I'm told that my German ancestors were among the first to enter the Wisconsin area, if that counts...
And because the Catholic Church decided to take the opportunity to tighten its stranglehold on science, law, and religion, which it claimed to to have all the answers to.
Roman imperialism did have a vast effect on Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Whether that was a good thing, I can't really say. The people seemed, in my opinion, to come to rely so much on the Empire that, when it fell, we endured centuries of dark ages. On the plus side, it united much of the ancient world under one banner. If you lived inside the borders, you were considered a citizen with full rights - one of the first times that has been done in human history. Their military was top of the line, their roads and architecture were revolutionary for the time, and while they had sane emperors, most Romans lived comfortable lives. The real problems happened when the inbreeding, corruption, and nepotism degraded the government. In Roman times, it was not uncommon to marry a close cousin, or sometimes even a sister/brother, to keep the royal blood in the family. This lead to large amounts of inbreeding, sometimes leading to mental defects. Combine that with lead piping under the streets of Rome, and you get generations of insane emperors (like Caligula, Nero, etc). Corruption got so bad that it was almost impossible to do business in a large city without bribing officials, even if you were honest. Nepotism also assured whole armies being commanded by incompetent generals simply because their father was a senator, or some such. Senators also got their positions based on brown-nosing the Emperor and family position, not merit. I personally wouldn't mind seeing a nation of that scope rise again, but only if the problems of leadership and corruption could be solved. A kingship or imperial government could even work, if someone could ensure that only the most qualified would get the position. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, such a government is unlikely, except on a theoretical scale.
Nope. No say at all. It's not their body that's carrying the baby, it's not their life at risk (potentially), and they do not have the connection to it that the mother might have. For instance, a man who recently found out he's a father might panic and request an abortion, but since he's not the one who's growing the thing, he has less of a connection and therefore, is more susceptible to panic or anger.
There is, however, plenty of evidence for most scientific theories that either disprove the events in the Bible, or make them nothing more than ordinary. There is also more than enough evidence chronicling the violence, corruption, and depravity in the Christian religion as a whole.
If that's the case, tell your parents to actually do their job and parent their kids, cause if my little brother ever did that, my parents would just about disown him.
Not to mention that no force on the planet has ever been able to exterminate a religion once it takes root... I mean, there are still (very few) worshipers of the ancient Egyptian religions! Just another sign of insanity, I guess.
Yea, but I thought we were talking human history. If not, then the point about 3 billion years ago (I think), when the Earth got hit by something the size of Mars was probably another turning point, since it stripped away the thick atmosphere we probably had, thus saving us from Venus' fate. That also probably created the Moon. Also, the Cambrian Explosion.
Stone tools. Fire. The wheel. Domestication. Farming. Cities. Need I go on? These are the major turning points in our race's history. These are what separated us from the animals of the time - we no longer had to rely on the environment to supply us with life - we could make it.
They can't watch a movie because real-life experience is a better teacher than any film or classroom can ever be. With a movie, you don't get all the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feel of the area - you just get what the documentarian wants you to see (usually a watered-down version of the subject). Also, in-class speakers are frikking boring. The students aren't going to learn much about prison from just being talked at. Also, to all of you talking about the psychos in prison, the vast majority of them (convicted for lesser crimes) just want to do their time, be good, and possibly get out on parole for good behavior, and put that whole place behind them. Only a very few are still "bad".
Well, that's because very few people watch commercials/look at ads anyways. They tried to gain attention nor the campaign by doing something controversial. Tell me, when people in Germany think of AIDS now (at least for a while), they'll remember this ad campaign, and when they think of Hitler, they just might also remember the campaign.
I was in 8th grade, in a PE class, when they told us to turn on the radio. We were in time to hear the second tower fall. My aunt and cousin lived in NYC at the time, but I don't think it was anywhere near there. I think the whole reason we remember this is it was the first true, concerted attack on American soil in quite a while. I don't think there's really been a major enemy attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor. That's a long time for a country to forget what it's like. I kind of agree with P, that: true, we don't honor every victim around the world. I mean, most of us could care less about the (probably) hundreds of deaths terrorists caused in the Middle East daily before 9-11. But that's because it wasn't here. For over 2 generations, we Americans have lived a pretty blissful existence - no major wars, no invasions, no nothing, really. And now that one of the quasi-symbols of our nation was shattered, the faith of many Americans in our power was shaken, as well. I mean, many of us must have been thinking, "my god, if they can hit 2 massive skyscrapers, the Pentagon, and wherever the 4th plane was going (possibly the White House), then, they might be able to hit anywhere!!" And, as the saying goes, those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it".
That's different. We used to accept people coming like that all the time. It's the people who come here, without going through any official channels whatsoever, and expect to just have things handed to them because "it's America" who piss me off.
I didn't have classes today (thank god for making your own schedule), but I did see a (student-made) memorial - a 9 - 11 made of American flags in a field. I didn't see much else, though.
That's because the education system has trained you to not think of school as fun. I know it's possible, the government just can't seem to grow the balls to divert funding to make it happen.
In my opinion, the whole education system is broken in more ways than one. First of all, in elementary/middle school (or the overseas equivalent), the teachers need to be paid MUCH more, and a VASTLY better screening process needs to take place, to get the right teachers. I can't even count the numbers of my teachers who absolutely hated their jobs, and hated the kids, and everything else. They just went into education because they picked it out of a hat, or because they couldn't cut it in their chosen career. Also, optimistically, they need to somehow standardize the curricula for all schools, if at all possible. I moved around a lot, and I must have been taught with 4 different curricula in elementary school alone. Then when I was home schooled for a year, I became like 2 years ahead of everyone else. High school DEFINITELY needs better teachers, with better pay, and more funding so those teachers can actually make the classes fun. I mean, in high school, in ALL 4 YEARS of high school, the only fun thing we did was make a volcano. Once. High school doesn't teach kids anything except how to hate school. That's all it does. College, of course, gets a lot better, since they have a lot more funding and better teachers (usually). But even there, there are things which seem kind of pointless. IMO, at least for certain professions, we should reinstate (here in the US, anyways) the apprenticeship system. I have found, from personal experience, that one month hands-on in your career will teach you more than a year of formal classes ever can, and you'll find out if you're cut out for it faster. I mean, I took a 1-month field school for archaeology, and learned more there than in all my 3 years of college, and not just about archaeology - I learned how better to deal with people when they're tired and achy, for instance, or how to work through aches and pains, rudimentary first aid (still have some pretty nasty scars from that course - damn sharp trowel), and I learned that field work is one of the most fun things I can possibly do. Now imagine an apprenticeship for years under full-time archaeologists - that would teach a lot more than a college degree ever could.
Congressmen are human, just like the rest of us. This guy just probably got pissed at Obama's lies, and called him out.
No offense, but that's the worst reason to vote for someone I've ever heard. When I look for a candidate to support, I look for qualifications, moral code, honesty, etc., NOT the color of his/her skin. That's just a stupid way to vote. No offense.
The only thing I really consider "cheating" in Solitaire is when I'm playing manually, and I reorganize a few cards. Mostly, I play on the computer, though, and there's no real way to cheat there (and no, taking a hint is not cheating. It's just like someone looking over your shoulder and saying "that one").
I know. I mean, I'll take it as a major step when we elect the first president of (X minority/gender), and make no mention of race/gender whatsoever. That, in my mind, would be true progress.
