We'll forget for a minute those people that willfully misuse assistance programs, and we'll also forget for now how resources going through local, state, and federal governments are significantly mismanaged. Let's just focus on the principle of the matter, which is forced morality.

No, I would not let my poor, sick, hungry neighbor die, but I would rather have a choice in the matter. You've basically taken your moral values (dare I say religion) and made them law. Of course, if I had to choose between letting him die and being forced to pay for him, I would quickly surrender my wallet. It's just too bad it has to come to that.

You could also argue that unlocked doors threaten your property, and you would be correct, but don't forget to mention why we need locks in the first place.

We all know Apple doesn't give their customers and developers much freedom, so this story isn't a surprise. That being said...

Obviously they are afraid of offending vocal minorities and such, but it's annoying when corporations pick sides on a moral issue when said corporation's industry has little to do with morality. To be sure, I am not advocating for the app, and in fact I think it silly and representative of conservative religious culture, but to not tolerate them because they are considered intolerant seems hypocritical. Similar to Larry Flynt being censored by conservatives for his pornography: if you don't like it, don't buy it.

And to think I'm considering an iPhone now that they've finally come to Verizon.

But you have to agree, a lot of them have the "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" mentality. What I was trying to explain is that many other people are like this about whatever their dogma is, not just Christians. People who say it's a Christian thing simply have an axe to grind.

I was also "brainwashed" in my younger years, and while I'm not a practicing Christian anymore, I still cannot believe that everything occurred by chance. I'd like to think it's not due to my upbringing but to the [hopefully impartial] observation and analysis of myself and others. But whatever you end up believing about our origins, I find it interesting that any particular theory is just that - a theory. In order to believe any one of them you must accept a certain amount of... what's it called... oh yes: faith.

But I do agree with you about how some Christians are satisfied with too little. I myself love to question, challenge, and other plumb the depths of what I believe, why I believe it, and whether or not I should believe it.

The first thing I do when setting up my Windows PC is turn off the firewall and other unnecessary features like anti-virus or system restore. I back up any files I want on a weekly basis and simply format and rebuild my PC should it become compromised. I get a new PC every 2-3 years, and have never had to restore it due to a virus or other such infection.

My work PC, however, is a different story. IT maintains strict control of the computers and has all kinds of security crapware installed. You can't navigate around windows explorer without it taking a second or two (in some cases, longer) to display contents of directories and open files. System startup takes forever - when I get to work in the morning I'll turn the computer on and go to the cafeteria to get breakfast... sometimes it *still* isn't responsive by the time I get back.

or PC. My first gen Xbox, Gamecube, and Wii haven't been used in a long time, and with the possible exception of the Gamecube (because Metroid is just that good) I regret buying them.

Don't give me that crap about developing for the PC being hard. We all know that MS/Sony/Nintendo pay game developers to make games only for their system, else there wouldn't be a reason to buy it. If they didn't have exclusivity, they wouldn't have anything.

I recall when I saw Halo 2 for PC on the shelf and was elated to finally play it. I didn't care that I had it months after the Xbox owners. But then I saw that the requirements included Vista - they may as well not have released it for the PC at all.

Whether or not MMO gamers are in the closet, the main reason RealID hasn't had a perfect reception is simply that people didn't want their first/last names known to other WoW players, not because the game comes with a stigma. In order for someone to know and see your RealID they have to be in the game, in which case it is already known that both of you play it.

It was displaying real first/last names on their forums that people complained about.