• bloc said on Aug 02, 2006....

  I really liked that movie too. Just got the dvd last night :)

• Indiefilm said on Aug 02, 2006....

  ditto. I rented it and saw it for the first time last night. I was very impressed and suprised by how thought provoking it actually was.

• LoriaAmnekia said on Aug 03, 2006....

  I have some major complaints about the government in regards to mental health. At 16, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I was in an inpatient instituitin for 72 hour observation. I was put on Prozac and when I was allowed to go home, I was supposed to have one on one counseling and family counseling. My mom refused to give me my medication and when she didn't like what the doctor had to say, she stopped taking me to the counseling sessions. Over the last three years I have been in and out of outpatient group therapy. I would stay in therapy, if I could afford it. Alas, each time my medical card from Public Aid has been ended, I have had to stop going to therapy. They can't leave me on it when I'm not pregnant since I am not 'disabled'. And yet, my un-consistently treated depression has resulted in more mental health issues. I now have major anxiety problems that keep me from getting a job and I believe I am bi-polar as well. I will snap at the tiniest, stupidest thing one minute, then be laughing and smiling the next. But I can't get help. The government won't allow it. I have to be pregnant or disabled to be able to have access to the care that I need. My husband works for a friend that runs a small business and does not offer health insurance. His last job that did, we could never have afforded to get it from. And yet the government just keeps changing things and making it harder for people to get help.

• LoriaAmnekia said on Aug 03, 2006....

  I forgot to mention...Don't even get me started on the whole Food Stamps thing either. As I said above, the government makes it really hard for people to get help. They don't really want to help the low income people who need it. They want to keep us down, buried under our bills and barely being able to have lives, while they give more and more tax breaks to the rich who fund their campaigns.

• narbeha1983 said on Aug 05, 2006....

  I do not know the point yet where a government crosses that turns what would be considered treason into freedom fighter. See, that's the difference. What you would do to gain your freedom against a totally corrupt and unjust government is treason. What terrorists do is something totally different. They kill innocent lives for attention. You commit what would normally be considered crimes against a government for freedom. Once again, I don't know the line, but there is no line for me to become a terrorist.

• anonymous said on Aug 23, 2006....

  spam removed

• Blade said on Sep 29, 2006....

  Well at least we know Bush is not a scientologist...
  

• Blade said on Sep 29, 2006....

  I think that what Indie meant (and correct me if I’m wrong Indie) is that at what point will the government categorize someone as a ‘terrorist’ when they are simply fighting for their own freedom?
  
  Are you a terrorist if you fight back against a government that invades your privacy: your phone calls, your mail, the books you buy, the places you shop? We don’t define terrorism that way here and now – but words can be misused in a highly compelling way. Those who are still loyal followers of Bush (you won’t find many of them on this forum as most of them lack the ability to read or write) who would believe that any person he deems a terrorist is a terrorist. In the future we may see that word misapplied in such ways that it becomes very dangerous to those of us who think for ourselves.
  
  I would never resort to terrorism as we understand the definition today. To blow up buildings on the basis of religion or the intolerance of another culture is cowardly and wrong. But if I were labeled a terrorist because I am an Atheist or because I read books that may open my mind to other forms of government and suffered penalties due to those things – you’d better believe I would take my stand.
  

• Indiefilm said on Sep 29, 2006....

  Blade; kind of curious what you have against Scientologists. Most of the Scientologists I know feel the same way you do about freedom of speach, and freedom of expression.
  
  You got the gist of my post however, it's not the definition of Terrorism as it stands today, but if the definition of torture and 'enemy combatant' can be changed by the government, then why not the definition of a terrorist?
  
  All it would take is re-defining terrorism from the current official definition of
  
  "(DOD) The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological."
  
  To something like: "The illegal opposition or threat of illegal opposition against governments, in the pursuit of goals counter to the goals of the government"
  
  And welcome to 1984.
  

• Blade said on Sep 29, 2006....

