the USA can keep killing the unborn, banning Christianity from the Public square, destroying Social Conservatism and helping criminals and the Left.

Amen.

rcocean said...

According to reports, she just have the flu. Wake me, when she's dead. Which will probably be in 2027.

Mr. Majestyk said...

The Biden "rule" would seem to apply here as much as it did in 1992. At that time, G.H.W. Bush was nearing the end of his first term, just like Trump is now. The difference is that the president's party didn't control the Senate in 1992, but it does control it now. Regardless, the Biden "rule" was transparently politically motivated, and the Dems would ignore it if the tables were turned. You think the folks who want to pack the Supreme Court, abolish the Electoral College, and impeach a president because he disagrees with the interagency consensus on Ukraine pick would have any qualms ignoring the Biden "rule"? Yeah, right!

Mr. Majestyk said...

Ukraine policy

holdfast said...

Atheists praying for the patron saint of abortion.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Bruce, while I grew up in a religious environment with a religious education, I'm far from an authority. We do express such sentiments at funerals and in the various mourning rituals. There does seem to be relatively less attention given to the afterlife and its rewards in most mainstream Judaism, while Christians seem to derive more comfort from their beliefs than do Jews in this regard. RBG is a very secular Jew, and like all secular folks is probably focused on worldly matters, a notion reinforced by watching last year's hagiographic films about her”

Thanks.

Do you think that expressing those sentiments in the mourning rituals is at least partially a result of living next to Christians and Muslims for so long? Or just part of confronting the death of loved ones? I think that archeologists and anthropologists consider mourning rituals indicia of a certain amount of culture and humanity (except that at least elephants (or at least their males), and I also think whales, also engage in something that we could consider mourning).

Clyde said...

There are no atheists in a liberal bubble.

Clyde said...

Moloch was not available for comment.

Otto said...

Tribe is emblematic of what is needed for the "20 Dem platform - devine intervention

BUMBLE BEE said...

Petition the Lord with prayer...

BUMBLE BEE said...

Won't the dumbocrats do The Right Thing and pull the plug? Oh... right.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Isn't RBG stealing Greta's future?

n.n said...

Pray or bray?

He thinks that he can abort the baby and have her, too. Choose.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The number of people who actually believe, and who are praying in the other direction, would be an interesting set of questions.

Which I take to be praying for RBG to die?

I am agnostic on the whole religion, God, praying thing and while I don't really believe in the power of prayer or disbelieve in power of prayer, I don't actually "pray" for things to happen. Praying in the sense of petitioning a higher power and expecting a result.

Positive thinking? Couldn't hurt. Negative thinking as in casting bad juju on someone? (Die Ruthie?) I doubt it...but being agnostic....who knows.

I might wish....mightily wish that something would occur or not occur, but I don't expect any result.

However, I would hope that no one actively would pray for the death of a person.

I might wish that the suffering of a terminally ill person be ended as a merciful act to end the suffering...... but to just wish someone dead or out into the middle of the cornfield? As enticing as that may be.....No.

n.n said...

First, separation of logical domains. Second, pray to God? Maybe. Bray to mortal gods? Probably. Gaia? Perhaps influence the human psyche. It was a major discovery to detect and characterize the electromagnetic spectrum.

daskol said...

With the 613 commandments and the extensive gleanings on them in the Jewish legal tradition, there is a focus on deeds and obligations. While God is not as comforting or loving a presence, Seth is a release from extensive obligations. The messianic tradition holds that we’ll be brought back to life at some point, and God is praised daily in Jewish prayer as He Who brings the dead back to life. The preconditions is revivificstion are not merely personal—you can do all you can to abide by obligations, but if the Jews collectively don’t gather from the four corners to settle the Holy Land, moshiach isn’t coming. Personal rectitude and God’s grace alone are insufficient for a successful afterlife.

Birkel said...

