Recently we had an apologist come in with some peculiar views on religion and God.
Some of her belief(s) were the same old tired claims of knowledge through personal experience, etc… She stated several times that her beliefs were not in line with traditional organized religious views, but clearly believed in the existence of God.
she attempted to provide “evidence” of miracles by citing the report of an individual who, after suffering some version of a heat stroke and being administered life saving treatments from medical professionals, miraculously came out of a “coma” and recovered fully. Although she cited an article detailing this event, the article fell far short of supporting her claims.
She served up ample helpings of various fallacies and either ignored or misunderstood a majority of responses from several members, even going so far as to mis-quote some.
After being thoroughly logically thrashed for the vacuous argument(s) she attempted to promote, she attempted to delay the conversations with various excuses for not immediately addressing several pertinent questions and even ignoring others.
Seven days ago she made a brief reference to Iznac Semmelweis. Then, shortly after, she made comments about asking someone she knew, who was more knowledgeable than herself, about some of the points she was unable to address.
Then six days ago a belligerent, arrogant, self-important, smarmy asshole showed up here to basically inform everyone of how no one would accept his arguments and how he would ultimately be banned for presenting alternate ideas and not for any legitimate reasons.
He then proceeded to engineer the very thing he had predicted to come true. Claims of “groupthink” followed, along with a link to a Jordan Peterson video which confirmed my early suspicions that he was a J. P wannabe.
He even arrogantly slipped in a “y’all as if to smarmily show how unaware everyone else was.
After having his ass handed to him and being thoroughly ridiculed for ant-vaccine horseshit and political fatuousness, he declares everyone here to be idiots.
To his credit, David attempted to give him another opportunity to state his case, even making special concessions for the allowance of far more inciting language than what would be the usual.
Cognostic was gracious enough to create a new thread especially for him.
None of this was enough for him and he just went away.
The point of bringing this up is to point out the duplicitousness of this person and how deceptive he was in introducing himself and his purpose for engaging with the community.
Obviously he was on some sort of “ rescue mission” to defend the honor and vindicate the views and beliefs of the aforementioned female poster. Sometimes people have agendas other than the one(s) they state.
Oh and by the way, his user name was semmelweis_reflex.
Damn good catch there, Skrit. I just KNEW I was right for defending you when Cog was calling you a bird-brain. And if Cog tries to tell you I made any disparaging remarks about your lack of intellectual capacity, just remember Cog flings his own poo and likes eating rotten bananas.
Question: Have you or have you not, recently, been accused of physically propelling one or more, heretofore unidentified, what have been ambiguously referred to as “probably primate” creatures, into the area of lower proximity to the support carriage of any serendipitously present, multi- passenger mechanical conveyance ?
I’ll have you know ‘birdbrain’ is a complement. Are you completely unaware of the intelligence of the avian species. Our own Mr. Cocatoo didn’t convince you. The fact that a crow can out think a 7 year old child does not amaze you. Birds are, in fact, amongst some of the most intelligent creatures we have on Earth.
https://wingspanoptics.com/blogs/field-journal/the-most-intelligent-birds-in-the-world
No doubt. Thanks for posting the article. I have seen a number of documentaries with much of the same info.
I have been photographing birds, almost obsessively according to my wife, for seven or eight years and have learned a great deal about avian behavior, both through observation and through study.
Due to some physical limitations I have as a result of injuries, surgeries, etc., it is something I can still actively engage in and get a good deal of exercise hiking, etc…
Some of the birds considered to be “common” in my region are anything but. The Blue Jay referred to in the article is an amazing bird with a repertoire of sounds and calls that is quite surprising. They are not the only species here that mimic other birds as we have at least four “mockers”’here, each of which have their own “speciality”.
I’m off to the river with my camera this morning to see who is hanging out before it gets stupidly hot. (95 F predicted today).