  Scientologists, from what I have been told, do not believe in mental illness. Therefore, if Bush is keen on helping the mentally ill, he must not be a scientologist. That’s all I was saying.
  
  I would, however, love to see a good healthy debate on Scientologists and what they believe in another post since I only know what the media has told me about it.
  

• Indiefilm said on Sep 29, 2006....

  Actually, as I understand it, they don't believe in using drugs to treat mental illness. But your right, Bush's stance on mental screening is a bit different than that of scientologists.
  
  I generally take what the media tells me with a grain of salt to begin with. You hear lots about how they are 'money grubbing' and greedy, you don't hear as much about them financing drug rehab centers, or literacy programs directed at teaching kids to how read by using such 'unorthodox' tools like dictionaries.
  
  Another interesting thing that they fund, which is a bit more telling IMHO about who they are than most of the things you hear in the general media.
  

• Blade said on Sep 29, 2006....

  Those are indeed noble causes. And it’s probably not all political spending to help improve their waning image.
  
  Here are the three things that I have heard and seen in relation to Scientology that have shaped my view on the subject:
  
  1.) There’s no denying that Tom Cruise is a maniac. It doesn’t help the Scientologist cause that he presents himself as their spokesperson.
  
  2.) Allegedly the lovable “Chef” character, played by Isaac Hayes, quit South Park because they created an episode poking fun at Scientology. Yet, I have seen many an episode where Chef makes jokes that are racial, misogynistic and anti-religious (as it pertains to Christianity). Making money on those jokes never seemed to be a problem for him in the past. How can a Scientologist like Hayes be true to free speech if he abandons his TV show and speaks bitterly about it because it depicted Scientology in a bad light?
  
  3.) Correct me if I’m wrong – but don’t Scientologists base much of their belief off of a science fiction novel? This may be where my media-induced generalization comes in – but I swear I heard they believe we were created by aliens.
  
  I would like to learn more if I’m making uninformed generalizations.
  

• bloc said on Sep 30, 2006....

  "but don’t Scientologists base much of their belief off of a science fiction novel? ... I swear I heard they believe we were created by aliens."
  
  I think I heard that christians believe Jesus was born to a virgin! I can't keep the fictional religions apart ;)
  

• Indiefilm said on Oct 02, 2006....

  Blade:
  
  1 & 2: Personally, I wouldn't base my opinion of an entire religion on two people. That would be like basing your opinion of the Jewish religion based on interviews with Adam Sandler and Woody Allen. While it would be 'interesting' to be sure, it wouldn't really give one accurate understanding of that faith.
  
  As for Issac Hayes, I can't tell you how many times I've had something happen to me, and then realized, 'wow, I do that... it's not really cool when someone else does it to me though... perhaps I should stop.'
  
  If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it. Sometimes something has to hit close to home to make a person realize they shouldn't be doing something. In either event, he knew he was committing carrier suicide by doing that, and he knew that it wouldn't stop the episode from airing, but he did it anyway.
  
  3. Not based on a sci-fi novel. I'm personally of the opinion that if you want to find out about something, the net is good, but will only get you so far. The best way is to go out and look for yourself and make up your own mind based on what you see, rather than what your told.
  
  As for the alien bit, Perhaps they aren't that far off. There is an entire branch of science which suggests that life may have originated on other planets and been transported to earth via Astroids... Maybe we are all aliens.
  
  ~que the scary music~
  

• Blade said on Oct 07, 2006....

  So that I don’t have to spend any time doing research on Scientology, I am just going to keep my limited view on it. Organized religion in general is open for interpretation. Many people construe religious doctrines in different ways. Look at all the different factions of Christianity that exist. I’m sure there are scientologists out there who do good things for the world and others who are as loony as Adam Sandler. ;-)
  
  Either way, I’ve had no trouble developing my own standards of ethics and values without subscribing to religious doctrines. However, I don’t fault people who look to them as guides for living. It’s just when religion turns to fanaticism that it becomes at its worst, dangerous and at its best, humorous.
  

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