DBQ,
I think most would phrase it as RBG being released from her worldly pain and into the loving embrace of God.
God doesn't do utilitarianism but more than a million aborted babies > than RBG in the minds of many people, as I understand it.

Does that make sense while avoiding morbidity?

Birkel said...

It is my strong belief that many Leftist Collectivists hate me and wish me dead, based on their policy positions' most likely outcomes.
They believe in BAMN.

And they get only one set of rules.
If those are the ones they select, then I will also work under the BAMN thesis.

Must I surrender?
Hard pass.

Matt Sablan said...

"And they get only one set of rules. If those are the ones they select, then I will also work under the BAMN thesis."

-- This is my generally approach to politics as well. It has been made clear that actual moderates are going to be treated the same way "radicals" like Trump are being treated. I remember when Romney was Hitler. When McCain was Hitler. When Bush was Hitler. When jokes about raping Sarah Palin and her daughters were "edgy, and can't you take a joke" level.

So, while I still won't go around calling people Hitler or joke about raping my political opponents, when they pretend to be aghast that some people aligned with me politically are saying the sorts of crass things they did just a few years ago, I'm not going to clutch my pearls with them. I'm going to say: "Hey, yeah. I said that was bad a few years ago; I still think it is. But, why are YOU acting like you suddenly care? You made these rules: Live with them. If you would like to revise these rules, well, you're going to have to earn some trust back. Might I recommend you begin by condemning people who claim to be anti-Nazis while promoting political violence against Jewish homosexuals just because they believe in Freedom of Speech?"

You'll be surprised how few people who claim to want a return to civility will just NOT condemn antifa.

Clark said...

1992 (when Biden gave his Biden-Rule Senate floor speech (thanks for the link @Mike Sylwester)): Republican president, election year, Democrat senate

2016: Democrat president, election year, Republican senate

I think a fair formulation of the "rule" would be: President in an election year shouldn’t nominate, and the Senate shouldn't consider, a Supreme Court Justice when the Senate is controlled by the opposite party. The reasonable question behind the rule is (it seems to me), Why put any of us through all that?

Unknown said...

Faithful and loving Father in Heaven. Please watch out for your child, our earthly sister J-RBG. Grant her your healing grace for resumed good health and wellness. May she - we all - be guided by your wisdom and love to fulfill your earthly plan as a person and professional.

Amen.

cubanbob said...

Ginsburg apparently in that cycle of repeated trips to the hospital. Usually this happens in the elderly in their last year of life. The proper and merciful thing would be for her to go home and enjoy her family and friends as best she can. In the end, that's all anyone really has.

Stephen said...

"Even if you don’t believe in the power of prayer ���� it can’t hurt to try this once"

Instantly recognizable as a version of Pascal's wager: Wikipedia: "Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)."

James K said...

The only chance the Democrats have in 2020 is if RBG dies and the Dems can make the election about replacing her.

Of course she'll be replaced by Trump if she dies or retires in the next six months. The Democrats best bet along these lines is if she were to announce that she's going to retire in January 2021. That could make the election about replacing her, but I don't actually think that's going to be good for the Dems.

Howard said...

Valhalla can wait

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

Instantly recognizable as a version of Pascal's wager: Wikipedia: "Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)."

Like I say, do the right thing, just in case...

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

I know 2 people who are touched by pancreatic cancer. One just died, the other is near death.

Pancreatic cancer is usually a death sentence as the therapy doesn't do much.

The fact that RBG is still alive is a testament to the care she is receiving here is the US.
Care from a hospital where the evil Koch brothers donated money.

Did the Clinton foundation ever donate money to that hospital? I doubt it.


Earnest Prole said...

If God had something against RBG wouldn't He already have weighed in? At this point we can only conclude He's enthusiastically rooting for her.

YoungHegelian said...

@BH,

“Please, God, take this old woman into your arms. Amen”

Serious question - is this a Jewish belief, or just a Christian, and maybe Muslim, belief?