I spent a good portion of my life raising parrots. I had a mexican red head, a double yellowhead, a military mcaw, moluccan cockatoo, and an african gray. I would have a parrot now but my contracts in Korea are 2 years at a time and that does not leave me room for owning a pet. I would be worried to death nearing the end of every second year on what I should do with the bird. Perhaps when I get back to America I will get another African Gray and a Cockatoo. Both great pets and really smart.
Great that you have been able to have so many different Parrots. I had a Conure Parrot for about seven years until my wife developed pulmonary fibrosis and I had to give her up for adoption. She taught me as much about birds as all of my observations in the wild.
It is much more of a responsibility than non- owners imagine, partly due to their longevity.
Their intelligence is almost humbling when you recognize their social needs, etc.
I hope you are able resume your relationships with them as it is extremely rewarding.
Hey, listen up. Sure, I’ve been ACCUSED of many things. I’ve been accused of being a loving and caring guy. I’ve been accused of being generous and funny. Hell, I’ve even been accused of being moderately intelligent. But you don’t believe any of THAT shit, do you? Therefore, just because I was ACCUSED of causing Cog to involuntarily perform a detailed inspection to the underside of a fast-moving high-capacity public transportation vehicle, it does not necessarily mean I may or may not have played an active part in assisting Cog into the proper location to facilitate said inspection service. Yes, I DO often tell Cog to go play in traffic. But only because I know how much he enjoys road rash. And if we happen to be standing together near a busy motorway with an approaching Greyhound Cog doesn’t see, then what kind of friend would I be if I allowed him to miss an opportunity to do something that makes him happy?
Exactly the reason I can not have one now. I also work long hours, I can not leave the bird in a cage all day long while I am at work. It’s not fair to the bird. I generally give my birds free run of the house and eventually they learn the rules; however, they also chew on shit so I have to keep an eye on them. My African Gray got into my library and decimated about $300 worth of books. All I could do was laugh, the books were gone, but replaceable. Walking into a room, it’s not a sight that one expects to see. A library of books was shredded across the bedroom floor. LOL… What a FUN day for the bird! I needed to make room for more new books anyway… LOL. You know, once a book has been read, it can sit on a shelf a long time before it is ever referenced again. Yep, they require a lot of care and responsibility.
Wow! calm down. Don’t get your bi-valves in an uproar.
First of all, it was just an innocent, honest, unbiased, non-fallacious(well almost), truth-seeking question. After your “poisoning of the well” comments regarding Cog, what did you expect?
You then topped it off with ad hominem towards that innocent creature.
Now, rather than immediately answer my sincere and heartfelt question, you resort to the bottomless depths of sophistry. Not only that, but you resort to straw manning me with the assumption that I don’t believe any of the accusations of positive attributes you may or may not possess.
Look, we all know you are a bastion of loving, caring, generosity and humor, and PERHAPS intelligence…yeah, so what? what the fuck does that have to do with whether or not you cavalierly launched our mutual buddy into the life-threatening abyss of moving motorized commuter transport?
Finally, you resign yourself to an alignment with an ambiguously precise, non-committal adherence to a definite, undefined alliance with a pre-determined, unfalsifiable non-denial.
Sheesh…I uh don’t know what to say…frankly I’m speechless…
Well that’s an understatement for sure. My Conure virtually destroyed my kitchen cabinet doors and various other wood objects around the house. Luckily, my wife loved her as much as me and tolerated her destructive tendencies. I have a number of damaged books too. Sometimes it might be a while before I discovered her latest “adventure” . Like you, I allowed her to fly free, because I cannot bring myself to cage a creature with such a magnificent ability such as flight. I never clipped her wings either, so her flying abilities were impressive to say the least. I miss that little bird as much or more than I can express. They fill your life with so much that is difficult to convey to someone who has never had such a companion.
My Mexican redhead was my alarm clock. Every morning, 7AM sharp, he would crawl up onto my bed and lightly peck at my nose. I would give him huge, which he loved, then pop out of bed and give him fresh water and seed for the day. It was a routine for years. The Moluccan had full wings and could fly outside. He never went far and always came when called. Usually, he would fly around a bit and then return to the outside cage. That was his home. (*Music playing in the background… ) ‘Memories!’
Uhhh… Cog?.. Innocent?.. Uhhh… Have you been crashing into sliding glass doors again? When are you due for your next FAA flight physical? It might be good to consider an MRI of your skull.
Seriously? And you have the alldashitty to accuse ME of add hominy attacks? You are SUCH a hippocrypt. I will not allow my sullied and questionable reputation to be tarnished by such grade school level playground jibber-jabbery jauntiness. I shall be the better man and lower myself below your indiscreet insinuations so that they pass over my head as though I never noticed them. I am inperviness to your trivial taunts. Ha! The joke is on YOU, my fowl-weather friend!
Uh, for starters, whether I did or did not physically propel our primate pal precariously onto pavement packed with propulsion propelled public passenger provisions, it certainly was not done - nor would it have ever been done - in a cavalier manner. That would suggest I held/hold myself in higher regards to the subject on which I may or may not have acted. It is insulting that you would imply such an unfalsifiable possibility.
Secondly, it wasn’t “necessarily” life-threatening. He’s quick. He’s nimble. Plus, it was in a school zone. The speed limit is only like ten or fifteen miles an hour. I mean, C’MON! How dangerous could it possibly be?
For your information, my ambiguously unwavering non-commitment to rock-solid uncertainties within the realm of realistic imagination grounded in a reliable foundation of hyperbole is not a subjective topic open for objective discussion, and I stand firmly on this ever-shifting ground of loosely compacted sediment.
Well, when he references innocent; he really means ‘not guilty.’ They couldn’t prove a thing.
And while you are in that sewer, would you step a bit to the left so I can float by, I am chasing a big green turd that looked particularly interesting.
I don’t understand big words.
HUH?
Then he should have specified “Never Convicted.” Ain’t my fault he did not make his meaning clear.
Oh you robots, always so literal. Come swing in the trees for a while and loosen a few bolts.
Well, yes, until proven guilty. And he has somehow managed to avoid that…(fucking animal rights bastards)
quote=“Tin-Man, post:13, topic:3011”]
Have you been crashing into sliding glass doors again?
[/quote]
I uh, I really thought you had agreed not to mention that… thanks for bringing that up again.
Oh I guess you failed to realize the sincerity with which I acknowledged your complete departure from a fealty with generally accepted parameters of behavioral norms, probably due to my ongoing refusal to employ sarcasm…
Typical avoiding the question. Clearly a pathetic attempt to avoid the commensurate responsibility, nay, the GUILT for the despicable attitude as exemplified in the rapid eschewing of embracing ownership of this perverted behavior.
I don’t fucking know. How could I possibly know that? Is it even knowable? Jesus on a Pogo stick…
Shit the bed Fred…predetermined ambiguity facilitates abrogation of previously unreliable rhetoric, supplanting the opportunity for mulling over unspoken acknowledgment granted to revolving clarity… (hops off pecking the ground)
Well, why didn’t you say that in the first place??? Then this whole thing could have been avoided completely.
Uh, what part of, “I allowed it to fly over my head,” did you not understand? I refuse to stoop so low as to stand tall in the face of such disparaging accolades as I hold my head high so as to duck beneath the weakened bombardments of trivial points of import. 
If I feel ANY guilt whatsoever, it is only due to the waste of the perfectly good ice cream cone he was holding at the moment he entered the traffic lane. It even had chocolate sprinkles on it.
I… I… 
… I… Good sir, I am not even going to entertain that with a reply.
Uh Tin, I thinks you might want to carefully consider what he means by “swing in the trees”…
Edit for clarity
Oh like the midget that @Tin-Man pushed from off screen in that weird documentary about him and a bunch of other thespians looking for something about a wizard…… or wait was that that bible movie…… maybe I’m confused.