The Reform Jewish belief in the Afterlife moves from a belief in the Resurrection of the Body to a preference for the Immortality of the Soul, and it categorically stated as such in the 1885 Pitttsburgh Platform. Modern Jews "to the left" of the Orthodox tend to lean towards a "when you're dead, you're dead" belief, with the collective memories of the departed being all that remains. Where this comes from, I haven't yet been able to figure out, since the 1937 Columbus Platform still asserts the immortality of the soul.

Now, Traditional Rabbinic Judaism is big, like, really big, on the Resurrection of the Body. It's number 13 in Maimonides 13 Principles of The Jewish Faith, and it is the core of Benediction #2 of the Amidah, the prayer that every Orthodox Jewish man says at least 3 times a day. Take a gander at this, (page 3, second paragraph)if you don't believe the word of a Mackerel Snapper on the matter.

Michael K said...

Howard said...
Valhalla can wait


Lots of Nazis there.

narciso said...

yes, we had experience with someone who lasted about that long ago, before she passed, it's a terrible burden to carry,

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"At this point we can only conclude He's enthusiastically rooting for her.”

Another article of impeachment! Complete with a steel trap proof! God wants Trump out of here, and Pence, so that Bader can die in peace.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Pascal's wager

I never heard of it, but it does describe exactly my attitude. Like FullMoon.

Do the right thing just in case. You will never know until it is a done deal :-)

"Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)."

bleh said...

Why do people say, “it can’t hurt”? What if it does? What if God exists, and She is a vengeful God hellbent on punishing nonbelievers and teaching lessons to everyone? What better way to punish nonbelievers than to do the opposite of what the nonbelievers want, people who only talk to God when they want something? And for the believers who’ve prayed for the same thing ... tough cookies. Better get the nonbelievers to start believing, or you should start praying for the things the nonbelievers don’t want or don’t care about.

FullMoon said...

How much time would RBG actually spend working as a Justice?
Are they on the job every day? Don't their aides do most of the actual work?

Can she not remain on the court and still have more free time than the average person?

Kind of like a retired person having a part time job?



Earnest Prole said...

How much time would RBG actually spend working as a Justice?

By chance I recently listened to Justice Clarence Thomas interviewed by the Harvard Law School Dean and he describes the Supreme Court workload as formidable even with the assistance of four clerks.

Birkel said...

Earnest Prole,
By giving her cancer four times and having her write minority opinions most of the time?
And that's her reward?

Color me skeptical.

Birkel said...

Earnest Prole:
Imagine how much time RBG saves by never having to consult history?
Working backward from the result is not so difficult.

Motivated reasoning is much easier.

daskol said...

YoungHegelian does his homework. Revivification is the deal, but you don't get it just for following the law yourself. What your co-religionists do also matters in terms of messiah's arrival. There are some very modern offshoots of Judaism who have actually changed the wording of this daily (3x) blessing, but the original language is explicit indeed: the dead literally return to life. As a result, even very observant Jews tend to be focused more on this world than their lot in the next. Unlike in Christianity, there's no precedent for this actually happening.

james said...

Mike and Brown dog; re. lame duck appointments.
Although the "last year of a second term" issue was mentioned in some conversations, the real distinction, and one that McConnell has publicly mentioned, is that the constitution requires 1.5 branches of the government to get an article III judge appointed, and when those are controlled by two different parties, leaving the seat vacant for a year is not enough of an imposition to cause a problem and may create an environment where those 1.5 branches are controlled by the same party.

effinayright said...
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effinayright said...

jimbino said...
Seeing that we waste over $10000 per year of taxpayer funds trying to teach kids, it's a shame to ruin their little brains with prayer, superstition and religion. Someday we'll need to start teaching truth, reason and science instead of prayer, Santa Claus and God.
*****************

Right. Instead, we all need to give ourselves over to the majesty and power of the STATE....right, jimbino?

Just today, instapundit posted this:

As Tom Wolfe wrote in his 1996 article, “Sorry, But Your Soul Just Died,” in 1882, Nietzsche declared that “God is Dead.” And as a consequence, “predicted (in Ecce Homo) that the twentieth century would be a century of ‘wars such as have never happened on earth,’ wars catastrophic beyond all imagining. And why? Because human beings would no longer have a god to turn to, to absolve them of their guilt; but they would still be racked by guilt, since guilt is an impulse instilled in children when they are very young, before the age of reason. As a result, people would loathe not only one another but themselves. The blind and reassuring faith they formerly poured into their belief in God, said Nietzsche, they would now pour into a belief in barbaric nationalistic brotherhoods.”

But, hey, I guess that's Progress!

FullMoon said...

...he describes the Supreme Court workload as formidable even with the assistance of four clerks.

Wonder if the workload is weakening her? She looks physically worn out. Tired. If she retired prior to election, would possibly inspire dem turnout.

wildswan said...

Dear God
you have probably heard some criticism of RBG for supporting killing all those unborn children now up there with you,
so luckily the chances are a hundred thousand to one against you really existing, but just in case,
we have an insurance policy which is this prayer which is what they call a Hail Mary prayer

Dear God,
please kill all the deplorables in a meteor strike. Hail Mary. Amen.

Bay Area Guy said...

Dear God,

RBG is 86, and could have retired comfortably at age 80 during the Obama administration, who could have filled that seat with a young leftist for the next 30 years.

Thank you for not being too hard on RBG for ignoring your teachings about "pride".

Fondly, BAG

Jim at said...

You know, if the leftist judges on SCOTUS actually did their jobs and based their rulings upon the Constitution, people wouldn't have to worry about RBG's replacement.

But this is the bed they made. And they deserve what's coming.

Otto said...

Ann posted this thread w/o comment, probably because she is an atheist. However she is a also a feminist and progressive so she desperately wants to wish RBG a quick recovery, not so much from human kindness but the fear of feminism and progressivism losing power . But once AlanS knocks it out of the park and her readers are mercilessness, she injects DBQ who pleads for mercy, then admonishing readers for praying that something bad to happen to her hero RBG and finally pleads for her readers to do the right thing.
So sad to see how atheists face end of life.

Otto said...

Don't hide behind DBQ and tell us directly Ann what you think is the right thing to do. And what principles are you drawing from to determine what the right thing to do is?

JAORE said...

" The proper and merciful thing would be for her to ..."

... do whatever she wants. It is HER life. And whatever time she has left is all she has. None of us have any right to dictate her choice.

FWIW, I'd LIKE her to retire.

Martin said...

Given what Tribe said about Kavanaugh, this is pretty rich.

stan said...

The hate is strong with Tribe.

rhhardin said...

Immortality will not always be a negation. - Lautreamont

Bay Area Guy said...

Lizzy Warren should seriously consider Professor Tribe as her running mate........

Scott Patton said...

Kind of like Niels Bohr's horseshoe, praying works whether you believe in it or not.

iowan2 said...

Praying for anything but the knowledge of Gods will and the power to carry that out, is doing it wrong.

Paul Doty said...

Oh yes, deranged Larry Tribe is a demonstrable Christian, just check the lunatic's Twitter feed.

Known Unknown said...

I am just sending thoughts.

Joan said...

DBQ is her own person and in no way provides cover for Althouse, Otto.

That accusation is one of the most bizarre things I’ve see here, and given I’ve been hanging out for more than a decade, that’s saying something.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Pascal’s wager is complete nonsense. You have been waiting fifteen billion years to be born, you will be dead for an infinite amount of time. It’s not nothing that you are wagering against the possibility of a Heaven and Hell. It’s your life and freedom. Only if you don’t value human freedom does Pascal’s wager make any sense.

Bilwick said...

I think that if RBG gets well, she should retire to live out the rest of her years in that Little Pink House! Oh, wait , , ,